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Luca de la Torre

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Lucas Daniel de la Torre (born May 23, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Celta Vigo and the United States national team.

Luca de la Torre
Personal information
Full name Lucas Daniel de la Torre[1]
Date of birth (1998-05-23) May 23, 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth San Diego, California, United States
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Celta Vigo
Number 14
Youth career
2011–2012 Nomads
2012–2013 San Diego Surf
2013–2016 Fulham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2020 Fulham 7 (0)
2020–2022 Heracles Almelo 64 (2)
2022– Celta 59 (1)
International career‡
2013–2015 United States U17 28 (2)
2016–2017 United States U20 15 (2)
2018– United States 24 (1)
Medal record
Men's soccer
Representing  United States
CONCACAF Nations League
Winner 2023 United States
CONCACAF U-20 Championship
Winner 2017 Costa Rica
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 19, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of September 10, 2024

Having begun his professional career with Fulham in the EFL Championship, he later played for Heracles in the Eredivisie and Celta Vigo in La Liga. A full international for the United States since 2018, he was selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

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Early career

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De la Torre was born and raised in San Diego, California, and began playing soccer at Nomads and San Diego Surf, before moving to England to play with Fulham in 2013.[3] De la Torre made his debut for Fulham on August 9, 2016, in the EFL Cup first round against Leyton Orient, starting the match and played 88 minutes at Brisbane Road as Fulham won 3–2.[4] His first league appearance was a Championship match against Bolton Wanderers on October 28, 2017, as a last-minute substitute for Tomáš Kalas in a 1–1 home tie.[5]

He scored his only goal for Fulham in an EFL Cup tie against Millwall on September 25, 2018.[6]

Heracles

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On August 6, 2020, de la Torre signed a two-year deal with Eredivisie side Heracles Almelo.[7] He provided an assist in his Eredivisie debut on September 13, 2020, in a 2–0 win over ADO Den Haag.[8] He was named to the Eredivisie Team of the Month for March 2021, having scored his first goal on March 7 as a late winner in a 2–1 home victory over PEC Zwolle.[9] He was again named to the Eredivisie Team of the Month for January 2022.[10]

Celta de Vigo

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On July 7, 2022, de la Torre signed a four-year deal with Celta de Vigo of La Liga. He was the second player of American nationality to play for the club, after Italy international Giuseppe Rossi.[11][12][13] He made his debut on August 20 in a 4–1 home loss to Real Madrid, playing the final three minutes in place of Renato Tapia.[14]

Having only made brief substitute appearances under manager Eduardo Coudet, de la Torre played a larger role in the team after Carlos Carvalhal arrived.[15] On December 22, he came off the bench away to Gernika in the second round of the Copa del Rey and scored his first goal within ten minutes to conclude a 3–0 victory.[16] In the next round on January 3, 2023, he made his first start, though the team lost 3–1 at fellow top-flight team Espanyol in extra time.[15]

He scored his first La Liga goal, following an assist one minute earlier, against Osasuna on February 4, 2024.[17]

International career

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Youth

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De la Torre was part of the United States under-17 team for the 2015 CONCACAF U-17 Championship and 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.[18][19]

He was also part of the United States under-20 team that won the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, scoring the game-winner in a 4–1 group stage win against Haiti[20] and netting a penalty kick during the penalty shootout in the final against Honduras.[3] He was also a member of the United States squad that reached the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup quarterfinals, scoring a goal in a group stage draw against Ecuador[21] and assisting on both Josh Sargent's game-winner in a group stage match against Senegal[22] as well as Lagos Kunga's goal in a 6–0 Round of 16 win over New Zealand.[23]

Senior

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On June 2, 2018, de la Torre made his senior team debut for the United States, coming on as a substitute in a friendly against Republic of Ireland.[24][25] On February 2, 2022, he made his first start for the United States against Honduras in a 3–0 victory in World Cup Qualifying.[26]

De la Torre recovered from a muscular injury suffered in October 2022 in time to be chosen for the World Cup in Qatar the following month. He did not feature in any games as the United States reached the last 16.[27]

de la Torre scored his first goal for the senior squad in a 1–2 friendly loss to Canada on September 7, 2024.[28]

Personal life

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Both of de la Torre's parents are scientists at research institutes in the San Diego area.[29] His father is Spanish, which allowed him to receive a Spanish passport and leave the U.S. at 15 years old.[30] He did not learn Spanish until he arrived at Celta Vigo, but is now comfortable giving interviews and communicating with his teammates.[31]

Dubbed "El Pulpeto" by the club, de la Torre has a superstition to eat Galician octopus ("pulpo") after every Celta Vigo victory.[32]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played May 19, 2024[33]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Fulham 2016–17 Championship 0 0 — 3 0 3 0
2017–18 Championship 5 0 — — 5 0
2018–19 Premier League 0 0 — 2 1 2 1
2019–20 Championship 2 0 1 0 1 0 4 0
Total 7 0 1 0 6 1 14 1
Heracles Almelo 2020–21 Eredivisie 32 1 1 0 — 33 1
2021–22 Eredivisie 32 1 2 0 — 34 1
Total 64 2 3 0 — 67 2
Celta 2022–23 La Liga 28 0 2 1 — 30 1
2023–24 La Liga 31 1 4 2 — 35 3
2024–25 La Liga 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 59 1 6 3 — 65 4
Career total 130 3 10 3 6 1 146 7
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup, KNVB Cup, Copa del Rey
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup

