| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mauro Cichero | ||
| Date of birth | August 1, 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Caracas, Venezuela[1] | ||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfield, Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Forward Madison | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2017 | SMU Mustangs | 68 | (24) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016 | OKC Energy U-23 | 4 | (4) |
| 2020–2022 | Charleston Battery | 37 | (5) |
| 2023– | Forward Madison | 27 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 15, 2023 | |||
Mauro Cichero is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays for Forward Madison in USL League One.
Early life
Cichero was born in Venezuela[1] and grew up in Norman, Oklahoma from preschool age until third grade, where his father worked as a soccer coach.[2] He then moved to Spain, where he played at soccer academies in Valencia,[3] before returning to the United States in 2011, following his mother's death.[4] He attended Norman North High School[5] and in 2013, he was named as the Oklahoman All-City Player of the Year.[4] He was named the Gatorade Oklahoma Boys Soccer Player of the Year in 2013 and 2014.[6] In 2014, he scored a bicycle kick goal to give his high school a double overtime victory, with video of the goal going viral.[7]
College career
Coming out of high school, he was considered Oklahoma's top prospect from the 2014 graduating class.[3] He had originally committed to attend Tulsa University, but later decommitted[8] and decided to attend Southern Methodist University and join their soccer program. Cichero was a standout performer for SMU during his four year college career. As a freshman, he was named to the ACC Second Team and the All-Rookie Team.[9]
In his sophomore season in 2015, he was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Year,[10] was named to the NCAA Division I First-Team All-America,[11] and was a semi-finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, which is awarded to the top college soccer player of the year.[9]
In his senior season in 2017, he was named the AAC Midfielder of the Year[12] and was again named to the NCAA Division I First-Team All-America.[13] Late in the season, he suffered a serious torn ACL injury.[14]
Professional career
After his sophomore year at SMU, Cichero joined the OKC Energy U-23 of the Premier Development League for the summer.[15] He scored 4 goals in 4 games for OKC.[16]
In the 2018 MLS SuperDraft, he was selected 29th overall by FC Dallas.[17] He fell in the draft due to an ACL injury suffered in his senior season at SMU.[18] He would not play that season, but spent the year rehabbing with the club with the hope that he would join the roster the following year.[19]
After not playing in 2018 due to rehabbing his ACL injury,[20] he went on trial with FC Dallas's USL League One affiliate North Texas SC, in the third tier.[21] However, due to continued injury struggles,[22] he did not make the club's roster for 2019.[23]
In 2020, he signed with Charleston Battery of the second tier USL Championship.[9] He made his debut on July 19, 2020, coming on as a substitute against Birmingham Legion FC.[24] His first goal came on August 5, when he scored in stoppage time against Atlanta United 2 to tie the game at 1-1.[25] He re-signed with the club for the 2021 season.[26] Early in the 2021 season, he tore his ACL, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season.[27] After recovering from his injury, he re-signed with the club for the 2022 season.[28][29] Following the 2022 season, the Battery declined his club option for 2023.[30]
In January 2023, Cichero signed with USL League One side Forward Madison.[31][32]
Personal
He is the son of Mauro Cichero, who was a professional soccer player and represented Venezuela in the 1980 Summer Olympics.[33] His brothers, Alejandro and Gabriel, are also professional soccer players who have represented the Venezuela national team.[34] In 2018, he stated it is a dream of his to represent the national team like his father and brothers.[34] Born in Venezuela, Cichero is of Italian and Polish descent.[35]
Career statistics
- As of October 14, 2023[36]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| OKC Energy U23[16] | 2016 | Premier Development League | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 4 | ||
| Charleston Battery | 2020 | USL Championship | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 2 | ||
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2022 | 25 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 37 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 5 | ||
| Forward Madison FC | 2023 | USL League One | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 28 | 2 | |
| Career total | 68 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 11 | ||
References
- ^ a b c "Mauro Cichero Profile". USL Championship.
- ^ Godfrey, Ed (May 2, 2013). "High school soccer: Mauro Cichero leads Norman North into quarterfinals". The Oklahoman.
- ^ a b "Mauro Cichero". Southern Methodist University.
- ^ a b Godfrey, Ed (June 1, 2013). "Boys soccer: Norman North's Mauro Cichero is All-City Player of the Year". The Oklahoman.
- ^ Rohrbach, Ben (April 9, 2014). "Oklahoma's Mauro Cichero unleashes bicycle kick that rivals any prep goal ever". Yahoo Sports.
