Lucas Torreira
.jpg) Torreira with Uruguay at the 2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lucas Sebastián Torreira Di Pascua | ||
| Date of birth | 11 February 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Fray Bentos, Uruguay | ||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Arsenal | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2013 | 18 de Julio | ||
| 2013 | Montevideo Wanderers | ||
| 2013–2014 | Pescara | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2015 | Pescara | 5 | (0) |
| 2015–2018 | Sampdoria | 71 | (4) |
| 2015–2016 | → Pescara (loan) | 29 | (4) |
| 2018– | Arsenal | 8 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2018– | Uruguay | 8 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 October 2018 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:56, 6 July 2018 (UTC) | |||
Lucas Sebastián Torreira Di Pascua (born 11 February 1996) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Arsenal and the Uruguay national team.
Club career
Early career
Torreira started his youth football career at hometown club I.A. 18 de Julio of Fray Bentos. In 2013, he joined Montevideo Wanderers' youth team, he then moved to Italy where he joined Pescara's youth team.
Pescara
Before the 2014–15 season, Torreira was called up for Pescara's first team and, on 25 October 2014, he sat on the bench for the first time. He made his senior debut in Serie B on 16 May 2015 against Varese, playing the game in the starting line-up. In this game, he played 58 minutes before he was replaced with Matteo Politano. He played five games including promotion playoffs in the season.
Sampdoria
On 1 July 2015, Torreira transferred to Sampdoria for €1.5 million, but he remained with Pescara on loan for the 2015–16 season to gain first-team experience.[2]
Pescara (loan)
On 2 July 2015, he was loaned to Pescara.[3] On 9 August 2015, Torreira scored his first professional goal against F.C. Südtirol in the 2015–16 Coppa Italia. He played 26 games and scored three league goals. He also played three games and scored one goal in the promotion play-offs.
Return to Sampdoria
After the Pescara loan expired, the player returned to Sampdoria on 1 July 2016. On 21 August 2016, Torreira made his Serie A debut in their opening game against Empoli at the Stadio Carlo Castellani.[4] He started the game and played the entirety of the 90+ minutes on the field.
He became a regular for Sampdoria in the 2016–17 season, and continued showing his importance to the team in the 2017–18 season; scoring vital goals, including the second goal in Sampdoria's 3–2 win over Juventus in November.
Arsenal
After a summer of speculation, Torreira joined English club Arsenal on 10 July 2018 for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £26.4m.[5] Upon the completion of the signing, head coach Unai Emery said "A midfielder with great quality, I have enjoyed watching his performances for Sampdoria in the past two seasons, and we all saw him do very well for Uruguay in the World Cup. He is a young player already with good experience, but who wants to keep on growing." Torreira was given the number 11 shirt, previously worn by Mesut Özil, who took the vacant number 10, following the departure of Jack Wilshere.[6] Torreira made his Premier League debut on 12 August, coming on as a substitute on the 70th minute in a 2–0 defeat to Manchester City.[7] Torreira registered his first assist of the season, by setting up Alexandre Lacazette's winning goal in a 3-2 win over Cardiff City.[8] Torreira made his full-debut and his Europa League debut for Arsenal in the 4-2 win over FC Vorskla Poltava, before being replaced in the 57th minute by Mattéo Guendouzi.[9]
International career
Torreira was born in Uruguay, and is of Spanish descent through his paternal grandfather from Galicia.[10] He holds a Spanish passport, and was scouted by the senior Italy national football team before he was capped by Uruguay.[11]
Torreira was called up to full Uruguay squad for the 2018 China Cup in March 2018.[12] He made his debut in the 2–0 win over the Czech Republic in the China Cup semi final.[13]
In May 2018, he was named in Uruguay's provisional 26 man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[14]
Style of play
Upon signing for Arsenal in 2018, The Independent's Jack Austin stated "Torreira is exactly the kind of no-nonsense midfielder the club have been craving", adding that in Uruguay colours during the 2018 World Cup "he went about his job as the deep-lying pivot in the middle of the park with none of the fuss and all of the discipline of a player who has built a tidy reputation for himself in Serie A", while assessing his chief weaknesses as a lack of height in aerial duels and little goal threat.[15]
WhoScored notes that he is a player that likes to shoot from distance and often gets fouled. They also note that he likes to play short passes and make tackles.[16]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match 29 September 2018[17]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Pescara | 2014–15 | Serie B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Pescara (loan) | 2015–16 | Serie B | 29 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | 3 | 1 | 34 | 6 | |
| Total | 34 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 42 | 6 | ||
| Sampdoria | 2016–17 | Serie A | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Serie A | 36 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 4 | |||
| Total | 71 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 4 | ||
| Arsenal | 2018–19 | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
| Career total | 112 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 125 | 10 | ||
1 Other tournaments include Serie B Promotion playoffs
International
- As of match played 6 July 2018[18]
| Uruguay | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2018 | 8 | 0 |
| Total | 8 | 0 |
References
- ↑ "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ↑ "DONE DEAL: Sampdoria sign Pescara midfielder Lucas Torreira". tribalfootball.com. 1 July 2015.
- ↑ "TORREIRA OUT TO EARN HIS SAMP STRIPES: "I'M HERE FOR THE LONG HAUL"". sampdoria.it. 10 July 2016.
- ↑ "U.C. Sampdoria – Serie A TIM 2016/2017: Empoli – Sampdoria". sampdoria.it. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ↑ "Arsenal: Lucas Torreira agrees deal & Matteo Guendouzi set for medical". 10 July 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "Lucas Torreira to join Arsenal". www.arsenal.com.
- ↑ Begley, Emlyn (12 August 2018). "Arsenal 0-2 Manchester City: Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva give champions win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
- ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45312124
- ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45577861
- ↑ "La historia de esfuerzo de Lucas Torreira contada por su padre".
- ↑ "Lucas Torreira, el cinco más completo del Calcio – Sphera Sports". 29 September 2017.
- ↑ "Torreira earns first Uruguayan call-up – Get Italian Football News". www.getfootballnewsitaly.com.
- ↑ "Torreira makes Uruguay debut in China Cup victory over Czech Republic – U.C. Sampdoria". 23 March 2018.
- ↑ "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists - Goal.com".
- ↑ Austin, Jack (10 July 2018). "Arsenal transfer news: This is what Lucas Torreira will bring to Unai Emery's midfield, World Cup 2018 scouting report". The Independent. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
- ↑ "Lucas Torreira Football Statistics | WhoScored.com". www.whoscored.com. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
- ↑ "L. Torreira: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
- ↑ "Torreira, Lucas". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
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