# Leandro Bacuna
**Leandro Bacuna** (Leandro Jones Johan Bacuna, born 1991 in [Groningen](https://www.edgepedia.org/groningen), Netherlands) is a Dutch-born professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or right-back for TFF First League club Iğdır FK and captains the Curaçao national team[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/leandro-bacuna-236266/) • [2](https://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?kisiID=2820673&pageID=30). After a decade in English football with Aston Villa, Reading, Cardiff City, and Watford, he returned to his home-town club [FC Groningen](https://www.edgepedia.org/fc-groningen) and then moved to Turkey, while internationally he became the central figure of Curaçao's rise to its first [FIFA World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fifa-world-cup) in 2026[3](https://www.fotmob.com/players/183500/leandro-bacuna) • [4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/curacao-world-cup-2026-squad).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / born | Leandro Jones Johan Bacuna, 1991, Groningen, Netherlands[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/leandro-bacuna-236266/) |
| Position | Midfielder or right-back; 1.87 m, 77 kg[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/leandro-bacuna-236266/) |
| English clubs | Aston Villa (2013–2017), Reading (2017–2019), Cardiff City (2019–2022), Watford (2022–23)[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/leandro-bacuna-236266/) • [3](https://www.fotmob.com/players/183500/leandro-bacuna) |
| Curaçao record | 76 caps and 16 goals from 2016 to 2026, per RSSSF's record of international players[5](https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/cur-recintlp.html) |
| International role | Captain of Curaçao; shares the national team's most-capped honor with goalkeeper Eloy Room; the country's second-highest goalscorer[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/curacao-world-cup-2026-squad) |
| Youth internationals | Represented the Netherlands at Under-19 and Under-21 level before switching to Curaçao in 2016[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/curacao-world-cup-2026-squad) |
| 2026 World Cup | Member of Curaçao's squad at the country's first World Cup, the smallest nation ever to qualify[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/curacao-world-cup-2026-squad) |
| Family | Older brother of Juninho Bacuna, also a Curaçao international[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/leandro-bacuna-236266/) |
## Groningen and the move to Aston Villa
Bacuna came through at FC Groningen, his home-town club, and made his first-team debut on 30 October 2009 against PSV[6](https://fwctimes.com/leandro-bacuna/). He spent four senior seasons there, with his heaviest involvement coming in 2012/13, when he made 38 appearances across the [Eredivisie](https://www.edgepedia.org/eredivisie), the KNVB Beker, and the European competition play-offs[7](https://www.besoccer.com/player/career-path/l-bacuna-107736).
In June 2013 Aston Villa completed his transfer from Groningen, the 21-year-old signing a three-year contract as part of a double deal alongside the Danish defender Jores Okore[8](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/jun/13/aston-villa-jores-okore-leandro-bacuna). BeSoccer records the fee as 1.4 million euros[9](https://www.besoccer.com/player/transfers/l-bacuna-107736). In August 2015 the contract was extended to June 2020[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/leandro-bacuna-236266/).
His strongest Villa season was 2013/14, with 28 Premier League starts, seven substitute appearances, and five league goals[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/leandro-bacuna-236266/). He was part of the squad that reached the 2015 [FA Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fa-cup) final, appearing in the 4-0 defeat to Arsenal as a 68th-minute substitute[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/leandro-bacuna-236266/) • [10](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/32944770). [BBC Sport](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-sport)'s ratings of that final noted his attacking play from full-back as a significant part of Villa's late-season form[10](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/32944770).
**The six-match ban.** In March 2017 the Football Association suspended Bacuna for six matches after he was sent off in a 1-0 Championship win over Derby County for barging assistant referee Mark Russell in the 94th minute. The FA added three matches to the standard three-match ban, ruling that his conduct constituted violent conduct for which the standard punishment would be clearly insufficient[11](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/mar/03/aston-villa-leandro-bacuna-given-six-match-ban-for-barging-assistant-referee).
## Reading, Cardiff City, and Watford
Bacuna joined Reading in August 2017 on a four-year contract[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/leandro-bacuna-236266/). In his first season there he made 38 appearances in all competitions, including 33 in the Championship[7](https://www.besoccer.com/player/career-path/l-bacuna-107736).
On 31 January 2019 he moved to Cardiff City, then in the Premier League, on a contract running to June 2023[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/leandro-bacuna-236266/) • [6](https://fwctimes.com/leandro-bacuna/). He became a Championship regular: 43 appearances in 2019/20, 44 in 2020/21, and 15 in 2021/22, when Cardiff released him on 1 July 2022[7](https://www.besoccer.com/player/career-path/l-bacuna-107736) • [9](https://www.besoccer.com/player/transfers/l-bacuna-107736). Across his Cardiff spell FotMob credits him with 115 appearances and 4 goals[3](https://www.fotmob.com/players/183500/leandro-bacuna). He spent the 2022/23 season at Watford, making 15 appearances[7](https://www.besoccer.com/player/career-path/l-bacuna-107736).
## Return to Groningen and Turkey
Bacuna rejoined FC Groningen on a free transfer in August 2023[3](https://www.fotmob.com/players/183500/leandro-bacuna). The club's 2023/24 annual report lists him among the players invested in that season, a year in which Groningen spent 1.9 million euros on the squad[12](https://www.fcgroningen.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Jaarverslag-2324_DEF.pdf). He made 38 appearances in 2023/24 as the club played in the [Eerste Divisie](https://www.edgepedia.org/eerste-divisie), and 31 more in 2024/25 back in the Eredivisie[7](https://www.besoccer.com/player/career-path/l-bacuna-107736).
