Anthony Caceres

{{short description|Australian association football player|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Anthony Caceres

| image = Anthony Caceres Al Wasl.jpg

| caption = Caceres with Al-Wasl in 2018

| fullname = Anthony Caceres

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1992|09|29|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Sydney, Australia

| height = 1.73 m

| position = Central midfielder, Attacking midfielder

| currentclub = Sydney FC

| clubnumber = 17

| youthyears1 = 2006–2011

| youthclubs1 = Marconi Stallions

| youthyears2 = 2011–2012

| youthclubs2 = Central Coast Mariners

| years1 = 2012–2016

| caps1 = 62

| goals1 = 3

| clubs1 = Central Coast Mariners

| years2 = 2016–2019

| caps2 = 0

| goals2 = 0

| clubs2 = Manchester City

| years3 = 2016–2017

| caps3 = 38

| goals3 = 3

| clubs3 = → Melbourne City (loan)

| years4 = 2017–2018

| caps4 = 21

| goals4 = 1

| clubs4 = → Al-Wasl (loan)

| years5 = 2018

| caps5 = 5

| goals5 = 0

| clubs5 = → Melbourne City (loan)

| years6 = 2019

| caps6 = 15

| goals6 = 0

| clubs6 = → Sydney FC (loan)

| years7 = 2019–

| caps7 = 136

| goals7 = 12

| clubs7 = Sydney FC

| nationalyears1 = 2024–

| nationalcaps1 = 1

| nationalgoals1 = 0

| nationalteam1 = Australia

| club-update = 19 May 2024

}}

Anthony Richard Caceres (born 29 September 1992) is an Australian soccer player who plays as a central midfielder for Sydney FC and the Australia men's national team.

Career

=Central Coast Mariners=

Caceres made his A-League debut for the Central Coast Mariners in the F3 Derby against the Newcastle Jets, starting in a scoreless draw in January 2013.Gardiner, James. [https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/1245669/gallery-jets-defence-holds-firm-in-scoreless-f3-derby/ "Jets defence holds firm in scoreless F3 derby"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055422/http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1245669/gallery-jets-defence-holds-firm-in-scoreless-f3-derby/ |date=21 September 2013 }}, Newcastle Herald, Newcastle, 19 January 2013. Retrieved on 20 September 2013. He scored his first goal for the club one year and two days later, again against the Jets, making a run from halfway and shooting from outside the area to open the scoring in a 3–0 win.{{cite magazine|title=Mariners cruise to big derby win|magazine=FourFourTwo (Australia)|url=http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/mariners-cruise-big-derby-win|date=25 January 2014|access-date=31 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202145234/http://www.fourfourtwo.com/au/news/mariners-cruise-big-derby-win|archive-date=2 February 2014|url-status=dead}}

=Manchester City=

On 15 January 2016, Caceres was sold to Premier League club Manchester City on a long-term contract for fee in the region of AUS$300,000. He was immediately loaned out to their A-League partner, Melbourne City.{{cite news|last1=Davutovic|first1=David|title=Melbourne City trumps A-League rivals for Central Coast's Anthony Caceres|url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/melbourne-city-trumps-a-league-rivals-for-central-coasts-anthony-Caceres/story-e6frf4gl-1227709839612|access-date=15 January 2016|work=Fox Sports|date=15 January 2016}}

Caceres' move to Melbourne City sparked some controversy, given that transfer fees are not allowed to be paid directly between A-League clubs.{{cite news|last1=Wadhwa|first1=Arjun|title=Manchester City cause transfer mayhem in Australia|url=http://www.thesportscampus.com/2016011949470/english-premiership/manchester-city-cause-transfer-mayhem-in-australia|access-date=19 January 2016|publisher=TheSportsCampus|date=19 January 2016}}

