Luca de la Torre
Personal information
Full name Lucas Daniel de la Torre[1]
Date of birth (1998-05-23) May 23, 1998
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
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 46 (0)
International career‡
2013–2015 United States U17 28 (2)
2016–2017 United States U20 15 (2)
2018– United States 20 (0)
Medal record
Representing  United States
First placeCONCACAF U-20 Championship2017
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of January 13, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of November 20, 2023

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 and the United States national team.

Having begun his professional career with Fulham in the EFL Championship, he later played for Heracles in the Eredivisie and Celta 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 game 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 took more part in the team when 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 overtime.[15]

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.[17][18]

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[19] 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[20] and assisting on both Josh Sargent's game-winner in a group stage match against Senegal[21] as well as Lagos Kunga's goal in a 6–0 Round of 16 win over New Zealand.[22]

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.[23][24] On February 2, 2022, he made his first start for the United States against Honduras in a 3–0 victory in World Cup Qualifying.[25]

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.[26]

Personal life

De la Torre's father is Spanish, and his mother is American. As a result, he holds a Spanish passport.[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played January 13, 2024[28]
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Fulham 2016–17 Championship 000030—30
2017–18 Championship 50———50
2018–19 Premier League 00—21—21
2019–20 Championship 201010—40
Total 701061—141
Heracles Almelo 2020–21 Eredivisie 32110——331
2021–22 Eredivisie 32120——341
Total 64230——672
Celta 2022–23 La Liga 28021——301
2023–24 La Liga 18020——200
Total 46041——501
Career total 11728161001314

International

As of match played November 20, 2023[29]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
United States 201810
202130
202280
202380
Total200

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. 1 2 "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.
  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. 1 2 "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. ↑ "FIFA Tournaments - Players & Coaches - Luca DE LA TORRE". FIFA. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  18. ↑ "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.
  19. ↑ "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.
  20. ↑ "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.
  21. ↑ "Sargent sends USA top of group". FIFA. May 25, 2017. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Rampant USA hit New Zealand for six". FIFA. June 1, 2017. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  23. ↑ "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.
  24. ↑ "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.
  25. ↑ "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.
  26. ↑ 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.
  27. ↑ "ASN: Luca de la Torre: "No Reason We Can't Win Cup"". americansoccernow.com.
  28. ↑ Luca de la Torre at Soccerway
  29. ↑ Luca de la Torre at National-Football-Teams.com
  30. ↑ "U.S. beats Canada to win Nations League as Balogun opens account". ESPN. June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  31. ↑ "AZ breaks through the Ajax stronghold in the Eredivisie team of the month". eredivisie.eu. January 28, 2022.
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