Lucas Covolan Cavagnari (born 6 June 1991) is a Brazilian professional

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who plays as a

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for club

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

. A Brazil under-20 international, he began his career with Trieste before turning professional at

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

. He later had spells with Atlético Paranaense, Esportivo, Toledo and Rio Branco, winning a Campeonato Acreano title with Rio Branco in 2014. He then spent two years in Spain with Atlético Rafal and Alaró before joining the English club Whitehawk in 2016. He had a

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spell with

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and spent two seasons with

before earning a move to

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

in May 2019. He scored a goal in the 2021 National League play-off final, which Torquay lost, before signing with

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club Port Vale in June 2021. He helped the club to win promotion out of League Two via the play-offs in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. He returned to the National League on a season-long loan with Chesterfield in July 2022. He signed with Maidstone United in August 2023 and was an unused substitute in their 2024 Kent Senior Cup final victory. He spent the first half of the 2024–25 season with Braintree Town and rejoined Worthing via Ebbsfleet United in February 2025.

Early and personal life

Born in

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...

, Covolan grew up supporting hometown club Atlético Paranaense. He has an Italian passport.

Club career

Brazil

Covolan spent his early career with Trieste in his native Brazil. He was

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ed by

. After impressing on a two-week trial, he signed a professional

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at Vasco at 17. He acted as the practice goalkeeper for

Juninho Pernambucano Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Júnior (born 30 January 1975), commonly known as Juninho Pernambucano or simply Juninho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who was most recently the Director of football, sportin ...

's free kick training sessions, later recalling that such was the player's ability that "I was basically just a cone". He returned from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

after three years to sign with boyhood club Atlético Paranaense. He later recalled that Atlético had eight goalkeepers on their books and that he realised halfway into his three-year contract that he would never play a first-team game for the club. He tried to gain experience in senior football by leaving on

but was injured in a warm-up exercise and sidelined for four months. Covolan went on to feature in four match day squads as an unused substitute for Esportivo Bento Gonçalves, before joining Toledo in December 2013 and then Rio Branco in March 2014. He helped Rio Branco to win the Campeonato Acreano (

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

state league) in

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following a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

victory over Atlético Acreano, but was one of the three players released by the club on 7 May 2014.

Spain

Covolan moved to Spain later in 2014 and joined

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

team Atlético Rafal. He switched to fellow

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n side Alaró the next year, making 35 appearances. He left the club following the death of head coach Julián Ronda. He spent three months on trial at

but was deemed to be too old at the age of 24.

English non-League

In 2016, he was approached by an agent to play for English

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club Whitehawk, who were managed by the Argentinian Pablo Asensio. He made 23 league appearances for Whitehawk, and also spent a month on loan with

, before signing for

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

Premier Division side

after a pre-season trial. He was named Supporters Player of the Year by Worthing's "Away Boys Fanatics" in the 2017–18 season and had trials at

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spr ...

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and

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. He broke his arm during a win at Moneyfields in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

on 6 October 2018.

Torquay United

He moved to

in May 2019 after impressing

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on trial. He competed with Shaun MacDonald for a place in the first-team, but had to wait for his opportunity after picking up an injury in pre-season, making his first-team debut in a 2–1 win at Dover Athletic on 17 August. Covolan would play 25 league games in the 2019–20 season, with MacDonald playing the remaining 11 league matches in a season that was cut short due to the

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. He featured 26 times in the 2020–21 campaign, whilst MacDonald played 19 league games, as Torquay qualified for the play-offs with a second-place finish. On 20 June 2021, he scored an injury-time equaliser against Hartlepool United in the National League play-off final, which Torquay eventually lost on penalties, despite two saves from Covolan. His goal earned him comparisons to compatriot Alisson, a goalkeeper who had scored a headed goal for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

earlier in the year; the pair had actually played against each other some years earlier in a tournament for under-23 players when Atlético Paranaense came up against Internacional.

