Cyle Larin


Cyle Christopher Larin is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Belgian club Zulte Waregem on loan from Beşiktaş and the Canada national team.
After playing college soccer for the Connecticut Huskies, he was the first pick of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, joining Orlando City. In his first MLS season, he broke the record for most goals by a rookie, scoring 17 in 27 games and earning the MLS Rookie of the Year Award. He totaled 89 games and 44 goals for Orlando before moving to Beşiktaş for an undisclosed fee in January 2018.
A full international for Canada since 2014, he represented the nation at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Early life

Larin was born in Brampton, Ontario, Canada to a Jamaican family and attended St. Edmund Campion Secondary School, where he was the school's top goal scorer for the final three years that he attended.

Club career

Youth and college

In 2007, at the age of 11, Larin joined the private soccer academy Sigma FC of the Ontario Soccer League before graduating in 2013. During his time at Sigma FC, Larin travelled to Europe for training periods with Werder Bremen, Hertha Berlin and Wolfsburg in Germany, as well as Racing Genk and Club Brugge in Belgium twice. About the striker, then-Sigma FC Technical Director Bobby Smyrniotis said, "Cyle is a rare player to find in Canada...a complete and modern striker able to play with both feet, finish from all areas, dominate his region of the park and provide for his teammates."
In 2013, Larin committed to the University of Connecticut. During his first year with the Huskies, Larin scored 14 goals in 23 appearances, the 6th highest goal total in the entire NCAA for the season. His performance during his freshman year earned him multiple honours including Freshman of the Year by TopDrawerSoccer.com and being named to the Conference All-Rookie Team. In January 2014, Larin was touted as one of the best players available in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft. However, he did not sign a Generation Adidas deal with Major League Soccer before the draft and was named the No. 2 best college player available in 2015 if he opted to sign with the league.
In 2014, during the college offseason Larin rejoined Sigma FC as they entered the newly formed League1 Ontario. During the season, Larin scored four goals for Sigma. During the season, Sigma FC reached the League 1 Ontario Cup final before ultimately losing 1–2 to Vaughan Azzurri. Following the 2014 Major League Soccer regular season and during his sophomore season at UConn, Larin was once again predicted to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2015 MLS Superdraft if he opted to sign with the league and not for a European club, which were also rumoured to be interested in the player. At that time, Orlando City SC held the No. 1 pick in the draft after selecting it in the Expansion Draft held between themselves and fellow-expansion club New York City FC.

Orlando City

2015 season

In early January 2015, it was announced that Larin had reached a verbal agreement to sign a Generation Adidas contract with Major League Soccer despite interest from European clubs, including a club from the English Premier League. On January 8, 2015 it was officially announced that Larin had signed a Generation Adidas contract with the league, along with four other players. At the draft, Larin was selected by Orlando City SC as the first overall pick as expected, becoming the first Canadian ever chosen first overall in the MLS SuperDraft in the process.
Larin was first included in an Orlando City match on March 13, 2015, remaining an unused substitute in their 1–0 win at the Houston Dynamo. Eight days later he made his debut, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute for Pedro Ribeiro in a 0–1 loss against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at the Citrus Bowl. He scored his first professional league goal on April 12, opening a 2–0 away win against the Portland Timbers. Larin scored in his Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup debut as Orlando was defeated 1–3 by Chicago Fire in the quarterfinals. On July 18, in a 0–2 home loss to the New York Red Bulls, he was sent off in the first half for a high tackle on Sacha Kljestan; this red card was eventually overturned.
Eight days later, he scored his first professional hat-trick in an MLS fixture against New York City FC. With the hat-trick, Larin became only the 8th rookie to score three goals in an MLS match and only the third player to do so for an expansion side. His nine goals put him within two goals of Damani Ralph's rookie record of eleven set in 2003 with 13 matches remaining. Larin also became the third Canadian to score three goals in a match, along with Dwayne De Rosario and Tesho Akindele, and the second youngest player to do so behind only Kekuta Manneh, who was 18 at the time of his first MLS hat-trick. He was named MLS Player of the Week for his efforts.
In Orlando's next match, Larin scored two more goals as the club defeated Columbus Crew SC 5–2, tying him with Ralph's rookie record of eleven goals. On September 25, against the Red Bulls, he scored his second hat-trick of the season in a 5–2 victory on the road and, in the process, broke the rookie goal-scoring record. In November, having finished his first season with 17 goals in 27 games, Larin was nominated for and won the 2015 MLS Rookie of the Year Award.

