Derek Austin Cornelius (born 25 November 1997) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a centre-back for Super League Greece club Panetolikos, on loan from Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
![]() Cornelius in 2019 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Derek Austin Cornelius[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1997-11-25) 25 November 1997 (age 24) | ||
Place of birth | Ajax, Ontario, Canada | ||
Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
Club information | |||
Current team |
Panetolikos (on loan from Vancouver Whitecaps FC) | ||
Number | 13 | ||
Youth career | |||
Ajax SC | |||
2009–2011 | Spartacus SC | ||
2011–2013 | Unionville-Milliken SC | ||
2014–2015 | VfB Lübeck | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2016 | VfB Lübeck | 1 | (0) |
2016 | VfR Neumünster | 17 | (2) |
2017–2018 | Javor Ivanjica | 28 | (0) |
2019– | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 35 | (1) |
2021– | → Panetolikos (loan) | 42 | (2) |
National team‡ | |||
2018–2021 | Canada U23 | 7 | (1) |
2018– | Canada | 14 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 November 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 October 2021 |
Cornelius was born in Ajax, Ontario to a Barbadian father and a Jamaican mother.[2] Cornelius started playing when he was selected for the 1996 House League All-Star team.[3] Then he got selected by Ajax Thunder under-8 at six years old.[3] Next season he was the Unionville Milliken Challenge Cup Champions Most Valuable Player.[3] Next year he moved to North York Spartacus and reached 2nd Place in the Indoor League. Next season at U11 he won the C.O.V.I. Championship and was proclaimed the Most Valuable Player.[3]
In 2012, he played in the Oviedo Cup with PFC CSKA Moscow in Spain, then he played in the Milk Cup by CSKA Moscow in Northern Ireland where he led the team scoring four goals in the tournament. He ended that year by being invited to the CSKA Moscow Reserve Camp and by playing in the U21 Provincial and Men's Regional leagues, scoring 22 goals in 30 games.[3]
In 2013, he was selected for Canadian national under-17 team for camp in Florida and Costa Rica, and later selected for CONCACAF World Cup U17 Qualifier pre-camp in Florida. He was also selected for Canadian National U16 Team for Torneo delle Nazioni tournament in Italy. That same year he was invited to Hungary for trials with Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC and Győri ETO FC in March.[3]
In January 2014, he moved to Germany. He began training with VfB Lübeck U19 team.[4] He spent two seasons with the main team,[5] but was unable to play due to FIFA rules for underaged players. He became eligible to play effective on 1 January 2016.[6][7] With VfB Lübeck he won the Schleswig-Holstein Cup two years in a row and made an appearance in the 2015–16 Regionalliga Nord.[8]
In summer 2016 he moved to VfR Neumünster playing with them the first half of the season.[5]
During the winterbreak of the 2016–17 season, Cornelius was signed by Serbian SuperLiga side FK Javor Ivanjica after successful trials. He made his league debut on 29 April 2017, in an away game against FK Radnički Niš.[8] Javor head coach Srđan Vasiljević converted Cornelius from a forward into a centre-back.[9]
On 18 January 2019, Cornelius returned to his native Canada and signed with MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[10] He made his debut for the Whitecaps on 2 March in their 2019 MLS season opener against Minnesota United.[11] Cornelius scored his first goal for the club on 18 May against Sporting Kansas City.[12]
In July 2021 the Whitecaps announced Cornelius had been loaned to Panetolikos of the Super League Greece until December 2022.[13]
Cornelius was part of the Canadian U17 camp in February 2013.[14] He was called up to a U23 camp on 8 January 2018.[15] In May 2018, Cornelius was named to Canada's under-21 squad for the 2018 Toulon Tournament[16] and would earn rave reviews for his performance at the tournament.[17] In 2018, he was named the Canada Soccer Youth International Player of the Year.[18]
On 12 March 2018, Cornelius received his first call up to the Canadian senior side for a friendly against New Zealand to be played on 24 March 2018.[19] He would make his debut for Canada on 9 September 2018, starting and playing the entire match in an 8–0 victory over the U.S. Virgin Islands.[20][21] On 30 May 2019, Cornelius was named to the 23-man squad for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[22]
He was named to the Canadian U-23 roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship on 10 March 2021.[23]
In November 2022, Cornelius was named to Canada's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[24]
Club | Season | League | Cup | League Playoffs | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
VfB Lübeck | 2015–16 | Regionalliga Nord | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
VfR Neumünster | 2016–17 | Oberliga Schleswig-Holstein | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 |
Javor Ivanjica | 2016–17 | Serbian SuperLiga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
2017–18 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | ||
2018–19 | Serbian First League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | ||
Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2019 | MLS | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
2020 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
2021 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
Total | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
Panetolikos (loan) | 2021–22 | Super League Greece | 29 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 2 |
2022–23 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
Total | 42 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 2 | ||
Career total | 121 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 131 | 5 |
Canada | ||
Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|
2018 | 4 | 0 |
2019 | 8 | 0 |
2020 | 1 | 0 |
2021 | 1 | 0 |
Total | 14 | 0 |
VfB Lübeck
Panetolikos F.C. – current squad | |
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Canadian Youth Players of the Year | |
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Men's | |
Women |
Canada squads | |||||||||||||
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