Mauro Antunes Eustáquio (born 10 February 1993) is a Canadian

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 ...

coach and former professional player who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He is the head coach of

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

club York United. Born in Portugal, he represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at youth level.

Early life

Eustáquio was born in Nazaré,

Leiria District The District of Leiria ( ) is a district located between the Oeste e Vale do Tejo and Centro regions of Portugal, and divided between the traditional provinces of Beira Litoral and Estremadura. It borders on the north with district of Coimbra, ...

, and moved to

Leamington, Ontario Leamington ( ) is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. With a population of 29,680 in the Canada 2021 Census, it forms the second largest urban centre in Windsor-Essex County after Windsor, Ontario. It includes Point Pelee Nationa ...

when he was 13 months old. He began playing youth soccer with Leamington Minor Soccer. He returned to Portugal at the age of 11, and spent time in the youth academies of Grupo Desportivo Os Nazarenos and U.D. Leiria. Eustáquio started his senior career in 2012, with fourth division club Sporting Clube de Pombal.

Playing career

Ottawa Fury

On 20 December 2013, Eustáquio signed with

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

club

Ottawa Fury FC Ottawa Fury Football Club was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competed in the North American Soccer League and USL Championship and played its home games at TD Place Stadium. The Ottawa Fury FC were di ...

. He made his debut on 2 August 2014 as a replacement starter for injured

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 ...

Richie Ryan in a 2–1 away loss against

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

, and finished the season with eight appearances. Eustáquio featured significantly the following campaign, playing 23 times across all competitions including twice in the team's run in the

Soccer Bowl The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's ...

. He scored his first goal for them on 8 August 2015 in a 4–1 win over the

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2014, b ...

on 8 August 2015, earning a place on the league's Team of the Week; he added a second on 18 October, helping the hosts defeat the San Antonio Scorpions 1–0, and later in the year he agreed to a contract extension. Eustáquio nearly went on loan to

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 t ...

during the 2016 season in exchange for Mallan Roberts, however the move fell through. In December, the Fury announced that the former would not return to the club as it was due to move to the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

FC Edmonton

On 14 February 2017, Eustáquio joined FC Edmonton. On 24 November, after the club ceased operations, he left.

Penn FC

In February 2018, Eustáquio signed with

Penn FC Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of th ...

of the USL. In June, he suffered a knee injury that would sideline him for the rest of the season.

Cavalry FC

On 20 March 2019, Eustáquio moved to the

after agreeing to a contract at

Cavalry FC Cavalry Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in the Calgary metropolitan region of Alberta. The club competes at the top of the Canadian soccer league system in the Canadian Premier League, and plays their home matches ...

. He played ten league matches for the side in the inaugural campaign of the competition.

Caldas

Eustáquio joined Caldas S.C. of the Portuguese third tier on 21 July 2020. He announced his retirement on 7 April 2021 at the age of 28.

Coaching career

Immediately after his retirement, Eustáquio joined the staff of Calgary Foothills FC as development phase boys manager. In February 2022, he was named assistant at Canadian top-flight club York United FC. Eustáquio was named interim head coach of York United on 21 May 2024, following the firing of Martin Nash. In September, he was invited to join the Canada national team as an assistant for a pair of friendlies. In November 2024, York United announced Eustáquio as their new head coach for the 2025 season, becoming the youngest ever at the helm of a first division side in North America as well as the first former player in the league to earn such a position.

Personal life

Eustáquio's younger brother,

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

, is also a soccer player. A midfielder as well, he represented

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

at under-21 level and the Canadian senior team. Their mother, Esmeralda, died from brain cancer in April 2023, while their father Armando died of a heart attack one year later.

Career statistics

Honours

Ottawa Fury *

: 2015 Fall Championship

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eustaquio, Mauro 1993 births Living people People from Nazaré, Portugal Canadian people of Portuguese descent Portuguese emigrants to Canada Naturalized citizens of Canada Sportspeople from Leamington, Ontario Sportspeople of Portuguese descent 21st-century Canadian sportsmen 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Canadian men's soccer players Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Leiria District Soccer people from Ontario Men's association football midfielders North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players USL Championship players Ottawa Fury FC players FC Edmonton players Penn FC players Canadian Premier League players Cavalry FC players Campeonato de Portugal (league) players U.D. Leiria players S.C. Pombal players Caldas S.C. players Canada men's youth international soccer players Canada men's under-23 international soccer players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian soccer coaches Canadian Premier League coaches York United FC coaches York United FC non-playing staff