Alessandro Hojabrpour
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. Club career. Early career. A product of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy, Alessandro Hojabrpour signed with the under-19 side of Bulgarian club Lokomotiv Plovdiv in 2017. Pacific FC. Hojabrpour signed with Pacific FC on January 15, 2019 and made his Canadian Premier League 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 provided his first assist for the club on July 17 to 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 4, 2021, he was nominated for the league's under-21  player of the year award at the end of the 2021 season. On December 5, 2021, Hojabrpour scored the winning goal to win Pacific the 2021 Canadian Premier League Final at Tim Hortons Field. On December 14, he was named the 2021 Under-21 player of the year. In January 2022, Pacific announced Hojabrpour would be departing the club. Forge FC. On January 7, 2022, Pacific FC announced that Hojabrpour had left the club to sign with fellow Canadian Premier League side Forge FC ahead of the 2022 Canadian Premier League season. Forge officially confirmed the signing the following week. 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. International career. Youth. Born in Burnaby to an Italian mother and Iranian father, Hojabrpour made his debut in the Canadian youth program in 2014. 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. Honours. Club. Pacific FC