==Loan to Melbourne City==

Caceres had a troubled start to life at City, receiving 2 red cards in his first 4 games, the second coming in the 79th minute of the Melbourne Derby.{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en-au/news/4021/a-league/2016/02/13/20297702/melbourne-derby-comes-of-age|title=The A-League derby between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City comes of age – Goal.com|date=13 February 2016}}

Caceres scored his first goal for City coming off the bench in a 3–1 win over Brisbane Roar, with his headed goal putting City temporarily on top of A-League table.{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-18/melbourne-city-sink-10-man-brisbane-roar/7260008|title=City atop A-League ladder after storming past 10-man Roar|newspaper=ABC News|date=18 March 2016}}

Caceres's loan to City was extended for successive years in both June 2016 and 2017.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/football/a-league/melbourne-city-sign-luke-brattan-on-loan-from-manchester-city-and-extend-anthony-Caceres-loan-deal/news-story/c70d7c3c9f9bfc65c51c2ae57cb2a006|title=Melbourne City sign Luke Brattan on loan from Manchester City and extend Anthony Caceres loan deal|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=10 June 2016}}{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/a-league/melbourne-city-swoop-to-sign-adelaide-goalkeeper-eugene-galekovic/news-story/e440de33ca5e9a5b8b42be504f0f3ff0|title=Melbourne City swoop to sign Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic|first=Matt|last=Windley|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=16 June 2017}}

==Loan to Al-Wasl==

Caceres left Melbourne and moved on loan to Al-Wasl in July 2017, including an option for the UAE Arabian Gulf League side to purchase Caceres outright from Manchester City.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.fourfourtwo.com.au/news/Caceres-completes-middle-east-move-469655|title=Caceres completes Middle East move|magazine=FourFourTwo|date=29 July 2017|access-date=31 July 2017|archive-date=31 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731004022/https://www.fourfourtwo.com.au/news/caceres-completes-middle-east-move-469655|url-status=dead}}

==Second loan to Melbourne City==

On 25 June 2018, Caceres was loaned once more to Melbourne City for the 2018–19 A-League season.{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/city-sign-wales-re-sign-malik-and-bring-back-on-loan-Caceres-20180625-p4zngx.html|title=City sign Wales, re-sign Malik and bring back on loan Caceres|first=Michael|last=Lynch|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=25 June 2018}} His loan was ended on 1 January 2019.{{cite web |title=Anthony Caceres Loan Ends |url=https://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/news/anthony-caceres-loan-ends |website=Melbourne City F.C. |access-date=1 January 2019}}

=Sydney FC=

On 1 January 2019, Caceres was loaned to Sydney FC.{{cite web |title=Sydney FC Complete Signing of Talented Manchester City Midfielder |url=https://www.sydneyfc.com/news/sydney-fc-complete-signing-talented-manchester-city-midfielder |publisher=Sydney FC |access-date=1 January 2019}} At the end of his contract Caceres returned to Manchester City and was then signed permanently by Sydney FC on a two-year deal.{{cite news|url=https://www.ftbl.com.au/news/caceres-signs-from-manchester-city-527703|title=Caceres signs from Manchester City|newspaper=FTBL|date=4 July 2019}}

Personal life

He is married to Melbourne City FC W-League forward Helen Petinos (married on 2 June 2018), whom he met at Westfields Sports High School.{{cite web|last1=Adno|first1=Carly|title=Wanderers' Helen Petinos has torn allegiances, but will support Mariners boyfriend Anthony Caceres|url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/wanderers-helen-petinos-has-torn-allegiances-but-will-support-mariners-boyfriend-anthony-Caceres/story-e6frf4gl-1227127360992|website=Fox Sports|publisher=News Corporation|access-date=16 January 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Adno|first1=Carly|title=Wanderers' Helen Petinos has torn allegiances, but will support Mariners boyfriend Anthony Caceres|url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/football/a-league/wanderers-helen-petinos-has-torn-allegiances-but-will-support-mariners-boyfriend-anthony-Caceres/news-story/2259bd7272bdd66a97f11f07016cec4d?=|website=The Advertiser|publisher=News Corporation|access-date=16 January 2016}}

