Mauro Eustáquio
Portuguese-born Canadian soccer player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mauro Antunes Eustáquio (born 10 February 1993) is a Canadian soccer coach and former professional player who played as a midfielder. He is the head coach of Canadian Premier League club Inter Toronto FC.
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Eustáquio in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mauro Antunes Eustáquio[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 10 February 1993[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Nazaré, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Inter Toronto FC (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Leamington MS | |||
| 2004–2010 | Nazarenos | ||
| 2010–2012 | União Leiria | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2013 | Sporting Pombal | 23 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Nazarenos | 13 | (3) |
| 2014–2016 | Ottawa Fury | 45 | (2) |
| 2015 | → Ottawa Fury Academy (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2017 | FC Edmonton | 18 | (1) |
| 2018 | Penn FC | 6 | (0) |
| 2019 | Cavalry FC | 10 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Caldas | 13 | (1) |
| Total | 129 | (7) | |
| International career | |||
| 2012–2013 | Canada U20 | 2 | (1) |
| 2015 | Canada U23 | 4 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2022–2024 | York United (assistant) | ||
| 2024 | York United (interim) | ||
| 2025– | Inter Toronto FC[a] | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Born in Portugal, he represented Canada at youth level.
Early life
Eustáquio was born in Nazaré, Leiria District, and moved to Leamington, Ontario when he was 13 months old.[3] He began playing youth soccer with Leamington Minor Soccer.[4] He returned to Portugal at the age of 11, and spent time in the youth academies of Grupo Desportivo Os Nazarenos and U.D. Leiria.[5]
Eustáquio started his senior career in 2012, with fourth division club Sporting Clube de Pombal.[5]
Playing career
Ottawa Fury
On 20 December 2013, Eustáquio signed with North American Soccer League club Ottawa Fury FC.[6] He made his debut on 2 August 2014 as a replacement starter for injured captain Richie Ryan in a 2–1 away loss against Minnesota United FC,[7] and finished the season with eight appearances.
Eustáquio featured significantly the following campaign, playing 23 times across all competitions including twice in the team's run in the Soccer Bowl. He scored his first goal for them on 8 August 2015 in a 4–1 win over the Indy Eleven on 8 August 2015, earning a place on the league's Team of the Week;[8] he added a second on 18 October, helping the hosts defeat the San Antonio Scorpions 1–0,[9] and later in the year he agreed to a contract extension.[10]
Eustáquio nearly went on loan to FC Edmonton during the 2016 season in exchange for Mallan Roberts, however the move fell through.[11] In December, the Fury announced that the former would not return to the club as it was due to move to the United Soccer League.[12]
FC Edmonton
On 14 February 2017, Eustáquio joined FC Edmonton.[13] On 24 November, after the club ceased operations, he left.[14]
Penn FC
In February 2018, Eustáquio signed with Penn FC of the USL.[15] In June, he suffered a knee injury that would sideline him for the rest of the season.[16]
Cavalry FC
On 20 March 2019, Eustáquio moved to the Canadian Premier League after agreeing to a contract at Cavalry FC.[17] He played ten league matches for the side in the inaugural campaign of the competition.[18]
Caldas
Eustáquio joined Caldas S.C. of the Portuguese third tier on 21 July 2020.[19] He announced his retirement on 7 April 2021 at the age of 28.[20]
Coaching career
Immediately after his retirement, Eustáquio joined the staff of Calgary Foothills FC as development phase boys manager.[21] In February 2022, he was named assistant at Canadian top-flight club York United FC.[22]
Eustáquio was appointed interim head coach of York United on 21 May 2024 following the firing of Martin Nash,[23] remaining in the role until Benjamín Mora's arrival in June; subsequently, he returned to his job as an assistant.[24] In September, he was invited to join the Canada national team as assistant for a pair of friendlies.[25]
In November 2024, York United announced Eustáquio as their new head coach for the 2025 season, becoming the youngest ever at the helm of a first division side in North America as well as the first former player in the league to earn such a position.[26][4] Prior to the following campaign, the team was renamed Inter Toronto FC.[27]
Personal life
Eustáquio's younger brother, Stephen, is also a soccer player. A midfielder as well, he represented Portugal at under-21 level[28][29][3] and the Canadian senior team.[30]
Their mother, Esmeralda, died from brain cancer in April 2023, while their father Armando died of a heart attack one year later.[31]
Career statistics
| Club | League | Season | League | Playoffs | National Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Ottawa Fury | NASL | 2014 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 |
| 2015 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 2 | ||
| 2016 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Total | 45 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 2 | ||
| Ottawa Fury Academy | PLSQ | 2015 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| FC Edmonton | NASL | 2017 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| Penn FC | USL | 2018 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Cavalry FC | Canadian Premier League | 2019 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Caldas | Campeonato de Portugal | 2020–21 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| Career total | 94 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 104 | 4 | ||
Honours
Ottawa Fury