Raoul Petretta

Raoul Petretta (born 24 March 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer. Born in Germany, he has represented Italy at youth level.

Raoul Petretta
Personal information
Date of birth (1997-03-24) 24 March 1997
Place of birth Rheinfelden, Germany
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Toronto FC
Number 28
Youth career
SC Rheinfelden 03
2003–2015 Basel
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2022 Basel II 47 (1)
2017–2022 Basel 109 (7)
2022–2023 Kasımpaşa 9 (1)
2023– Toronto FC 24 (0)
International career‡
2018 Italy U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 May 2018

Early life

Petretta began playing football with SC Rheinfelden 03.[1] After three years, he joined Swiss club FC Basel at age six.[2] He spent the remainder of his youth career with Basel, progressing from the U7 level to the U21 level, before joining the first team.[3]

Club career

He began his senior career with Basel II in the third tier Swiss Promotion League.[4] He scored his first goal on 29 October 2016 against FC United Zürich.[5]

In February 2017, he signed a professional contract with FC Basel.[6][7] He made his professional debut for FC Basel on February 4, 2017 against FC Lugano in a Swiss Super League match.[6][8] He made his UEFA Champions League debut on September 27, 2017 against Portuguese club Benfica.[9][10] On 14 October 2017, he scored his first goal against FC Lugano.[11] In December 2020, he suffered a spinal cord injury during a match, but was able to avoid serioud injury.[12][13] On 15 May 2021 he scored a brace against FC Zurich.[14] During his time with Basel, Petretta played in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League and won the Swiss Super League in 2016-17 and the Swiss Cup twice in 2016-17 and 2018-19.[15] In May 2022, it was announced that he would depart Basel upon the expiry of his contract, after rejecting a contract extension.[16]

In July 2022, Petretta signed with Turkish Süper Lig club Kasımpaşa.[17][18] He made his debut on 8 August 2022 against İstanbul Başakşehir.[19] He departed the club in January 2023.[20]

In January 2023, Petretta joined Major League Soccer side Toronto FC on a contract through 2025, with an option for 2026.[21][22]

International career

Petretta was born in Germany to an Italian father and German mother, but does not hold German citizenship.[2][23] On 25 May 2018, he made his debut with the Italy U21 team in a friendly against Portugal.[22]

Career statistics
As of match played 21 October 2023[24]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Basel II 2015–16 Swiss Promotion League 140———140
2016–17 241———251
2017–18 60———60
2018–19 20———20
2021–22 10———10
Total 471———471
Basel 2016–17 Swiss Super League 500000—50
2017–18 1713050—251
2018–19 2113050—291
2019–20 27150121—442
2020–21 2631000—273
2021–22 1311181—223
Total 1097131302—15210
Kasımpaşa 2022–23 Süper Lig 9130——121
Toronto FC 2023 Major League Soccer 24000—20260
Career total 18991613022023712

    Honours

    Basel

    References
    1. Bähr, Mirko (7 February 2017). "„Ein unbeschreibliches Gefühl"" [“An indescribable feeling”]. Verlagshaus Jaumann (in German).
    2. "Raoul Petretta: «Ich habe meinen Freunden gesagt, dass ich nichts Besseres bin»" [Raoul Petretta: "I told my friends that I'm nothing better"]. Neue Fricktaler Zeitung (in German). 8 February 2018.
    3. Bähr, Mirko (30 August 2022). "Er wollte für immer in Basel bleiben" [He wanted to stay in Basel forever]. Verlagshaus Jaumann (in German).
    4. Kieslich, Christoph (22 November 2017). "Raphael Wicky über Raoul Petretta: «Ich sehe in ihm extrem viel Fussball»" [Raphael Wicky on Raoul Petretta: "I see a lot of football in him"]. TagesWoche (in German).
    5. "Spiel gedreht – 4:1 gewonnen" [Game turned: Won 4:1]. FC Basel (in German).
    6. "Raoul Petretta unterschreibt Profivertrag" [Raoul Petretta signs professional contract]. FC Basel (in German). 16 February 2017. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018.
    7. Dietsche, Winfried (17 February 2017). "Raoul Petretta ist jetzt Profi" [Raoul Petretta is now a pro]. Badische Zeitung (in German).
    8. Buffery, Steve (24 January 2023). "Toronto FC raids Turkish league to secure young left-back Raoul Petretta". Toronto Sun.
    9. "FCB-Petretta bringt sich selber für Serie A ins Spiel" [FCB-Petretta brings itself into play for Serie A]. Blick (in German). 6 December 2021.
    10. "Raoul Petretta – die Überraschung auf dem FCB-Matchblatt" [Raoul Petretta – the surprise on the FCB match sheet]. Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (in German). 28 September 2017.
    11. Sparano, Nicola. "Un altro italiano per il Toronto Fc, Raoul Petretta ha firmato per tre anni" [Another Italian for Toronto FC, Raoul Petretta has signed for three years]. Nicola Sparano (in Italian).
    12. Oberli, Thibaud (22 December 2020). "Plus de peur que de mal pour Raoul Petretta" [More fear than harm for Raoul Petretta]. Le Matin (in French).
    13. Dietsche, Winfried (21 December 2020). "Sorge um Rheinfelder Fußballprofi Raoul Petretta vom FC Basel" [Concern for Rheinfelden soccer professional Raoul Petretta from FC Basel]. Badische Zeitung (in German).
    14. Leser, Simon (16 May 2021). "Raoul Petretta nach dem Klassiker-Sieg: «Wir mussten unten durch, auf und neben dem Platz»" [Raoul Petretta after the classic victory: "We had to go through, on and off the pitch"]. Basellandschaftliche Zeitung (in German).
    15. "Italiani in MLS, Raoul Petretta a Toronto è il 26° nella storia" [Italians in MLS, Raoul Petretta in Toronto is the 26th in history]. Sky Sports (in Italian). 26 January 2023.
    16. "Raoul Petretta verlässt den FCB - Das Eigengewächs wird vom FC Basel verabschiedet" [Raoul Petretta leaves FCB - The home-grown player is said goodbye to FC Basel]. Sport.Ch (in German). 22 May 2022.
    17. "Raoul Petretta, Kasımpaşa'ya transfer oldu!" [Raoul Petretta transferred to Kasımpaşa!]. Habertürk (in Turkish). 3 July 2022.
    18. "Kasımpaşa İtalyan sol bek Raoul Petretta'yı kadrosuna kattı!" [Kasımpaşa has added Italian left-back Raoul Petretta to his squad!]. Fotomac (in Turkish). 3 July 2022.
    19. "(Özet) Başakşehir - Kasımpaşa maç sonucu: 4-0" [(Summary) Başakşehir - Kasımpaşa match result: 4-0]. Fanatik (in Turkish).
    20. Ungan, Akin (25 January 2023). "Kasımpaşa'dan Ayrılan Celina Ve Petretta'nın Yeni Takımları Belli Oldu" [The new teams of Celina and Petretta, who left Kasımpaşa, have been announced]. Ajansspor (in Turkish).
    21. Palermo, Adam (24 January 2023). "Toronto FC signs defender Raoul Petretta". Waking the Red.
    22. Davidson, Neil (24 January 2023). "Toronto FC adds to its defence by signing Raoul Petretta from Turkish side". Toronto Star.
    23. Molinaro, John (7 March 2023). "Sense of adventure brought Raoul Petretta to Toronto FC". TFC Republic.
    24. Raoul Petretta at Soccerway
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