Josh Cavallo

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Josh Cavallo
Josh Cavallo Adelaide United FC.jpg
Cavallo with Adelaide United in 2021
Personal information
Full name Joshua John Cavallo
Date of birth (1999-11-13) 13 November 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Bentleigh East, Victoria, Australia
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) [1]
Position(s) Left back, central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Adelaide United
Number 27
Youth career
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2017–2019 Melbourne City NPL 54 (6)
2019–2021 Western United 9 (0)
2021– Adelaide United 49 (0)
International career‡
2018 Australia U20 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 March 2020

Joshua John Cavallo (born 13 November 1999) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a left back and central midfielder for A-League Men club Adelaide United. Cavallo has represented the Australian under-20 national team.

Contents

Early life

Joshua John Cavallo [2] was born on 13 November 1999 in Bentleigh East, Victoria. [3] He is of Italian and Maltese descent. [4]

He says that he was initially more into playing tennis, but his brother encouraged him to kick a ball around in the backyard and it was not long before he "fell in love" with the game. [5]

Career

Youth

Cavallo with Melbourne Victory Youth in 2016 Joshua Cavallo.jpg
Cavallo with Melbourne Victory Youth in 2016

Cavallo was scouted by a national program at the age of 15, and later offered a scholarship by Melbourne Victory. [5] He represented both Melbourne Victory FC Youth and Melbourne City FC Youth. [6]

Western United

On 15 April 2019, Melbourne City announced that Cavallo would leave the club at the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2018–19 season. [7]

On 24 June 2019, new A-League side Western United, [8] representing western Melbourne suburbs and western Victorian regional towns, [9] announced that Cavallo would join the club ahead of its inaugural season. [8] He made his debut on 3 January 2020 in a 3–2 loss at his previous club. On as a 71st-minute substitute for Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, he earned a penalty when fouled by goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis, which was converted by Besart Berisha. [10]

Western United announced that Cavallo was leaving the club on 10 February 2021 [11] to seek more playing time with another A-League club.

Adelaide United

On 18 February 2021, Cavallo signed a short-term contract to play for Adelaide United. [12] After a successful stint in the 2020–21 A-League, he signed a two-year contract extension on 11 May. [13] He was rewarded with Adelaide United's A-League Rising Star award after a successful 2020–21 campaign, in which he started 15 games and made 18 appearances. [14]

He plays as a left back and central midfielder for the club. [15]

During the 2024-25 season, Cavallo failed to make a single appearance for Adelaide, only making the bench eight times throughout the season.

National team

Cavallo was in the Australian under-19 national team which played in the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship in October–November 2018, starting with a game against Korea Republic. [16]

Cavallo has represented the Australian under-20 national team. [17] [18]

Cavallo hoped to make the team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, [19] but was not selected to play. He was disappointed at FIFA's decision to ban players from wearing "OneLove" armbands at the tournament [20]

Personal life

He came out as gay in October 2021. [21] [5] At the time, there were no other openly gay male footballers playing professional top-flight football. He said in a statement, "I hope that in sharing who I am, I can show others who identify as LGBTQ+ that they are welcome in the football community". [22] Cavallo said he had "never smiled so much in my life" and had "the best night's sleep" after his announcement. [23] He was fully and explicitly supported by Adelaide United management and fellow players. [24] [25] The announcement was widely reported in the international press, [26] and Cavallo received messages of support from many football players, including Gerard Piqué, Marcus Rashford, Antoine Griezmann, [5] Jordan Henderson, [23] Gary Lineker, [5] and Lionel Messi, as well as fans, strangers, and celebrities such as Lil Nas X and Ellen DeGeneres. [24]

Cavallo was the first high-profile player to come out during their career since English footballer Justin Fashanu made a similar announcement in 1990. Fashanu faced widespread homophobia after the announcement. [24] [a] In May 2022 English footballer Jake Daniels came out, aged 17, becoming the UK's only male professional footballer to be publicly out at the time, and the first since Fashanu. [29] He cited Cavallo among those who had helped him to come out. [30]

In March 2024, Cavallo proposed to his partner Leighton Morrell on the pitch at Coopers Stadium, Adelaide United's home ground. [31] He posted three photos on Instagram, one of which showed Morrell wearing an engagement ring, and thanked his club for their support and encouragement to live his life authentically. [32]

