Cristian Sleiker Cásseres Yépes Jr. (born 20 January 2000) is a Venezuelan 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 lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

and the Venezuela national team.

Club career

Early

Born in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

, Venezuela, Cásseres began his career in the youth ranks of

Atlético Venezuela Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

playing as a striker. After leaving Atlético he joined the youth ranks of

Deportivo La Guaira Deportivo La Guaira (formerly known as Real Esppor) is a professional football club promoted to the Venezuelan league in 2009, based in La Guaira but playing its home games in Caracas at the Estadio Olímpico de la UCV. History Real Esppor The ...

and was converted into a midfielder. On 27 September 2016, he scored four goals for the Under 20 side of Deportivo in a 4–2 victory over his former club Atlético Venezuela.

Deportivo La Guaira

On 9 October 2016, Cásseres Jr. made his professional debut for La Guaria at the age of 16 in a

Venezuelan Primera División The Primera División (; ), or Liga Venezolana (; ) is the top-flight professional football league of Venezuela. It was created in 1921 and turned professional in 1957. It is organized by the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol. Format Starting i ...

match against

, playing 33 minutes in the 3–3 draw. During the 2017 season, Cásseres became a fixture in the starting lineup for La Guaria due to his fine play. On 10 May 2017, Cásseres scored his first goal as a professional in a 3–1 victory over

Zulia FC Zulia Fútbol Club was a professional football club that last competed in the Primera División Venezolana. The club was based in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela, and it's internationally recognized for its participation in the 2019 Copa Sudamer ...

New York Red Bulls

On 2 February 2018, it was announced that Cásseres Jr. had signed with

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. Cásseres Jr. was loaned to affiliate side

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. Hi ...

during March 2018. On 17 March 2018, he made his first appearance for Red Bulls II, appearing as second-half substitute in a 2–1 victory over

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, that competes in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as we ...

in the opening match of the season. On 9 June 2018, he scored his first goal for New York, scoring on a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

to help his side to a 4–2 victory over

Charlotte Independence Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that plays in the USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Independence currently play their home games at American Legion Memoria ...

. On 29 August 2018, Cásseres Jr. made his first team debut, appearing as a starter for

in a 1–0 victory over

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

. On 6 April 2019, Cásseres Jr. scored his first goal for New York in a 2–1 loss to

Minnesota United Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Th ...

. On 8 November, Cásseres Jr. was named the New York Red Bulls Defensive Player of the Year for 2019. For the next several years Cásseres Jr. became a fixture in the Red Bull midfield. On 17 October 2021, Cásseres Jr. scored the winning goal for Red Bulls in 1–0 victory in the Hudson River Derby over rival

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

. On 24 April 2022, Cásseres Jr. scored his first goal of the season for New York in a 3–0 victory over

Orlando City SC Orlando City Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Owned by Zygi, Leonard, and Mark Wilf, it is the sister club of ...

. On 27 August 2022, Cásseres Jr. recorded two assists in a 3–1 victory against

Inter Miami Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (), commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. ...

, and was named to the MLS Team of the Week for Week 27. On 31 August 2022, Cásseres Jr. assisted Lewis Morgan on the lone goal of the match in a 1–0 victory over

CF Montréal Club de Foot Montréal () is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Mo ...

, helping his club register its record ninth road win of the season. On 24 June 2023, Cásseres Jr. scored his first goal of the season for New York in a 4–0 victory over

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won o ...

Toulouse

On 7 July 2023, Cásseres Jr. signed with

side

for an undisclosed fee.

International career

Cásseres Jr. has featured regularly for his country's U-17 team, playing at the

2017 South American Under-17 Football Championship The 2017 South American Under-17 Football Championship (, ) was the 17th edition of the South American Under-17 Football Championship, a association football, football competition for the under-17 national teams in South America organized by CONME ...

. In April 2017, Cásseres Jr. was called into training with the Venezuela under-20 team in preparation for the

2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 21st edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 a ...

. He made his

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

debut on 9 October 2020 in a

World Cup qualifier The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

game against

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Personal life

Cásseres was born into a football family: his father

Cristian Cásseres Cristian Alfonso Cásseres (born 29 June 1977) is a Venezuelan former professional footballer who played as a striker. He made a total number of 28 appearances (two goals) for the Venezuela national team between 1999 and 2008..

represented the Venezuela national team 28 times, scoring two goals, and also played for

's first team while Cristian Jr. played for the U14 team.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

New York Red Bulls *

MLS Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

References

External links

*
Profile on deportivolaguaira.com.ve
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cásseres Jr., Cristian 2000 births Living people Venezuelan men's footballers Footballers from Caracas Men's association football midfielders Venezuela men's international footballers Venezuela men's under-20 international footballers Venezuela men's youth international footballers 2021 Copa América players Venezuelan Primera División players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Ligue 1 players New York Red Bulls players New York Red Bulls II players Toulouse FC players Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in France 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen 2024 Copa América players