Richie Laryea

Richmond "Richie" Mamah Laryea (/læˈreɪjæ/ La-RAY-a;[3] Ghanaian: /ˈlɑːji/ LAH-yee;[3] born January 7, 1995) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder and right-back for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer and the Canada national team.

Richie Laryea
Laryea playing for Orlando City B in 2017
Personal information
Full name Richmond Mamah Laryea[1]
Date of birth (1995-01-07) January 7, 1995
Place of birth Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, Right back
Club information
Current team
 Toronto FC
Number 22
Youth career
2004-2005 Club Uruguay[2]
2006–2015 Sigma FC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Akron Zips 42 (12)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 Sigma FC 9 (5)
2016–2018 Orlando City 21 (0)
2016–2017 → Orlando City B (loan) 35 (3)
2019– Toronto FC 67 (8)
National team‡
2016 Canada U23 2 (1)
2019– Canada 22 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 7, 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of November 16, 2021

College career

Prior to his college career, Laryea played for Sigma FC Academy and Dante Alighieri Academy in Toronto.[4] Laryea played college soccer at the University of Akron for two seasons, reaching the College Cup semi-finals in 2015.[5] Laryea was named to the All-Mid-American Conference Second Team in 2014,[6] and was named to the All-Mid-American Conference First Team in 2015.[7] He played for League1 Ontario club Sigma FC in 2015, where he was named a League All-Star.[8]

Following his sophomore season, Laryea signed a contract with Generation Adidas.[9]

Club career

Orlando City

Laryea was drafted in the first round (7th overall) of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft by Orlando City.[10][11] He was loaned to Orlando City B in March 2016.[12]

After spending the first half of his second season once again on loan to OCB playing as both an attacking and defensive midfielder,[13] Laryea made his MLS debut on 25 June 2017, subbing on for Kaká in a 4–0 defeat to Chicago Fire.[14] Laryea got his first MLS assist on September 27, 2017, assisting on Yoshimar Yotún's goal against New England Revolution.[15] He made his first career MLS start on the final day of the season away to Philadelphia Union.[16]

On November 27, 2018, the club announced they had declined his contract option.[17]

Toronto FC

On March 21, 2019, Laryea signed for MLS side Toronto FC.[18] Laryea scored his first goal for Toronto on May 26, 2019 in a 1–2 home defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes.[19] It was also his first MLS goal.[20] Laryea would have his option for the 2020 season exercised by Toronto, keeping him with the club for 2020.[21] On September 27, 2020, Laryea scored a solo goal and provided two assists in the second half of Toronto's 3–1 win against the league-leading Columbus Crew.[22] Laryea was named the MLS Player of the Week as a result of his performance.[23]

International career

In May 2016, Laryea was called to Canada's U23 national team for a pair of friendlies against Guyana and Grenada.[24] Laryea scored in the opening match against Guyana.[25]

Laryea received his first call up to the senior team on August 26, 2019 for two CONCACAF Nations League matches against Cuba.[26] He made his debut in the first match on September 7, 2019.[27] On March 25, 2021, Laryea scored his first goal for Canada in a 5–1 win over Bermuda in the team's first 2022 World Cup qualifying match.[28]

In June 2021 Laryea was named to Canada's 60-man preliminary squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[29] On July 1 he was named to the final 23-man squad.[30]

Personal life

Laryea is of Ghanaian descent.[31] His younger brother Reginald Laryea plays soccer for semi-professional team Vaughan Azzurri.[32]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played November 21, 2021[33]
Club Season League Playoffs Domestic Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sigma FC 2015 League1 Ontario 95———3[lower-alpha 1]2127
Orlando City B 2016 USL 230—–——230
2017 123————123
Total 353————353
Orlando City 2017 MLS 120–———120
2018 90–———90
Total 210–———210
Toronto FC 2019 MLS 2014140–—282
2020 20[lower-alpha 2]410——1[lower-alpha 3]0224
2021 273—303[lower-alpha 4]0—333
Total 67851703010839
Career total 132165170304215119
  1. Appearances in the League1 Ontario League Cup.
  2. Includes two appearances and one goal in the MLS is Back Tournament group stage.
  3. Appearance in the MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage.
  4. Appearance(s) in the CONCACAF Champions League.

