Junior Hoilett

David Wayne "Junior" Hoilett (born 5 June 1990) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a winger for Championship club Cardiff City and the Canadian national team.

Junior Hoilett

Hoilett playing for Blackburn Rovers in 2012
Personal information
Full name	David Wayne Hoilett[1]
Date of birth	(1990-06-05) 5 June 1990[2]
Place of birth	Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[3]
Playing position(s)	Winger
Club information
Current team	Cardiff City
Number	33
Youth career
	Brampton SC
2003–2007	Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2012	Blackburn Rovers	81	(12)
2007–2008	→ SC Paderborn (loan)	12	(1)
2008–2009	→ FC St. Pauli (loan)	21	(6)
2012–2016	Queens Park Rangers	112	(12)
2016–	Cardiff City	152	(21)
National team^‡
2015–	Canada	27	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 July 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2019

After impressing in a youth tournament, he signed for English club Blackburn Rovers at the age of 13, and was loaned to SC Paderborn and FC St. Pauli in the German 2. Bundesliga due to work permit issues. He made his Rovers debut in 2009 and played three full Premier League seasons for them before a transfer to Queens Park Rangers in 2012. Hoilett spent four years at the Loftus Road club – alternately in the Premier League and Championship – before moving to Cardiff on the expiration of his contract. In his second season with Cardiff, he helped the side win promotion to the Premier League by finishing as Championship runners-up during the 2017–18 season.

Hoilett made his senior international debut for Canada in 2015. He was part of their squad at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2017 and 2019.

Early life

Hoilett was born in Brampton, Ontario, one of four children to David and Ingrid Hoilett. Both of his parents are of Jamaican descent,[4] with his father hailing from Ocho Rios.[5] His father previously worked as a DJ and music promoter.[6] He has described his upbringing as "a very sporty childhood", playing against his three siblings in numerous sports. Hoilett played both baseball and basketball at youth level before settling on association football at age 11.[4] His younger brother Jaineil also became a footballer, playing in Germany at amateur level.[7]

Club career

Blackburn Rovers Academy

Hoilett began playing for Brampton Youth SC, a local football team in his hometown.[8] He travelled the world with his club and gained attention at a tournament in Wales; he turned down an extended trial with Manchester United to join Blackburn Rovers as he believed he had more chance of breaking into the first team at the latter.[4] After taking a year to make the decision to move to England, Hoilett signed for Rovers in 2003. After moving to England, he attended St Bede's Roman Catholic High School in Blackburn.[4][9] He progressed through the club's youth system before signing his first contract at the age of 16. However, he suffered a setback when he was initially unable to earn a work permit to play in the United Kingdom. In order to qualify for one in future, Blackburn looked to loan Hoilett to a club in another European country, with the player rejecting possible moves to Belgium and France.[4]

Loan spells in Germany

Hoilett eventually agreed to a loan move to Germany, joining SC Paderborn. He made his senior debut for the club against Kickers Offenbach, coming on as a substitute for Sven Lintjens in a 3–2 victory on 3 February 2008, aged 17.[10] Hoilett's first match in the starting eleven was against 1899 Hoffenheim on 9 March 2008.[11]

Hoilett scored his only goal of his loan campaign on 18 May 2008 against Borussia Mönchengladbach[12] in what would be his final game for the club. Paderborn were later relegated, ending the 2007–08 2. Bundesliga season in 17th position.[13]

Hoilett was loaned to another German club in the 2. Bundesliga, FC St. Pauli, for the 2008–09 2. Bundesliga season. He made his debut for the Hamburg-based side against SpVgg Greuther Fürth on 22 August 2008. He scored six times during his loan campaign with braces against Alemannia Aachen and Hansa Rostock, as well as individual goals against 1860 München and 1. FC Kaiserslautern. His final game would come in the form of a 1–0 loss against Rot Weiss Ahlen on 3 May 2009. St. Pauli finished the season in eighth position.[14]

Blackburn Rovers

In January 2009, Hoilett's home club Blackburn again applied for him to receive a work permit for him to play football in England.[15] In the summer of 2009, Hoilett was granted a work permit on appeal, allowing him to continue his fledgling career in England at the Premier League level with Blackburn.[16] Blackburn chose not to send him to a third loan spell in Germany, rejecting an approach from Mainz 05.[17]

Hoilett before the match between Blackburn and Arsenal at Ewood Park on 17 September 2011

