Lee Henry Casciaro (born 29 September 1981) is a Gibraltarian footballer who plays as a forward for Lincoln Red Imps and the Gibraltar national team. With 59 titles won with Lincoln recognized by UEFA, he has the record for most titles with one club, most club titles, and most titles in association football.[2] From 2019 to 2022, he was also Gibraltar's all-time leading scorer since joining UEFA, with three goals.
 Casciaro with Lincoln Red Imps in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lee Henry Casciaro | ||
| Date of birth | 29 September 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Gibraltar | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Lincoln Red Imps | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Lincoln Red Imps | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998– | Lincoln Red Imps | 248 | (85) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2002–2011[1] | Gibraltar XI (Non-FIFA) | 12 | (12) |
| 2014– | Gibraltar | 66 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 October 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2024 | |||
Club career
editOn 7 July 2015, Casciaro scored the winning goal as Lincoln Red Imps came from behind to win 2–1 away to FC Santa Coloma in the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round, advancing on aggregate by the same score to become the first Gibraltarian team to advance into the second qualifying round.[3] On 12 July 2016, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 Red Imps victory over Celtic in the first leg of the 2nd qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.[4]
On 12 July 2022 he became the oldest player to score in any round of the Champions League or European Cup. His record-breaking goal came against KF Shkupi in the first qualifying round.
International career
editOn 7 September 2014, Casciaro made his international debut for Gibraltar in a UEFA Euro 2016 Group D qualifying match against Poland with Gibraltar losing 7–0 at the Estádio Algarve.[5] He had played for the official team since 2007, scoring 9 goals in 7 appearances, but these appearances were considered unofficial upon Gibraltar's entry to UEFA in 2013. On 29 March 2015, he scored Gibraltar's first ever goal in a full international competitive match; netting an equaliser against Scotland in a 6–1 European qualification loss at Hampden Park, Glasgow.[6] For his services to sport in Gibraltar, he was awarded the Gibraltar Medallion of Distinction in August 2019.[7] He captained Gibraltar for the first time against Liechtenstein on 10 October 2020, aged 39.
On 24 March 2023, a 41-year-old Casciaro became the oldest ever player to appear at a UEFA European Championship qualifying match in a 3–0 defeat to Greece, although the record had initially been misattributed to Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, who played the same day yet is 4 days younger than Casciaro,[8] but a 43-year-old Ildefons Lima of Andorra broke his record on 16 June 2023.[9]
Personal life
editCasciaro is a policeman for the Gibraltar Defence Police.[10] His brothers Kyle and Ryan have also played with Gibraltar's national side.[11]
Career statistics
editInternational
edit- As of match played 13 October 2024[1]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gibraltar | 2014 | 4 | 0 |
| 2015 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 66 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list Gibraltar's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Casciaro goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 March 2015 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Scotland |
1–1 | 1–6 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification | |
| 2 | 13 November 2016 | GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus |  Cyprus |
1–1 | 1–3 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 3 | 15 October 2019 | Victoria Stadium, Westside, Gibraltar |  Georgia |
1–2 | 2–3 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
Honours
editLincoln Red Imps[12]
- Gibraltar League (21): 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
- Rock Cup (15): 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021, 2021–22, 2023–24
- Pepe Reyes Cup (12): 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2022
- Gibraltar Premier Cup (11): 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Casciaro, Lee". National Football Teams. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ "Casciaro and Ibrahimović become oldest players in EURO qualifying history". UEFA. 24 March 2023. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ Fortuna, Julian (8 July 2015). "Historic win helps Lincoln's dream come true". UEFA. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- ^ Donohoe, Eamonn (12 July 2016). "Lincoln Red Imps 1 0 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ^ "Gibraltar 0 - Poland 7". Sky Sports News. 7 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ "Scotland v Gibraltar". BBC Sport. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ^ 2019 recipients of Gibraltar Medallions of Honour and Distinction announced Gibraltar Chronicle. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ "Sweden 0–3 Belgium". BBC Sport. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^ "Ildefons Lima becomes oldest player in EURO qualifying history". UEFA.com. UEFA. 15 June 2023. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
- ^ "Gibraltar v Poland: Starting XIs by professional occupation". The Independent. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ "A policeman goes down in Gibraltar history". Marca. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- ^ "History – Senior Cup TITLES". Lincoln Red Imps FC. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
External links
edit
- Lee Casciaro at National-Football-Teams.com
- Lee Casciaro – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Lee Casciaro at Soccerway