Derek Cornelius
Cornelius playing for Malmö FF in 2023
Personal information
Full name Derek Austin Cornelius[1]
Date of birth (1997-11-25) 25 November 1997
Place of birth Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Malmö FF
Number 19
Youth career
Ajax SC
2009–2011 Spartacus SC
2011–2013 Unionville-Milliken SC
2014–2015 VfB Lübeck
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016 VfB Lübeck 1 (0)
2016 VfR Neumünster 17 (2)
2017–2018 Javor Ivanjica 28 (0)
2019–2022 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 35 (1)
2021–2022 → Panetolikos (loan) 42 (2)
2023– Malmö FF 25 (3)
International career‡
2018–2021 Canada U23 7 (1)
2018– Canada 18 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 November 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of November 22, 2023

Derek Austin Cornelius (born 25 November 1997) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a centre-back for Allsvenskan club Malmö FF and the Canada national team.

Early life

Cornelius was born in Ajax, Ontario to a Barbadian father and a Jamaican mother.[2] Cornelius started playing when he was selected as a younger player for the 1996 House League All-Star team.[3] He was then selected by the Ajax Thunder under-8 team at six years old.[3] In the season after that, he was the Unionville Milliken Challenge Cup Champions Most Valuable Player.[3] At the U11 level, he won the C.O.V.I. Championship and was proclaimed the Most Valuable Player.[3]

In 2012, he played in the Oviedo Cup with PFC CSKA Moscow in Spain, then he played in the Milk Cup by CSKA Moscow in Northern Ireland where he led the team scoring four goals in the tournament. He ended that year by being invited to the CSKA Moscow Reserve Camp and by playing in the U21 Provincial and Men's Regional leagues, scoring 22 goals in 30 games.[3]

In 2013, he was selected for the Canada national under-17 team for camp in Florida and Costa Rica, and was later selected for the CONCACAF World Cup U17 Qualifier pre-camp in Florida. He was also selected for the Canada national under-16 Team for the Torneo delle Nazioni tournament in Italy. That same year he was invited to Hungary for trials with Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC and Győri ETO FC in March.[3]

Club career

Early career

In January 2014, he moved to Germany. He began training with VfB Lübeck U19 team.[4] He spent two seasons with the main team,[5] but was unable to play due to FIFA rules for underaged players. He became eligible to play effective on 1 January 2016.[6][7] With VfB Lübeck he won the Schleswig-Holstein Cup two years in a row and made an appearance in the 2015–16 Regionalliga Nord.[8]

In the summer of 2016, he moved to VfR Neumünster playing with them the first half of the season.[5]

Javor Ivanjica

During the winter break of the 2016–17 season, Cornelius was signed by Serbian SuperLiga side FK Javor Ivanjica after successful trials. He made his league debut on 29 April 2017, in an away game against FK Radnički Niš.[8] Javor head coach Srđan Vasiljević converted Cornelius from a forward into a centre-back.[9]

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

On 18 January 2019, Cornelius returned to his native Canada and signed with MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[10] He made his debut for the Whitecaps on 2 March in their 2019 MLS season opener against Minnesota United.[11] Cornelius scored his first goal for the club on 18 May against Sporting Kansas City.[12]

In July 2021 the Whitecaps announced Cornelius had been loaned to Panetolikos of the Super League Greece until December 2022.[13]

Malmö FF

In December 2022 Vancouver announced Cornelius had been transferred to Allsvenskan side Malmö FF.[14] He signed a contract through 2026 with the Scandinavian club.[15] Cornelius made his competitive debut for his new club against Skövde AIK in the Svenska Cupen on February 19, 2023.[16] He scored his first goal for Malmö on March 5 against Degerfors IF, winning the match.[17] His first season with Malmö was a success, with the club winning the 2023 Allsvenskan.[18]

International career

Youth

Cornelius was part of a Canadian U17 camp in February 2013.[19] He was called up to a U23 camp in January 2018.[20] In May 2018, Cornelius was named to Canada's under-21 squad for the 2018 Toulon Tournament[21] and would earn rave reviews for his performance at the tournament.[22] At the end of 2018, he was named the Canada Soccer Youth International Player of the Year.[23]

In March 2021 Cornelius was named to the Canadian U-23 roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship.[24] He served as captain throughout the tournament, and scored a goal against Honduras in Canada's final group stage match.[25]

Senior

In March 2018, Cornelius received his first call up to the Canadian senior side for a friendly against New Zealand to be played on March 24.[26] He would make his debut for Canada on September 9, 2018, starting and playing the entire match in an 8–0 victory over the U.S. Virgin Islands.[27][28] Cornelius was named to the 23-man squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup on May 30, 2019.[29]

