Darren Mattocks


Darren Dimitri Mattocks is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a forward for FC Cincinnati in Major League Soccer and the Jamaica national football team.

College career

Mattocks played for the University of Akron where he made 47 appearances and scored 39 goals over two years. He was nominated for several awards during his tenure, including one to the first-year All-American teams by several different media outlets.

Professional career

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Mattocks was selected by Vancouver Whitecaps FC with the second overall pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft.
He made his club debut on opening day against the Montreal Impact coming off the bench. Soon after his club debut he suffered severe burns from a cooking accident and missed almost two months before returning to the line-up on 9 May against FC Edmonton when he scored his first goal for the Whitecaps in the 93rd minute.
Mattocks scored his first MLS goal on 26 May 2012 against the Portland Timbers. Mattocks scored six goals in his first nine MLS appearances in 2012. In the Whitecaps' first ever playoff game versus the LA Galaxy, Mattocks scored the first ever playoff goal for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the fourth minute of play. He earned the team's Golden Boot award that year with seven goals.

Portland Timbers

Mattocks was traded in March 2016 to Portland Timbers in exchange for targeted allocation money and general allocation money.

D.C. United

On 10 December 2017, Mattocks, after having his contract option rejected by Portland, was traded to D.C. United in exchange for an international roster slot. D.C. United exercised Mattocks' option for 2018, but he lost his starting role after Wayne Rooney arrived in the mid-summer as a Designated Player.
On 11 March 2018, Mattocks scored his first MLS regular season goal for D.C. United. He scored the only goal for D.C. United in the 3–1 loss against Atlanta United. In his time with DC United, he appeared in 25 games and scored 10 goals.

FC Cincinnati

In December 2018, Mattocks was drafted by FC Cincinnati in the 2018 MLS Expansion Draft.
In February 2020, Cincinnati head coach Ron Jans resigned following allegations of racist behaviour after the MLS Players Association received a complaint from a player. The MLSPA did not publicly identify the complainant, but some Dutch media outlets speculated that it was Mattocks.

International career

Mattocks made his international debut for Jamaica in 2012, coming on in the 55th minute in a 2–0 win over El Salvador.
He scored three times during the 2014 Caribbean Cup, making him the tournament's joint top scorer, as Jamaica won the tournament for the sixth time.
In 2015, Mattocks was included in Jamaica's squads for the Copa América and CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments. On 22 July 2015, Mattocks scored the opening goal in the 2–1 semi-final victory over the United States in Atlanta, Georgia, as the Reggae Boyz qualified for their first ever Gold Cup final. He also scored in the 3–1 defeat to Mexico in the final in Philadelphia.

Personal life

Mattocks received his U.S. green card in May 2014, which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.2 March 2014Barbados National Stadium, Saint Michael, Barbados1–02–0Friendly
2.5 March 2014Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia2–0
5–0
Friendly
3.5 March 2014Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia
4–0
5–0
Friendly
4.12 November 2014Montego Bay Sports Complex, Montego Bay, Jamaica1–01–12014 Caribbean Cup
5.14 November 2014Montego Bay Sports Complex, Montego Bay, Jamaica2–03–02014 Caribbean Cup
6.16 November 2014Montego Bay Sports Complex, Montego Bay, Jamaica2–02–02014 Caribbean Cup
7.27 March 2015Montego Bay Sports Complex, Montego Bay, Jamaica2–12–1Friendly
8.31 March 2015Montego Bay Sports Complex, Montego Bay, Jamaica3–03–0Friendly
9.23 July 2015Georgia Dome, Atlanta, United States1–02–12015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
10.26 July 2015Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States1–31–32015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
11.5 September 2015Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica
2–3
2–3
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
12.8 September 2015Dennis Martínez National Stadium, Managua, Nicaragua
1–0
2–0
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.9 July 2017Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States2–02–02017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
14.16 July 2017Alamodome, San Antonio, United States1–11–12017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
15.9 September 2018Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica1–0
4–0
2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification
16.9 September 2018Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica
3–0
4–0
2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification
17.17 November 2018Montego Bay Sports Complex, Montego Bay, Jamaica2–02–12019–20 CONCACAF Nations League qualification
18.30 June 2019Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States1–01–02019 CONCACAF Gold Cup