Michael Baldisimo
Personal information
Full name Michael Robert Otucan Baldisimo
Date of birth (2000-04-13) April 13, 2000
Place of birth Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 San Jose Earthquakes
Number 55
Youth career
Wesburn YSC
South Burnaby Metro Club
Mountain United FC
Burnaby Metro Selects SC
2011–2018 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2017 Whitecaps FC 2 13 (0)
2018–2022 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 47 (1)
2022 → Whitecaps FC 2 (loan) 2 (0)
2023– San Jose Earthquakes 10 (0)
2023– San Jose Earthquakes II 2 (0)
International career‡
2017 Canada U17 1 (0)
2018 Canada U20 3 (0)
2018 Canada U21 1 (0)
2021 Canada U23 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 9, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of March 28, 2021

Michael Robert Otucan Baldisimo (born April 13, 2000) is a Filipino-Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes.

Early life

Baldisimo began playing soccer at age four with Wesburn Youth SC.[1] Afterwards, he played with South Burnaby Metro Club, Mountain United FC, and Burnaby Metro Selects SC.[2][3] In 2011, he represented Western Canada at the Danone Cup qualifiers.[4] Later in 2011, he joined the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy.[5] He was named the 2018 Whitecaps FC Most Promising Player at the club's annual awards ceremony.[6]

Club career

On August 4, 2016, he made his professional debut in the USL with Whitecaps FC 2 as an academy call-up in a match against Arizona United SC.[7][8] He attended the 2017 pre-season with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC first team.[8] In March 2017, he signed a professional contract with Whitecaps FC 2 in the USL.[8]

In July 2018, Baldisimo signed a homegrown player contract with Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Major League Soccer.[9][10] After not featuring for the team in 2018 or 2019, he began to feature regularly with the team in 2020.[11] He made his debut for the first team on August 25, 2020, starting in a 2–0 away defeat to the Montreal Impact.[12][13] He scored his first goal the following week on September 5, in a 3–2 home victory over Toronto FC.[14][15]

After the 2022 season, following the expiry of his contract, he was selected by the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2022 MLS Re-Entry Draft.[16] In January 2023, he signed a one year contract with a club option for 2024 with the Earthquakes.[17]

International career

Baldisimo was born in Canada and is of Filipino descent.[18]

Canada

In October 2014, he made his debut in the Canadian program when he was called up to a camp with the Canada U15 national team.[1] In the summer of 2015, he was named to the U15 squad for a tournament in Mexico.[19] In 2017, he was named to the Canada U17 team for the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship.[20] He was called up to the Canada U21 team for the 2018 Toulon Tournament[21] and also made three starts for the Canada U20 team at the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, recording an assist against Dominica U20.[2] In March 2021, Baldisimo was named to the Canadian U23 squad for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship.[22] In June 2021, he was named to the 60-man provisional squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup,[23] but was left off the final team.

Philippines

In May 2021, Baldisimo received an invitation to play for the Philippines senior national team in their 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers, however he declined the offer as he was still expecting to receive a call up from the Canadian senior team.[24] In November 2021, he accepted a call-up to the Philippines for the re-scheduled 2020 AFF Championship tournament, but had to withdraw due to injury.[25] He accepted another invite to train with the team in November 2022.[26][27]

Career statistics

As of September 9, 2023[28]
Club Season League Playoffs Domestic Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Whitecaps FC 2 2016 USL 1000——10
2017 120———120
Total 130000000130
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2020 Major League Soccer 131———131
2021 2100000—210
2022 130—30—150
Total 471003000501
Whitecaps FC 2 (loan) 2022 MLS Next Pro 20———20
San Jose Earthquakes 2023 Major League Soccer 1000010—110
San Jose Earthquakes II 2023 MLS Next Pro 200000—20
Career Totals 741004000781

