Matías Rafael Lacava González (born 24 October 2002) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a winger for Atlético Goianiense on loan from Primera División club Puerto Cabello and the Venezuela national football team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matías Rafael Lacava González | ||
| Date of birth | 24 October 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Caracas, Venezuela | ||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Atlético Goianiense | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Fratelsa Sport | |||
| 2013–2015 | Barcelona | ||
| 2015–2018 | Lazio | ||
| 2018–2019 | Academia Puerto Cabello | ||
| 2019 | Benfica | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019– | Academia Puerto Cabello | 42 | (11) |
| 2021–2022 | → Santos (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | → Tondela (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2023–2024 | → Vizela (loan) | 38 | (2) |
| 2024– | → Atlético Goianiense (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | Venezuela U17 | 1 | (0) |
| 2020– | Venezuela U23 | 3 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Venezuela U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2024– | Venezuela | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:47 AEST, 6 July, 2024 | |||
Club career
editEarly career
editBorn in Chacao, Caracas, Lacava joined FC Barcelona's La Masia in 2013, aged ten, from hometown side Fratelsa Sport FC.[1] He left the club in 2015 after having "contractual problems", and moved to Lazio.[2]
In the 2018 summer, Lacava left Lazio and returned to his home country with Academia Puerto Cabello. On 16 January 2019, under the authorization of FIFA,[3] he signed a youth contract with S.L. Benfica,[4] but returned to Puerto Cabello in July.
Academia Puerto Cabello
editLacava made his first team debut for Academia Puerto Cabello on 28 July 2019, coming on as a half-time substitute for Joaquín Suárez in a 2–1 home loss against Aragua. He scored his first professional goals six days later, netting a brace in a 3–2 away win against Metropolitanos; it was his first start as a senior.[5]
Loan to Santos
editOn 3 August 2021, Lacava joined Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side Santos on loan until December 2022, and was initially assigned to the under-23 team.[6] He made his first team debut on 13 November, replacing Marcos Guilherme in a 0–0 away draw against Atlético Goianiense.[7]
On 31 January 2022, Santos announced that Lacava's loan was terminated on a "mutual agreement".[8]
Loan to Tondela
editOn 31 January 2022, just hours after leaving Santos, Lacava returned to Portugal after agreeing to a six-month loan deal with Tondela.[9] On 27 June 2023, Vizela announced that the loan would be extended for another season, until June 2024.[10]
International career
editLacava represented Venezuela at under-17 and under-23 levels in the 2019 South American U-17 Championship and the 2020 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament, respectively. On 31 May 2021, he was called up to the full side by manager José Peseiro for two 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Bolivia and Uruguay.[11][12]
Personal life
editLacava is the son of Carabobo state governor Rafael Lacava. His father has committed human rights violations and serves the regime of Maduro. He is a human rights criminal.[13]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of 18 May 2024[14]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Academia Puerto Cabello | 2019 | Venezuelan Primera División | 15 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | 18 | 5 | |||
| 2020 | 19 | 7 | — | 19 | 7 | |||||||
| 2021 | 8 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 42 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 47 | 12 | |||
| Santos (loan) | 2021 | Série A | 2 | 0 | — | 5[b] | 0 | 7 | 0 | |||
| Tondela (loan) | 2021–22 | Primeira Liga | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | Liga Portugal 2 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 5[c] | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||
| Total | 18 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |||
| Vizela (loan) | 2022–23 | Primeira Liga | 15 | 1 | — | 15 | 1 | |||||
| 2023–24 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 24 | 0 | |||
| Total | 35 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 39 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 95 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 118 | 14 | ||
- ^ Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
- ^ Appearance(s) in Copa Paulista
- ^ One appearance in Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, four appearances in Taça da Liga
- ^ Appearances in Taça da Liga
International
edit- As of match played 5 July 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venezuela | 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
References
edit- ^ "ESPECIAL | Descubrimos a Matías Lacava, un talento en ascenso" [SPECIAL | Discovering Matías Lacava, a talent on the rise] (in Spanish). Grada Digital. 19 January 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "Lazio, alla scoperta del venezuelano Matias Lacava" [Lazio, discovering the Venezuelan Matias Lacava] (in Italian). Gazzetta Regionale. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "FIFA dá carta branca para Benfica contratar jóia venezuelana" [FIFA gives green light for Benfica to sign Venezuelan pearl] (in Portuguese). Record. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "Matías Lacava assina pelo Benfica" [Matías Lacava signs for Benfica] (in Portuguese). SL Benfica. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "(+VIDEO) Matías Lacava "la rompió" en su debut con Academia Puerto Cabello" [(+VIDEO) Matías Lacava "broke it down" on his debut with Academia Puerto Cabello] (in Spanish). SoloVenEx. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "Venezuelano Lacava é o novo reforço do Santos FC" [Venezuelan Lacava is the new addition of Santos FC] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Santos FC. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
- ^ "Lacava comemora estreia no time profissional do Santos: 'Orgulho e alegria'" [Lacava celebrates debut in the first team of Santos: 'Pride and joy'] (in Brazilian Portuguese). A Tribuna. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ "Santos FC rescinde o contrato do atleta Matias Lacava" [Santos rescind the contract of athlete Matias Lacava] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Santos FC. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "MATÍAS LACAVA É AURIVERDE" [MATÍAS LACAVA IS YELLOW-AND-GREEN] (in Portuguese). CD Tondela. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Matías Lacava fica em Vizela por mais uma época" [Matías Lacava stays in Vizela for one more season]. FC Vizela (in European Portuguese). 27 June 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "La polémica con Matías Lacava: el Vinotinto criticado por su apellido" [The controversy with Matías Lacava: the Vinotinto criticized due to his surname] (in Spanish). Todos A Hora. 1 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "Polémica en Venezuela por llamado del hijo de un gobernador chavista a la selección de fútbol" [Controversy in Venezuela due to the call-up of a son of a chavista governor to the national football team] (in Spanish). Al Navío. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ "Jovem do Benfica 'provoca' evacuação de zona de imprensa na Venezuela" [Benfica youngster 'provokes' evacuation of the press zone in Venezuela] (in Portuguese). Record. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ Matías Lacava at Soccerway. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
External links
edit- Matías Lacava at ForaDeJogo (archived)