| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 15 October 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Tubbercurry, Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ballina Town | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1990–2000 | Real Tubber | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2005 | Sligo Rovers | 145 | (13) |
| 2006 | Galway United | 24 | (3) |
| 2007–2009 | Sligo Rovers | 92 | (22) |
| 2010 | Bohemians | 25 | (5) |
| 2011–2018 | Sligo Rovers | ||
| 2019–2020 | Finn Harps | 40~ | (3~) |
| 2023–2024 | Ballina Town | ||
| 2025- | Conn Rangers | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Raffaele Cretaro (born 15 October 1981) is an Irish footballer who plays as a striker for Conn Rangers F.C. He holds the all-time record for appearances at Sligo Rovers. [1]
Cretaro is a native of Tubbercurry, Ireland. [2] He is of Italian descent. [3] He joined local side Real Tubber as a youth player at Under-10 level. [4] After making the Sligo/Leitrim squads at Under-16 and Under-18 level, Cretaro was recommended to Sligo Rovers. [5]
Cretaro started his career in 2000 with Irish side Sligo Rovers. [6] He made his goal-scoring debut for Sligo in a 3–0 win over Monaghan United at Gortakeegan on 3 September 2000. [7] Cretaro became a regular in the first team under Don O'Riordan and established himself as an attacking full-back who could be called upon to play in multiple positions. [5] In 2005, due to injuries in the squad, Cretaro played the season at right-back as Sligo Rovers secured the First Division title under manager Sean Connor. [5]
Despite being part of the Sligo team that won promotion to the Premier Division in 2005, Cretaro failed to agree terms on a full-time contract. [8] [5] Instead he signed a part-time deal with First Division team Galway United in February 2006. [9] [5] [10] He started for Galway in an FAI Cup match against Athlone Town on 26 May 2006, winning a penalty for his side. [11] He scored at home against Athlone Town on 3 September 2006. [12] Cretaro made 24 league appearances for the Tribesmen and scored three times in all competitions. [6]
Cretaro returned to Sligo Rovers in 2007 after new manager, Rob McDonald, expressed an interest in signing him. [5] [13] However, McDonald was sacked during pre-season and replaced as manager by Paul Cook. [13] [14] Cretaro credits Cook for installing belief in the group and in 2008, the team finished fourth in the league and qualified for the 2009–10 Europa League. [13] In 2009, Cretaro had one of his most successful seasons, scoring 21 goals in all competitions as well as playing in the FAI Cup final, which Sligo lost 1–2 to Sporting Fingal. [6]
In 2010, he signed for defending champions Bohemians. [6] [15] On 13 July 2010, Cretaro appeared for Bohs in the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League. [16] On 18 August 2010, he scored twice at home to Bray Wanderers. [17] He scored five league goals in total before leaving the club at the end of the season as Bohs entered a period of financial turmoil. [6]
Cretaro returned to Sligo Rovers in January 2011 for his third stint at the club. [6] [18] In his first season back he scored six times in 33 league appearances as Sligo finished runners-up to Shamrock Rovers in the Premier Division. Cretaro also won his first FAI Cup medal as Sligo defeated Shelbourne on penalties in the 2011 final, with Cretaro scoring the winning penalty. [6] [19] The following year, he helped them win the league. [20]
Altogether, he spent seventeen years with Sligo Rovers and, on 20 August 2018, [21] Cretaro surpassed Tony Fagan as the club’s record all-time league appearance holder. [1] [22] He joined Finn Harps in 2019. [6] In 2021, he retired from League of Ireland football. [23] [24]
Cretaro made his breakthrough as a utility player and has deputised in every position bar goalkeeper. [5] He has mainly played as a striker but can also operate as a midfielder or a full-back. [25] [6]
Cretaro is the brother of Irish hurler Fabio Cretaro. [26] [27]
| Club | Season | League | FAI Cup | League Cup [a] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sligo Rovers | 2000–01 | LOI First Division | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2001–02 | LOI First Division | 28 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 4 | |||
| 2002–03 | LOI First Division | 18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 [b] | 0 | 25 | 3 | ||
| 2003 | LOI First Division | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 31 | 3 | |||
| 2004 | LOI First Division | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 4 | |||
| 2005 | LOI First Division | 31 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 1 | |||
| Total | 145 | 13 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | — | 5 | 0 | 173 | 16 | |||
| Galway United | 2006 | LOI First Division | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 3 | ||
| Sligo Rovers | 2007 | LOI Premier Division | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2008 | LOI Premier Division | 31 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 6 | |||
| 2009 | LOI Premier Division | 31 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 [c] | 1 | — | 43 | 21 | ||
| Total | 92 | 22 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 108 | 28 | |||
| Bohemians | 2010 | LOI Premier Division | 25* | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 [d] | 0 | 2 [e] | 1 | 31 | 7 |
*extratime cites 24 appearances, finalwhistle cites 25 appearances
Sligo Rovers