Sergio De Luca (born September 8, 1982) is a Canadian professional soccer coach and former player. De Luca began his career abroad in Europe, before returning to North America where he had several stints in the

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

, Canadian Professional Soccer League and

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league sy ...

. He would later return to Europe to have stints in Hungary, Norway, and Germany before concluding his career primarily in the Canadian Soccer League.

Playing career

Early career

De Luca began playing soccer at the youth level with Woodbridge Soccer Club in the year 1996. The following year he went abroad and signed with Italy club

A.C. Prato Associazione Calcio Prato is an Italian association football club, based in Prato, Tuscany. Prato currently plays in Serie D/E, having last been in Serie B in 1964. History The club was founded in 1908. In season 2010–11 the team played in ...

where he featured in youth matches. The following year he went across the English channel to play with

Telford United F.C. Telford United Football Club was an English football club based in Telford, Shropshire. The club existed under various names for a total of 132 years from its formation in 1872. The club was a founder member of the Alliance Premier League (lat ...

, becoming the first foreign player to play for the club. He was appointed youth team captain and had a successful season there scoring 13 goals out of 20 games at the youth level. In 2000, De Luca was transferred to

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

, where once again in his first season with the club he was named team captain. He had another effective season with Hereford where he continued his fine scoring rate with six goals out of 18 matches in the youth level.

Toronto Lynx

On July 10, 2002 the

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes ...

of the

signed him to a contract, and made his professional debut against the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos t ...

on July 14, 2002.

Hamilton Thunder

After failing to establish himself with the Lynx he signed with the

Hamilton Thunder The Hamilton Thunder were a soccer team located in Hamilton, Ontario, playing in the Western Conference of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. The team played its home fixtures at Brian Timmis Stadium until a rent dispute with the city cau ...

of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. He was appointed team captain and helped the Thunder win the Western Conference title. In the postseason he led the Thunder to the semi-finals before losing out to

Vaughan Shooters Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

Oakville Blue Devils

After a successful season in Hamilton, De Luca played one season in Hungary with Pécsi Mecsek FC, and the following season with

FK Arendal FK Arendal is a defunct Norwegian football club from Arendal which existed from 2000 to 2008. At its peak it played in the third tier of the Norwegian league system. After its bankruptcy, a new, unrelated club called Arendal Fotball was started ...

in the

2. divisjon The Norwegian Second Division, also called 2. divisjon and often referred to as PostNord-ligaen for sponsorship reasons, is the third-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. There are 28 teams divided into two groups, and at the ...

. De Luca returned to the CPSL for the 2005 season where he signed with expansion franchise Oakville Blue Devils . There he experienced a tremendous season where he played a significant role in winning the

CPSL Championship The Canadian Soccer League championship final or CSL Championship is the post-season match of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and is the successor to the CNSL Championship. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North ...

. On September 11, 2005 he recorded his first two goals for Oakville in a 2-0 victory over

St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines Roma Wolves (also known as St. Catharines Wolves or simply Roma Wolves), are a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1967. The team currently plays in the semi-professional League1 Ontario in both the men's and women's divisions. The ...

. During the club's playoff run he contributed by scoring the third and winning goal in the 90' minute in the Western Conference semi-final match against the

Windsor Border Stars Windsor TFC is a Canadian soccer team based in Windsor, Ontario, that was founded in 2004. They have competed in the Canadian Professional Soccer League (CPSL) and Canadian Soccer League (CSL). Throughout their tenure in the CPSL/CSL, Windsor ...

. In the Western Conference final match against his former club Hamilton he produced an assist in a 2-0 victory which advanced the Blue Devils to the finals. In the final match against Vaughan he scored the equalizing goal to tie the game 1-1 in the 46' minute after a goal down, which sent the match into overtime where

Ryan Gamble Ryan Gamble (born 23 September 1987) is a former professional Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League (AFL). Gamble played for the Geelong Football Club and the St Kilda Football Club. Early life Gamble played his ...

scored the golden goal to win the championship, making the Oakville the first expansion franchise to win the CPSL Championship in their debut season.

