Matías Laba

Matías Alejandro Laba (born 11 December 1991) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a midfielder for Unión La Calera.

Matías Laba
Laba with Unión La Calera in 2019
Personal information
Full name Matías Alejandro Laba
Date of birth (1991-12-11) 11 December 1991
Place of birth Villa Raffo, Argentina
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Central Córdoba SdE
Number 15
Youth career
Argentinos Juniors
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Argentinos Juniors 62 (0)
2013 Toronto FC 17 (1)
2014–2017 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 113 (3)
2018 Estudiantes LP 1 (0)
2019–2020 Unión La Calera 23 (1)
2020 Defensa y Justicia 1 (0)
2020–2021 Unión La Calera 39 (0)
2022–pres. Central Córdoba SdE 7 (0)
International career
2011 Argentina U20 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:14, 26 March 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Laba started his professional career playing for Argentinos Juniors in the 2011 Clausura, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw with Vélez Sársfield.[1] During his first season with the first team, he played a total 14 league games,[2] plus another 4 in the 2011 Copa Libertadores.

After weeks of speculation, it was officially announced on 26 April 2013 that Laba had signed with Toronto FC as a young designated player, the transfer fee was undisclosed but believed to be in the range of $1.5 million.[3] Laba made his debut for Toronto in a 1–0 away loss to Colorado Rapids on 4 May 2013.[4] Laba scored his first goal with Toronto on 4 August 2013, in the second minute of the match against New England Revolution, the match ended in a 1–0 away victory.[5]

After the signings of Designated Players Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, and Gilberto, Toronto was above the league limit of three DPs, and were forced to move Laba. On 25 February 2014, Laba was traded by Toronto to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC for future considerations.[6]

Laba scored his first goal for Vancouver in a Voyageurs Cup match vs. FC Edmonton, tucking away the loose ball after a goal mouth scramble.[7] His first MLS goal with Vancouver came against Portland Timbers on 18 July 2015.[8][9] Collecting the ball from midfield, the defense applied no pressure to Laba, allowing him to fire a shot into the bottom corner from 25 yards.[10] He also led MLS in successful tackles in the 2014 season.[11] In April 2017, Laba gave Vancouver Whitecaps a 4–2 victory over LA Galaxy after scoring the last two goals of the match.[12]

On 26 January 2018, Laba signed with Argentine Primera División side Estudiantes.[13]

In 2019, he joined Unión La Calera in the Chilean Primera División, making a total of 26 appearances, including four matches in the Copa Sudamericana.[14]

In January 2020, he returned to the Argentine top tier, signing with Defensa y Justicia.[15]

In November 2020, he returned to Unión La Calera.[16] He left the club at the end of January 2022, after signing with Argentine club Central Córdoba SdE.[17]

International career

In July 2011, Laba was selected to represent the Argentina national under-20 football team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.[18]

Honours

Argentinos Juniors

Argentina

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

References
  1. "Match report". Argentine Soccer. 27 February 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  2. "Closing '11 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  3. "Reds Sign midfield Matías Laba". Toronto FC. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  4. "Toronto FC newcomer shines in MLS debut". Major League Soccer.
  5. "Toronto Downs New England". Toronto FC.
  6. "Whitecaps FC acquire midfielder Matías Laba | Vancouver Whitecaps FC". Whitecapsfc.com. 11 December 1991. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  7. "FC Edmonton bow out of Amway Canadian Championship after 2-1 loss to the Whitecaps". Boxscore News. 20 May 2015.
  8. "Matias Laba scores equalizer in Whitecaps draw". Sportsnet. 19 July 2015.
  9. Johal, Harjeet (18 July 2015). "Laba comes through for Whitecaps' road point in Portland". Red Nation Online.
  10. "Handbags and Matias Laba in the Rose City". Eighty Six Forever. 18 July 2015.
  11. "What Does the Future Hold for Matias Laba?". Eighty Six Forever. 15 August 2017.
  12. "Whitecaps' second-half rally sinks healthy Galaxy, 4-2". Los Angeles Times. 2 April 2017.
  13. "Matías Laba firmó contrato y es nuevo refuerzo" [Matías Laba signed a contract and is a new reinforcement] (in Spanish). Estudiantes de la Plata. 26 January 2018.
  14. Deasy, Joe (22 January 2020). "Once A Whitecap: Where are they now? (Part 1)". Away from the Numbers.
  15. "Matías Laba se sumó a Defensa y Justicia" [Matías Laba joined a Defensa y Justicia]. TYC sports (in Spanish). 13 January 2020.
  16. "La Calera consigue el regreso de una ex figura del club" [La Calera gets the return of a former club figure]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 11 November 2020.
  17. Matías Laba y Renzo López pusieron la firma como flamantes refuerzos de Central Córdoba, diariopanorama.com, 27 January 2022
  18. "Squad list". FIFA. Archived from the original on 27 October 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
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