Exon Gustavo Vallecilla Godoy (born 28 May 1999) is an Ecuadorian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for Ecuadorian Serie A club Universidad Católica.

Career

Club career

Vallecilla left his home in Esmeraldas, Ecuador at the age of 15 to join

Deportivo Cuenca Club Deportivo Cuenca is an Ecuadorian football club based in Cuenca. They currently play in the Serie A, the top-flight football league in the country, and is one of two clubs from Cuenca to have played in the top-flight (the other being LDU ...

. On 27 November 2016, he made his professional debut for Cuenca against

Mushuc Runa S.C. Mushuc Runa Sporting Club is an Ecuadorian Association football, football club based in Ambato, Ecuador, Ambato, Ecuador. It was founded on January 2, 2003. They currently play in the Ecuadorian Serie A. The club was established on January 2, 200 ...

in the Ecuadorian Serie A. In August 2018 it was reported, that

S.D. Aucas Sociedad Deportiva Aucas (), also known as "Papá Aucas", is a Association football, football club based in Quito, Ecuador. They play in the top tier of Ecuadorian football and have spent the majority of their history in the top-flight Serie A ...

had bought 50% of Vallecilla's rights for $80,000, and that he would join the club permanently from the 2019 season, with Cuenca still holding a sell-on percentage. Joining Aucas for the 2019 season, Vallecilla appeared in five total matches, including an appearance in the quarterfinals of the Serie A playoffs. For the 2020 season, Vallecilla was loaned out to

Barcelona SC Barcelona Sporting Club () is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. Internationally known as Barcelona de Ecuador, in Ecuador it is simply referred as Barcelona, El Idolo (BSC) or Barce. T ...

with an option to buy. He made 14 league appearances for Barcelona, and also appeared in the

2020 Copa Libertadores The 2020 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 61st edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores''), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. On 17 October 2019, CONMEBOL announced ...

. After the season, the club decided not to trigger the option to make his stay permanent. Vallecilla then returned to Aucas for the 2021 season.

FC Cincinnati

On 5 April 2021, Vallecilla joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

on loan for the 2021 season with an option to buy. He made his debut for the side on 16 May 2021 in their 3–2 home defeat against

Inter Miami Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. Established in 2018, the club began play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 2 ...

. The following match, Vallecilla scored his first goal for Cincinnati in their 2–1 victory over

CF Montréal CF Montréal is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Montréal, Québec, Canada. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Montreal Impact (french: Impact de Montréal, links=no), ...

, scoring the equalizer in the 86th minute. His second goal for Cincinnati came against the same opposition on 17 July in their 5–4 defeat at Saputo Stadium. On 1 December 2021 Cincinnati confirmed, that they had triggered the buying option in Vallecilla’s contract, adding him to the squad for the 2022 season.

Colorado Rapids

On 28 March 2022, Colorado Rapids announced that they acquired Vallecilla for $800,000 in General Allocation Money with extra performance-based fees.

Loan to Columbus

On 3 March 2023, Vallecilla was loaned to the Columbus Crew for $175,000 in General Allocation Money, with the Crew having a purchase option as well.

Universidad Católica

At the end of December 2023 it was confirmed, that Vallecilla would return to Ecuador, having signed with Universidad Católica.Gustavo Vallecilla es el nuevo refuerzo de Universidad Católica
primicias.ec, 29 December 2023

Career statistics

Honours

Barcelona SC * Ecuadorian Serie A:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Columbus Crew *

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

References

External links

Profile
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vallecilla, Gustavo Living people 1999 births Ecuadorian men's footballers Ecuadorian expatriate men's footballers Ecuador men's international footballers Ecuador men's youth international footballers Ecuador men's under-20 international footballers Men's association football defenders People from Esmeraldas, Ecuador C.D. Cuenca footballers S.D. Aucas footballers Barcelona S.C. footballers FC Cincinnati players Columbus Crew players Colorado Rapids players Colorado Rapids 2 players C.D. Universidad Católica del Ecuador footballers MLS Next Pro players Ecuadorian Serie A players Major League Soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in the United States