Recognition

He won Adelaide United's Rising Star award for the 2020–21 season. [5]

In 2022, Cavallo received an honorary doctorate from Flinders University in Adelaide, in recognition of "his exceptional contributions as a role model in elite men's sport and as a champion for equality". [18]

Cavallo was nominated as 2023 SA Young Australian of the Year. [18]

Career statistics

As of match played 18 March 2025 [1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCupTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Western United 2019–20 A-League 90–90
2020–21 A-League00–00
Total90–90
Adelaide United 2020–21 A-League190–190
2021–22 A-League Men19030220
2022–23 A-League Men7030100
2023–24 A-League Men400040
2024–25 A-League Men000000
Total49060550
Career total58060640

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Fashanu committed suicide eight years later, after fleeing to England following charges being laid in the U.S. that he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old boy, which he denied, saying that the sex had been consensual. [27] [28]

References

  1. 1 2 "J. Cavallo". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  2. ↑ "AFCS". stats.the-afc.com. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "Josh Cavallo: what did Adelaide United football player say about coming out as gay - and support received". National World. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  4. ↑ "Maltese-Australian footballer Josh Cavallo comes out as gay". 27 October 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cavallo, Josh (14 November 2021). "Josh Cavallo: the world's only openly gay top-tier men's footballer" (audio + text). the Guardian (Interview). Interviewed by Safi, Michael. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  6. ↑ "Youth in Focus: Josh Cavallo". Melbourne City FC. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "Cavallo to depart at season's end". Melbourne City FC . 15 April 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  8. 1 2 Windon, Jacob (24 June 2019). "Signing news: Western United confirm double swoop". A-League .
  9. ↑ "About us". Western United FC. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  10. ↑ Greco, John (3 January 2020). "Maclaren at the double as 10-man City hold off United fightback" . Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "Josh Cavallo departs". Western United FC . 10 February 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  12. ↑ "Reds sign Cavallo for remainder of the season". Adelaide United FC . 18 February 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "Reds extend Cavallo contract for two-years". A-League . 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "Waldus and Halloran claim 2021 Alagich Vidmar Awards". Adelaide United FC . 15 June 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "Joshua Cavallo". Adelaide United. 29 August 2017. Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  16. ↑ "Update to Young Socceroos squad for AFC U19 Championship". Socceroos. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  17. ↑ "Australian Josh Cavallo becomes only openly gay male footballer in the pro game". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  18. 1 2 3 "Josh Cavallo". Australian of the Year. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  19. ↑ "Josh Cavallo: My dream is to play in Qatar, but I don't want to put my life in danger". Marca. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  20. ↑ Emmet Lyons, Ami Kaufman (23 November 2022). "Josh Cavallo: Only openly gay top-flight male footballer says FIFA's 'OneLove' armband ban has made him feel 'excluded'". CNN. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  21. ↑ "Josh Cavallo: 'I'm a footballer and I'm gay,' says Australian player". BBC News. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  22. ↑ Kemp, Emma (27 October 2021). "'I have been fighting my sexuality': A-League player Josh Cavallo comes out as gay". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  23. 1 2 "Cavallo: 'I've never smiled this much'". The Senior. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  24. 1 2 3 Berrill, Sophie (22 August 2022). "Josh Cavallo: 'People don't have to get football to get my story'". Marketing Mag. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  25. ↑ "Adelaide United supports Josh's truth". Football Australia. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  26. ↑ "Australian footballer Josh Cavallo says he is gay in emotional social media post". BreakingNews.ie. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  27. ↑ "Fashanu 'may have fled US'". BBC News . 2 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  28. ↑ "Justin Fashanu found hanged in lock-up garage". The Independent . 4 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  29. ↑ "Jake Daniels: Blackpool forward becomes UK's first active male professional footballer to come out publicly as gay". Sky Sports. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  30. ↑ Storey, Daniel (16 May 2022). "Jake Daniels coming out as gay is a beautiful moment that could change British football forever". i News . Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  31. ↑ "Trailblazer Cavallo gets engaged on Adelaide Utd pitch". BBC Sport . 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  32. ↑ "Starting this year with my fiancé..." Instagram. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
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