Gianluca Busio
Gianluca Cristiano Busio[1] (born May 28, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City. Born in the United States, Busio is of Italian heritage.
 Busio with Sporting Kansas City in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gianluca Cristiano Busio | ||
| Date of birth | May 28, 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Greensboro, North Carolina, United States | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Sporting Kansas City | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2015–2016 | North Carolina Fusion | ||
| 2016–2017 | Sporting Kansas City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017– | Sporting Kansas City | 48 | (5) |
| 2018– | Sporting Kansas City II | 16 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2016–2017 | United States U15 | 8 | (3) |
| 2017–2019 | United States U17 | 15 | (6) |
| 2020– | United States U20 | 2 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 13, 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of January 16, 2020 | |||
Club career
Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Busio joined the Sporting Kansas City academy in 2016 from North Carolina Fusion.[2]
On August 25, 2017, Busio signed a Homegrown Player contract with Sporting Kansas City, making him the youngest player to sign with an MLS club since Freddy Adu joined D.C. United in 2004.[3]
He made his professional debut on April 4, 2018, appearing for Sporting Kansas City's United Soccer League affiliate side, Swope Park Rangers, starting in a 1–0 win over Colorado Springs Switchbacks.[4] Busio went on to make his first MLS appearance for Sporting Kansas City on July 28 as a 77th-minute substitute in a 3–2 loss against FC Dallas. One week later, on August 4, Busio made his first MLS start for Sporting in a chippy match against the Houston Dynamo, which saw three red cards, eight yellow cards, and 28 total fouls.[5] He provided his first career assist on a 74th-minute goal for teammate Diego Rubio, which proved to be the winner in a 1–0 match. Busio was the third youngest player to start a match in MLS history.[6]
International career
In October 2019, he was named to the United States squad for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil.[7]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played October 6, 2020[8]
| Club | League | Season | League | League Cup | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Sporting Kansas City II | USL Championship | 2017 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | 10 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| 2019 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | |||||
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Club Total | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | ||
| Sporting Kansas City | MLS | 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| 2019 | 22 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 3 | |||
| 2020 | 15 | 1 | — | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||||
| Club Total | 44 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 5 | ||
| Career Total | 65 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 69 | 6 | ||
Personal life
Busio is of Italian descent through his Brescia-born father, and holds Italian citizenship. He is of African American background on his mother's side.[9] He has an older sister, Ilaria and an older brother, Matteo, who plays soccer at UNC-Charlotte, and whom Gianluca lists as his biggest inspiration.[1]
References
- "Gianluca Busio | U.S. Soccer Official Website". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- "Gianluca Busio Profile - Sporting Kansas City". ussoccerda.com. U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- "SKC's Busio second-youngest-player in MLS history". si.com. Sports Illustrated. August 25, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- "2018 - Swope Park Rangers vs Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC - uslsoccer.com". uslsoccer.com. United Soccer League. Archived from the original on August 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
- "Houston Dynamo v Sporting KC Live Commentary & Result, 8/5/18, MLS". goal.com. Goal. August 5, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
- Zeitlin, David (August 4, 2018). "Sporting KC's Gianluca Busio becomes 3rd-youngest player to start MLS game". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- "Head Coach Raphael Wicky Names USA Roster for 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
- "Khiry Shelton profile". Soccerway.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
- "Gianluca Busio, il futuro del calcio USA dall'animo italiano". mlssocceritalia.com (in Italian). MLS Soccer Italia. April 27, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gianluca Busio. |
- Gianluca Busio at Sporting Kansas City
- Gianluca Busio at Soccerway