Gabriel Wiethaeuper-Balbinotti (born April 12, 1998) is a Canadian professional
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
player who plays for
CS Trois-Rivières in
Ligue2 Quebec.
Early life
Born in
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
to Brazilian parents, Balbinotti spent the early years of his childhood in
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, where he attended
Pan American School.
He moved to
Kirkland, Quebec
Kirkland is an Greater Montreal, on-island suburb on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is named after Charles-Aimé Kirkland, a Quebec provincial politician. It was incorporated as a town in 1961.
Kirkland is primarily a ...
when he was eight years old and played for the Hudson Saint-Lazare soccer club. He then moved to
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
, Quebec four years later. He settled in Montreal to join the
Montreal Impact Academy
Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada, and the ninth-largest in North America. It was founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", and is now named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...
in 2012.
College career
In 2019, he began attending the
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
The (, ''University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières'', UQTR), also known as "l'université du peuple", established in 1969 and mainly located in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, is a public university within the network. As of April 2016, the uni ...
, playing for the
UQTR Patriotes
The UQTR Patriotes () are the athletic teams that represent the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. The university features teams in swimming (sport), swimming, golf, ice hockey, hockey, association footb ...
men's soccer team. In 2019, he helped them to win the
U Sports men's soccer championship
The U Sports Men's Soccer Championship is a Canadian university soccer tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the men's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferences. The S ...
, scoring three goals during the final tournament.
Club career
Balbinotti progressed through the youth ranks of
MLS
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...
club
Montreal Impact. At the
2014 MLS All-Star Game
The 2014 AT&T Major League Soccer All-Star Game was the 19th annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game. It took place on August 6, 2014 at Providence Park, the home of MLS club Portland Timbers. The game was televised live on ESPN2 and UniMás i ...
, he played for the youth all-star team against the
Bayern Munich U16s. In 2015, he joined the Under-18 squad competing in the
U.S. Soccer Development Academy
The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league featured youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's mission ...
. He scored three goals in 21 games in his debut season, before adding 23 goals in as many games during the 2016–17 campaign.
On February 28, 2018, Balbinotti joined
USL
USL may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project
* Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool
Companies
* United Spirits Limited, India
* Former United States Lines shipping company
C ...
side
Ottawa Fury. After the 2018 season, the Fury would announce that Balbinotti would not return to the Fury for the 2019 season.
In May 2019, Balbinotti joined
PLSQ team
FC Lanaudière
Football Club Lanaudière was a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Lanaudière-Nord, Quebec that plays in the Première Ligue de soccer du Québec. The club was founded in 2016 by the Association Régionale de Soccer (ARS) Lanaudiè ...
. In his first season in the PLSQ, he scored six goals in 10 appearances.
In December 2019, Balbinotti was drafted seventh overall in the
2019 CPL–U Sports Draft
The 2019 CPL–U Sports Draft was the second annual CPL–U Sports Draft. It was held on November 11, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec. Seven Canadian Premier League (CPL) teams selected 14 eligible U Sports athletes in total.
Format
Each CPL team wil ...
by
Forge FC
Forge FC, also known as Forge Football Club, Forge FC Hamilton, or Hamilton Forge FC, is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadia ...
. On July 31, 2020 he signed a deal with
Forge FC
Forge FC, also known as Forge Football Club, Forge FC Hamilton, or Hamilton Forge FC, is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadia ...
.
He returned to the PLSQ and FC Lanaudière in 2021. For the 2022 season, he signed with
Celtix du Haut-Richelieu
Celtix du Haut-Richelieu is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec that plays in Ligue1 Québec in the third tier of Canadian soccer, since 2020.
History
The club was originally formed in 1969, with ...
.
In 2025, he played with
Trois-Rivières
Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...
in
Ligue2 Québec. He scored a hat trick on April 19, 2025 against
AS Chaudiere-Ouest.
International career
In 2013, Balbinotti was called up to two camps with the Canadian U-15 national team. He was named to the U15 national team for the
2013 Copa de México de Naciones
Thirteen or 13 may refer to:
* 13 (number)
* Any of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, or 2013
Music Albums
* ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013
* ''13'' (Blur album), 1999
* ''13'' (Borgeous album), 2016
* ''13'' (Brian Setzer album), 2006
* ...
. In January 2018, he was called up to the
Canadian U-23 national team camp in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
for the first time.
In 2017, he was called up to a Quebec-Canada U20 team to play friendlies against
Haiti U20, who were preparing for the
2017 Jeux de la Francophonie
The 2017 Jeux de la Francophonie, also known as ''VIIIèmes Jeux de la Francophonie'' (French language, French for ''8th Francophone Games''), informally known as Abidjan 2017, took place in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, from July 21–30. This was the f ...
.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balbinotti, Gabriel
1998 births
Living people
Men's association football forwards
Canadian people of Brazilian descent
Canadian Premier League players
Canadian men's soccer players
Forge FC draft picks
Forge FC players
CF Montréal players
Ottawa Fury FC players
Ligue1 Québec players
Soccer players from Montreal
Footballers from Porto Alegre
University and college men's soccer players in Canada
USL Championship players
FC Lanaudière players
Celtix du Haut-Richelieu players
21st-century Canadian sportsmen
A.S. Blainville players