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Klaidi Cela

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Klaidi Cela
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-07-16) July 16, 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Richmond Kickers
Number 16
Youth career
Mississauga Falcons
2012–2016 Toronto FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 Toronto FC III 23+ (0)
2015 Toronto FC II 1 (0)
2016–2018 Gafanha 0 (0)
2018 Sigma FC 1 (0)
2019–2020 Forge FC 10 (1)
2021 Sigma FC 4 (1)
2021 → Forge FC (loan) 1 (0)
2021 Forge FC 4 (0)
2022 Toronto FC II 4 (0)
2023 Vaughan Azzurri 2 (0)
2023 Valour FC 23 (2)
2024 Liria Prizren 12 (0)
2024– Richmond Kickers 6 (1)
International career‡
2015 Canada U18 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 15, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of November 23, 2024

Klaidi Cela (born July 16, 1999) is a Canadian soccer player who plays for the Richmond Kickers in USL League One.

Early life

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Cela began playing youth soccer at age four with Mississauga Falcons SC.[1] In October 2012, he joined the Toronto FC Academy.[2]

Club career

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In 2015, he began playing with Toronto FC III in League1 Ontario.[3] He also played with them in 2016 in both League1 Ontario[4] and the Premier Development League.[5]

In May 2015, Cela joined Toronto FC II in the USL Championship, signing an academy player agreement.[6] He made his debut on September 24, 2015 in a substitute appearance against the Rochester Rhinos.[3]

In 2016, Cela signed with Campeonato de Portugal club Gafanha, where he would play for two seasons.[7]

In 2018, after leaving Gafanha, Cela returned to Canada and spent the remainder of the 2018 season with Sigma FC in League1 Ontario.[8]

In April 2019, Cela signed with Canadian Premier League side Forge FC.[9] He scored his first goal on October 2, 2019, in a 1-0 victory over FC Edmonton.[10] He won the league title with the club in 2019 as well.[11] In January 2020, he re-signed with the club for an additional season.[12] On August 19, 2020, Cela tore his ACL in a match against the HFX Wanderers, causing him to miss the remainder of the season.[13] Forge won the CPL title again in 2020, with Cela departing after the season.[14]

In 2021, he returned to Sigma FC of League1 Ontario.[15] In August 2021, he returned to Forge on a short term emergency loan deal.[16][17] Cela rejoined Forge for a single game in September, and was eventually signed in October by Forge for the remainder of the 2021 Canadian Premier League season.[18][19]

In March 2022, Cela signed with MLS Next Pro side Toronto FC II.[20]

In 2023, he began the season with League1 Ontario side Vaughan Azzurri.[21] With Vaughan, he played in the 2023 Canadian Championship against Major League Soccer club CF Montréal.[22]

In April 2023, Cela signed with Canadian Premier League club Valour FC, following injuries occurred to Matthew Chandler and Andrew Jean-Baptiste.[23][24]

In February 2024, Cela signed with Liria Prizren in the Football Superleague of Kosovo.[25]

In August 2024, Cela signed with the Richmond Kickers in USL League One.[26][27]

International career

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Due to Cela's parents being born in Albania, he is eligible to represent both Canada and Albania. In 2013, he made his debut in the Canadian national team program, attending a Canada U15 camp in November 2013, also attending another camp in September 2014.[1][28]

In October 2015, he was called up to the Canada U18 team for a pair of friendlies against the United States U18, playing in both matches.[29]

References

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  1. ^ a b Klaidi Cela at the Canadian Soccer Association
  2. ^ "Toronto FC II sign Stefan Karajovanovic and Klaidi Cela". Toronto FC. March 31, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Campos, Anthony (September 24, 2015). "Match Recap: TFC II Suffer Defeat in Season Finale". Toronto FC.
  4. ^ "Kladi Cela 2016 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  5. ^ "Kladi Cela 2016 PDL Stats". USL League Two.
  6. ^ "Academy athletes make the move". Toronto FC. May 1, 2015.
  7. ^ Urciuoli, Anthony (April 3, 2019). "Forge FC adds Canadians Anthony Novak, Klaidi Cela to inaugural roster". Global.
  8. ^ "Klaidi Cela 2018 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  9. ^ "Forge inks former L1O top scorer Anthony Novak, defender Klaidi Cela". Canadian Premier League. April 3, 2019.
  10. ^ Sandor, Steven (October 2, 2019). "'We've struggled here': Forge breaks FCE's spell at Clarke". Canadian Premier League.
  11. ^ "Klaidi Cela: Favourite Forge FC Memory". Forge FC. June 12, 2020.
  12. ^ Jacques, John (January 8, 2020). "Forge FC Wraps Up Last Of Inaugural Roster Re-Signings". Northern Tribune.
  13. ^ Jacques, John (October 8, 2020). "Forge FC's Cela Undergoes Successful Knee Surgery". Northern Tribune.
  14. ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (June 24, 2021). "The Kickoff: Forge FC 2021 CPL season preview". Canadian Premier League.
  15. ^ Jacques, John (August 1, 2021). "Canadian Premier League Athletes To Watch In League1 Ontario". Northern Tribune.
  16. ^ Jacques, John (August 4, 2021). "Klaidi Cela Returns To Forge On Short-Term Deal". Northern Tribune.
  17. ^ "Forge FC re-sign Cela as a short-term replacement player". Forge FC. April 4, 2021.
  18. ^ "Forge FC brings back Klaidi Cela for rest of 2021 season". Canadian Premier League. October 8, 2021.
  19. ^ Jacques, John (October 8, 2021). "Forge FC Adds Cela For Remainder Of Season". Northern Tribune.
  20. ^ Jacques, John (March 31, 2022). "Toronto FC II Adds CPLers Karajovanovic And Cela". Northern Tribune.
  21. ^ "Klaidi Cela 2023 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  22. ^ Tait, Ed (April 27, 2023). "Klaidi Cela: "Hey, if you need me there in five hours or whatever it is to play a game, I'm there in five hours. I'm ready to go."". Valour FC.
  23. ^ "Valour FC sign Canadian defender Klaidi Cela". Valour FC. April 27, 2023.
  24. ^ Jacques, John (April 27, 2023). "Valour Adds Former Forge, TFC2 Defender Klaidi Cela". Northern Tribune. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  25. ^ "Liria nuk dorëzohet, prezanton tre prurje cilësore" [Liria does not give up, it presents three quality streams]. Telegrafi (in Albanian). February 24, 2024.
  26. ^ Heintschel, Nathan (August 13, 2024). "Gritty Veteran Defender Klaidi Cela Joins Kickers". Richmond Kickers.
  27. ^ Jacques, John (August 13, 2024). "Richmond Kickers Call For Cela". Northern Tribune.
  28. ^ Urciuoli, Anthony (October 8, 2021). "Forge FC Hamilton re-sign Mississauga-native, Klaidi Cela to full-time contract". In the Hammer.
  29. ^ "U.S. U-18 MNT splits two-game set with Canada". Soccerwire. October 30, 2015.
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