He turned heads when he co-captained Canada at the Concacaf U-17 Championship then represented his country at the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Then last year, he was named the Whitecaps FC BMO RESP Academy Male Player award winner.
In this week's edition of Getting to Know, presented by GE Appliances, we learn more about Gianfranco Facchineri.
Who was your favourite soccer player growing up?
Had to be Fabio Cannavaro, the 2006 World Cup winner for Italy.
What, or who, has had the biggest impact on your life?
One of the biggest impacts on my life has been my younger sister. It’s not often you hear an older brother saying their younger sister had a big impact but she really has. Just her personality and the way she goes around life, she’s been a huge influence on me.
What’s your favourite spot in Vancouver to hangout?
I love going down to Yaletown, Downtown Vancouver is obviously awesome. Something I’ll typically do is when we have weekend conditioning I’ll run down to Spanish Banks. It’s one of my favourite beaches in Vancouver. I love the view.
Favourite TV show?
How I Met Your Mother or Peaky Blinders depending on the mood I’m in.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Probably a Big Mac and fries from McDonald’s.
Who’s your celebrity lookalike?
I’ve gotten John Stamos before. I don’t particularly agree with it but I guess they saw it.
What are you most proud of?
In terms of my playing career, the thing I’m most proud of is definitely being able to captain my national team at the FIFA U-17 World Cup. By far that was my proudest moment and my best moment as a footballer so far.
What song would you sing at Karaoke?
Maybe Wonderwall by Oasis. That’s a fun one.
Who do you look up to?
I look up to a lot of people depending on what aspect in my life. If we’re talking the soccer aspect, the first guys I looked up to were the other centre backs in the first team. But if we’re talking an everyday life aspect, I look at probably all my grandparents. A lot of them didn’t come from a lot and made really good lives for themselves.
What’s something most people wouldn’t know about you?
I’m a self-taught guitarist.
