Alessandro Feridun Hojabrpour (; born January 10, 2000) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a central midfielder for Canadian Premier League side Forge FC.

Early life
Hojabrpour began playing soccer at age three with the Italian Canadian Sports Federation. In 2007-08, he participated in the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Prospects program, before joining Coquitlam Metro-Ford SC. In 2012, he joined the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy Residency. In 2017, after playing in a youth tournament in Bulgaria, he was recruited and joined Lokomotiv Plovdiv's U19 team.

Club career

Pacific FC
Hojabrpour signed with a professional contract with Pacific FC of the Canadian Premier League on January 15, 2019; making his club debut on May 12, 2019 against FC Edmonton. He was given his first start for the club in the next game during a Canadian Championship match against Cavalry FC on May 15, 2019. Hojabrpour re-signed with Pacific in December 2019 for the 2020 season and in December 2020 for the 2021 season.

During the 2021 Canadian Premier League season, Hojabrpour earned his first assist for the club on July 17 on a goal by Josh Heard against Forge FC. He scored his first goal for Pacific on October 6 against FC Edmonton at Clarke Stadium. Hojabrpour helped Pacific reach their first CPL final on November 20, 2021, after a 2–1 extra time win over Cavalry FC at ATCO Field.  On December 5, 2021, Hojabrpour scored the winning goal to win Pacific the 2021 Canadian Premier League Final against two-time defending champions Forge FC at Tim Hortons Field. At the end of the season, he was given the 2021 under-21 player of the year award. After the season, he departed the club, having made 63 appearances for the club across all competitions over his three seasons, scoring two goals and adding two assists.

Forge FC
In January 2022, Hojabrpour signed with fellow Canadian Premier League side Forge FC ahead of the 2022 Canadian Premier League season. Hojabrpour made his club debut on February 16, 2022, in a CONCACAF Champions League match against Liga MX side Cruz Azul. He scored his first goal for Forge on April 16, 2022, in their 2022 home opener against Cavalry FC. On October 23, 2022, Hojabrpour provided an assist in the semifinal to help Forge reach the 2022 Canadian Premier League Final. On October 30, 2022, Hojabrpour scored in the final for his second consecutive championship-winning goal of the Canadian Premier League Finals, helping Forge win the 2022 championship over Atlético Ottawa. On April 22, 2023, Hojabrpour made his 100th professional appearance in a 1–1 league draw against HFX Wanderers: in the process, he became the third player (behind Dominick Zator and Terran Campbell) to ever hit the 100-game milestone in all competitions for multiple CPL clubs.

International career
Hojabrpour was born in Burnaby, Canada to an Italian mother and Iranian father, and holds an Italian passport.

In October 2014, he made his debut in the Canadian national program, attending a camp with the Canada U15 team. He represented the Canada men's national under-17 soccer team in the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, scoring a goal against Cuba on April 25, 2017.

Style of play

Hojabrpour can operate as a central midfielder or defensive midfielder. He has been praised for his defensive abilities and reliability in midfield.

Career statistics

Honours

Club
Pacific FC
Canadian Premier League: 2021

Forge FC
Canadian Premier League: 2022

Individual
Canadian Premier League Best Under 21 Canadian Player of the Year: 2021

References

External links
 

2000 births
Living people
Men's association football midfielders
Canadian men's soccer players
Iranian men's footballers
Soccer people from British Columbia
Sportspeople from Burnaby
Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent
Canadian people of Iranian descent
Sportspeople of Iranian descent
Canadian expatriate men's soccer players
Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria
Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria
Whitecaps FC Academy players
PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv players
Pacific FC players
Forge FC players
Canadian Premier League players
Canada men's youth international soccer players