| Josh Cavallo | |
| Fullname: | Joshua John Cavallo |
| Birth Date: | 13 November 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Bentleigh East, Victoria, Australia |
| Height: | 1.76 m |
| Position: | Left back, central midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Adelaide United |
| Clubnumber: | 27 |
| Youthclubs1: | Melbourne Victory |
| Youthclubs2: | Melbourne City |
| Years1: | 2017–2019 |
| Clubs1: | Melbourne City NPL |
| Caps1: | 54 |
| Goals1: | 6 |
| Years2: | 2019–2021 |
| Clubs2: | Western United |
| Caps2: | 9 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2021– |
| Clubs3: | Adelaide United |
| Caps3: | 49 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2018 |
| Nationalteam1: | Australia U20 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 3 May 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 23 March 2020 |
Joshua John Cavallo (born 13 November 1999) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a left back and central midfielder for A-League Men club Adelaide United. Cavallo has represented the Australian under-20 national team.
Joshua John Cavallo[1] was born on 13 November 1999 in Bentleigh East, Victoria.[2] He is of Italian and Maltese descent.[3]
He says that he was initially more into playing tennis, but his brother encouraged him to kick a ball around in the backyard and it was not long before he "fell in love" with the game.
Cavallo was scouted by a national program at the age of 15, and later offered a scholarship by Melbourne Victory. He represented both Melbourne Victory FC Youth and Melbourne City FC Youth.[4]
On 15 April 2019, Melbourne City announced that Cavallo would leave the club at the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2018–19 season.[5]
On 24 June 2019, new A-League side Western United, representing western Melbourne suburbs and western Victorian regional towns,[6] announced that Cavallo would join the club ahead of its inaugural season.[7] He made his debut on 3 January 2020 in a 3–2 loss at his previous club. On as a 71st-minute substitute for Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, he earned a penalty when fouled by goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis, which was converted by Besart Berisha.[8]
Western United announced that Cavallo was leaving the club on 10 February 2021[9] to seek more playing time with another A-League club.
On 18 February 2021, Cavallo signed a short-term contract to play for Adelaide United.[10] After a successful stint in the 2020–21 A-League, he signed a two-year contract extension on 11 May.[11] He was rewarded with Adelaide United's A-League Rising Star award after a successful 2020 - 21 campaign, in which he started 15 games and made 18 appearances.[12]
He plays as a left back and central midfielder for the club.[13]
Cavallo was in the Australian under-19 national team which played in the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship in October–November 2018, starting with a game against Korea Republic.[14]
Cavallo has represented the Australian under-20 national team.[15]
Cavallo said about the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar "If I represent Australia at the World Cup, and I'm giving it my all to make it, it would be an honour, but at the same time, the laws collide".[16]
He came out as gay in October 2021.[17] At the time, there were no other openly gay male footballers playing professional top-flight football. He said in a statement, "I hope that in sharing who I am, I can show others who identify as LGBTQ+ that they are welcome in the football community".[18] Cavallo said he had "never smiled so much in my life" and had "the best night's sleep" after his announcement.[19] He was fully and explicitly supported by Adelaide United management and fellow players.[20] [21] The announcement was widely reported in the international press,[22] and Cavallo received messages of support from many football players, including Gerard Piqué, Marcus Rashford, Antoine Griezmann,[23] Jordan Henderson,[19] Gary Lineker,[23] and Lionel Messi, as well as fans, strangers, and celebrities such as Lil Nas X and Ellen DeGeneres.[20]
Cavallo was the first high-profile player to come out during their career since English footballer Justin Fashanu made a similar announcement in 1990. Fashanu faced widespread homophobia after the announcement.[20] In May 2022 English footballer Jake Daniels came out, aged 17, becoming the UK's only male professional footballer to be publicly out at the time, and the first since Fashanu.[24] He cited Cavallo among those who had helped him to come out.[25]
In March 2024, Cavallo proposed to his partner Leighton Morrell on the pitch at Coopers Stadium, Adelaide United's home ground.[26] He posted three photos on Instagram, one of which showed Morrell wearing an engagement ring, and thanked his club for their support and encouragement to live his life authentically.[27]
He won Adelaide United's Rising Star award for the 2020/2021 season.[23]
In 2022, Cavallo received an honorary doctorate from Flinders University in Adelaide, in recognition of "his exceptional contributions as a role model in elite men's sport and as a champion for equality".[28]
Cavallo was nominated as 2023 SA Young Australian of the Year.[28]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Western United | 2019–20 | A-League | 9 | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | A-League | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 9 | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Adelaide United | 2020–21 | A-League | 19 | 0 | – | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | A-League Men | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | A-League Men | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | A-League Men | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 47 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 53 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 56 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 62 | 0 | |||