Toronto Lynx

Following his success with Oakville he returned to Europe to play for

Torgelower SV Greif Torgelower FC Greif is a German football club from the city of Torgelow in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The football team is part of a sports club which also has departments for women's sport, table tennis, and handball. The club was known as Torge ...

in the

NOFV-Oberliga Nord The NOFV-Oberliga Nord is the fifth tier of the German football league system in the northern states of the former East Germany and West Berlin. It covers the German states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and northern Saxony ...

, after not featuring much in Germany due to sustaining a sports hernia injury received early on in the season he returned to the Toronto Lynx in 2007. The Lynx finished the season with a 6-6-4 record, which placed the team in fourth place in the Great Lakes Division, and missed a playoff berth by six points. During the season he landed in Sweden with FC Hollviken signing a 2-year deal. However, after the first season, De Luca decided to terminate his contract. In 2008, he returned to Toronto and assisted the club by reaching the playoffs for the first time since the 2000 season. Where they were defeated by the

Cleveland Internationals Cleveland Internationals was an American soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2004, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Divisi ...

by a score of 2-1. In the

2009 PDL season The 2009 USL Premier Development League season was the 15th season of the PDL. The regular season began on May 1, 2009, and ended on July 19, 2009. The PDL Championship Game was held on August 8, 2009, and was broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel in th ...

he recorded his first goal in Lynx uniform on June 6, 2009, in a match against

Cincinnati Kings Cincinnati Kings were a professional American soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lake ...

. He would record his second goal on June 27, 2009 against the

Indiana Invaders The Indiana Invaders was an American soccer team based in South Bend, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1998, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Divis ...

. Unfortunately, the Lynx failed to reach the playoffs, and finished lasted in the Great Lakes Division.

North York Astros

De Luca was among the new additional signings done by

North York Astros The North York Astros were a Canadian soccer team that was founded in 1990. The team initially played in the National Soccer League. The team played their home games at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York, a district of the city of Toronto, Can ...

head coach

Vladimir Klinovsky Volodymyr Klynovskyi (born 22 March 1969) is a Ukrainian football coach who currently serves as the Club Head Coach for Toronto Fusion FC. Managerial career On April 17, 2008 Klynovskyi was appointed by North York Astros head coach Rafael Carbaj ...

midway through the 2009 CSL season; in order to strengthen his squad for the battle over the final playoff berth. Though the Astros did overwhelmingly improve under Klinovsky leadership it was not enough to secure the final playoff spot. In total De Luca appeared in seven matches.

SC Toronto

The following season, he was transferred to

Portugal FC SC Toronto was a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1994. The team was a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and played its final home games at Lamport Stadium in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The club found success early on since its incep ...

, where head coach

Carmine Isacco Carmine Isacco (born September 20, 1970) is a Canadian soccer coach and retired player. He is currently the head coach for the York Lions varsity men's soccer team of the OUA. Playing career College years In 1989, Isacco entered the Universit ...

selected him the team captain. He made his debut for the club on May 8, 2010 in a match against

TFC Academy Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. The academy has divisions from U14 to U19 and includes over 110 young players. The senior academy team is ...

. His biggest achievement with the club was finishing as regular season champions in the 2011 season.

Coaching career

After spending time coaching in Vaughan SC's development programme, De Luca joined

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's Association football, soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary nationa ...

side

York 9 FC York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. Histor ...

as an assistant coach in July 2018.

Honours

Hamilton Thunder * CPSL Western Conference: 2003 Oakville Blue Devils *

: 2005 SC Toronto * Canadian Soccer League Regular Season: 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Luca, Sergio 1982 births Living people Association football midfielders Canadian soccer players Soccer players from Toronto Sportspeople from Richmond Hill, Ontario Canadian expatriate soccer players Expatriate footballers in Italy Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in England Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in Hungary Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Expatriate footballers in Norway Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate footballers in Germany Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Toronto Lynx players Hamilton Thunder players Pécsi MFC players FK Arendal players Brampton United players Torgelower FC Greif players North York Astros players SC Toronto players A-League (1995–2004) players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Norwegian Second Division players Oberliga (football) players USL League Two players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players York United FC non-playing staff Woodbridge Strikers players