Michael Petrasso

Michael Alexander Petrasso (born 9 July 1995) is a Canadian professional soccer player as a winger and is currently a free agent having last played for York United.

Michael Petrasso

Petrasso in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Michael Alexander Petrasso[1]
Date of birth	(1995-07-09) 9 July 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[2]
Position(s)	Winger
Youth career
	Kleinburg Nobleton
2010–2012	Toronto FC
2012–2013	Queens Park Rangers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2018	Queens Park Rangers	11	(0)
2013–2014	→ Oldham Athletic (loan)	11	(1)
2014	→ Coventry City (loan)	7	(1)
2014	→ Leyton Orient (loan)	3	(0)
2014–2015	→ Notts County (loan)	8	(3)
2018	Montreal Impact	14	(0)
2018	→ Ottawa Fury (loan)	0	(0)
2019	Valour FC	18	(6)
2020–2023	York United	51	(2)
2020–2021	→ Barnet (loan)	28	(8)
2023	→ Maidstone United (loan)	11	(0)
International career‡
2010–2011	Canada U17	8	(3)
2012–2015	Canada U20	6	(1)
2015–2017	Canada U23	7	(4)
2016–2018	Canada	9	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 December 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 March 2018

Early life

Petrasso was born in Toronto, and grew up in Woodbridge, just north of Toronto. He started playing youth football at the age of three for local junior club Kleinburg Nobleton SC.^[3] He joined TFC Academy, the youth setup of Major League Soccer side Toronto FC at the age of fifteen.^[3] His younger brother Luca plays for Italian Serie C club Triestina.

Club career

Toronto FC

Petrasso began his career at Canadian club Toronto FC, where he played at youth level as a part of the TFC Academy. In 2012, he departed from the club, along with teammates Keven Alemán and Dylan Carreiro, after falling out of favour with the academy, while under manager Aron Winter.^[4] Petrasso and Carreiro trained with Canadian Soccer League club SC Toronto after their exit from Toronto FC,^[5] shortly before both moving to English Premier League side Queens Park Rangers.

Queens Park Rangers

In his first season at QPR, Petrasso was an integral member of the squad that won the Professional Development League 2 at under-18 level,^[6] while also making several appearances for the under-21 side in the same season.

After continuing his good form into the 2013–14 season with the under-21 squad, Petrasso was rewarded with a loan move to League One side Oldham Athletic on 22 November 2013.^[7] He made his senior début the following day in a league match against Gillingham, in which he started the match and scored the sole goal of the game.^[8] Petrasso's two – month loan with Oldham Athletic ended on 18 January 2014, returning to Loftus Road after some excellent performances, appearing 15 times and scoring one goal which was on his debut for the club.^[9]

On 14 February 2014, Petrasso joined League One side Coventry City on an initial 28-day loan.^[10] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 defeat to Tranmere Rovers.^[11] On 13 March 2014, Petrasso extended his loan stay with the Sky Blues until 16 March 2014 to cover the match scheduled against Port Vale, with a view to extending the loan further until the end of the 2013–14 season.^[12] At the end of his loan spell, Petrasso had made 7 appearances scoring 1 goal.

On 7 April 2014, Petrasso signed a new three-year contract with QPR.^[13] He made his Queens Park Rangers first team debut on 3 May 2014, in a 3–2 final game of the season win against Barnsley replacing Yossi Benayoun as a substitute in the 76th minute.^[14]

After failing to make QPR's 25-man squad in the Premier League for the 2014–15 season, Petrasso was loaned out to gain further experience at Leyton Orient on 11 September 2014 on a one-month loan, until 7 October 2014.^[15] Petrasso made his debut on 13 September 2014 in a 2–0 defeat at home to Colchester United in which he started, but was however later substituted in the 69th minute by Jobi McAnuff.^[16]

Petrasso moved to Notts County on a 93-day emergency day loan on 14 October 2014.^[17] He made his debut on 18 October, replacing Zeli Ismail in the 74th minute in a 5–3 victory over Crawley Town.^[18] He scored his first goals for Notts County in a 3–2 victory over Barnsley on 21 October.^[19]

Since then, Petrasso has continued to show excellent form, scoring his third goal in just five appearances since joining Notts County, as his side fell 2–1 to Yeovil Town in League One on Saturday, 22 November 2014.^[20]

Petrasso stayed at Loftus Road going into the 2015–2016 season. He made his full debut with the side on 28 November 2015, starting against Leeds United.

