Benjamin Garuccio (born 15 June 1995) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a left back for Western United in the A-league.

Ben Garuccio
Personal information
Full name Benjamin Garuccio
Date of birth (1995-06-15) 15 June 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Adelaide, Australia
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Left back
Team information
Current team
Western United
Number 17
Youth career
Adelaide City
2010 SASI
2010–2011 Adelaide United
2011–2012 AIS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2016 Melbourne City[2] 45 (1)
2016–2018 Adelaide United 50 (1)
2018–2020 Heart of Midlothian 21 (0)
2020–2021 Melbourne City 21 (0)
2021– Western United 69 (6)
International career
2012–2014 Australia U20 17 (0)
2018 Australia U23 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 April 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 January 2018

Born in Adelaide, Garuccio played youth football at the Australian Institute of Sport before making his professional debut for Melbourne Heart. In 2016, he moved back to Adelaide to play for Adelaide United. Garuccio signed for Scottish club Hearts in May 2018. He returned to Australia in October 2020 with Melbourne City.

Garuccio represented the Australian under-20 side on many occasions.

Career

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Melbourne Heart

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On 19 September 2012, Garuccio signed for A-League side Melbourne Heart,[3] who have since been rebranded as Melbourne City.[4]

Adelaide United

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On 16 June 2016, Garuccio returned to his hometown, signing a 2-year contract with Adelaide United.[5]

Heart of Midlothian

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Garuccio signed a pre-contract agreement with Scottish Premiership club Hearts in May 2018.[6] He scored his first goal for Hearts in a 5–0 win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 29 July 2018, with a 25-yard free-kick.

Melbourne City

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Garuccio returned to Australia in October 2020, signing for Melbourne City.[7]

Western United

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In July 2021, Garuccio secured a mutual termination of contract with Melbourne City, so he could join rival Melbourne club Western United.[8][9]

Career statistics

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As of 28 April 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Melbourne City 2012–13 A-League 5 0 5 0
2013–14 12 0 12 0
2014–15 7 0 1 0 8 0
2015–16 21 1 1 0 22 1
Total 45 1 2 0 47 1
Adelaide United 2016–17 A-League 27 0 0 0 5 0 32 0
2017–18 23 1 1 0 24 1
Total 50 1 1 0 5 0 56 1
Heart of Midlothian 2018–19 Scottish Premiership 17 0 3 0 3 1 23 1
2019–20 4 0 2 0 0 0 6 0
Total 21 0 5 0 3 1 29 1
Melbourne City 2020–21 A-League 21 0 21 0
Western United 2021–22 A-League Men 28 2 1 0 5 0
2022–23 18 1 2 0 8 0
2023–24 23 3 3 0 8 0
Total 69 6 6 0 75 6
Career total 206 8 14 0 3 1 5 0 228 9

Honours

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Melbourne City
Western United
Individual

References

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  1. ^ "B. Garuccio". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  2. ^ The team was known as Melbourne Heart prior to 2014
  3. ^ "Heart sign Qantas Young Socceroo Garuccio". Football Federation Australia. 19 September 2012. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  4. ^ "City Football Group Confirms Name Change to Melbourne City FC - Melbourne Heart FC 2013". Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  5. ^ "Reds snare former City defender". Football Federation Australia. 16 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Hearts sign Australian full-back Ben Garuccio". BBC Sport. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Garuccio returns to Melbourne in two-year deal with City". The World Game. SBS. 14 October 2020.
  8. ^ "City confirm departure of Ben Garuccio". Melbourne City. 17 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Western United bolster squad with Ben Garuccio signing". Western United. 18 July 2021.
  10. ^ Harrington, Anna (20 May 2022). "ALM young guns get shot against Barcelona". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  11. ^ "A-League All Stars Men lock in final 21-player squad to take on Newcastle United this Friday". A-League Men. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  12. ^ "PFA reveals player-voted Austraffic A-League Men Team of the Season on eve of Grand Final". Professional Footballers Australia. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
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