Port Vale

On 23 June 2021, he signed a two-year contract with League Two side Port Vale; manager Darrell Clarke said that "he is hungry to prove he's a league-level player and we feel he has all the attributes to succeed at this level". However, the move would turn out to be the "lowest point" of his career as he struggled to handle the pressure of league football and suffered with depression as a result. Having already been shown a

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in a pre-season friendly, he was sent off on his

debut after rushing off his goal-line to trip Nicke Kabamba during a 1–0 defeat at

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

on 7 August. He returned after a serving a one match suspension and kept four clean sheets in his next seven games, saying that "you learn from every mistake and that is what makes you stronger". He was criticised by Clarke for an error during a win over Barrow on 16 October, but responded by saving a penalty in a 1–1 draw with

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

three days later. On 15 January 2022, he was sent off for kicking out at

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

's Harry McKirdy after the pair jumped for a high ball moments before

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

during what would finish as a 3–1 home defeat; a furious Clarke said after the match that "he has got to learn from that otherwise he won't be staying at the club for very long". Covolan, who was suspended for four games for the incident, was supported by

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Tom Conlon, who said "he's one of us, he is a big part of the squad, the boys love him to bits". He was an unused substitute as Vale secured promotion out of the play-offs with victory over

in the final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. He played 22 games in the 2021–22 season, keeping seven clean sheets. David Flitcroft, the club's

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

, confirmed that the player's contract would not be renewed beyond June 2023.

Chesterfield (loan)

On 5 July 2022, Covolan returned to the National League to join Chesterfield on a season-long loan deal. On 6 August, he made his debut for the Spireites in a 2–2 draw with Dorking Wanderers, receiving a red card after 28 minutes for an " off the ball incident". Manager Paul Cook had stern words for Covolan after the match, saying that "it is something that Lucas will learn from quickly ndif he doesn't learn quickly he won't be at the club, it is that simple". Covolan was returned to the starting eleven after Ross Fitzsimons stood in during his suspension, and by September was linked with a permanent move to Chesterfield. However, after making eight further starts he was sidelined with an ankle injury, whilst during Covolan's absence Fitzsimons was praised for his good form. He was not named in the 2023 National League play-off final matchday squad for the defeat to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

Return to English non-League

On 4 August 2023, with less than 24-hours until the start of the 2023–24 season, Covolan signed with newly-

relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

National League South club Maidstone United. Maidstone defeated EFL clubs Barrow and

to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they then knocked out

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side Ipswich Town 2–1 at

Portman Road Portman Road is a association football, football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one E ...

, with Covolan named as

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

having made a "string of saves" to help pull off the upset. Manager George Elokobi said that Covolan was the best goalkeeper in the National League South. He played every league game as Maidstone finished the 2023–24 season in fourth place, qualifying for the play-offs. He was an unused substitute in the 2024 Kent Senior Cup final victory over Ebbsfleet United. His teammates voted him as Players' Player of the Year. He was offered a new contract in May 2024. On 20 August 2024, Covolan made his debut for Braintree Town in their 2–1 victory over

in a National League game at Cressing Road. He played a total of 29 matches in the first half of the 2024–25 season. On 4 January, the club announced that Covolan had departed the club following the expiration of his contract. On 15 February 2025, Colovan signed a short-term deal with Ebbsfleet United after the National League club had two senior goalkeepers ruled out injured. On 21 February 2025, just one week after joining Ebbsfleet United, Covolan returned to National League South side Worthing. He made an instant impact by making what manager Chris Agutter called "a really big save" on his second debut for the club. He made 14 appearances in what remained of the 2024–25 season, though was on the bench for the play-off quarter-final defeat to Maidstone United.

International career

Covolan spent time with the Brazil under-20 national team, winning two

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in 2010.

Style of play

He has been described as an aggressive goalkeeper who helps the team defend with a high line, though tends to be caught in possession.

Career statistics

Honours

Rio Branco * Campeonato Acreano:

Port Vale * EFL League Two play-offs:

Maidstone United * Kent Senior Cup: 2024 Individual * Maidstone United Players' Player of the Year: 2023–24

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Covolan, Lucas 1991 births Living people Footballers from Curitiba Brazilian people of Italian descent Brazilian men's footballers Brazil men's under-20 international footballers CR Vasco da Gama players Club Athletico Paranaense players Toledo Esporte Clube players Clube Esportivo Bento Gonçalves players Rio Branco Football Club players Whitehawk F.C. players Lewes F.C. players Worthing F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Maidstone United F.C. players Braintree Town F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Men's association football goalkeepers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England National League (English football) players Isthmian League players English Football League players 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen