Luciano Acosta

Luciano Federico "Lucho" Acosta (born 31 May 1994) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati.

Luciano Acosta
Acosta with D.C. United in 2018
Personal information
Full name Luciano Federico Acosta
Date of birth (1994-05-31) 31 May 1994
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
FC Cincinnati
Number 10
Youth career
Comunicaciones
2007–2014 Boca Juniors
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Boca Juniors 25 (2)
2015Estudiantes (loan) 27 (1)
2016D.C. United (loan) 32 (3)
2017–2019 D.C. United 97 (21)
2020–2021 Atlas 33 (3)
2021– FC Cincinnati 92 (33)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 October 2023

Club career

Boca Juniors

Acosta made his professional debut for Boca Juniors on 9 February 2014, when Boca tied against Newell's Old Boys, replacing Juan Manuel Martínez for the 2014 Final.[1] Acosta appeared in the Xeneizes as a starter throughout the 2014 Torneo Final.

D.C. United

In 2016, Acosta went on a season-long loan to D.C. United of Major League Soccer. Acosta made his competitive debut on in a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal match against Queretaro. He scored his first goal for D.C. United in the 86th minute of a league game against the New England Revolution on April 23.

After the 2016 season, D.C. United purchased Acosta’s contract outright for a club record fee.[2] He scored his first professional hat-trick on 13 August 2018 when playing for D.C. United against Orlando City and the match ended 3–2 in favor of D.C. United.[3] On 21 October 2018, Acosta provided an assist for Wayne Rooney following an outstanding dribble, and also scored himself in a 3–1 win over New York City FC which secured a play-off spot in the MLS Cup for D.C. United.[4]

Since Wayne Rooney's arrival to D.C. United, Luciano and Wayne developed a good chemistry together in the field and provided goals and assists to each other. Their chemistry made them to be considered to one of the best duos in all of MLS. D.C. United fans nicknamed their duo "Luchoroo".[5]

Before the 2019 season, Acosta was very close to sign for Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Sources said the offer to D.C. United was under US$10 million and Acosta was scheduled to arrive at Paris for his medical.[6] In the 2019 MLS Season, Acosta's form was declining, and was starting to get pushed out of the first team. After the 2019 season, Acosta's contract with D.C. United ended. He played his last game for D.C. on October 19, 2019, in a MLS playoff game against Toronto FC. On November 12, 2019, Acosta told an Argentine radio channel, 'La Mano de Dios', that former D.C. teammate Wayne Rooney told him he wanted to bring him to Derby County, where Rooney was going to become player-coach in 2020.[7] Acosta left D.C. United at the end of the 2019 season when his contract expired.[8][9]

Atlas

On 19 December 2019, it was announced that Acosta would join Liga MX side Atlas on 1 January 2020.[10][11][12] Acosta scored his first goal for Atlas against Tijuana on January 31, 2020.[13]

FC Cincinnati

Acosta celebrates after scoring a goal in September 2023.

On 17 March 2021, Acosta returned to Major League Soccer, joining FC Cincinnati on a three-year deal as a designated player. FC Cincinnati acquired his MLS rights from D.C. United in exchange for $250,000 in General Allocation Money plus potential future incentives.[14] He made his debut for the club on 17 April 2021 in their opener against Nashville SC. He scored in the 8th minute as FC Cincinnati drew 2–2 away.[15]

Career statistics

As of match played on 28 September 2023[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Boca Juniors 2013–14 APD 16200162
2014 900030120
Total 2520030282
Estudiantes (loan) 2015 APD2714071382
D.C. United (loan) 2016 MLS3231020353
D.C. United 2017 31510325
2018 3410213611
2019 32620346
Total 12924612013725
Atlas 2019–20 Liga MX10100101
2020–21 232232
Total 3330000333
FC Cincinnati 2021 MLS 317317
2022 301020313511
2023 281551313617
Total 8932716210235
Career total 2875017218333867

Honours

FC Cincinnati

Individual

Personal

Acosta holds a U.S. green card, which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[21]

References

  1. "Boca no pudo quebrar el cero y empató con Newell's en Rosario". la Gaceta. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
  2. Carlisle, Jeff (16 November 2016). "D.C. United acquire Luciano Acosta in record deal". ESPN. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  3. "United finalize transfer for Luciano Acosta with largest transfer fee in club history". D.C. United. 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  4. "DC United 3, New York City FC 1 - 2018 MLS Match Recap". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  5. "It's Luchoroo Round 2 for D.C. United: Acosta, Rooney duo returns to MLS". Orlando Sentinel. 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  6. "D.C. United star Luciano Acosta not making move to PSG - sources". ESPN. 31 January 2019.
  7. Thorogood, Tom (November 12, 2019). "DC United's Luciano Acosta says Wayne Rooney has told him to sign for Derby County". Derby County News. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  8. "D.C. United have announced that 16 players are under contract for the 2020 MLS season". D.C. United.
  9. "Thank You Luciano Acosta". D.C. United.
  10. "Atlas FC". www.atlasfc.com.mx.
  11. "Ex-DC United man Luciano Acosta signs with Atlas of Liga MX | MLSsoccer.com".
  12. "Luciano Acosta (DC United) signs for Atlas FC". football-news24.com. December 20, 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  13. Quillen, Ian (February 1, 2020). "Wayne Rooney, Luciano Acosta each hit Friday night belters for their new clubs". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  14. "FCC acquire Luciano Acosta as a Designated Player | FC Cincinnati".
  15. "Nashville SC 2–2 FC Cincinnati". Soccerway.
  16. Luciano Acosta at Soccerway
  17. "2018 MLS Best XI". MLS Soccer. 11 November 2018.
  18. "2022 MLS Best XI presented by Continental Tire". Major League Soccer. November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  19. "2022 MLS All-Star Game Roster". Major League Soccer. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  20. "2023 MLS All-Star Team Roster". Major League Soccer. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  21. "Luciano Acosta obtains permanent residence in US with Green Card". DCUnited.com. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.