Gianfranco Facchineri | |
Birth Date: | 2002 4, mf=yes |
Birth Place: | Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
Height: | 1.83m |
Position: | Centre-back |
Currentclub: | Valour FC |
Youthclubs1: | Windsor Ciociaro SC |
Youthclubs2: | Windsor FC Nationals |
Youthclubs3: | Vardar SC |
Youthclubs4: | Toronto FC |
Youthyears5: | 2018–2020 |
Youthclubs5: | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
Youthyears6: | 2022 |
Youthclubs6: | Tecumseh SC |
Collegeyears1: | 2022– |
College1: | Windsor Lancers |
Collegecaps1: | 21 |
Collegegoals1: | 7 |
Years1: | 2020–2022 |
Clubs1: | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
Caps1: | 0 |
Goals1: | 0 |
Years2: | 2020 |
Clubs2: | → Atlético Ottawa (loan) |
Caps2: | 5 |
Goals2: | 0 |
Years3: | 2021 |
Clubs3: | → San Diego Loyal (loan) |
Caps3: | 6 |
Goals3: | 0 |
Years4: | 2023 |
Clubs4: | Windsor City FC |
Caps4: | 15 |
Goals4: | 2 |
Years5: | 2024– |
Clubs5: | Valour FC |
Caps5: | 14 |
Goals5: | 1 |
Nationalyears1: | 2019 |
Nationalteam1: | Canada U17 |
Nationalcaps1: | 7 |
Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
Pcupdate: | July 21, 2024 |
Ntupdate: | August 19, 2020 |
Gianfranco Facchineri, also known as Frankie Facchineri,[1] (born April 27, 2002) is a Canadian soccer player who plays for Canadian Premier League club Valour FC.
Facchineri was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario to an Italian family.[2] He played youth soccer with Windsor Ciociaro SC at age five.[3] He later played with the Windsor FC Nationals and Migichan's Vardar SC.[4] He played with the Ontario provincial team at U14 and U15 levels. He then briefly joined the Toronto FC Academy.[5] [6] In 2016, he was invited to join the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy, but declined the opportunity as he felt he was too young.[7] Two years later in August 2018, he then joined the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy.[8] He began playing with the Whitecaps U17 and U19 sides, before moving to their development side in 2019.[9] In August 2019, he began training with the Whitecaps first team.[10] In 2019, he was the Whitecaps FC BMO RESP Academy Male Player award recipient.[11]
In 2022, he began attending the University of Windsor, where he played for the Windsor Lancers men's soccer team.[12] He scored his first goal on 18 September 2022 against the McMaster Marauders.[13] (His father had previously played for the Lancers as well).[14] On 25 September 2022, he scored two goals in a 9-0 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds to help Windsor win their first game of the season.[15] In 2023, he was named an OUA West First Team All-Star.[16]
In January 2020, Facchineri signed a first-team Homegrown Player contract with the Whitecaps.[17] [18] In July 2020, he was loaned to Atlético Ottawa in the Canadian Premier League.[19] [20] He made his professional debut on August 19, 2020, against Valour FC.[21] In August 2021, he was loaned to USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC.[22] [23] In February 2022, he was released by the Whitecaps, with the club buying out the remainder of his contract.[24] [25]
In 2022, he played in the League1 Ontario Reserve Division with Tecumseh SC U21.[26] In March 2023, he joined Windsor City FC in the League1 Ontario Premier Division.[27] [28] He was named the L1O Defender of the Year and a First Team All-Star in 2023.[29] [30]
In December 2023, he was selected in the second round (ninth overall) of the 2024 CPL–U Sports Draft by Valour FC. In April 2024, he signed a U Sports contract with the club, allowing him to maintain his university eligibility.[31] On July 21, 2024, he scored his first professional goal in a match against Atlético Ottawa.[32]
He made his debut in the Canadian youth program in 2016, at the age of 13, attending a U15 identification camp.[33] In 2019, he was named to the Canadian U17 team for the 2019 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, where he served as team captain.[34] On 12 May, he scored the winning penalty kick in the shootout during the quarter-finals against Costa Rica U17, to earn Canada qualification for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup,[35] for which he was also named to the squad for.[36] [37] Across, the two tournaments, he played every minute for the team in their seven matches.[38]
Club | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2020 | Major League Soccer | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
Atlético Ottawa (loan) | 2020 | Canadian Premier League | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | 5 | 0 | ||||
San Diego Loyal SC (loan) | 2021 | USL Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | |||
Windsor City FC | 2023[39] | League1 Ontario | 15 | 2 | – | – | – | 15 | 2 | ||||
Valour FC | 2024 | Canadian Premier League | 14 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 14 | 1 | |||
Career total | 40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 3 |