Paolo Ceccarelli

Paolo Ceccarelli (born October 12, 1969) is a Canadian retired soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He was the 1996 A-League Goalkeeper of the Year.

Paolo Ceccarelli
Personal information
Date of birth (1969-10-12) October 12, 1969
Place of birth Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Toronto Jets
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987– Dunfermline Athletic
1989–1990 Toronto Blizzard
1991–1992 North York Rockets
1993 Toronto Blizzard 23 (0)
1993–1994 Dundee 0 (0)
1994 Berwick Rangers 1 (0)
1994–2000 Montreal Impact 80 (0)
1996–1997 Toronto Shooting Stars (indoor) 6 (0)
1997–1999 Montreal Impact (indoor) 56 (1)
2000–2001 Toronto Thunderhawks (indoor) 27 (0)
2001–2002 Harrisburg Heat (indoor) 14 (0)
2002–2003 Brampton Hitmen 19 (0)
2002–2003 Kansas City Comets (indoor) 31 (0)
National team
1991–1992 Canada U-23 10 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club

Ceccarelli played for the Toronto Jets during his youth. In September 1987, he signed with Dunfermline Athletic after the coaching staff noticed Ceccarelli when Dunfermline played an exhibition game against the Jets. By 1989, Ceccarelli was back in Canada, playing for the Toronto Blizzard in the Canadian Soccer League. In 1991, he moved to the North York Rockets. In twenty-six games, he earned a 1.05 goals against average which placed him top of the goalkeeper chart and earned him All Star recognition.[1] Ceccarelli was back with the Blizzard in 1993, this time playing in the American Professional Soccer League. In the fall of 1993, he became a backup goalkeeper with Dundee F.C. before moving to Berwick Rangers F.C. for one game.[2] In the spring of 1994, Ceccarelli moved to the Montreal Impact. In 1996, he was First Team All League and the APSL Goalkeeper of the Year.[3] In addition to playing outdoors with the Impact, Ceccarelli spent the 1996-1997 winter season with the Toronto Shooting Stars of the National Professional Soccer League. He was back with the Impact for the 1997 outdoor season, earning Second Team All League honors. Montreal entered the NPSL the next two winter seasons (1997-1999) and Ceccarelli remained with them for those competitions. In the summer of 1999, the Impact went on hiatus and Ceccarelli spent the summer coaching the Impact’s youth clubs. He then lost the entire 2000 outdoor season with a knee injury. He returned to playing that fall with the Toronto Thunderhawks of the NPSL. In July 2001, Ceccarelli returned to the Impact for one last outdoor game.[4] In 2001, Ceccarelli signed with the Harrisburg Heat of the second Major Indoor Soccer League.[5]

In 2002, Ceccarelli signed with the Brampton Hitmen of the Canadian Professional Soccer Leaguehis signing was announced on April 30, 2002.[6][7][8] He recorded his first clean sheet against London City on June 8, 2002.[9] He featured in 19 matches for the Hitmen, but the club failed to reach the postseason by finishing sixth in the standings of the Western Conference. He returned to Brampton the following year and his signing was announced on June 6, 2003.[10] Unfortunately he suffered a leg injury which resulted in him serving as a backup goalkeeper for Roy Blanche, which eventually led to his release midway through the season. In September 2002, the Heat traded Ceccarelli to the Kansas City Comets in exchange for Chris Damico.[11] Ceccarelli retired at the end of the season.

International

In 1991 and 1992, Ceccarelli played ten games with the Canada men's national under-23 soccer team in its unsuccessful Olympic qualification campaign.

References
  1. "The Year in American Soccer – 1991". Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  2. Berwick Rangers Borderers A to Z Archived 2014-12-28 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "The Year in American Soccer – 1996". Archived from the original on 2013-07-13. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
  4. “Checker” is back
  5. The ‘New’ MISL Kicks Off
  6. Johnson, Bryon (April 30, 2002). "Brampton Guardian: Hitmen Ready for Action". Rocket Robin's Home Page. Brampton Guardian.
  7. "CPSL - Canadian Professional Soccer League". 2003-04-23. Archived from the original on 2003-04-23. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
  8. "Le succès du soccer canadien passe par la base". RDS.ca (in French). 2002-07-15. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  9. Rumleski, Kathy (June 8, 2002). "London Free Press: Hitmen Find Target". Rocket Robin's Home Page. London Free Press.
  10. Inscoe, Robin (June 6, 2003). "Brampton Guardian: Hitmen Gunning for Rivals". Rocket Robin's Home Page. Brampton Guardian.
  11. Heat Adds Veteran Goalkeeper
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