Josh Cavallo

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Josh Cavallo
Cavallo with Adelaide United in 2021
Personal information
Full name Joshua John Cavallo
Date of birth (1999-11-13) 13 November 1999 (age 24)
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*
Years Team Apps (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.

Early life[edit]

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[edit]

Youth[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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]

National team[edit]

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]

Although he represents Australia, Cavallo opted to not play for the team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, citing that he was afraid to set foot in the country that has strong anti-LGBT views.[18]

Personal life[edit]

He came out as gay in October 2021.[19][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".[20] Cavallo said he had "never smiled so much in my life" and had "the best night's sleep" after his announcement.[21] He was fully and explicitly supported by Adelaide United management and fellow players.[22][23] The announcement was widely reported in the international press,[24] and Cavallo received messages of support from many football players, including Gerard Piqué, Marcus Rashford, Antoine Griezmann,[5] Jordan Henderson,[21] Gary Lineker,[5] and Lionel Messi, as well as fans, strangers, and celebrities such as Lil Nas X and Ellen DeGeneres.[22]

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.[22][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.[27] He cited Cavallo among those who had helped him to come out.[28]

In March 2024, Cavallo proposed to his partner Leighton Morrell on the pitch at Coopers Stadium, Adelaide United's home ground.[29] 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.[30]

Recognition[edit]

He won Adelaide United's Rising Star award for the 2020/2021 season.[5]

In 2022, Cavallo received an honorary doctorate from Flinders University in Adelaide, in recogition of "his exceptional contributions as a role model in elite men's sport and as a champion for equality".[31]

Cavallo was nominated as 2023 SA Young Australian of the Year.[31]

Career statistics[edit]

As of match played 14 January 2024[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Western United 2019–20 A-League 9 0 – 9 0
2020–21 A-League 0 0 – 0 0
Total 9 0 – 9 0
Adelaide United 2020–21 A-League 19 0 – 19 0
2021–22 A-League Men 19 0 3 0 22 0
2022–23 A-League Men 7 0 3 0 10 0
2023–24 A-League Men 2 0 0 0 2 0
Total 47 0 6 0 53 0
Career total 56 0 6 0 62 0

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  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.[25][26]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "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".
  5. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b 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 Athletic. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Josh Cavallo: My dream is to play in Qatar, but I don't want to put my life in danger". Marca. 15 May 2024. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |acces-date= ignored (help)
  19. ^ "Josh Cavallo: 'I'm a footballer and I'm gay,' says Australian player". BBC News. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ a b "Cavallo: 'I've never smiled this much'". The Senior. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  22. ^ a b c Berrill, Sophie (22 August 2022). "Josh Cavallo: 'People don't have to get football to get my story'". Marketing Mag. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Adelaide United supports Josh's truth". Football Australia. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  24. ^ "Australian footballer Josh Cavallo says he is gay in emotional social media post". BreakingNews.ie. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  25. ^ "Fashanu 'may have fled US'". BBC News. 2 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  26. ^ "Justin Fashanu found hanged in lock-up garage". The Independent. 4 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  27. ^ "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.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ "Trailblazer Cavallo gets engaged on Adelaide Utd pitch". BBC Sport. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  30. ^ "Starting this year with my fiancé..." Instagram. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  31. ^ a b "Josh Cavallo". Australian of the Year. Retrieved 13 March 2024.

External links[edit]

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