Mathieu Choinière (born February 7, 1999) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a central midfielder for Swiss Super League side Grasshoppers and the Canada national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | February 7, 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Grasshoppers | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Celtix du Haut-Richelieu | |||
| CS St-Hubert | |||
| 2011–2018 | Montreal Impact | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2024 | CF Montréal[a] | 119 | (11) |
| 2024– | Grasshoppers | 6 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | Canada U20 | 5 | (1) |
| 2018 | Canada U21 | 4 | (1) |
| 2023– | Canada | 10 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 8, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of November 19, 2024 | |||
Early life
editChoinière was born in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec and grew up in the neighbouring Saint-Alexandre, Quebec.[2] He began playing soccer with Celtix du Haut-Richelieu, before moving on to CS St-Hubert.[3] In 2011, he joined the Montreal Impact Academy and became the first player in the organization's history to play for the U13, U14, U16, U18 and U19 teams prior to joining the first team.[4]
Club career
editCF Montréal
editChoinière signed an MLS contract with the Montreal Impact, later renamed CF Montréal, on July 17, 2018.[5] He made his first appearance the next day against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the Canadian Championship. He made his first league appearance 3 days later against the Portland Timbers. Choinière would have his option for the 2020 season exercised by the Impact, keeping him with the club.[6] In February 2022 Choinière signed a contract extension through 2024, with an option year for 2025.[7] In June 2023, he was named to the 2023 MLS All-Star Game team after a standout first half of the season.[8][9] During the 2024 season, Choinière was once again named an MLS All-Star.[10]
Grasshoppers
editOn 27 August 2024, Choinière made the jump into European football, signing a three-year contract with Swiss Super League side Grasshoppers.[11] He made his debut for his new club on 21 September 2024 against Servette, and scored the first goal in an eventual 2–2 draw.[12]
International career
editYouth
editChoinière has been called up to various youth camps for Canada.[13] In 2017, he was called up to a Quebec-Canada U20 team to play friendlies against Haiti U20, who were preparing for the 2017 Jeux de la Francophonie.[14] In May 2018, he was called up to the Canada U21 team for the 2018 Toulon Tournament.[15] He scored a goal against France in the fifth-place playoff.[16] In October 2018 Choinière was named to the Canadian Under-20 squad for the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[17] He scored in Canada's second game of the tournament against Guadeloupe.[18] Choinière was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship on February 26, 2020.[19]
Senior
editIn November 2022, Choinière received his first call-up to the Canadian senior side for a friendly against Bahrain,[20] but did not feature in the match. On October 13, 2023, Choinière made his debut for Canada in a friendly against Japan,[21] coming on as a substitute for Jonathan Osorio at the 61st minute.[22]
In June 2024, Choinière was named to Canada's 26-man squad for the 2024 Copa América.[23]
Personal life
editChoinière is of Filipino descent.[24] His older brother David is also a soccer player.[25][26]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of October 11, 2024[27]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Montreal Impact | 2018 | Major League Soccer | 5 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | 17 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||||
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| CF Montréal | 2021 | 26 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 2 | ||||
| 2022 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 31 | 2 | |||
| 2023 | 28 | 5 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | 34 | 6 | ||||
| 2024 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 22 | 2 | |||
| Total | 119 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 139 | 12 | ||
| Grasshopper | 2024–25 | Super League | 3 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 122 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 142 | 13 | ||
International
edit- As of match played November 15, 2024
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 0 | |
Honours
editMontreal Impact
Individual
Notes
edit- ^ Montreal Impact changed its name to CF Montréal in 2021
References
edit- ^ "Mathieu Choinière". CF Montréal. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
- ^ "Mathieu Choinière Canada Soccer Profile". Canadian Soccer Association.
- ^ "Mathieu Choinière Signe Son Premier Contrat Pro avec L'Impact" [Mathieu Choinière Signs His First Pro Contract with the Impact]. ARS Rive-Sud (in French). July 18, 2018.
- ^ Rioux, Benoit (July 27, 2021). "Mathieu Choinière Rêve Maintenant de Marquer à Montréal" [Mathieu Choinière Now Dreams of Scoring in Montreal]. TVA Sports (in French).
- ^ "Mathieu Choinière signs an MLS contract with the Impact". Montreal Impact. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
- ^ "Impact exercises options for 11 players". Montreal Impact. November 21, 2019.
- ^ "CF Montréal and Mathieu Choinière agree to two-year contract extension". CF Montréal. February 26, 2022.
- ^ "CFMTL's Choiniere named to MLS All-Star Game". TSN. June 27, 2023.
- ^ Jacques, John (June 27, 2023). "Choiniere Is An MLS All-Star, So Why Didn't Canada Call Him Up?". Northern Tribune.
- ^ "Mathieu Choinière selected for 2024 MLS All-Star Game". CF Montréal. July 1, 2024.
- ^ "GC Zurich signs central midfielder Mathieu Choinière". Grasshopper Club Zurich. August 27, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
- ^ "UNENTSCHIEDEN GEGEN SERVETTE". Grasshoppers. September 21, 2024.
- ^ Mathieu Choinière at the Canadian Soccer Association
- ^ "L'Impact U18 Bien Représenté dans la Sélection Canada-Québec" [The Impact U18 Well Represented in the Canada-Quebec Selection]. TVA Sports (in French). July 7, 2017.
- ^ Tierney, Mitchell (May 17, 2018). "Canada's next generation will be on display at the Toulon Tournament".
- ^ "Canada place 6th at prestigious Toulon tournament in France". June 7, 2018.
- ^ "Canada announces squad for the Concacaf Men's Under-20 Championship". October 24, 2018.
- ^ "Canada beats Guadeloupe at men's CONCACAF U20 championship". The Globe and Mail. November 4, 2018.
- ^ "Canada Soccer announces Provisional List for Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying". Canada Soccer. February 26, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ "Eight CF Montréal players called up for Canadian national team training camp". CF Montréal. November 2, 2022.
- ^ "Choinière and Paton make their Canada debut away against Japan". Canada Soccer Association. October 13, 2023.
- ^ "Mathieu Choinière comes on for Jonathan Osorio". Canada Soccer Association. October 13, 2023.
- ^ "CANMNT ANNOUNCE 2024 COPA AMÉRICA ROSTER". Canadian Soccer Association. June 15, 2024.
- ^ Gangué-Ruzic, Alexandre. "'I'm happy to be a role model': For CPL players, Asian Heritage Month represents chance to reflect, look forward". Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- ^ "David and Mathieu Choiniere: A tale of brothers in the SCCL". CONCACAF. February 15, 2022.
- ^ Milton, Steve (May 6, 2024). "Battle of the Choiniére brothers adds extra spice to Canadian Championship opening leg against CF Montréal in Forge's School Day Match". Forge FC.
- ^ Mathieu Choinière at Soccerway
- ^ "Montréal takes 2019 Canadian Championship title". Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^ "2023 MLS All-Star Team Roster". Major League Soccer. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 18, 2023.