International
As of match played November 16, 2021[34]
Canada
YearAppsGoals
201940
202020
2021161
Total221

International goals
Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.March 25, 2021Exploria Stadium, Orlando, United States7 Bermuda3–05–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification

References
  1. "National Team Roster 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup" (PDF). CONCACAF.
  2. "Pro: First Youth Registration List" (PDF).
  3. @TorontoFC (August 1, 2021). "PSA from @RichieLaryea_" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. "Sigma FC's Richmond Laryea Signs Generation Adidas Contract with MLS". Sigma FC. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  5. "Akron Zips will take on Stanford on Friday in College Cup 2015 (photos)". Cleveland.com. December 6, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  6. "Men's Soccer garners a conference-best seven All-MAC selections". gozips.com. Akron Athletics. November 13, 2014.
  7. "Zips Garner a League-Best Eight All-MAC Selections". gozips.com. Akron Athletics. November 12, 2015.
  8. "2015 League1 Ontario Men's All-Stars". League1 Ontario. November 17, 2015.
  9. "MLS announces 2016 Generation adidas class, signs Stanford senior defender Brandon Vincent". MLSsoccer.com. Major League Soccer. January 9, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  10. "Orlando City selects Akron's Richie Laryea with No. 7 pick in MLS SuperDraft". orlandosentinel.com. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  11. Nelson, Norm (January 20, 2016). "Dante Alighieri Academy grad Richie Laryea taken seventh in MLS draft". North York Mirror.
  12. "Orlando City SC Loan Seven Players to OCB". orlandocitysc.com. Orlando City Soccer Club. March 25, 2016.
  13. Austin David (May 16, 2017). "Richie Laryea Starting To Prove Himself in Year 2 for Orlando City B". themaneland.com. The Mane Land.
  14. Alicia del Gallo (July 19, 2017). "Richie Laryea excels with Orlando City after stern talk with coach". orlandosentinel.com. Orlando Sentinel.
  15. "A Game of Firsts: Orlando's Dominant Win Provides Accolades". orlandocitysc.com. Orlando City SC. September 28, 2017.
  16. "Orlando City Falls at Philadelphia in Season Finale". orlandocitysc.com. Orlando City SC. October 22, 2017.
  17. "Orlando City declines options for eight players after tough 2018 season". prosoccerusa.com. Pro Soccer USA. November 27, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  18. "Toronto FC signs Richie Laryea". torontofc.ca. March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  19. "Toronto FC trending in wrong direction with loss to San Jose". sportsnet.ca. Rogers Media. May 26, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  20. "Richie Laryea gives TFC the lead". torontofc.ca. Toronto FC. May 26, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  21. "Toronto FC announces roster decisions to conclude 2019 season". torontofc.ca. Toronto FC. November 21, 2019.
  22. "Laryea puts on a show as Toronto FC rallies to down league-leading Columbus 3-1". cp24.com. Bell Media. September 27, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  23. "Laryea named MLS Player of the Week". torontofc.ca. Toronto FC. September 28, 2020.
  24. "Canada announces roster for Caribbean tour". canadasoccer.com. Canada Soccer Association. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  25. "Canada m23 defeat Guyana as part of Jubilee celebration". canadasoccer.com. Canada Soccer Association. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  26. Butler, Dlyan (August 28, 2019). "Canada names 24-man roster for Concacaf Nations League tilts vs. Cuba". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  27. Thompson, Marty (September 7, 2019). "Canada-Cuba: 4 talking points for 2nd Nations League tilt". canpl.ca. Canadian Premier League. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  28. "Larin, Davies combine to help Canada down Bermuda in World Cup qualifier". tsn.ca. March 25, 2021.
  29. "Davies, David highlight Canada's preliminary roster for Gold Cup". June 18, 2021.
  30. "CANADA SOCCER ANNOUNCES 2021 CONCACAF GOLD CUP ROSTER". July 1, 2021.
  31. "10 Things About Richie Laryea: His love for Toronto, his mom, and, yes, Drake". MLSsoccer.com. Major League Soccer. January 10, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  32. "Vaughan Azzurri roster". League One Ontario. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  33. "Richie Laryea profile". Soccerway. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  34. "Richie Laryea profile". Canada Soccer. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
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