Corazzin will sign for Vancouver

Last updated : 28 June 2003 By Dave Moore

The Vancouver Whitecaps will sign Canadian international striker Carlo Corazzin of Coquitlam, BC, effective of July 1st 2003. Corazzin spent the last three years at the Latics. He could be in the line-up as early as Tuesday, July 1st. (Canada Day), when the Whitecaps take on the Portland Timbers in a 7:00 p.m. start at Burnaby's Swangard Stadium.

The 31-year-old has made 55 appearances for Canada's National Team dating back to 1994, scoring 10 goals to rank fifth in Canada's all-time scoring list. He won the Golden Boot as the top scorer of the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup with 4 goals, including the insurance marker on a penalty kick in Canada's 2-0 win over Colombia in the Final. His most recent appearance was in a 2-1 loss to Estonia on March 29, 2003.

Corazzin played for Vancouver in the 1993 APSL season, finishing second in team scoring behind Domenic Mobilio, with 7 goals and 5 assists in 24 games. He then headed to England where he has played the last 10 seasons, totalling 121 goals in 421 games for four different teams, with all but one-and-a-half seasons spent in the Second Division.

Whitecaps Director of Soccer Operations, Bobby Lenarduzzi said of the signing, "Carlo has made a football career for himself in Europe where he competed at a very high level. He is a fierce competitor and a very talented forward. It is great to have him back in Vancouver where he can return to his hometown and contribute to his local team once again."

After leaving Vancouver, Corazzin joined Cambridge United of the Second Division, signing on December 10, 1993, and scoring 43 goals in 117 games over two-and-a-half seasons. The club was relegated to the Third Division for his final year, during which he moved to Plymouth Argyle of the Second Division on March 28, 1996, for a transfer fee of £150,000. In two-and-a-half seasons at Argyle, Corazzin scored 24 goals in 86 games. He then joined Northampton Town of the Second Division on June 26, 1998, netting 32 goals in 89 games over two seasons. Northampton Town were relegated in 1999, but with Corazzin's help regained promotion in 2000, at which point he signed with Oldham on July 28th, 2000.

He scored 22 goals in 129 games for Oldham. Corazzin began his professional career in Italy at the age 16, where he spent over four years playing for Giorgione and Pievigina of Serie C2. He returned to Canada, and in 1992 played one pre-season game for the Vancouver 86ers, a 2-2 draw against Chelsea, before signing with the Winnipeg Fury of the Canadian Soccer League. He scored 10 goals in 24 games for the Fury, and helped lead Winnipeg to their 1992 CSL Championship win over Vancouver.

Corazzin signed with Vancouver the following year, after the CSL folded. From 1990 to 1992, Corazzin also played for the Canadian U-23 team attempting to qualify for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. He scored 4 goals in 11 games for the U-23s. He made his full National Team debut on June 1, 1994 in a 1-1 draw with Morocco. Carlo (5'11" 170 lb; 180 cm 77 kg) was born in New Westminster, BC, on December 25, 1971. He grew up in Coquitlam, where he played his youth soccer with Metro Ford. In a TV interview Carlo said, "It's good to be back home."