Petrasso picked up a long-term injury in the pre-season of the 2016–2017 season and after 9 months out injured Petrasso made his return to the Rangers first team by replacing Darnell Furlong in a 1–0 defeat away to Aston Villa.^[21]

On 12 January 2018, Petrasso left QPR alongside teammate Reece Grego-Cox.^[22]

Montreal Impact

On 18 January 2018, Petrasso joined Montreal Impact in MLS.^[23] Petrasso made his Impact debut against Vancouver Whitecaps FC during the 2018 season opener.^[24]

Valour FC

On 18 March 2019, Petrasso signed with Canadian Premier League side Valour FC.^[25] He made his debut for Valour in their inaugural game on 1 May against Pacific FC. Petrasso scored his first goal for the club in their next game on 5 May against FC Edmonton.^[26]

York United

On 24 January 2020, Petrasso signed with York9 (later renamed York United).^[27] He made his debut for York on 18 August against Pacific FC.^[28] Despite missing significant time during the Island Games tournament, Petrasso would sign a 2-year extension with York9, keeping him with the club through the 2022 season.^[29]

Barnet (loan)

He joined Barnet, in the National League in the English fifth-tier, on a season-long loan on 5 October 2020.^[30] He scored twice on his debut in a 3–2 win away at Leiston in the FA Cup on 24 October.^[31] He suffered an injury in November causing him to miss a couple of months of action.^[32][33] He finished his loan on 28 May 2021, scoring ten goals in 31 games.^[34]

Maidstone United (loan)

On 6 September 2023, Petrasso joined National League South club Maidstone United on loan until the end of the year.^[35]

International career

Petrasso began his involvement with the Canada national team in 2010, as a member of training camps for both the under-15s and the under-17s.^[2] He was named as a member of the under-17 squad to play in the 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship,^[36] and scored a hat-trick in an 8–0 win against Barbados in the group stage.^[37] He has also represented Canada at the U-20 level and was a part of the team that went to the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.

In October 2013, Petrasso had his first experience with Canada's senior team, when he was announced as a member of the senior squad's training camp, ahead of the friendly against Australia.^[38] However, he did not see time in the match.^[39] In November 2014 Petrasso returned to the U-20s for a series of friendlies. He scored a goal during the first friendly against England in a 2–2 draw. In December 2014, Petrasso was named the Canada Soccer U20 Player of the Year.^[40]

Petrasso was named to the 35-man provisional squad for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup by Canada coach Benito Floro on 10 June 2015.^[41] On 27 August 2015, Petrasso received a call-up to the Canada senior squad for their two-legged World Cup qualifier against Belize.^[42] He made his debut for the senior side in a friendly against Azerbaijan on 3 June 2016. He started the match and played the first 61 minutes of the eventual 1–1 draw.^[43]

After appearing for new Canada coach Octavio Zambrano in the Qatar-hosted Aspire tournament with the U23 side in March 2017,^[44] Petrasso was named to the 40-man provisional team for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup on 6 June 2017.^[45] On 27 June, he was named to the final 23-man squad.^[46]

Personal

He is the older brother of Toronto FC player Luca Petrasso.^[47]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 3 December 2023

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup[a]		League Cup[b]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Queens Park Rangers	2013–14[48]	Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2014–15[49]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2015–16[50]	Championship	8	0	1	0	0	0	—		9	0
	2016–17[51]	Championship	2	0	0	0	0	0	—		2	0
	2017–18[52]	Championship	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	Total		11	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	13	0
Oldham Athletic (loan)	2013–14[48]	League One	11	1	3	0	0	0	1[c]	0	15	1
Coventry City (loan)	2013–14[48]	League One	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1
Leyton Orient (loan)	2014–15[49]	League One	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
Notts County (loan)	2014–15[49]	League One	8	3	2	0	0	0	2[c]	0	12	3
Montreal Impact	2018[53]	Major League Soccer	14	0	2	0	—		—		16	0
Valour FC	2019[53]	Canadian Premier League	18	6	2	0	—		—		20	6
York United FC	2020[53]	Canadian Premier League	3	0	—		—		—		3	0
	2021[53]	Canadian Premier League	21	2	2	0	—		1[d]	1	24	3
	2022[53]	Canadian Premier League	13	0	0	0	—		—		13	0
	2023[53]	Canadian Premier League	14	0	0	0	—		0	0	14	0
	Total		52	2	2	0	—		1	1	55	3
Barnet (loan)	2020–21[53]	National League	28	8	3	2	—		0	0	31	10
Maidstone United (loan)	2023–24[53]	National League South	8	0	2	0	—		0	0	10	0
Career total			160	13	17	2	2	0	4	1	183	16

1. Includes FA Cup, Canadian Championship
2. Includes League Cup
3. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
4. Appearance in Canadian Premier League play-offs