After impressing during the club's pre-season schedule, he made his debut for Blackburn in the opening day of the 2009–10 season as a late substitute in place of El Hadji Diouf during a 2–0 defeat to Manchester City.[18] He was named in the starting line-up for the team's following match and scored his first competitive goal for Rovers in a 3–1 League Cup win over Gillingham on 25 August 2009.[19] His performances in the early stages of the campaign prompted the club to open talks over a contract extension as Hoilett was in the final year of his original deal.[20] Hoilett was involved in Blackburn's dramatic League Cup win against Chelsea on 2 December 2009. Coming on as a second half substitution, he won an extra-time penalty which Benni McCarthy converted to put Rovers 3–2 up, before Paulo Ferreira equalised in the 122nd minute. However, Hoilett converted the fifth penalty to help Rovers to a 4–3 shootout win and a place in the semi-finals.[21] He then started his first league match on 12 December 2009 against Hull City, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw at the KC Stadium.[22] On 25 February 2010, with his contract due to expire in June 2010, Hoilett ended speculation regarding his future at the club, by signing a new two-and-a-half year deal with Blackburn, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2012.[23] He finished the season having made 27 appearances in all competitions, scoring once.[24]

Hoilett made his first Premier League appearance of the 2010–11 season on 21 August 2010 by coming on for Nikola Kalinić in the 84th minute in a 2–1 defeat at St Andrew's against Birmingham City.[25]

He scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season in the 1–0 victory over Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup third round.[26]

Hoilett scored his first league goal on 23 January 2011 in a 2–0 home victory against West Bromwich Albion at Ewood Park, converting in the 47th minute from a Nikola Kalinić assist. On 12 February 2011, he made his 40th Premier League appearance for Blackburn when he featured against Newcastle United at Ewood Park in a goalless draw, and was replaced at half-time due to a slight hamstring strain by Morten Gamst Pedersen. On 5 March, he scored his third goal of the season in a 3–2 defeat against Fulham in the 65th minute, away at Craven Cottage. He replaced by debutant Rubén Rochina on 82 minutes. His next goal came in the following game, a last gasp equaliser coming from a header against Blackpool at Ewood Park in a 2–2 draw. On 9 April 2011, he scored in the 1–1 draw versus Birmingham City at Ewood Park on half-time, but he unfortunately got injured in the 68th minute, being replaced by Australian Brett Emerton.

He scored his fifth league goal of the season with an individual goal, in a 3–2 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux Stadium on the last day of the season. On 11 September 2011, in a game between Blackburn and Fulham, he was involved in a collision with Mark Schwarzer which resulted a head injury for Hoilett. He was eventually stretched off and Schwarzer received a yellow card. Hoilett scored a controversial second's goal in a match as Blackburn drew with Wigan Athletic 3–3 after teammate Morten Gamst Pedersen seemed to dribble the ball straight from a corner before firing in a low cross for Hoilett to head home from two yards.[27]

In January 2012, Hoilett was named one of the 13 players to watch in 2012 by world football governing body FIFA.[28]

In the 2011–12 season, Hoilett had the most dribbles per game among all Premier League players.[29]

Queens Park Rangers

Hoilett (in white) playing against Chelsea in November 2014

After refusing a contract renewal with Blackburn Rovers, Hoilett joined Queens Park Rangers on 27 July 2012 for a fee decided by tribunal. He signed a four-year contract.[30][31] He scored his first goal for QPR in a 3–2 League Cup defeat to Reading on 26 September 2012.[32] On 2 March 2013, Hoilett set-up teammate Loïc Rémy and played a crucial part in a 2–1 win over Southampton.[33] A combination of injuries and poor form meant that Hoilett had a frustrating first season at QPR, which resulted in relegation to the Football League Championship.[34]

Hoilett scored his first goal of the 2013–14 Football League Championship season in a 1–1 draw with Huddersfield Town.[35] Four months later, he scored his second goal of the season in a comfortable 3–0 win over AFC Bournemouth at Loftus Road.[36] Hoilett grabbed an assist for the only goal of the game, when he crossed for Bobby Zamora to score in the 89th minute in QPR's 1–0 victory over Derby County at Wembley Stadium in the 2014 Football League Championship play-off Final to gain promotion back to the Premier League after an absence of one season.[37] After failing to agree a new contract with QPR at the end of the 2015–16 season, Hoilett left the club following the expiry of his contract.[38]

Cardiff City

Following the appointment of Neil Warnock as manager, Hoilett signed with Cardiff City on 6 October 2016, becoming Warnock's first signing at the club.[38] His debut came on 14 October, against severnside rivals, Bristol City.[39] Hoilett scored his first goal for Cardiff during a 3–2 victory over Huddersfield Town on 19 November 2016.[40] He went on to score one more goal before signing a one-year contract extension in May 2017.[41]

The 2017–18 season saw Hoilett's most productive season, finishing the season with 12 goals, including goals against former club, Queens Park Rangers and a brace against Mansfield Town in the FA Cup, as Cardiff finished 2nd, gaining promotion to the Premier League.[42] Hoilett was offered a new contract following the club promotion.[43]

