Leonardo Di Lorenzo

Leonardo Di Lorenzo
Personal information
Full name	Leonardo Di Lorenzo
Date of birth	May 20, 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1997–1999	San Lorenzo
Senior career*
Years	Team
2000–2004	San Lorenzo
2003	→ Atlético Rafaela (loan)
2005	Argentinos Juniors
2006–2011	Montreal Impact
2006	→ Ottawa Fury (loan)
2012	Deportes Concepción
2012–2013	Universidad de Concepción
2013	Acassuso
2013–2020	Temperley
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Leonardo Di Lorenzo (born May 20, 1981) is a retired Argentine footballer. He announced his retirement from football at the age of 39 on January 20, 2021.^[1]

Career

South America

Di Lorenzo started playing soccer in the professional ranks in 2000, with San Lorenzo, where he was part of the team that reached the National A Division closing tournament, and helped the club achieve its first international success by winning the Mercosur Cup. Later on he had spells with Atlético Rafaela and Argentinos Juniors.

Canada

Di Lorenzo was spotted by the Montreal Impact head coach Nick De Santis during a scouting trip in Argentina in January 2006, and signed a two-year contract with the USL First Division club. In his first season with the Impact he played in 19 games and spent 1,427 minutes on the field in regular-season action, making him the busiest Impact player among those into their first USL First Division season, and scored two goals and collected six assists for 10 points making him the second highest total among Impact players after Mauricio Salles. Helped the Impact claim the regular-season title as well as the Voyageurs Cup, and he won the Impact's Newcomer of the Year award.

In his second season Di Lorenzo was one of the 13 players in the league who played all 28 regular-season games. He ended the season with three goals and four assists for 10 points, and earned a spot in the 2007 USL First Division Second All-league Team for a second straight season. He was also named five times to the USL First Division Team of the Week. At the team's annual awards banquet he was awarded the Giuseppe-Saputo Trophy as the Impact's MVP. Impact's head coach, De Santis said of him "Leonardo came to training camp in perfect shape and it gave him the chance to be constant all season long. He was a key player during 28 games. After only two seasons, he is already part of the team's nucleus".^[2] During the 2008 USL season Di Lorenzo played in 24 matches for the Impact, and recorded three goals as well two assists. In the 2008 Canadian Championship he appeared in all four matches for the Impact. He helped the Impact qualify for the first time for the CONCACAF Champions League by winning the Canadian Championship. He was also selected to the USL First Division Second All-Star Team for a third consecutive season. During the 2009 USL season Di Lorenzo contributed by helping the Impact clinch a playoff spot under new head coach Marc Dos Santos. He helped the Impact reach the finals where Montreal would face the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, this marking the first time in USL history where the final match would consist of two Canadian clubs. In the final he helped the Impact win the series 6–3 on aggregate. The victory gave the Impact their third USL Championship and also the victory marked his first USL Championship.

Di Lorenzo signed a new two-year contract with Montreal on January 30, 2010.^[3] On July 18, 2010, he made his 100-game appearance for the club; he managed to score his 10th career goal in the same match against Crystal Palace Baltimore. Throughout the season he led his team in assists, and managed to become one of the five Montreal players to record 2,000 minutes.

Honours

Montreal Impact

USL First Division Championship (1): 2009

Career stats

Team	Season	League	Domestic League			Domestic Playoffs			Domestic Cup¹			Concacaf Competition²			Total
Team	Season	League	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Montreal Impact	2006	USL-1	19	2	6	2	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	21	2	6
	2007	USL-1	28	3	4	2	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	30	3	4
	2008	USL-1	24	3	2	2	0	0	4	0	0	10	0	0	40	3	2
	2009	USL-1	23	1	3	6	0	1	2	0	0	-	-	-	31	1	4
	2010	USSF D2	26	1	7	4	1	1	4	0	0	-	-	-	34	2	8
	2011	NASL	19	0	1	-	-	-	2	0	0	-	-	-	21	0	1
		Total NASL	139	10	23	16	1	2	12	0	0	10	0	0	177	11	25

References

^ de Zamora, Lomas (January 20, 2021). "El retiro de un ídolo de Temperley: Leonardo Di Lorenzo colgó los botines". El Diario Sur (in Spanish).
^ "Leonardo Di Lorenzo awarded Giuseppe-Saputo Trophy" (Press release). Montreal Impact. September 25, 2007. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007.
^ "Di Lorenzo is back, Hemming joins the Impact". CF Montreal. January 13, 2010.

External links

Montreal Impact bio at the Wayback Machine (archived October 25, 2007)
Argentine Primera statistics^[usurped] at Futbol XXI (in Spanish)
Leonardo Di Lorenzo at Soccerway

[1] Zamora, Lomas (January 20, 2021). "El retiro de un ídolo de Temperley: Leonardo Di Lorenzo colgó los botines". El Diario Sur (in Spanish).

[2] "Leonardo Di Lorenzo awarded Giuseppe-Saputo Trophy" (Press release). Montreal Impact. September 25, 2007. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007.

[3] "Di Lorenzo is back, Hemming joins the Impact". CF Montreal. January 13, 2010.

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