Tosaint Ricketts

Tosaint Antony Ricketts (born 6 August 1987) is a Canadian former professional soccer player.

Tosaint Ricketts
Ricketts with Canada in 2013
Personal information
Full name Tosaint Antony Ricketts
Date of birth (1987-08-06) 6 August 1987[1]
Place of birth Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Edmonton SW Sting
Edmonton Juventus
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 Green Bay Phoenix 77 (26)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 MyPa 40 (9)
2010–2012 Politehnica Timișoara 24 (6)
2012 Vålerenga 3 (1)
2013 Sandnes Ulf 12 (0)
2013–2014 Bucaspor 25 (7)
2014–2015 Hapoel Haifa 30 (1)
2015–2016 Boluspor 15 (1)
2016–2018 Toronto FC 51 (13)
2019 Sūduva 15 (8)
2019–2022 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 61 (7)
Total 276 (53)
International career
2007 Canada U20 8 (5)
2008 Canada U23 5 (2)
2011–2020 Canada 61 (17)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Early career

Ricketts was one of the top short-distance runners in Alberta, and he began his youth career playing Division I soccer for the Green Bay Phoenix at University of Wisconsin Green Bay.

MyPa

Ricketts joined Veikkausliiga club MyPa in 2009. He made his debut on 4 March 2009 and scored his first goal against Kuopion Palloseura on 13 June. He scored three goals in the Europa League against Politehnica Timișoara who became interested in signing him.[2]

Politehnica Timișoara

On 19 November 2010 Ricketts signed with Romanian club Politehnica Timișoara for three years.[3] At his presentation at the press conference, he said: "I'm glad I signed with Poli, to me is a step forward in my career. I can't wait to play at my new team and I can't wait to reunite "Poli" fans, which impressed me when I played here in Europa League with MyPa-47". He chose the number 87. On 26 February 2011, Ricketts made his debut for Politehnica Timișoara at Dan Păltinişanu in a 3–1 win against Gaz Metan Mediaş.[4] He played twenty minutes in the match after replacing injured Marián Čišovský. Ricketts scored his first goal for Politehnica Timișoara on 5 March 2011 against CFR Cluj. He scored the winning goal in the 78th minute.[5] Politehnica Timișoara was bankrupted in the summer of 2012, and Ricketts was released from his contract.[6]

Vålerenga

On 31 August 2012, it was announced that Ricketts had signed for Vålerenga in the Norwegian Tippeligaen on a free transfer, he would be joining fellow Canadian international Lars Hirschfeld at the club.[6] Ricketts made his debut in Norway as a second half sub for Torgeir Børven in a 1–0 defeat to Sogndal on 5 November 2012.[7]

Sandnes Ulf

In early January 2013 it was announced that Ricketts had signed with Sandnes Ulf allowing him to remain in the Tippeligaen.[8] He made his debut for the club on 17 March in a 2–0 defeat to Strømsgodset.[9] Ricketts played a total of 12 matches in Tippeligaen until he left Sandnes Ulf in September 2013, he also scored two goals for the club in the Norwegian Cup.[10]

Bucaspor

On 6 September 2013, Ricketts signed for Turkish First League club Bucaspor, a one-year contract with a one-year option.[11] He scored his first two goals for the team in a 5–4 loss to Adana Demirspor on 22 September 2013.[12]

Hapoel Haifa

On 16 July 2014, Ricketts announced on Twitter he had signed for Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Haifa. He debuted with the side on 16 August 2014 in a Toto Cup match against Bnei Sakhnin, and scored a goal in an eventual 2–2 draw.[13] He scored his first league goal against Beitar Jerusalem in a loss on 9 February 2015.[14] In total, Ricketts made 30 appearances for the club, scoring a single goal. His lack of offensive production at the club can be attributed to being used as a defender for the entire season because of personnel issues on the roster.[15]

Boluspor

After one season in Israel, Ricketts returned to Turkey and signed with Boluspor on 3 August 2015.[16] Ricketts left Boluspor in early 2016 after a dispute over unpaid wages.[17]

Toronto FC

On 20 July 2016, Ricketts returned to Canada to join Major League Soccer side Toronto FC.[18] He made his debut from the bench in a 4–1 win against D.C. United, and scored his first goal in his next appearance: a 1–0 victory against Real Salt Lake City.[19][20] He missed three games in the final weeks of the season due to a groin injury and indirect suspension.