    Personal

    He is the younger brother of Matthew Baldisimo, who is also a professional soccer player.[1]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 Michael Baldisimo at the Canadian Soccer Association
    2. 1 2 "Michael Baldisimo Vancouver Whitecaps profile". Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
    3. ↑ "Burnaby's Baldisimo inks deal with Whitecaps". Burnaby Now. July 20, 2018.
    4. ↑ "Danone Cup duo". The New Westminster Record. August 5, 2011. p. A18.
    5. ↑ McColl, Michael (September 5, 2018). "Michael Baldisimo "mentally focused" as long Whitecaps journey moves to the next level". Away from the Numbers.
    6. ↑ "Whitecaps FC Announce 2018 Player Awards, Presented by BMO". Our Sports Central. October 24, 2018.
    7. ↑ "Shorthanded Whitecaps FC 2 Fall Late to Arizona United". Our Sports Central. August 4, 2016.
    8. 1 2 3 "Whitecaps FC sign Residency product Michael Baldisimo to USL contract". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. March 9, 2017. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017.
    9. ↑ Butler, Dylan (July 17, 2018). "Whitecaps sign Michael Baldisimo, Theo Bair to Homegrown contracts". Major League Soccer.
    10. ↑ "Whitecaps FC sign Residency midfielder Michael Baldisimo to MLS Homegrown contract". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. July 17, 2018.
    11. ↑ Gangué-Ruzic, Alexandre (April 28, 2021). "AGR's Analysis: Breaking down Michael Baldisimo's 'growing' importance to the Vancouver Whitecaps offence". BTS Vancouver.
    12. ↑ Adams, J.J. (September 3, 2020). "Whitecaps kids keeping pace with the big boys in MLS". The Province.
    13. ↑ "'Shy' midfielder Michael Baldisimo catching attention with Whitecaps". Sportsnet. October 14, 2020.
    14. ↑ Karstens-Smith, Gemma (September 5, 2020). "Michael Baldisimo scores 1st MLS goal to help Whitecaps snap 3-game skid". CBC Sports.
    15. ↑ Adams, J.J. (September 6, 2020). "Whitecaps 3, TFC 2: Baldisimo bellissimo in upset win over Canadian rivals". The Province.
    16. ↑ "News: Earthquakes Select Midfielder Michael Baldisimo in Stage 2 of MLS Re-Entry Draft". San Jose Earthquakes. November 22, 2022.
    17. ↑ "News: Earthquakes Sign Canadian Midfielder Michael Baldisimo". San Jose Earthquakes. January 9, 2023.
    18. ↑ "Filipino-Canadian teen signs with Vancouver Whitecaps soccer". Balitang America. July 28, 2018. Archived from the original on November 22, 2018.
    19. ↑ "Canada U-15 national team calls in five Whitecaps FC Residency players for Mexico tournament". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. July 30, 2015.
    20. ↑ "Burnaby pair named to national u-17 squad". Burnaby Now. April 13, 2017.
    21. ↑ Rodriguez, Alicia (May 19, 2018). "Canada national team roster for prestigious Toulon Tournament released". Major League Soccer.
    22. ↑ "Canada Soccer announces squad for CONCACAF's men's Olympic Qualifying". Canadian Soccer Association. March 10, 2021.
    23. ↑ "11 'Caps named to provisional Concacaf Gold Cup rosters". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. June 8, 2021.
    24. ↑ Adams, J.J. (May 16, 2021). "Whitecaps: 'Big Baldi' accepts call-up to Philippines, with an eye on World Cup qualification". The Province.
    25. ↑ "Azkals gear up for AFF Suzuki Cup 2020". The Azkals. November 29, 2021. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022.
    26. ↑ Terrado, Jonas (November 19, 2022). "Local league mainstays, young guns lead Azkals pool". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
    27. ↑ Jacques, John (November 23, 2022). "Michael Baldisimo Called Up By Philippines". Northern Tribune.
    28. ↑ Michael Baldisimo at Soccerway
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