In July 2025 he signed for TFF First League club Bandırmaspor, with a contract dated to 30 June 2027[13](https://beinsports.com.tr/haber/teksut-bandirmaspor-leandro-bacunayi-transfer-etti) • [2](https://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?kisiID=2820673&pageID=30). On 7 January 2026 the contract was ended by mutual consent and he joined league rivals Alagöz Holding Iğdır FK on a deal to 30 June 2027[2](https://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?kisiID=2820673&pageID=30).
## Curaçao international
Bacuna played for the Netherlands at Under-19 and Under-21 level, including six U21 matches in 2013, before declaring for Curaçao in 2016[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/curacao-world-cup-2026-squad) • [14](https://theanalyst.com/players/10218/leandro-bacuna/national/career). His first senior Curaçao matches came in Caribbean Cup qualifying in October 2016[1](https://www.11v11.com/players/leandro-bacuna-236266/).
**A historic goal.** On 21 June 2019 he scored Curaçao's first-ever goal in the [CONCACAF Gold Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/concacaf-gold-cup), in the 40th minute of a 1-0 win over Honduras, striking a low shot past goalkeeper Luis López from the edge of the area. It ended a run of 370 minutes without a Gold Cup goal for the country, which had gone scoreless throughout the 2017 edition[15](https://as.com/us/us/2019/06/22/futbol/1561173120_560110.html).
By the 2026 World Cup he had accumulated 76 caps and 16 goals for Curaçao according to RSSSF's record of international players, covering 2016 to 2026[5](https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/cur-recintlp.html). FourFourTwo describes him as the national team's captain, its second-highest goalscorer, and the sharer, with Eloy Room, of the country's most-capped honor[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/curacao-world-cup-2026-squad). A Norwegian VG profile, citing a Voetbal International assessment, describes him as the team's great profile who handles everything for Curaçao, even the music on the team bus, at times acting as a kind of kit manager as well as on-field captain[16](https://www.vg.no/sport/i/gkzka1/curacao-dette-landslaget-er-ikke-som-alle-andre-her-er-kapteinen-ogsaa-materialforvalter).
## The 2026 World Cup
Curaçao qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by topping a group that included favorites Jamaica, taking a dramatic point in Kingston, and became the smallest nation ever to qualify, with a population of barely 150,000[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/curacao-world-cup-2026-squad). Bacuna captained the side through qualification and into the finals, drawn in Group E with Germany, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/curacao-world-cup-2026-squad) • [17](https://www.techradar.com/how-to-watch/football/curacao-vs-ivory-coast-world-cup-2026-free). FIFA's official match report lists him as captain, playing the full 90 minutes in a group-stage match[18](https://fdp.fifa.org/assetspublic/ce281/r12474/pdf/FullTimeMatchReport-English.pdf). His brother Juninho was also in the squad, and both brothers, former Premier League players now in Turkey, are described by FourFourTwo as typical examples of the Curaçao career path: Groningen-born players of Curaçaoan heritage developed in the Netherlands who became senior Curaçao internationals[4](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/curacao-world-cup-2026-squad).
## References
1. [Leandro Bacuna Football Player Statistics, 11v11.com](https://www.11v11.com/players/leandro-bacuna-236266/)
2. [Leandro Jones Johan Bacuna, TFF Futbolcu Bilgileri](https://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?kisiID=2820673&pageID=30)
3. [Leandro Bacuna, stats, career and market value, FotMob](https://www.fotmob.com/players/183500/leandro-bacuna)
4. [Curacao World Cup 2026 squad: Dick Advocaat's team to face Germany, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/team/curacao-world-cup-2026-squad)
5. [Curaçao, Record International Players, RSSSF](https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/cur-recintlp.html)
6. [Leandro Bacuna: Iğdır FK and Curaçao Career Profile 2026, FWC Times](https://fwctimes.com/leandro-bacuna/)
7. [Leandro Bacuna's career path, BeSoccer](https://www.besoccer.com/player/career-path/l-bacuna-107736)
8. [Aston Villa complete double signing of Jores Okore and Leandro Bacuna, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/jun/13/aston-villa-jores-okore-leandro-bacuna)
9. [Leandro Bacuna's transfers history, BeSoccer](https://www.besoccer.com/player/transfers/l-bacuna-107736)
10. [FA Cup final: How the players rated as Arsenal beat Aston Villa, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/32944770)
11. [Aston Villa's Leandro Bacuna given six-match ban for barging assistant referee, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/mar/03/aston-villa-leandro-bacuna-given-six-match-ban-for-barging-assistant-referee)
12. [FC Groningen Jaarverslag 2023/24](https://www.fcgroningen.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Jaarverslag-2324_DEF.pdf)
13. [Teksüt Bandırmaspor Leandro Bacuna'yı transfer etti, beIN Sports Türkiye](https://beinsports.com.tr/haber/teksut-bandirmaspor-leandro-bacunayi-transfer-etti)
14. [Leandro Bacuna International Career History, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/players/10218/leandro-bacuna/national/career)
15. [Leandro Bacuna hace el primer gol de Curazao en la Copa Oro, AS USA](https://as.com/us/us/2019/06/22/futbol/1561173120_560110.html)
16. [På dette landslaget er kapteinen «materialforvalter», VG](https://www.vg.no/sport/i/gkzka1/curacao-dette-landslaget-er-ikke-som-alle-andre-her-er-kapteinen-ogsaa-materialforvalter)
17. [How to watch Curacao vs Ivory Coast, FIFA World Cup 2026, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/how-to-watch/football/curacao-vs-ivory-coast-world-cup-2026-free)
18. [FIFA Full Time Match Report, Curaçao group-stage match, 2026 World Cup](https://fdp.fifa.org/assetspublic/ce281/r12474/pdf/FullTimeMatchReport-English.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of North and Central America and the Caribbean › Caribbean footballers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license