On 26 June 2018, Hoilett signed a three-year contract in the Welsh capital.[44] He scored his first Premier League goal since 2012 in a 2–1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on 30 November, which BBC Sport called a "fabulous first-time effort from 25 yards".[45]

International career

As a child, he captained Canada's team at the 2001 Danone Nations Cup in Paris.[46]

Hoilett was eligible to play for Canada or Jamaica at international level.[28] In February 2011, he rejected a call-up from the Canadian national team, stating that he wanted more time to develop his club career before committing to international football.[47] In January 2012, Jamaica Football Federation president Horace Burrell confirmed that he had approached the player's father about Hoilett representing Jamaica, with his father keen for him to represent the Caribbean nation.[5] In March 2012, Hoilett told various media bodies that he would consider playing for England if eligible.[48][49]

Hoilett officially declared for Canada in September 2015, prior to the fourth round of CONCACAF 2018 World Cup Qualifying.[50] He received his first international cap in a 1–1 draw against Ghana on 13 October 2015 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.[51] He officially got cap-tied to Canada after starting for Canada in a 2018 World Cup Qualification match against Honduras. Hoilett was named to Canada's squad for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup on 27 June 2017,[52] and scored his first international goal in the quarterfinal, a 2–1 defeat to eventual finalists Jamaica on 20 July.[53]

Hoilett was named to the final 23-man squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup on 20 May 2019.[54] He scored in victories over Martinique and Cuba – each breaking the record for the country's biggest win in the competition – as the Canadians advanced to the quarter-finals.[55][56]

Hoilett was named Canada's captain for the first time in a CONCACAF Nations League match against Cuba on 7 September 2019. He scored 3 goals in a 6–0 victory. In doing so, he became the third Canadian player in 2019 to record a hat-trick against Cuba; following Jonathan David and Lucas Cavallini.[57]

Career statistics

As of match played 30 July 2020 [58][59]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Blackburn Rovers	2009–10	Premier League	22	0	0	0	4	1	0	0	27	1
	2010–11		24	5	2	1	2	0	0	0	28	6
	2011–12		35	7	0	0	3	0	0	0	37	7
	Total		81	12	2	1	9	1	0	0	92	14
SC Paderborn (loan)	2007–08	2. Bundesliga	12	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	1
FC St. Pauli (loan)	2008–09	2. Bundesliga	21	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	6
Queens Park Rangers	2012–13	Premier League	26	2	0	0	2	1	0	0	28	3
	2013–14	Championship	35	4	0	0	1	0	3	0	39	4
	2014–15	Premier League	22	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	24	0
	2015–16	Championship	29	6	0	0	2	0	0	0	31	6
	Total		112	12	1	0	6	1	3	0	122	13
Cardiff City	2016–17	Championship	33	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	33	2
	2017–18		46	9	3	2	1	0	0	0	50	11
	2018–19	Premier League	32	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	32	3
	2019–20	Championship	41	7	1	0	1	0	2	0	45	7
	Total		152	21	5	2	2	0	2	0	161	23
Career total			378	52	8	3	17	2	5	0	408	58

International

As of 15 November 2019[60]

Canada
Year	Apps	Goals
2015	3	0
2016	7	0
2017	7	1
2018	3	2
2019	7	6
Total	27	9

International goals

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.[60]

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	20 July 2017	University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, United States	16	Jamaica	1–2	1–2	2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
2.	9 September 2018	IMG Academy, Bradenton, United States	18	U.S. Virgin Islands	6–0	8–0	2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification
3.	16 October 2018	BMO Field, Toronto, Canada	19	Dominica	2–0	5–0
4.	24 March 2019	BC Place, Vancouver, Canada	21	French Guiana	1–0	4–1
5.	15 June 2019	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States	22	Martinique	3–0	4–0	2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup
6.	23 June 2019	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, United States	23	Cuba	5–0	7–0
7.	7 September 2019	BMO Field, Toronto, Canada	25		1–0	6–0	2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A
8.					3–0
9.					6–0
Correct as of September 7, 2019

Honours

Queens Park Rangers

• Football League Championship play-offs: 2014[61]

Cardiff City

• EFL Championship runner-up: 2017–18[62]

Individual

• BBC Goal of the Month: November 2018[63]

