Léo Lacroix (footballer)

Léo Lacroix
Lacroix with Sion in July 2016
Personal information
Full name Léo Lacroix
Date of birth (1992-02-27) 27 February 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Lausanne, Switzerland
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Al-Jabalain
Number 4
Youth career
2002–2004 Lausanne-Sport
2004–2005 US Affrico
2005–2007 Sporting Arno
2007 Team Vaud
2008 Malley
2009 São Cristóvão
2009–2011 Sion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Sion U21
2012–2016 Sion 77 (1)
2016–2020 Saint-Étienne 31 (0)
2017–2020 Saint-Étienne B 4 (1)
2018 → Basel (loan) 9 (0)
2018–2019 → Hamburger SV (loan) 16 (1)
2018 → Hamburger SV II (loan) 1 (0)
2021 Sion 13 (0)
2021–2023 Western United 50 (3)
2023–2024 FC U Craiova 33 (3)
2024– Al-Jabalain 0 (0)
International career
2010 Switzerland U18 2 (0)
2010 Switzerland U19 8 (0)
2013–2014 Switzerland U21 4 (0)
2018 Switzerland 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 May 2024

Léo Lacroix (born 27 February 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defender for Saudi Arabian club Al-Jabalain.[1]

Club career

On 31 August 2016, Ligue 1 side Saint-Étienne announced that they had reached an agreement for the transfer of Lacroix.[2] Lacroix signed a four-year contract and in his first season he had 20 appearances in the 2016–17 Ligue 1. In the 2017–18 Ligue 1 season he played 11 games for the team, but was then loaned out to Swiss club Basel.

Lacroix joined Basel's first team in the winter break of their 2017–18 season under head coach Raphaël Wicky. The loan was dated until summer 2018, with the option of a definite transfer.[3] Basel had to find a replacement for Manuel Akanji, who had transferred out to Borussia Dortmund. Lacroix played his domestic league debut for the club in the away game in the Stockhorn Arena on 10 February as Basel won 2–0 against Thun.[4] Lacroix stayed with Basel until the end of the season, but the club did not pull the option. During his short period with the club Lacroix played a total of 12 games for Basel without scoring a goal. Nine of these games were in the Swiss Super League, one in the Swiss Cup and two games against Manchester City in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League knockout phase.[5]

In September 2021, Lacroix signed with Australian club Western United.[6] Lacroix spent two seasons at Western United, before departing at the end of the 2022-23 season.[7]

On 17 July 2023, he moved to Romanian Liga I club FC U Craiova on a one-year deal, with an extension option.[8] On 13 May 2024, his contract was terminated by mutual consent,[9] a day after a 1–3 loss to Hermannstadt, resulting in FC U Craiova's last-place finish and relegation to the second division.[10]

On 22 August 2024, Lacroix joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Jabalain.[11]

International career

Lacroix was born in Switzerland, and is of Brazilian descent through his mother.[12][13] He got his first call up to the senior Switzerland side for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Hungary and Andorra in October 2016.[14] He made his debut for the national team on 14 November 2018 in a friendly against Qatar.[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of 12 May 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sion 2012–13[16] Swiss Super League 9 1 1 0 — 0 0 10 1
2013–14[17] Swiss Super League 15 0 2 0 — — 17 0
2014–15[18] Swiss Super League 28 0 4 1 — — 32 1
2015–16[19] Swiss Super League 20 0 2 0 — 7[a] 1 29 1
2016–17[20] Swiss Super League 5 0 0 0 — — 5 0
Total 77 1 9 1 — 7 1 93 3
Saint-Étienne 2016–17 Ligue 1 20 0 1 0 1 0 3[a] 0 25 0
2017–18 Ligue 1 11 0 1 0 1 0 — 13 0
Total 31 0 2 0 2 0 3 0 38 0
Saint-Étienne B 2016–17 Championnat de France Amateur 2 1 0 — — — 1 0
2019–20 Championnat National 2 3 1 — — — 3 1
Total 4 1 — — — 4 1
Basel (loan) 2017–18 Swiss Super League 9 0 1 0 — 2[b] 0 12 0
Hamburg (loan) 2018–19 2. Bundesliga 16 1 1 0 — — 17 1
Hamburg II (loan) 2018–19 Regionalliga Nord 1 0 — — — 1 0
Sion 2020–21 Swiss Super League 11 0 1 0 — — 12 0
2021–22 Swiss Super League 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
Total 13 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 0
Western United 2021–22 A-League Men 27 3 1 0 — — 28 3
2022–23 A-League Men 23 0 1 0 — — 24 0
Total 50 3 2 0 — — 52 3
FC U Craiova 2023–24 Liga I 33 3 4 0 — — 37 3
Career total 234 9 20 1 2 0 12 1 268 11
  1. ^ a b Appearances in the Europa League
  2. ^ Appearances in the UEFA Champions League

Honours

Sion
Western United
Individual

References

  1. ^ Léo Lacroix at Soccerway
  2. ^ "Léo Lacroix, cinquième recrue des Verts" [Léo Lacroix, the fifth recruit of The Greens]. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  3. ^ FC Basel 1893 (31 January 2018). "Leo Lacroix wechselt leihweise zum FCB". Leo Lacroix is loaned to FCB (in German). FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 16 November 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (10 February 2018). "FC Thun - FC Basel 0:2 (0:1)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  5. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (2018). "Léo Lacroix -FCB statistic". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Swiss star Leo Lacroix signs with Western United". Western United. 1 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Western United announced unretained Isuzu UTE A-League players". Western United FC. 8 May 2023.
  8. ^ "FC U Craiova, transfer sonor la o zi după umilința cu FCSB! Adrian Mititelu i-a adus lui Nicolae Dică un fundaș central cu prezențe în campionatul Franței". prosport.ro (in Romanian). 17 July 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Brutal! Adrian Mititelu a dat afară, în doar câteva ore, șase jucători și un antrenor de la FCU Craiova". digisport.ro (in Romanian). 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  10. ^ "FCU Craiova - Hermannstadt 1-3. Oltenii au retrogradat direct, în protestele celor din galerie". digisport.ro (in Romanian). 12 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  11. ^ "ليـو.. صخرة الدفاع السويسري في صفوف".
  12. ^ Vavel (1 September 2016). "Saint-Étienne anuncia zagueiro suíço Léo Lacroix por quatro temporadas". Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  13. ^ "ASSE : 5 anecdotes croustillantes sur Léo Lacroix". 10 October 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  14. ^ "Lacroix remplace Djourou". bluewin.ch. 2 October 2016. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  15. ^ "Switzerland v Qatar game report". ESPN. 14 November 2018.
  16. ^ "Games played by Léo Lacroix in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Games played by Léo Lacroix in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  18. ^ "Games played by Léo Lacroix in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  19. ^ "Games played by Léo Lacroix in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  20. ^ "Games played by Léo Lacroix in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  21. ^ "Switzerland Cup Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  22. ^ "Western United stun Melbourne City 2-0 to win first A-League Men's title". The Guardian. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  23. ^ Harrington, Anna (20 May 2022). "ALM young guns get shot against Barcelona". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  24. ^ "PFA reveals player-voted Austraffic A-League Men Team of the Season on eve of Grand Final". Professional Footballers Australia. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.