International

As of match played 24 March 2018

Canada
Year	Apps	Goals
2016	2	0
2017	6	0
2018	1	0
Total	9	0

References

1. "Michael Petrasso at DR.dk". DR. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
2. "Michael Petrasso profile". Canada Soccer. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
3. "Former Toronto FC players Mike Petrasso, Dylan Carreiro flourish at QPR academy". Toronto Star. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
4. "Aleman, Petrasso, and Carreiro sign Professional contracts". Waking the Red. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
5. "Canadian teen Petrasso to leave for QPR this week". the11.ca. 28 March 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
6. "Under-21 profiles". Queens Park Rangers F.C. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
7. "Petrasso makes Oldham loan move". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
8. "Gillingham 0–1 Oldham Athletic". BBC Sport. 23 November 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
9. "Petrasso goes back to Loftus Road". Oldham Athletic A.F.C. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
10. "Coventry City sign Petrasso from QPR". Coventry City F.C. 14 February 2014.
11. "Tranmere 3–1 Coventry". BBC Sport. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
12. "Coventry agree Petrasso loan extension". Coventry City F.C. 13 March 2014.
13. "Michael Petrasso signs new deal". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 7 April 2014.
14. Whittingham, Clive. "Suk-Young and QPR left to wonder what might have been – report". fansnetwork.co.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
15. "Michael Petrasso: Leyton Orient sign QPR winger on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
16. "Colchester stun Leyton Orient".
17. "QPR's Petrasso joins Notts on loan". BBC Sport.
18. "Notts County 5-3 Crawley Town". BBC Sport.
19. "Loan rangers: Michael Petrasso scores twice for Notts County". Queens Park Rangers F.C. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
20. "Canadian Exports: Michael Petrasso scores third goal in fifth game with Notts County". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014.
21. "Aston Villa 1-0 Queens Park Rangers". BBC Sport.
22. "Grego-Cox and Petrasso depart QPR". Queens Park Rangers F.C.
23. "Canadian international full-back Michael Petrasso joins Impact | CF Montréal".
24. Charles Boehm (4 March 2018). "Vancouver Whitecaps 2, Montreal Impact 1 | 2018 MLS Match Recap". MLS.
25. "Valour FC sign Canadian midfielder Michael Petrasso". Valour FC. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
26. Bedakian, Armen (5 May 2019). "HIGHLIGHTS: Edmonton puts on seasoned showing in win over Valour".
27. "York9 FC Signs Winger Michael Petrasso". York9 FC. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
28. Thompson, Marty (18 August 2020). "Injury time equalizer sees Pacific FC draw York9 FC at The Island Games".
29. "Michael Petrasso Re-Signs for York9 FC on a Multi-Year Deal". York9 FC. 1 October 2020.
30. "Michael Petrasso joins on loan". Barnet F.C.
31. "Non-league round-up: Bury Town and Leiston exit the FA Cup after brave displays". East Anglian Daily Times. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
32. O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (30 November 2020). "CPLers on Loan: Escalante in a title race, Petrasso helped off with injury". Canadian Premier League.
33. Jacques, John (2 January 2021). "Petrasso Still Weeks Away From Barnet Return". Northern Tribune.
34. "Thank you, Michael Petrasso!". Barnet F.C.
35. "Petrasso joins on Loan". maidstoneunited.co.uk. 6 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
36. "CONCACAF Men's Under-17 Championship (2011-02-14 – 2011-02-28)". Canada Soccer. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
37. "PETRASSO, CANADA BEAT BARBADOS AT CONCACAF MEN'S U17 TOURNEY". TSN. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
38. "CanMNT: Ex-Toronto FC Academy duo Michael Petrasso, Dylan Carreiro look for senior breakout". MLSsoccer.com. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
39. "Canada vs Australia – 2013-10-15". Canada Soccer. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
40. "Petrasso, Buchanan named 2014 Canadian U-20 Players of the Year". Canada Soccer Association. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
41. "Canada's 35-man provisional roster announced for this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup". 10 June 2015.
42. "MICHAEL PETRASSO RECEIVES FIRST CANADA CALL-UP". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.^{[dead link‍]}
43. "MICHAEL PETRASSO MAKES CANADA SENIOR DEBUT". Queens Park Rangers F.C. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
44. Linter, Jonathan (18 March 2017). "Kaye called up to Canada's U-23 squad for overseas competition".^{[permanent dead link‍]}
45. Tierney, Mitchell (6 June 2017). "Cavallini, Davies & Arfield highlight Canada's 40-man provisional Gold Cup roster". Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
46. Zeitlin, Dave (27 June 2017). "Canada names nine MLS players to 23-man CONCACAF Gold Cup roster".
47. Ridwan, Ibrahim (23 July 2020). "Where should they Go?". FTF Canada.
48. "Games played by Michael Petrasso in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
49. "Games played by Michael Petrasso in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
50. "Games played by Michael Petrasso in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
51. "Games played by Michael Petrasso in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
52. "Games played by Michael Petrasso in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
53. "M. Petrasso: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 29 November 2023.

External links

• Michael Petrasso at the Canadian Soccer Association
• Michael Petrasso at Soccerbase
• Michael Petrasso – FIFA competition record (archived)