References

1. "Premier League Clubs submit Squad Lists" (PDF). Premier League. 2 September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
2. Junior Hoilett – FIFA competition record
3. "Player Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
4. Cryer, Andy (8 March 2010). "Hoilett: I've made it at Blackburn Rovers the hard way". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
5. Wright, Nodley. "New Boyz coming". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
6. "Time is money for Canadian Rover on the rise". Toronto Star. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2019 – via Preas Reader.
7. Davidson, Neil (4 June 2013). "Junior Hoilett trains with TFC". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
8. "About David "Junior" Hoilett". Brampton Youth SC. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
9. "Premier League Under 16 Schools' Cup for Girls' Final". English Schools Football Association. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
10. "Zwei Aussetzer in der Defensive" (in German). SC Paderborn. 3 February 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
11. "Beste Torchancen vergeben" (in German). SC Paderborn. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
12. "Paderborn vs. Borussia M'gladbach 2 – 3". SoccerWay.com. 18 May 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
13. "Germany 2007/08". rsssf.com. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
14. "Germany 2008/09". rsssf.com. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
15. Cryer, Andy (9 June 2009). "Teen ace in permit fight". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 14 June 2009.
16. "Hoilett zurück auf der Insel" (in German). kicker.de. 6 July 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
17. Cryer, Andy (11 August 2009). "Hoilett relishes chance to shine at Blackburn Rovers". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
18. Hughes, Ian (15 August 2009). "Blackburn Rovers 0–2 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
19. "Gillingham 1 – 3 Blackburn". BBC Sport. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
20. Flanagan, Chris (17 September 2009). "Rovers quick to open Hoilett talks". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
21. "Blackburn 3–3 Chelsea". BBC Sport. 2 December 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
22. Cryer, Andy (15 December 2009). "Hoilett's best place is at Blackburn Rovers, says Allardyce". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
23. Cryer, Andy (28 February 2010). "Hoilett has big future at Blackburn Rovers". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
24. "Games played by Junior Hoilett in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
25. "Junior agrees new deal". Blackburn Rovers. 25 February 2010. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
26. "Junior scores 1st 2010/11 season goal vs QPR". Blackburn Rovers. Archived from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
27. "Wigan 3–3 Blackburn". BBC Sport. 19 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
28. "Players to watch in 2012". FIFA. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
29. "Player Statistics Rankings of Premier League (2011/2012)". WhoScored.com. 10 May 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
30. "Junior joins R's revolution". QPR. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
31. "Junior Hoilett joins Queens Park Rangers from Blackburn Rovers". 27 July 2012.
32. "QPR 2–3 Reading". BBC. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
33. "Southampton 1–2 QPR". BBC. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
34. "Reading v QPR". 28 April 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
35. "Huddersfield 1–1 QPR". BBC. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
36. "QPR 3–0 Bournemouth". BBC. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
37. "VIDEO: QPR 1–0 Derby: Highlights; Zamora Goal Wins Championship Play-Off Final In Dramatic Fashion". International Business Times. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
38. "Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock signs Junior Hoilett as he immediately bolsters his Bluebirds team". WalesOnline. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
39. "Cardiff City 2–1 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
40. "Cardiff 3-2 Huddersfield". BBC Sport. 19 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
41. "Cardiff City: Bluebirds contract extensions for Hoilett and Peltier". BBC Sport. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
42. 2017 at Soccerbase
43. "Junior Hoilett: Cardiff City future unclear". BBC Sport. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
44. "Junior Hoilett: Winger signs new Cardiff City contract". BBC Sport. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
45. "Cardiff City 2–1 Wolves". BBC Sport. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
46. "Danone Nations Cup Alumni". CoupeDanoneCup. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
47. Molinaro, John F. (3 February 2011). "Hoilett absent from Canadian soccer squad". CBC.ca. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
48. "Hoilett – togetherness is key". SkySports.com. 10 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
49. "Premier League and Football League latest scores and results". BBC Sport. 10 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
50. "Junior Hoilett commits to Canada Soccer". Hamilton Spectator. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
51. "Canada MNT deliver impressive performance in Ghana draw". Canada Soccer. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
52. Zeitlin, Dave (27 June 2017). "Canada names nine MLS players to 23-man CONCACAF Gold Cup roster".
53. Day, Gavin (20 July 2017). "Canada out of Gold Cup as Jamaica strikes quickly".
54. "Together We Rise: Canada Soccer announces squad for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup". 30 May 2019.
55. Rodriguez, Alicia (15 June 2019). "Canada 4, Martinique 0 | 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup Match Recap". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
56. Reed, Steve (23 June 2019). "Canada advances to quarter-finals with record-setting win against Cuba". CBC. Associated Press. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
57. "Canada lights up Cuba, earns clean sheet to kick off Nations League campaign". The Canadian Press. 7 September 2019.
58. "Junior Hoilett". Soccerbase. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
59. "Junior Hoilett". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
60. "David Junior Hoilett". Canada Soccer. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
61. Fletcher, Paul (24 May 2014). "Derby County 0–1 Queens Park Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
62. Anderson, John, ed. (2018). Football Yearbook 2018–2019. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-1-4722-6106-9.
63. "November's Goal of the Month". BBC Sport. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2019.

External links

• Junior Hoilett at Soccerway
• Junior Hoilett at Soccerbase
• David Hoilett at kicker.de (in German)