Playing position Years Team Height 1.97 m Weight 87 kg | Number 9 Apps (Gls) Nationality Curaçaoan | |
Date of birth (1994-09-23) 23 September 1994 (age 22) Similar Chris Mbamba, Anton Forrester, Jerome Thomas, Martin Paterson | ||
Rigino Cicilia (born 23 September 1994) is a Curaçaoan footballer who plays as a forward for EFL League One club Port Vale.
Contents
He won two caps for the Curaçao under-20 team in 2013. A former youth team player at KVC Oranje, FC Kerkrade-West, and Alemannia Aachen, he turned professional at Roda JC Kerkrade, and made his first team debut in August 2014. He spent the 2015–16 season on loan at RKC Waalwijk. He joined English club Port Vale in June 2016.
Rigino cicilia port vale d j vu
Roda JC Kerkrade
Cicilia spent his youth with KVC Oranje, FC Kerkrade-West, and Alemannia Aachen (Germany), before joining the youth academy at Roda JC Kerkrade. He was one of a club record eight youth team players offered a professional contract at Roda JC in June 2013. He made his debut in the Eerste Divisie (second tier) on 25 August 2014, coming on for Danny Schreurs 78 minutes into a 3–0 defeat to FC Volendam at the Kras Stadion. He scored his first goal for the club on 23 September, in a 2–1 KNVB Cup victory over SC Heerenveen at the Parkstad Limburg Stadion. Four days later he scored his first league goal, in a 2–1 win over Helmond Sport at the Stadion De Braak. He ended the 2014–15 season with two goals in 23 appearances, though was not used in the play-offs as Roda JC beat NAC Breda to regain a place in the Eredivisie (first tier), and signed a new one-year contract in March 2015.
He made two appearances in the Eredivisie as a substitute in August 2015, before joining Eerste Divisie club RKC Waalwijk on loan for the rest of the 2015–16 season. He made a total of 24 appearances for the club, scoring seven goals, including a hat-trick in a 5–3 home defeat to Jong Ajax on 4 December, as RKC Waalwijk finished second-from-bottom in 18th place. He was released by Roda JC in May 2016. He had a trial at Austrian Bundesliga side SKN St. Pölten in June 2016.
Port Vale
In June 2016, Cicilia signed a two-year contract with EFL League One club Port Vale. He started just two of the opening ten games of the 2016–17 season and found himself competing with Martin Paterson behind Anton Forrester in the first team pecking order; Cicilia said that additional conditioning work helped him to adjust to the physicality of the English game. He scored his first goal for the club on 22 October, and then won a penalty, as the "Valiants" came from behind to draw 2–2 with Oxford United at Vale Park. His size and unconventional playing style quickly made him a 'cult hero' for Vale fans, who nicknamed him 'Reggie'. However Bruno Ribeiro rarely played Cicilia form the start of matches, believing him to be more of an impact substitute. He was sidelined with a calf strain injury in February.
International career
Cicilia was named in the Curaçao U20 squad for the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Mexico, and played both games at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla City; a 3–0 defeat to Mexico and a 2–1 defeat to El Salvador.
Style of play
Cicilia is a 1.97 m (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in) forward, but despite his size is a goal poacher rather than a target man.