2016 season

On March 6, Orlando began the new season by hosting Real Salt Lake. Down 2–0 in the fourth minute of added time, Larin scored from Brek Shea's pass and then set up Adrian Winter's equalizer in the eventual 2–2 draw. He scored in each of the team's first three games of the season, the third being the only goal in a win at New York City on March 18.
Larin was selected for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game in San Jose, California, coming on in place of Sebastian Giovinco for the final 14 minutes of a 2–1 loss to England's Arsenal.

2017 season

Larin scored the first three goals of Orlando's 2017 season, including a brace against Philadelphia. In the early hours of Thursday, June 15, Larin was arrested and charged with DUI. As a result, he missed three games while under assessment by MLS. After scoring 12 goals in the 2017 season, Larin indicated a desire to move to Europe in the offseason.

Beşiktaş

Larin was sold to Beşiktaş in Turkey in January 2018, after refusing to show up to practice with Orlando City, with whom he was still under contract. The transfer fee was undisclosed. On April 7, Larin scored on his debut with Beşiktaş in a 5–1 home Süper Lig win over Göztepe, minutes after entering as a late substitute. In the last game of the season on May 19, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 win over Sivasspor also at the Vodafone Park.
In the second leg of the second qualifying round against the Faroese side B36 Torshavn in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, Larin scored three goals in a 6–0 win on 2 August. This made him the second player after Demba Ba to bag a hat-trick for the Black Eagles in a European competition.
After a difficult 2018-19 season with Beşiktaş, Larin was loaned to Belgian club Zulte Waregem in July 2019. He made his debut for his new club on July 27 against KV Mechelen.

International career

After Larin's impressive first-year season at the University of Connecticut, Canadian national team manager Benito Floro called him in for a senior national training camp in Florida in January 2014 — Larin's first national callup at any level, senior or junior. In May 2014, Larin was included in the roster for a senior training camp in Austria and friendly matches against Bulgaria and Moldova on May 23 and 27, respectively. Larin was viewed as a potential offensive solution for the team which was experiencing a scoring drought of over 900 minutes and winless streak of 15 games entering the friendlies. He made his senior international debut in the match against Bulgaria in Ritzing, coming on as a substitute for Simeon Jackson later in the second half of a 1–1 draw.
Larin was named in Canada's 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship squad on January 5 that year. Five days later, he made his tournament debut in a 3–1 win over Haiti, as Canada exited in the group stage in Jamaica. He returned to the senior team for friendlies against Guatemala and Puerto Rico in March. He scored his first goal for Canada in the latter match, the third goal in the 3–0 victory over Puerto Rico.
In June, Larin netted in each leg of Canada's 6–0 aggregate win over Dominica in the second round of qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Larin featured in all three of Canada's matches in their co-hosting of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the first two as a starter, in a group stage exit. In the team's opening game of the tournament on July 8 at the StubHub Center, he missed an open goal in a goalless draw with El Salvador. On November 13, in the first match of the fourth round of qualification, he scored the only goal to defeat Honduras at BC Place in Vancouver.
Larin was not named in manager Octavio Zambrano's initial Canada squad for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup due to his recent charge for driving under the influence, but was named in the squad for the knockout stage. He started in the quarter-final against Jamaica at the University of Phoenix Stadium, and was substituted for Lucas Cavallini after 56 minutes of the 2–1 loss.
Larin was named to the final 23-man squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup on May 30, 2019.

Personal life

Larin holds a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.
In June 2017, Larin was arrested by Florida Highway Patrol of driving the wrong way on a 4-lane road in Orlando and given a breathalyzer test that showed that he was above the legal blood alcohol level. He was suspended from MLS until he completed a league-mandated substance abuse assessment, and this ban was lifted by the end of the month.

Career statistics

College

International

International statistics

International goals

Honours

Individual