In February 2017, Ricketts signed a two-year extension.[21] On 13 May 2017, Ricketts scored a late brace in a 2–1 win at the Columbus Crew.[22] The following game marked his first full 90 minutes for Toronto after 28 appearances, and he scored the final goal in a 3–2 victory at Minnesota United.[23] In June, an injury sustained in the Canadian Championship semi-final second leg win against the Ottawa Fury kept him out for four matches.[24]

At the conclusion of the 2018 season, Toronto declined the 2019 contract option on Ricketts.[25]

Sūduva

On 26 January 2019, Ricketts signed with defending Lithuanian A Lyga champions Sūduva.[26] He scored a total of 10 goals for the club in the 2019 season, including a memorable goal in the 1–0 victory against Kauno Žalgiris on 16 March, which he dedicated to victims of terrorism following the Christchurch mosque shootings.[27] Ricketts also earned five inclusions in the A Lyga Team of the Week.[28] His final appearance for the club was during the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round, a 5–0 home victory against Tre Penne. Ricketts left Sūduva the following week after club's away victory in the Europa League third qualifying round game for a return to MLS.[29]

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

On 8 August 2019, Ricketts returned to MLS and Canada, joining Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[30] He was re-signed to a new deal through 2022, with an option for 2023 in March 2022.[31] At the end of the 2022 season, Vancouver announced they would not exercise the option on Ricketts' contract for 2023, ending his playing time with the club. Ricketts would continue in the front office as Manager of Community Impact[32]

On January 31, 2023, Ricketts announced his retirement from soccer, joining the Whitecaps staff as liaison of club and player engagement.[33]

International career

In 2007 Ricketts was called up to the Canadian U-20 team for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup held on home soil. He also made appearances for Canada in the 2008 CONCACAF Men's Pre-Olympic Tournament in which he scored twice against Guatemala.

In late January 2011, Ricketts was called up by Canada for the first time ahead of its international friendly against Greece on 9 February.[34] Ricketts made his senior team debut for Canada as a late second half sub in this game which ended as a 1–0 loss. Ricketts was one of three Canadian players to make their international senior debut against Greece; Milan Borjan and David Edgar were the other two.[35]

On 1 June 2011, Ricketts scored his first international goal, a stoppage time equalizer, in a 2–2 friendly match against Ecuador at BMO Field.[36] Ricketts made his CONCACAF Gold Cup debut on 14 June in a 1–1 draw against Panama as a second half sub for Josh Simpson.

Ricketts continued his goal scoring form in World Cup Qualifying during his first ever start for the national team on 15 November 2011 during a 4–0 home victory over Saint Kitts and Nevis.[37] Ricketts reached 10 goals for Canada on 16 June 2015 after scoring a brace against Dominica in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying. This tied him with Paul Peschisolido and Tomasz Radzinski for 9th all time on Canada's scoring charts.

Ricketts was named to the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad on 27 June 2017.[38]