International

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As of match played September 10, 2024[34]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
United States 2018 1 0
2021 3 0
2022 8 0
2023 8 0
2024 4 1
Total 24 1
United States score listed first, score column indicates score after each United States goal.[35]
List of international goals scored by Luca de la Torre
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 7 September 2024 Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City, United States 23   Canada 1–2 1–2 Friendly [36]

Honors

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United States U20

United States

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2018: Fulham" (PDF). English Football League. p. 16. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  2. ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – Squad List: United States (USA)" (PDF). FIFA. November 15, 2022. p. 31. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Five Things to Know About U-20 MNT Attacker Luca de la Torre". www.ussoccer.com.
  4. ^ "Leyton Orient 2–3 Fulham". Soccerway.
  5. ^ "Fulham 1-1 Bolton". BBC Sport. October 28, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  6. ^ "Fulham ease past Millwall and introduce teenage prospect". Belfast Telegraph. September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  7. ^ "Heracles Almelo contracteert aanvaller Luca de la Torre". August 6, 2020.
  8. ^ "Heracles Almelo heeft makkelijke middag en wint in eigen huis van ADO den Haag". September 13, 2020.
  9. ^ "Luca de la Torre earns Eredivisie Team of the Month honor". April 2, 2021.
  10. ^ "AZ doorbreekt hegemonie Ajax in het Elftal van de Maand" [AZ break Ajax hegemony in Team of the Month] (in Dutch). Eredivisie. January 28, 2022.
  11. ^ "El internacional estadounidense Luca de la Torre, refuerzo de calidad para el centro del campo del RC Celta" [American international Luca de la Torre, quality addition for RC Celta's midfield]. recelta.es (in Spanish). RC Celta de Vigo. July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  12. ^ Creditor, Avi (July 7, 2022). "USMNT's Luca de la Torre Secures Transfer to La Liga's Celta Vigo, per Reports". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  13. ^ Carlisle, Jeff (July 7, 2022). "USMNT midfielder Luca de la Torre set to sign for LaLiga's Celta Vigo - sources". ESPN. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  14. ^ Moore, David (August 21, 2022). "36-Year-Old Luka Modrić Scores 20+ Yard Banger And Gets Standing Ovation From Celta Vigo Fans". The 18. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "De la Torre, de más a menos, aprovechó su primera titularidad" [De la Torre, more or less, took advantage of his first start]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  16. ^ Smith, David (December 23, 2022). "Copa del Rey Recap: de la Torre Nets First Spanish Goal". Yanks Abroad. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  17. ^ "Celta Vigo 3-0 Osasuna (Feb 4, 2024) Commentary". ESPN. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  18. ^ "FIFA Tournaments - Players & Coaches - Luca DE LA TORRE". FIFA. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  19. ^ "U-17 MNT Draws Honduras 2-2 at 2015 CONCACAF U-17 Championship". United States Soccer Federation. San Pedro Sula, Honduras. March 8, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  20. ^ "Second Half Outburst Powers U-20 MNT to 4-1 World Cup Qualifying Win vs. Haiti". United States Soccer Federation. February 21, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  21. ^ "YOUNG GUNS SARGENT, DE LA TORRE FIRE USA TO 3-3 COMEBACK DRAW IN WORLD CUP OPENER VS. ECUADOR". United States Soccer Federation. Incheon, South Korea. May 22, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  22. ^ "Sargent sends USA top of group". FIFA. May 25, 2017. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  23. ^ "Rampant USA hit New Zealand for six". FIFA. June 1, 2017. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  24. ^ "Young U.S. MNT Downed 2-1 by Late Goal in Back-and-Forth Battle vs. Ireland". United States Soccer Federation. June 2, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  25. ^ "LAST-MINUTE LOSS TO IRELAND OFFERS VALUABLE LESSONS FOR YOUNG MNT". United States Soccer Federation. June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018. Sixteen of the 25 players on the trip in Europe have five caps or less, while three made their first appearance for the USA at Aviva Stadium: Luca de la Torre, Shaq Moore and Tim Parker.
  26. ^ "Three Goals From Set Plays Power USMNT To 3-0 World Cup Qualifying Win Against Honduras During Coldest Match In USMNT History". United States Soccer Federation. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  27. ^ Bravo, Alberto (December 23, 2022). "Luca de la Torre se estrena como goleador en el Celta: "Es importante para mí"" [Luca de la Torre scores for the first time for Celta: "It's important for me"] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  28. ^ "Second-half rally comes up short as U.S. Men's National Team falls 2-1 to Canada in international friendly". United States Soccer Federation. September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  29. ^ "Luca de la Torre | USMNT | U.S. Soccer Official Site". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  30. ^ "ASN: Luca de la Torre: "No Reason We Can't Win Cup"". americansoccernow.com.
  31. ^ "Celta Vigo's Luca de la Torre Joins The Show! | Morning Footy". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  32. ^ "How a plate of octopus helped USMNT's Luca de la Torre settle in at Celta Vigo and become a fan favorite | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  33. ^ Luca de la Torre at Soccerway
  34. ^ Luca de la Torre at National-Football-Teams.com
  35. ^ Luca de la Torre at National-Football-Teams.com
  36. ^ "United States 1-2 Canada: David helps continue Marsch's impressive run". FotMob. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  37. ^ "U.S. beats Canada to win Nations League as Balogun opens account". ESPN. June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  38. ^ "AZ breaks through the Ajax stronghold in the Eredivisie team of the month". eredivisie.eu. January 28, 2022.
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