Luca_de_la_Torre

Luca de la Torre

Luca de la Torre

American soccer player (born 1998)


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.

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...

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

Early career

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

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

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

Youth

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

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]

Personal life

Both of de la Torre's parents are scientists at research institutes in the San Diego area.[28] His father is Spanish, which allowed him to receive a Spanish passport and leave the U.S. at 15 years old.[29] He did not learn Spanish until he arrived at Celta Vigo, but is now comfortable giving interviews and communicating with his teammates.[30]

Dubbed "El Pulpeto" by the club, de la Torre has a superstition to eat Galician octopus ("pulpo") after every Celta Vigo victory.[31]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played March 10, 2024[32]
More information Club, Season ...
  1. Includes EFL Cup

International

As of match played November 20, 2023[33]
More information National team, Year ...

Honors

United States U20

United States

Individual


References

  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: List of players: United States" (PDF). FIFA. November 15, 2022. p. 31. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  3. "Fulham 1-1 Bolton". BBC Sport. October 28, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  4. "Fulham ease past Millwall and introduce teenage prospect". Belfast Telegraph. September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  5. "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.
  6. "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.
  7. 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.
  8. "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.
  9. Smith, David (December 23, 2022). "Copa del Rey Recap: de la Torre Nets First Spanish Goal". Yanks Abroad. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  10. "FIFA Tournaments - Players & Coaches - Luca DE LA TORRE". FIFA. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  11. "Sargent sends USA top of group". FIFA. May 25, 2017. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  12. "Rampant USA hit New Zealand for six". FIFA. June 1, 2017. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  13. "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.
  14. 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.
  15. "Luca de la Torre | USMNT | U.S. Soccer Official Site". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  16. Luca de la Torre at National-Football-Teams.com
  17. "U.S. beats Canada to win Nations League as Balogun opens account". ESPN. June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.

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