Sergio De Luca
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | September 8, 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Toronto, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1996–1998 | Woodbridge SC | ||
| 1998–1999 | A.C. Prato | ||
| 1999-2000 | Telford United F.C. | ||
| 2000-2001 | Hereford United F.C. | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002 | Toronto Lynx | 1 | (0) |
| 2003 | Hamilton Thunder | 17 | (2) |
| 2003 | Pécsi Mecsek FC | 3 | (0) |
| 2004 | FK Arendal | 4 | (0) |
| 2005 | Oakville Blue Devils | 22 | (3) |
| 2006-2007 | Torgelower SV Greif | 8 | (1) |
| 2007-2009 | Toronto Lynx | 17 | (2) |
| 2009 | North York Astros | 7 | (0) |
| 2010-2012 | Portugal FC/SC Toronto | 31 | (4) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 December 2014. | |||
Sergio De Luca (born September 8, 1982) is a Canadian soccer player who played mostly domestically in Canada and several clubs abroad in Europe.
Playing career
De Luca began playing soccer with Woodbridge Soccer Club in the year 1996, the following year he went abroad and signed with Italy club A.C. Prato where he featured in youth matches. The following year De Luca went across the English channel to play with Telford United F.C., becoming the first foreign player to play for the club. He was appointed youth team captain and had a successful season there scoring 13 goals out of 20 games at the youth level. In 2000 De Luca was transferred to Hereford United, where once again in his first season with a club he was named team captain. And had another effective season with Hereford where he continued his fine scoring rate with six goals out of 18 matches in the youth level. On July 10, 2002 the Toronto Lynx announced the signing of De Luca, making his professional debut in a match against the Rochester Rhinos on July 14[1] . After failing to establish himself with the Lynx De Luca signed with the Hamilton Thunder of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. He was appointed team captain and helped the Thunder win the Western Conference title, and as well in the playoffs he led the Thunder to the semi-finals before losing out to Vaughan Shooters. After a successful season in Hamilton, De Luca played one season in Hungary with Pécsi Mecsek FC, then with FK Arendal in 2004.
De Luca returned to the CPSL for the 2005 season where he signed with the newly expansion franchise the Oakville Blue Devils. There De Luca experienced a tremendous season where he played a significant role in winning the CPSL Championship. On September 11, 2005 he scored his first goals for Oakville in a 2-0 victory over St. Catharines Wolves. During the club's playoff run De Luca scored the third and winning goal in the 90' minute in the Western Conference semi-final match against the Windsor Border Stars.[2] In the Western Conference final match against his former club the Hamilton Thunder, De Luca produced an assist in a 2-0 victory which advanced the Blue Devils to the finals.[3] In the final match against the Vaughan Shooters in the 46' minute after a goal down De Luca scored the equalizing goal to tie the game to 1-1, once the game went into overtime Ryan Gamble scored the golden goal to win the championship, making the Oakville Blue Devils the first expansion franchise to win the CPSL Cup in their debut season.[4] Following his success in Oakville De Luca returned to Europe to play for Torgelower SV Greif, after not featuring much in Germany due to a sports hernia injury received early on in the season De Luca returned to the Toronto Lynx in 2007. His signing was announced in a press conference on May 9, 2007.[5] The Lynx finished the season with a 6-6-4 record, which placed the team in fourth place in the Great Lakes Division, and only missed a playoff berth by six points.
During the season De Luca then moved to Europe again this time landing in Sweden with FC Hollviken signing a 2-year deal. However, after the first season De Luca decided to terminate his contract. In 2008 De Luca returned to the Lynx and assisted the club by reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2000, but unfortunately for the Lynx the Cleveland Internationals scored a late winner to take the game 2-1, sending the Lynx home early. In the 2009 PDL season De Luca recorded his first goal in Lynx uniform on June 6, 2009 in a match against Cincinnati Kings.[6] He would record his second goal on June 27 against the Indiana Invaders. But unfortunately the Lynx failed to reach the playoffs, and finished lasted in the Great Lakes Division with only two wins.
De Luca was among the new additional signings done by North York Astros head coach Vladimir Klinovsky midway through the 2009 CSL season; in order to strengthen his squad for the battle over the final playoff berth. Though the Astros did overwhelmingly improve under Klinovsky leadership, it was not enough to secure the final playoff spot. In total De Luca appeared in seven matches. The following season, De Luca was transferred to Portugal FC, where head coach Carmine Isacco selected him the team captain. He made his debut for the club on May 8, 2010 in a match against TFC Academy.[7] His biggest achievement with the club was finishing as regular season champions in the 2011 season.
Honors
- Oakville Blue Devils
- Portugal FC/SC Toronto
- CSL Regular Season Championship: 1
References
- ↑ Result of the A-League game of Sunday July 14th, 2002 between Toronto Lynx and Rochester Raging Rhinos played at York University at 6:00pm
- ↑ Result of the Wednesday October 5th, 2005 CPSL game between Oakville Blue Devils and Windsor Border Stars played at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke at 9:00pm. This was the semi-final game of the Western Conference
- ↑ Result of the Saturday October 8th, 2005 CPSL game between Hamilton Thunder and Oakville Blue Devils played at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York at 2:00pm. This was the final of the Western Conference
- ↑ Result of the Monday October 10th, 2005 CPSL game between Vaughan Shooters and Oakville Blue Devils played at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York at 4:00pm. This was the CPSL Championship game
- ↑ May 9, 2007 Toronto Lynx, Toronto Lady Lynx press conference (by Rocket Robin)
- ↑ June 7, 2009 PDL Toronto Lynx vs Cincinnati Kings (from Lynx media release)
- ↑ May 8, 2010 CSL--TFC Academy vs Portugal FC (by Rocket Robin)