- ^ Wright, Scott (May 13, 2014). "Norman North's Mauro Cichero wins state's Gatorade soccer award". The Oklahoman.
- ^ Horning, Clay (April 11, 2014). "Cichero's amazing, game-winning goal goes viral". The Norman Transcript.
- ^ Warwick, Evan (June 6, 2023). "Behind the 'Mingos: With Mauro Cichero". Forward Madison FC.
- ^ a b c "Battery Add Attacking Option, Mauro Cichero, to Roster". Charleston Battery. February 27, 2020.
- ^ "Men's Soccer Regular Season Awards Announced". American Athletic Conference. November 12, 2015.
- ^ "NSCAA Names the 2015 NCAA Division I Men All-America Teams". National Soccer Coaches Association of America. December 11, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
- ^ "Men's Soccer Regular Season Awards Announced". American Athletic Conference. November 8, 2017.
- ^ "NCAA DI Men's All-America Teams Announced by United Soccer Coaches". United Soccer Coaches. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
- ^ Epperley, Drew (January 19, 2018). "MLS Draft 2018: FC Dallas selects two in second round". Big D Soccer.
- ^ Brannick, Chris (April 14, 2016). "Mauro Cichero signs with OKC Energy U23 team". The Oklahoman.
- ^ a b "Mauro Cichero 2016 PDL Stats". USL League Two.
- ^ "FC Dallas Adds Four Players in Opening Rounds of 2018 MLS SuperDraft". FC Dallas. January 19, 2018.
- ^ Murphy, Pat (January 19, 2018). "How to Watch: MLS SuperDraft; live stream, time, date, analysis". Massive Report.
- ^ Carrick, Buzz (June 3, 2018). "Crossing the gulf - the FC Dallas roster divide". The Dallas Morning News.
- ^ Carrick, Buzz (January 2, 2019). "2019 FC Dallas Roster Update - First Week of January". The Dallas Morning News.
- ^ Carmona, El Chico (February 6, 2019). "North Texas SC: Roster and Trialists Breakdown". Big D Soccer.
- ^ "Battery sign Mauro Cichero". Black Yellow Post. February 27, 2020.
- ^ Carrick, Buzz (January 15, 2020). "Twenty players – the SMU to FC Dallas connection". 3rd Degree.
- ^ "Charleston Battery vs Birmingham Legion". USL Championship. July 19, 2020.
- ^ "Battery Earn Draw in Stoppage Time in Atlanta". WCSC-TV. August 6, 2020.
- ^ "Cichero Back for 2021 Season". Charleston Battery. December 4, 2020.
- ^ @MLSVenezuela (May 31, 2021). "Nuevamente una lesión se presenta en la carrera de Mauro Cichero" [Again an injury appears in the career of Mauro Cichero] (Tweet) (in Spanish) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Charleston Re-Signs Forward Mauro Cichero for New Season". USL Championship. March 8, 2022.
- ^ "Charleston Battery renueva contrato de Mauro Cichero" [Charleston Battery renews contract for Mauro Cichero]. El Informador. March 8, 2022.
- ^ "Battery announce initial returning players for 2023". Charleston Battery. November 22, 2022.
- ^ Warwick, Evan (19 January 2023). "6'5″ Forward Mauro Cichero Signs With Forward Madison FC". Forward Madison FC.
- ^ Chappell, Robert (January 19, 2023). "Forward Madison signs 6'5″ Venezuelan striker Mauro Cichero". Madison365.
- ^ De Simone, Fioravante (15 March 2018). "Mauro Cichero, uno dei pilastri della vinotinto olimpionica" [Mauro Cichero, one of the pillars of the olympic vinotinto]. La Voce d'Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- ^ a b Parra Peña, Javier (January 22, 2018). "Mauro Cichero: "Es un sueño mio ir a la selección"" [Mauro Cichero: "It's a dream of mine to go to the national team"]. Vavel (in Spanish).
- ^ 🖉Borzęcki, Marcin (26 April 2021). "Od potomka "Witkacego" po Dybalę. Egzotycznymi śladami Polaków" [From the descendant of "Witkacy" to Paulo Dybala. In the exotic footsteps of Poles]. TVP Sport.
- ^ Mauro Cichero at Soccerway
External links
- Mauro Cichero at Soccerway
This page was last edited on 10 January 2024, at 22:07