Lucas Zelarayán

Lucas Manuel Zelarayán (Armenian: Լուկաս Մանուել Զելարայան; born 20 June 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew. Born in Argentina, he represents the Armenia national team.

Lucas Zelarayán
Zelarayán with the Columbus Crew in 2022
Personal information
Full name Lucas Manuel Zelarayán
Date of birth (1992-06-20) 20 June 1992
Place of birth Córdoba, Argentina
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Columbus Crew
Number 10
Youth career
Belgrano
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2015 Belgrano 75 (10)
2016–2020 Tigres UANL 113 (21)
2020– Columbus Crew 82 (31)
International career‡
2021– Armenia 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:51, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2023

Club career

Belgrano

Born in Córdoba, Argentina, Zelarayán was a Belgrano youth graduate. He made his senior debut on 25 April 2012, coming on as a second-half substitute for Lucas Parodi in a 2–1 away loss against Rosario Central, for the season's Copa Argentina.

Zelarayán made his Primera División debut on 1 March 2013, replacing Jorge Velázquez in a 2–0 away loss against Newell's Old Boys.[2] His first professional goal came on 7 April of the following year, as he scored the winner in a 2–1 home defeat of River Plate.[3]

On 5 December 2014, after becoming a regular starter, Zelarayán extended his contract until 2018.[4]

Tigres UANL

On 21 December 2015, Zelarayán agreed to a contract with Liga MX side Tigres UANL.[5] He debuted for the club the following 10 January, replacing Rafael Sóbis in a 1–0 loss at Toluca. Zelarayán scored his first goal abroad on 6 February 2016, netting the last in a 3–1 win at Chiapas. On 22 January 2017, he scored a brace in a 4–2 home win against América.

Columbus Crew

On 20 December 2019, Zelarayán moved to Major League Soccer side Columbus Crew for $8 million.[6][7] Zelarayán made his debut against New York City FC, scoring the match-winning goal in the 56th minute.[8] He was named the league's Newcomer of the Year at the end of the 2020 regular season. In the 2020 MLS Cup final, Zelarayán scored two goals and assisted on another in Columbus' 3–0 win over Seattle Sounders FC to help them win their second ever MLS Cup title. Zelarayán was named the MLS Cup Most Valuable Player after his performance.[9]

During the 2021 MLS season, Zelarayán scored a total of five free kick goals, with two of them coming in one game vs New York City FC. Both free kick goals turned out to be crucial for the Crew, as they ended up winning 2–1, with the game winning free kick coming in the 5th minute of second half stoppage time, which earned Zelarayán recognition as MLS Player of the Week.[10] Zelarayán was named MLS Player of the Week a second time in the 2021 season after scoring 2 goals in a 3–1 victory against DC United.[11] Zelarayán finished the year leading the club in both goals and assists with twelve and seven respectively.[12]

On 2 December 2021, it was announced that Zelarayán had signed a contract extension with the Crew, keeping him with Columbus through the 2024 Major League Soccer season with an option for 2025.[13]

On 30 March 2022, Zelarayán was voted MLS Player of the Month.[14] On 5 October, Zelarayán scored the longest free kick goal in MLS history since the statistic has been tracked; a 56 yard attempt during a match against Charlotte FC. That goal marked his 17th goal from outside of the penalty area since joining the league in 2020, more than double of any other player in the league.[15]

During week two of the 2023 season, Zelarayán scored both of Columbus' goals in a 2–0 victory over D.C. United,[16] earning the league's Player of the Week award in the process.[17]