Style of play

A fast striker, Ricketts is mainly known for his pace. His former Toronto FC manager Greg Vanney said of him in 2017: "He gives us presence, size, speed, a goal-scoring threat."[39] Regarding his speed, movement, and work-rate, Vanney also added: "[Ricketts] is a relentless runner. A guy who will get behind defences. He's incredibly fast. He doesn't really need to run the line. He can give himself three, four lines of cushion and still make the runs in behind and still beat you to the spot."[40] That same year, Neil Davidson of The National Post described him as the "fastest player on the Toronto roster," and also noted that "Ricketts’ speed unsettles defenders and he has an ability to find space in the penalty box. Get the ball to his feet or head and he can finish." Although normally a forward, he has also been deployed out of position in a more defensive role on occasion, often playing as a right–sided full-back or wing-back during his time with Israeli club Hapoel Haifa FC, due to injuries to other members of the squad in that position.[41][42] He has also drawn praise in the media for his energy, presence in the air, and leadership, as well as his goalscoring rate,[40][43][44] despite not being a particularly prolific player.[45] Regarding his role on the pitch, Ricketts has commented: "I watch the tendencies of defenders, what spaces and weaknesses I can exploit and come second half I'm just waiting for any amount of time possible — if it's two, five, 15 minutes — to come on and provide that spark. It's just the mentality that comes along with the role I have."[39]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 9 October 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental[lower-alpha 3] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
MYPA 2009[46] Veikkausliiga 165000000165
2010[46] 2441061553610
Total 4091061555215
Timișoara 2010–11[46] Liga I 9100000091
2011–12[46] Liga II 155310000186
Total 246310000277
Vålerenga 2012[46] Tippeligaen 3100000031
Sandnes Ulf 2013[46] Tippeligaen 120000000120
Bucaspor 2013–14[46] TFF First League 257320000289
Hapoel Haifa 2014–15[46] Israeli Premier League 301105200363
Boluspor 2015–16[46] TFF First League 151300000181
Toronto FC 2016[46] MLS 113006200175
2017[46] 227301000267
2018[46] 183210030234
Total 51135172306616
Sūduva 2019 A Lyga 1582100312010
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2019 MLS 8100000081
2020 162000000162
2021 140100000150
2022 224300000264
Total 617400000657
Career total 2765322518511632769
  1. Includes Finnish Cup, Cupa României, Turkish Cup, Israel State Cup, Canadian Championship, Lithuanian Supercup & Lithuanian Football Cup matches.
  2. Includes Finnish League Cup, Toto Cup & MLS Cup Playoffs matches.
  3. Includes UEFA Europa League, CONCACAF Champions League, Campeones Cup & UEFA Champions League matches.

International
As of match played 16 January 2020[47]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Canada 201193
201292
2013120
201452
2015125
201672
201731
201821
201900
202021
Total6117
As of match played 7 January 2020[47]
Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ricketts goal.
List of international goals scored by Tosaint Ricketts
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
11 June 2011BMO Field, Toronto, Canada3 Ecuador2–22–2Friendly
26 September 2011Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel, Bayamón, Puerto Rico6 Puerto Rico3–03–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
315 November 2011BMO Field, Toronto, Canada9 Saint Kitts and Nevis4–04–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
415 August 2012Central Broward Regional Park, Lauderhill, United States14 Trinidad and Tobago1–02–0Friendly
512 October 2012BMO Field, Toronto, Canada17 Cuba1–03–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
627 May 2014Stadion SVU Mauer, Mauer, Austria32 Moldova1–11–1Friendly
79 September 2014BMO Field, Toronto, Canada33 Jamaica3–13–1Friendly
830 March 2015Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel, Bayamón, Puerto Rico37 Puerto Rico1–03–0Friendly
916 June 2015BMO Field, Toronto, Canada39 Dominica3–04–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
104–0
114 September 2015BMO Field, Toronto, Canada43 Belize1–03–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
122–0
136 October 2016Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, Morocco53 Mauritania1–04–0Friendly
144–0
1522 January 2017Bermuda National Stadium, Hamilton, Bermuda55 Bermuda2–14–2Friendly
1624 March 2018Pinatar Arena, Murcia, Spain58 New Zealand1–01–0Friendly
177 January 2020Championship Soccer Stadium, Irvine, United States60 Barbados1–04–1Friendly

