Exon Gustavo Vallecilla Godoy (born 28 May 1999) is an Ecuadorian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Barcelona SC Barcelona Sporting Club (), internationally known as Barcelona de Guayaquil, is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. They currently play in the Ecuadorian Serie A, the highest level of fo ...

Career

Club career

Vallecilla left his home in

Esmeraldas, Ecuador Esmeraldas () is a coastal city in northwestern Ecuador. It is the seat of the Esmeraldas Canton and capital of the Esmeraldas Province. It has an international sea port and a small airport ( IATA location identifier: ESM). Esmeraldas is the ma ...

at the age of 15 to join

Deportivo Cuenca Club Deportivo Cuenca is an Ecuadorian football club based in Cuenca. They currently play in the Serie A, the top-flight football league in the country, and is one of two clubs from Cuenca to have played in the top-flight (the other being LDU ...

. On 27 November 2016, he made his professional debut for Cuenca against

Mushuc Runa S.C. Mushuc Runa Sporting Club, commonly known as Mushuc Runa, is an Football in Ecuador, Ecuadorian professional Association football, football club based in Ambato, Ecuador, Ambato. It was founded on January 2, 2003. They currently play in the Ecuado ...

in the

Ecuadorian Serie A The Liga Pro Ecuador Serie A, simply known as the Liga Pro or the Serie A (or the Ecuadorian Serie A to distinguish it from the Italian Serie A and the Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Série A), or as Liga Pro Ecuabet for sponsorship re ...

. In August 2018 it was reported, that

S.D. Aucas Sociedad Deportiva Aucas (), also known as "Papá Aucas", is a Association football, football club based in Quito, Ecuador. They play in the top tier of Ecuadorian football and have spent the majority of their history in the top-flight Serie A d ...

had bought 50% of Vallecilla's rights for $80,000, and that he would join the club permanently from the 2019 season, with Cuenca still holding a sell-on percentage. Joining Aucas for the 2019 season, Vallecilla appeared in five total matches, including an appearance in the quarterfinals of the Serie A playoffs. For the 2020 season, Vallecilla was loaned out to

with an option to buy. He made 14 league appearances for Barcelona, and also appeared in the

2020 Copa Libertadores The 2020 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 61st edition of the Copa Libertadores, CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores''), South America's premier club association football, football tournament organized by CONMEBOL ...

. After the season, the club decided not to trigger the option to make his stay permanent. Vallecilla then returned to Aucas for the 2021 season.

FC Cincinnati

On 5 April 2021, Vallecilla joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, 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 sanc ...

club

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

on loan for the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

with an option to buy. He made his debut for the side on 16 May 2021 in their 3–2 home defeat against

Inter Miami Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (), commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. ...

. The following match, Vallecilla scored his first goal for Cincinnati in their 2–1 victory over

CF Montréal Club de Foot Montréal () is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Mo ...

, scoring the equalizer in the 86th minute. His second goal for Cincinnati came against the same opposition on 17 July in their 5–4 defeat at

Saputo Stadium Saputo Stadium (Canadian French, French: ''Stade Saputo'') is a soccer-specific stadium at Olympic Park, Montreal, Olympic Park in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The stadium opened on May 21, 2008, a ...

. On 1 December 2021 Cincinnati confirmed, that they had triggered the buying option in Vallecilla's contract, adding him to the squad for the 2022 season.

Colorado Rapids

On 28 March 2022,

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

announced that they acquired Vallecilla for $800,000 in General

Allocation Money In Major League Soccer (MLS) and the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), two of the top-tier professional soccer leagues in the United States, allocation money represents an amount of money that teams can use to sign players or allocate to thei ...

with extra performance-based fees.

Loan to Columbus

On 3 March 2023, Vallecilla was loaned to the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

for $175,000 in General Allocation Money, with the Crew having a purchase option as well.

Universidad Católica

At the end of December 2023 it was confirmed, that Vallecilla would return to Ecuador, having signed with Universidad Católica. He left Catolica at the end of the year after 40 games for the club in all competitions.

Barcelona SC

At the end of December 2024 it was confirmed that Vallecilla returned to his former club,

, on a one-year deal.Comunicado Oficial: Gustavo Vallecilla
barcelonasc.com.ec, 28 December 2024

Career statistics

Honours

Barcelona SC *

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Columbus Crew *

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

References

External links

Profile
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vallecilla, Gustavo Living people 1999 births Ecuadorian men's footballers 21st-century Ecuadorian sportsmen Ecuadorian expatriate men's footballers Ecuador men's international footballers Ecuador men's youth international footballers Ecuador men's under-20 international footballers Men's association football defenders People from Esmeraldas, Ecuador C.D. Cuenca footballers S.D. Aucas footballers Barcelona S.C. footballers FC Cincinnati players Columbus Crew players Colorado Rapids players Colorado Rapids 2 players C.D. Universidad Católica del Ecuador footballers MLS Next Pro players Ecuadorian Serie A players Major League Soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in the United States