International career

Born in Argentina, Zelarayán is of Armenian descent through his father. He received an invitation to represent the Armenia national team in June 2018.[18] He accepted the invitation to play for Armenia national team in October 2021.[19] He debuted with Armenia in a 1–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification tie with Iceland on 8 October 2021.[20]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 1 April 2023[21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Belgrano 2011–12 Argentine Primera División —10——10
2012–13 8010——90
2013–14 18110——191
2014 194———194
2015 305102[lower-alpha 1]0—335
Total 75104020—8110
Tigres UANL 2015–16 Liga MX 151—4[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0201
2016–17 408—7[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 3]0488
2017–18 213204[lower-alpha 2]12[lower-alpha 4]1295
2018–19 225202[lower-alpha 2]02[lower-alpha 5]0285
2019–20 154———154
Total 11321401716114023
Columbus Crew 2020 Major League Soccer 16[lower-alpha 6]6——5[lower-alpha 7]2218
2021 3212—3[lower-alpha 2]11[lower-alpha 8]03613
2022 291000——2910
2023 5300—0053
Total 82310031629134
Career total 270628022212331267
  1. Appearance(s) in Copa Sudamericana
  2. Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
  3. Appearance in Campeón de Campeones
  4. One appearance and one goal in Campeón de Campeones, one appearance in Campeones Cup
  5. One appearance in Campeón de Campeones, one appearance in Leagues Cup
  6. Includes three appearances and two goals in MLS is Back Tournament group stage
  7. One appearance in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage, four appearances and two goals in MLS Cup Playoffs
  8. Appearance in Campeones Cup

International
As of match played 25 March 2023[22]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Armenia 202140
202220
202310
Total70

Honours

UANL

Columbus Crew

Individual

References
  1. mlssoccer. "Lucas Zelarayán | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  2. "Scocco abrió el camino para el triunfo de Newells ante Belgrano" [Scocco cleared the path to Newells' triumph against Belgrano] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  3. "Belgrano venció a River y lo dejó sin la punta" [Belgrano defeated River and left them without the leadership] (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  4. "Zelarayán extendió hasta 2018 su contrato con Belgrano" [Zelarayán extended until 2018 his contract with Belgrano] (in Spanish). Cadena 3. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  5. "Zelarayán se suma a los Tigres" [Zelarayán joins Tigres] (in Spanish). Tigres UANL. 21 December 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "Columbus Crew SC acquires attacking midfielder Lucas Zelarayan as a Designated Player". columbuscrew.com. Columbus Crew. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  7. "Cucho Hernandez transfer: Columbus Crew sign Watford's Colombian striker, paying club-record $10 million fee". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  8. Myers, Jacob. "Crew 1, NYC FC 0 | Lucas Zelarayan's goal in debut gives Crew season-opening win". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  9. "Columbus' Zelarayan named MLS Cup MVP". ESPN.com. 13 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  10. mlssoccer. "Recap: New York City FC 1, Columbus Crew 2 | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  11. "Columbus Crew's Lucas Zelarayan named Week 34 MLS Player of the Week". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  12. Murphy, Pat (19 November 2021). "The Crew announce 2021 individual end of season awards". Massive Report. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  13. ColumbusCrew.com. "Columbus Crew signs midfielder Lucas Zelarayan to new multi-year contract | Columbus Crew". ColumbusCrew.com. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  14. mlssoccer. "Columbus Crew star Lucas Zelarayan voted MLS Player of the Month | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  15. Quaile, Kieran (7 October 2022). "Zelarayán scores the longest free-kick in MLS history: Who had the previous record?". Diario AS. Retrieved 30 November 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. Johnson, Bailey (4 March 2023). "Lucas Zelarayan's brace leads Crew to 2-0 win over D.C. United in home opener". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  17. "Columbus Crew's Lucas Zelarayán named Player of the Matchday". Major League Soccer. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  18. "L'arméno-argentin Lucas Zelarayan invité en sélection nationale (...) - Nouvelles d'Arménie en Ligne". www.armenews.com.
  19. "Lucas Zelarayán to play for Armenian national team". www.armradio.am.
  20. "Iceland-Armenia | European Qualifiers". UEFA.com.
  21. Lucas Zelarayán at Soccerway. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  22. "Lucas Zelarayán". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  23. "Columbus Crew SC's Lucas Zelarayan named 2020 MLS Newcomer of the Year". Major League Soccer. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  24. "Columbus Crew SC playmaker Lucas Zelarayan named MLS Cup MVP pres. by Audi". Major League Soccer. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  25. "2021 MLS All-Star Team Roster". Major League Soccer.
  26. Wright, Johnathan (1 April 2021). "Columbus Crew star Lucas Zelarayan voted MLS Player of the Month". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
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