In November 2022, Cornelius was named to Canada's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[30] In June 2023 Cornelius was named to the final 23-man squad for the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals, but after suffering an injury with his club side Malmö FF, he was withdrawn from the squad and replaced by Moïse Bombito.[31]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 12 November 2023[32]
Club Season League Cup League Playoffs Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
VfB Lübeck 2015–16 Regionalliga Nord 1000—0010
VfR Neumünster 2016–17 Oberliga Schleswig-Holstein 17200—00172
Javor Ivanjica 2016–17 Serbian SuperLiga 3000—0030
2017–18 22030—00250
2018–19 Serbian First League 3000—0030
Total 280300000310
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2019 MLS 171100000181
2020 13000001[lower-alpha 1]0140
2021 5000000050
Total 351100010371
Panetolikos (loan) 2021–22 Super League Greece 29240—00332
2022–23 13010—00140
Total 422500000452
Malmö FF 2023 Allsvenskan 25351——304
Career total 146814100101619
  1. ↑ Knockout Round of the MLS is Back Tournament.

International

As of match played November 22, 2023
Canada
YearAppsGoals
201840
201980
202010
202110
202200
202340
Total180

Honours

Club

VfB Lübeck

Malmö FF

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "40-Player National Team Roster: 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup: Canada" (PDF). CONCACAF. p. 2. Retrieved 20 May 2019 – via Bernews.
  2. ↑ Derek Cornelius at the Canadian Soccer Association
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Experience And Accomplishments Archived 31 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine at derek-cornelius.com, Retrieved 5 November 2017
  4. ↑ Profile at derek-cornelius.com, Retrieved 5 November 2017
  5. 1 2 Derek Cornelius at thefinalball.com
  6. ↑ Das lange Tauziehen um Derek Cornelius: Er will doch nur spielen at sportbuzzer.de
  7. ↑ Derek Cornelius at dfb.de
  8. 1 2 3 Derek Cornelius at Soccerway
  9. ↑ Vujcic, Djuradj (4 August 2017). "Canadian Derek Cornelius on professional debut in Serbia". RedNation Online. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  10. ↑ "Whitecaps FC acquire Canadian international centre back Derek Cornelius from Serbian club FK Javor Ivanjica | Vancouver Whitecaps FC". Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  11. ↑ Dailey, Mark (2 March 2019). "9 players make Whitecaps debut in MLS season opener".
  12. ↑ "GOAL: Derek Cornelius volleys home the equalizer". 18 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "Whitecaps FC sign centre back Derek Cornelius to contract extension, loan him to Greek Super League side Panetolikos through 2022". 12 July 2021.
  14. ↑ "Whitecaps FC transfer defender Derek Cornelius to Swedish side Malmö FF". 15 December 2022.
  15. ↑ "DEREK CORNELIUS KLAR FÖR MALMÖ FF". 15 December 2022.
  16. ↑ "INTENSIV INLEDNING GAV PREMIÄRSEGER". Malmö FF. 19 February 2023.
  17. ↑ Galindo, Peter (6 March 2023). "Galindo: Canadians Abroad Roundup – Jonathan David putting Premier League teams on high alert". Canadian Soccer Daily.
  18. ↑ Scott, Richard (12 November 2023). "DEREK CORNELIUS WINS 2023 ALLSVENSKAN WITH MALMÖ FF". Canada Soccer.
  19. ↑ Canada M17 announces roster for February camp at Canada Soccer, 31 January 2013
  20. ↑ "Canada Soccer's Men's National Team Program announces U-23 camp squad". 8 January 2018.
  21. ↑ Alicia Rodriguez (19 May 2018). "Canada national team roster for prestigious Toulon Tournament released". Major League Soccer.
  22. ↑ Peter Galindo (8 June 2018). "Four things we learned about Canada at Toulon Tournament". Sportsnet.
  23. ↑ "Cornelius, Huitema named 2018 Canadian Youth International Players of the Year". Canadian Premier League. 10 December 2018.
  24. ↑ "CANADA SOCCER ANNOUNCES SQUAD FOR CONCACAF MEN'S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING". 10 March 2021.
  25. ↑ Thompson, Marty (26 March 2021). "Canada under-23s report card: Cornelius leads by example vs. Honduras". Canadian Premier League.
  26. ↑ Boehm, Charles (12 March 2018). "Canada call up 10 MLSers for Herdman's first camp, New Zealand friendly".
  27. ↑ "Canada cruises to record win in Concacaf Nations League opener". 9 September 2018.
  28. ↑ Derek Cornelius at National-Football-Teams.com
  29. ↑ "Together We Rise: Canada Soccer announces squad for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup". 30 May 2019.
  30. ↑ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (13 November 2022). "Canada announces 26-man squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar". Canadian Premier League.
  31. ↑ Tierney, Mitchell (7 June 2023). "Former CPLers Loturi, Zator called up by Canada for 2023 Concacaf Nations League Finals". Canadian Premier League.
  32. ↑ "Derek Cornelius Profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
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