Honours

Toronto FC

Sūduva

Vancouver Whitecaps

References
  1. "FIFA Tournaments - Players & Coaches - Tosaint RICKETTS". FIFA. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015.
  2. "Tosaint Ricketts The Score". thescore.com. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  3. "Ricketts signed with Poli!" (in Romanian). Politehnica Timișoara. 19 November 2010. Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  4. "Poli – Gaz Metan 3–1". Politehnica Timișoara. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  5. "Ricketts gives Poli the victory". Politehnica Timișoara. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  6. Snare, Kaja Marie (31 August 2012). "VIF signerte kanadisk landslagsspiller" (in Norwegian). Nettavisen. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  7. "Sogndal vs. Valerenga 5 November". Soccer Way. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  8. "the11.ca". Archived from the original on 2 October 2013.
  9. "sandnesulf.no". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  10. Waage, Thor Erik (6 September 2013). "Ricketts forlater Ulf" (in Norwegian). Rogalands Avis. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  11. "10 Numara Transferler". Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  12. "Adana Demirspor vs. Bucaspor 5 – 4". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  13. Anderson, Eric (18 August 2014). "State pro notes: Ricketts scores in debut with Israeli club Hapoel Haifa".
  14. Squizzato, Daniel (10 February 2015). "Canadian Exports: Tosaint Ricketts opens account in Israel, Marcus Haber notches two assists in England".
  15. Squizzato, Daniel. "Canadian Exports: Tosaint Ricketts signs with Turkish club Boluspor ahead of tough World Cup qualifying stretch". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  16. "Yeni transferlerimiz ile sözleşme imzalandı". 3 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  17. Veenstra, Michael (1 April 2016). "Canada Winger Tosaint Ricketts in TFC Talks". Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  18. "Toronto FC Sign Tosaint Ricketts". Toronto FC. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  19. "Toronto FC 4, DC United 1 | 2016 MLS Match Recap". MLSsoccer.com MatchCenter. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  20. "Toronto FC 1, Real Salt Lake 0 | 2016 MLS Match Recap". MLSsoccer.com MatchCenter. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  21. Toronto FC (2 February 2017). "Toronto FC sign Tosaint Ricketts to new deal".
  22. "Columbus Crew SC 1, Toronto FC 2 | 2017 MLS Match Recap". MLSsoccer.com MatchCenter. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  23. "Toronto FC 3, Minnesota United 2 | 2017 MLS Match Recap". MLSsoccer.com MatchCenter. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  24. "Toronto FC 4, Ottawa Fury 0 | 2017 Canadian Championship Match Recap". MLSsoccer.com MatchCenter. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  25. Davidson, Neil (27 November 2018). "Toronto FC decline Clint Irwin, Tosaint Ricketts options". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  26. ""Sūduvoje" – Kanados rinktinės puolėjas T. Rickettsas" (in Lithuanian). FK Sūduva. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  27. "Teroro aukas pagerbęs "Sūduvos" lyderis: mes, futbolo žaidėjai, turime platformą skleisti žinią visuomenei". Delfi (in Lithuanian). 17 March 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  28. "Sostinės klubų futbolininkai ryškiausi turo rinktinėje" (in Lithuanian). Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  29. "T. Rickettsas vėl rungtyniaus MLS pirmenybėse | Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga". alyga.lt.
  30. "Whitecaps FC sign Canadian forward Tosaint Ricketts through end of 2019 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC".
  31. "Whitecaps FC re-sign experienced striker Tosaint Ricketts". 4 March 2022.
  32. "Whitecaps FC announce additional 2023 roster updates". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. 15 November 2022.
  33. "Tosaint Ricketts retires, joins Vancouver Whitecaps staff". mlssoccer.com. 31 January 2023.
  34. Canada announces roster for Greece friendly Archived 9 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine; Canadasoccer.com, 3 February 2011
  35. Canada vs. Greece stats Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine; Canadasoccer.com, 9 February 2011
  36. "Canada draw Ecuador". Sportsnet.ca. Rogers Sportsnet. 1 June 2011. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  37. "Canada Finishes With Authority". Toronto FC. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  38. Zeitlin, Dave (27 June 2017). "Canada names nine MLS players to 23-man CONCACAF Gold Cup roster".
  39. Nacion, Chicco (20 November 2017). "TFC's Tosaint Ricketts has goal-scorer's killer instinct". CBC Sports. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  40. Kloke, Joshua (15 November 2017). "What makes Tosaint Ricketts a dangerous scoring threat? A TFC coach explains". The Athletic. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  41. Davidson, Neil (18 November 2017). "Toronto FC's Tosaint Ricketts grateful for MLS stability after European turmoil". The National Post. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  42. Chandler, Michael J. (23 April 2019). "How nomadic path positioned Tosaint Ricketts to help Canada's next generation". The Score. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  43. "Whitecaps extend CMNT forward Ricketts". TSN. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  44. Baer, Benjamin (5 December 2017). "Position-by-position breakdown: Who has the edge in MLS Cup 2017?". MLS Soccer. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  45. Tierney, Mitchell (21 July 2016). "Tosaint Ricketts Signing Makes Sense, But Comes With Many Questions Attached". www.wakingthered.com. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  46. "Tosaint Ricketts profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  47. "Tosaint Ricketts' CanadaSoccer profile". CanadaSoccer. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
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