Caceres is of Uruguayan descent and is a Nacional supporter, as he shows in his Instagram.{{cite web|title=Why Man City's signing of Anthony Caceres could cause controversy in Australia|url=http://www.goal.com/en-au/news/4019/transfer-zone/2016/01/15/19361862/why-man-citys-signing-of-anthony-Caceres-could-cause-controversy-|website=Goal.com|publisher=Goal.com|access-date=16 January 2016}}

They are the first husband and wife, to play at the same club in the A-League Men and the affiliated A-League Women.{{Cite web|url=https://thewomensgame.com/news/caceres-i-wasnt-expecting-this-515592|title = Caceres: I wasn't expecting this!}}

Career statistics

rowspan="2"\|Club !rowspan="2"\|Season !colspan="3"\|League !colspan="2"\|Domestic Cup !colspan="2"\|Other !colspan="2"\|Total
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" \|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
rowspan="5"\|Central Coast Mariners \|2012–13 \|rowspan="4"\|A-League \|3	0	0	0	2Appearances in the AFC Champions League	0	5	0
2013–14 \|21	2	0	0	3	0	23	2
2014–15 \|26	1	4	0	1	0	31	1
2015–16 \|12	0	1	0	0	0	13	0
colspan=2\|Mariners total !62	3	5	0	6	0	73	3
rowspan=5\|Manchester City \|2015–16 \|rowspan=4\|Premier League \|0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2016–17 \|0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2017–18 \|0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2018–19 \|0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
colspan=2\|Manchester City total !0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
rowspan=3\|Melbourne City (loan) \|2015–16 \|rowspan=2\|A-League	11	1	0	0	0	0	11	1
2016–17 \|27	2	4	1	0	0	31	3
colspan=2\|Melbourne City total !38	3	4	1	0	0	42	4
Al-Wasl (loan) \|2017–18 \|UAE Arabian Gulf League \|21	1	0	0	1610 appearances in the UAE League Cup and 6 in the AFC Champions League	0	37	1
rowspan=1\|Melbourne City (loan) \|2018–19 \| rowspan="4" \|A-League \|5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Sydney FC (loan) \|2018–19 \|15	0	0	0	5	0	20	0
rowspan="5" \|Sydney FC \|2019–20 \|27	2	1	0	5	0	33	2
2020–21 \|28	0	0	0	0	0	28	0
2021–22 \| rowspan="2" \|A-League Men \|24	5	3	0	6	0	33	5
2022 –23 \|25 \|2 \|3 \|1 \|0 \|0 \|28 \|3
colspan="2" \|Sydney FC total	119	9	7	1	16	0	142	10
colspan="3" \|Career total !245	16	16	2	38	0	299	18

Honours

;Central Coast Mariners

A-League Championship: 2012–13

;Melbourne City

FFA Cup: 2016

;Sydney FC

A-League Championship: 2018–19, 2019–20{{cite news|website=Football Federation Australia|url=https://www.ffa.com.au/news/sydney-fc-set-new-australian-record-grand-final-success|title=Sydney FC set new Australian record with Grand Final success|date=1 September 2020|access-date=1 September 2020}}
A-League Premiership: 2019–20
Australia Cup : 2023

;Individual

Mariners Medal: 2014–15
A-Leagues All Star: 2022{{cite news|url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7747208/alm-young-guns-get-shot-against-barcelona/|title=ALM young guns get shot against Barcelona|first=Anna|last=Harrington|date=20 May 2022|access-date=20 May 2022|website=The Canberra Times}}
PFA A-League Team of the Season: 2023–24{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/350279718/wellington-phoenix-dominate-pfa-league-men-team-season|first=Phillip|last=Rollo|date=16 May 2024|access-date=17 May 2024|website=Stuff.co.nz|title=Wellington Phoenix dominate PFA A-League Men team of the season}}