Leandro Jones Johan Bacuna (born 21 August 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or right-back, most recently for Cardiff City. Bacuna was capped 20 times at youth levels for the Netherlands and also represented the Netherlands Antilles at youth level.[3] Bacuna represents the Curaçao national team, the successor side to the Netherlands Antilles, and won the Caribbean Cup with the side in 2017.
![]() Bacuna playing for Aston Villa in 2016 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Leandro Jones Johan Bacuna[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1991-08-21) 21 August 1991 (age 31)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Groningen, Netherlands | ||
Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder, right-back | ||
Youth career | |||
Groningen | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2009–2013 | Groningen | 109 | (14) |
2013–2017 | Aston Villa | 116 | (7) |
2017–2019 | Reading | 59 | (4) |
2019–2022 | Cardiff City | 111 | (4) |
National team‡ | |||
2007–2008 | Netherlands Antilles U20 | 5 | (3) |
2009–2010 | Netherlands U19 | 10 | (1) |
2011–2013 | Netherlands U21 | 10 | (1) |
2016– | Curaçao | 44 | (14) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 December 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 September 2022 |
On 30 October 2009, Bacuna made his first team debut for Groningen in an Eredivisie match against PSV.[4] Bacuna has also played for Groningen's youth teams. On 6 November 2009, he scored his first goal for the first team in a league match against Heracles Almelo, an eventual 4–1 victory for Groningen.[5]
It was announced on 13 June 2013 that Bacuna had signed a three-year contract with Premier League club Aston Villa. Handed the number 7 shirt, Bacuna impressed many with his debut season for the Villains, despite constantly playing out of position at right back.[6][7] Bacuna scored his first Premier League goal on 28 September at home to Manchester City. His second goal came from a free-kick in the claret and blues' 2–0 victory over Cardiff City. He continued his goalscoring run with goals against West Bromwich Albion, Everton and Norwich. [citation needed]
In the 2014–15 season, however, Bacuna found it harder to break into the starting line-up, starting just one game in the Premier League. On 15 February 2015, he scored the first of two Villa goals in the fifth round of the FA Cup in a 2–1 win over Leicester City, taking the club into the quarter-finals.[citation needed]
On 20 August 2015, Bacuna signed a new long-term contract with the club.[8]
On 13 August 2017, Bacuna moved to Reading, signing a four-year contract.[9] He scored his first goal for Reading in an EFL Cup tie against Millwall on 22 August 2017.[10]
On 31 January 2019, Bacuna moved to Championship side Cardiff City, signing a four-and-a-half year deal for a transfer fee believed to be around £3 million.[11][12] On June 10, 2022, Cardiff announced Bacuna would leave the club when his contract expired on June 30.[13]
Born in the Netherlands to parents of Curaçaoan descent, Bacuna played for the Netherlands Antilles under-20 side, as well as various youth Dutch teams. He received his first Curaçao national team call-up in March 2016,[14] earning his first cap in a 1–0 loss to Barbados.[15]
He is the older brother of Birmingham City player Juninho Bacuna.[16]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Groningen | 2009–10 | Eredivisie | 20 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 24 | 3 | |
2010–11 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 31 | 2 | |||
2011–12 | 32 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 33 | 7 | |||
2012–13 | 33 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 38 | 5 | |||
Total | 109 | 14 | 9 | 1 | — | 7 | 2 | 125 | 17 | |||
Aston Villa | 2013–14[19] | Premier League | 35 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 38 | 5 | |
2014–15[20] | 19 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 24 | 1 | |||
2015–16[21] | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | |||
2016–17[22] | Championship | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | ||
2017–18[23] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Total | 116 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 129 | 8 | ||
Reading | 2017–18[23] | Championship | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 38 | 2 | |
2018–19[24] | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 28 | 3 | |||
Total | 60 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 66 | 5 | |||
Cardiff City | 2018–19[24] | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
2019–20[25] | Championship | 41 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 45 | 1 | |
2020–21[26] | 41 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 43 | 2 | |||
2021–22[27] | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | |||
Total | 109 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 114 | 4 | ||
Career total | 393 | 29 | 26 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 434 | 35 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Curaçao | 2016 | 6 | 4 |
2017 | 9 | 1 | |
2018 | 5 | 4 | |
2019 | 11 | 2 | |
2021 | 8 | 2 | |
2022 | 5 | 1 | |
Total | 44 | 14 |
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 June 2016 | Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad, Curaçao | 4 | ![]() | 4–0 | 7–0 | 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification |
2 | 5 October 2016 | 5 | ![]() | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||
3 | 11 October 2016 | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, Bayamón, Puerto Rico | 6 | ![]() | 2–2 | 4–2 | |
4 | 4–2 | ||||||
5 | 10 October 2017 | Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar | 15 | ![]() | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
6 | 26 March 2018 | Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad, Curaçao | 17 | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
7 | 10 September 2018 | 18 | ![]() | 4–0 | 10–0 | 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification | |
8 | 7–0 | ||||||
9 | 12 October 2018 | IMG Academy, Bradenton, United States | 19 | ![]() | 3–0 | 5–0 | |
10 | 5 June 2019 | Chang Arena, Buriram, Thailand | 22 | ![]() | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2019 King's Cup |
11 | 21 June 2019 | BBVA Stadium, Houston, United States | 25 | ![]() | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
12 | 28 March 2021 | Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala | 33 | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
13 | 5 June 2021 | Estadio El Trébol, Guatemala City, Guatemala | 34 | ![]() | 3–0 | 8–0 | |
14 | 6 June 2022 | Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras | 41 | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League A |
Aston Villa[29]
Curaçao[29]
Curaçao squads | |||||||||||||
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