Derek Cornelius

Cornelius was born in Ajax, Ontario to a Barbadian father and a Jamaican mother.[2] Cornelius started playing when he was selected for the 1996 House League All-Star team.[3] Then he got selected by Ajax Thunder under-8 at six years old.[3] Next season he was the Unionville Milliken Challenge Cup Champions Most Valuable Player.[3] Next year he moved to North York Spartacus and reached 2nd Place in the Indoor League. Next season at U11 he won the C.O.V.I. Championship and was proclaimed the Most Valuable Player.[3]

In 2012, he played in the Oviedo Cup with PFC CSKA Moscow in Spain, then he played in the Milk Cup by CSKA Moscow in Northern Ireland where he led the team scoring four goals in the tournament. He ended that year by being invited to the CSKA Moscow Reserve Camp and by playing in the U21 Provincial and Men's Regional leagues, scoring 22 goals in 30 games.[3]

In 2013, he was selected for Canadian national under-17 team for camp in Florida and Costa Rica, and later selected for CONCACAF World Cup U17 Qualifier pre-camp in Florida. He was also selected for Canadian National U16 Team for Torneo delle Nazioni tournament in Italy. That same year he was invited to Hungary for trials with Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC and Győri ETO FC in March.[3]

In January 2014, he moved to Germany. He began training with VfB Lübeck U19 team.[4] He spent two seasons with the main team,[5] but was unable to play due to FIFA rules for underaged players. He became eligible to play effective on 1 January 2016.[6][7] With VfB Lübeck he won the Schleswig-Holstein Cup two years in a row and made an appearance in the 2015–16 Regionalliga Nord.[8]

In summer 2016 he moved to VfR Neumünster playing with them the first half of the season.[5]

During the winterbreak of the 2016–17 season, Cornelius was signed by Serbian SuperLiga side FK Javor Ivanjica after successful trials. He made his league debut on 29 April 2017, in an away game against FK Radnički Niš.[8] Javor head coach Srđan Vasiljević converted Cornelius from a forward into a centre-back.[9]

On 18 January 2019, Cornelius returned to his native Canada and signed with MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[10] He made his debut for the Whitecaps on 2 March in their 2019 MLS season opener against Minnesota United.[11] Cornelius scored his first goal for the club on 18 May against Sporting Kansas City.[12]

Derek Cornelius was part of the Canadian U17 camp in February 2013.[13] He was called up to a U23 camp on 8 January 2018.[14] In May 2018, Cornelius was named to Canada's under-21 squad for the 2018 Toulon Tournament.[15] Cornelius would earn rave reviews for his performance at the tournament.[16]

Cornelius was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship on February 26, 2020.[17]

On 12 March 2018, Cornelius received his first call up to the Canadian senior side for a friendly against New Zealand to be played on 24 March 2018.[18] He would make his debut for Canada on 9 September 2018, starting and playing the entire match in an 8–0 victory over the U.S. Virgin Islands.[19][20] On 30 May 2019, Cornelius was named to the 23-man squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[21]

As of 27 October 2020[22]

As of 16 January 2020