Mateo Restrepo
Mateo Restrepo Mejia (born April 29, 1997) is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a defender for HFX Wanderers. He has featured for Canada internationally at the U17 and U18 levels.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Mateo Restrepo Mejia | ||
Date of birth | April 29, 1997 | ||
Place of birth | La Ceja, Colombia | ||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Playing position(s) | Defender | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | HFX Wanderers | ||
Number | 14 | ||
Youth career | |||
Woodbridge Strikers | |||
2013–2015 | Toronto FC | ||
2015–2016 | FC Ingolstadt | ||
College career | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2016–2019 | UC Santa Barbara Gauchos | 66 | (0) |
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2015 | Toronto FC II | 1 | (0) |
2020– | HFX Wanderers | 1 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2012 | Canada U17 | ||
2014–2015 | Canada U18 | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of August 15, 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 July 2016 |
Club career
Early career
Restrepo was born on April 29, 1997, in La Ceja, Colombia, and lived there until the early 2000s.[1] His family moved to Canada to improve their quality of life and the chance at a better education for Restrepo.[1]
Toronto FC
He joined TFC Academy and played in the Second Division of the Canadian Soccer League and League1 Ontario.[2] He was the recipient of the league's first ever red card in Toronto FC Academy's first game.[3] After the season, he was named to the 2014 League1 Ontario Top XI at the conclusion of the first year of the league.[4][5]
Restrepo made his professional debut for Toronto FC II on March 28, 2015, when he was brought on as a substitute in a United Soccer League match against FC Montreal.[6] Despite featuring for Toronto FC II, he was able to maintain his collegiate eligibility by playing under an academy contract.[7]
FC Ingolstadt
In 2015, Restrepo joined the academy of German side FC Ingolstadt 04 after being noticed with his national team participation.[1][8] He made sixteen appearances for Ingolstadt in the Under 19 Bundesliga that season.[9]
UC Santa Barbara
Restrepo enrolled for college at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is listed on the 2016 roster as a student-athlete for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team.
HFX Wanderers
On January 22, 2020, Restrepo signed with Canadian Premier League side HFX Wanderers.[10] He made his first appearance for HFX on August 15, coming on as a substitute against Pacific FC.[11]
International career
Restrepo made his debut with the Canadian youth national teams in 2011 at the age of 14.[12] He joined the Canada men's national under-17 soccer team in 2012 for the Torneo della Nazioni.[13] He was elevated to the Canada men's national under-18 soccer team in 2014 and featured for the U-18's for two years.[14][15][16]
References
- "Restrepo: "Habe hier tolle Freunde und Mitspieler"". FC Ingolstadt 04 (in German). December 12, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- "Junior Roster | Toronto FC". 2012-12-31. Archived from the original on 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2017-05-21.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
- "Toronto FC Academy 1 - Vaughan Azzurri 1". League1 Ontario. May 31, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- "League1 Ontario Top XI 2014". League1 Ontario. October 22, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- Desai, Devang (October 22, 2014). "Academy Kids Named To League One Best XI". Toronto FC. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- Hylton, Kamal (March 28, 2015). "Match Recap: TFC II vs. FC Montreal". Toronto FC II. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- Wiebe, Andrew (September 25, 2015). "24 Under 24: Path to pros increasingly runs through USL, where "play your kids" mantra holds true". Major League Soccer. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- "U 19 2015/16". FC Ingolstadt 04 (in German). Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- "M. Restrepo". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- Gareth Hampshire (22 January 2020). "Wanderers sign enterprising young Canadian defender Mateo Restrepo". HFX Wanderers FC. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- "Canadian Premier League". August 14, 2018.
- "Mateo Restrepo Canada bio". Canadian Soccer Association. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- "Canada m17 to participate in Torneo della Nazioni". Canadian Soccer Association. April 17, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- "No such thing as too many internationals for Men's U-18s". Canadian Soccer Association. October 1, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- "Canada M18 heading East". Canadian Soccer Association. April 16, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
- "Next Canada M20 group heads to Mexico for camp and international matches". Canadian Soccer Association. November 4, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2016.