Mauro Cichero (footballer, born 1995)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mauro Cichero
Personal information
Full name Mauro Cichero
Date of birth (1995-08-01) August 1, 1995 (age 26)
Place of birth Caracas, Venezuela[1]
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfield, Forward
Club information
Current team
 Charleston Battery
Number 24
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 SMU Mustangs 68 (24)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016 OKC Energy U-23 4 (4)
2020– Charleston Battery 12 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 6, 2021

Mauro Cichero is a Venezuelan professional soccer player who currently plays for Charleston Battery in the USL Championship.

Early life[]

Cichero was born in Venezuela[1] and grew up in Norman, Oklahoma from preschool age until third grade, where his father worked as a soccer coach.[2] He then moved to Spain, where he played at soccer academies in Valencia,[3] before returning to the United States in 2011, following his mother's death.[4] He attended Norman North High School[5] and in 2013, he was named as the Oklahoman All-City Player of the Year.[4] He was named the Gatorade Oklahoma Boys Soccer Player of the Year in 2013 and 2014.[6]

College career[]

Coming out of high school, he was considered Oklahoma's top prospect from the 2014 graduating class.[3] He decided to attend Southern Methodist University and join their soccer program. Cichero was a standout performer for SMU during his four year college career. As a freshman, he was named to the ACC Second Team and the All-Rookie Team.[7]

In his sophomore season in 2015, he was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Year,[8] was named to the NCAA Division I First-Team All-America,[9] and was a semi-finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, which is awarded to the top college soccer player of the year.[7]

In his senior season in 2017, he was named the AAC Midfielder of the Year[10] and was again named to the NCAA Division I First-Team All-America.[11] Late in the season, he suffered a serious torn ACL injury.[12]

Professional career[]

After his sophomore year at SMU, Cichero joined the OKC Energy U-23 of the Premier Development League for the summer.[13] He scored 4 goals in 4 games for OKC.[14]

In the 2018 MLS SuperDraft, he was selected 29th overall by FC Dallas.[15] He fell in the draft due to an ACL injury suffered in his senior season at SMU.[16] He would not play that season, but spent the year rehabbing with the club with the hope that he would join the roster the following year.[17]

After not playing in 2018 due to rehabbing his ACL injury,[18] he went on trial with FC Dallas's USL League One affiliate North Texas SC, in the third tier.[19] However, due to continued injury struggles,[20] he did not make the club's roster for 2019.[21]

In 2020, he signed with Charleston Battery of the second tier USL Championship.[7] He made his debut on July 19, 2020, coming on as a substitute against Birmingham Legion FC.[22] His first goal came on August 5, when he scored in stoppage time against Atlanta United 2 to tie the game at 1-1.[23] He re-signed with the club for the 2021 season.[24] Early in the 2021 season, he tore his ACL, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season.[25]

Personal[]

He is the son of Mauro Cichero, who was a professional soccer player and represented Venezuela in the 1980 Summer Olympics.[26] His brothers, Alejandro and Gabriel, are also professional soccer players who have represented the Venezuelan national team.[27] In 2018, he stated it is a dream of his to represent the national team like his father and brothers.[27]

Career statistics[]

As of May 6, 2021[28]
Club statistics
Club Season League Playoffs Domestic Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
OKC Energy U23[14] 2016 Premier Development League 4 4 0 0 — — 4 4
Charleston Battery 2020 USL Championship 11 2 2 0 — — 13 2
2021 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
Career total 16 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 18 6

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Mauro Cichero Profile". USL Championship.
  2. ^ Godfrey, Ed (May 2, 2013). "High school soccer: Mauro Cichero leads Norman North into quarterfinals". The Oklahoman.
  3. ^ a b "Mauro Cichero". Southern Methodist University.
  4. ^ a b Godfrey, Ed (June 1, 2013). "Boys soccer: Norman North's Mauro Cichero is All-City Player of the Year". The Oklahoman.
  5. ^ Rohrbach, Ben (April 9, 2014). "Oklahoma's Mauro Cichero unleashes bicycle kick that rivals any prep goal ever". Yahoo Sports.
  6. ^ Wright, Scott (May 13, 2014). "Norman North's Mauro Cichero wins state's Gatorade soccer award". The Oklahoman.
  7. ^ a b c "Battery Add Attacking Option, Mauro Cichero, to Roster". Charleston Battery. February 27, 2020.
  8. ^ "Men's Soccer Regular Season Awards Announced". American Athletic Conference. November 12, 2015.
  9. ^ "NSCAA Names the 2015 NCAA Division I Men All-America Teams". National Soccer Coaches Association of America. December 11, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  10. ^ "Men's Soccer Regular Season Awards Announced". American Athletic Conference. November 8, 2017.
  11. ^ "NCAA DI Men's All-America Teams Announced by United Soccer Coaches". United Soccer Coaches. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  12. ^ Epperley, Drew (January 19, 2018). "MLS Draft 2018: FC Dallas selects two in second round". Big D Soccer.
  13. ^ Brannick, Chris (April 14, 2016). "Mauro Cichero signs with OKC Energy U23 team". The Oklahoman.
  14. ^ a b "Mauro Cichero". USL League Two.
  15. ^ "FC Dallas Adds Four Players in Opening Rounds of 2018 MLS SuperDraft". FC Dallas. January 19, 2018.
  16. ^ Murphy, Pat (January 19, 2018). "How to Watch: MLS SuperDraft; live stream, time, date, analysis". Massive Report.
  17. ^ Carrick, Buzz (June 3, 2018). "Crossing the gulf - the FC Dallas roster divide". The Dallas Morning News.
  18. ^ Carrick, Buzz (January 2, 2019). "2019 FC Dallas Roster Update - First Week of January". The Dallas Morning News.
  19. ^ Carmona, El Chico (February 6, 2019). "North Texas SC: Roster and Trialists Breakdown". Big D Soccer.
  20. ^ "Battery sign Mauro Cichero". Black Yellow Post. February 27, 2020.
  21. ^ Carrick, Buzz (January 15, 2020). "Twenty players – the SMU to FC Dallas connection". 3rd Degree.
  22. ^ "Charleston Battery vs Birmingham Legion". USL Championship. July 19, 2020.
  23. ^ "Battery Earn Draw in Stoppage Time in Atlanta". WCSC-TV. August 6, 2020.
  24. ^ "Cichero Back for 2021 Season". Charleston Battery. December 4, 2020.
  25. ^ @MLSVenezuela (May 31, 2021). "Nuevamente una lesión se presenta en la carrera de Mauro Cichero" [Again an injury appears in the career of Mauro Cichero] (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
  26. ^ De Simone, Fioravante (15 March 2018). "Mauro Cichero, uno dei pilastri della vinotinto olimpionica" [Mauro Cichero, one of the pillars of the olympic vinotinto]. La Voce d'Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  27. ^ a b Parra Peña, Javier (January 22, 2018). "Mauro Cichero: "Es un sueño mio ir a la selección"" [Mauro Cichero: "It's a dream of mine to go to the national team"]. Vavel (in Spanish).
  28. ^ "M.Cichero". Soccerway.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""