Canadian Larin already a fan favourite in Spain

Canadian Cyle Larin has made a splash landing in La Liga.

The 27-year-old from Brampton has scored the winning goal off the bench in his first two appearances for Real Valladolid CF since joining the Spanish top-tier side from Belgium’s Club Brugge.

Larin, who has two goals in just 47 minutes work, is the first player to score in each of his first two games for Valladolid in league play this century, according to sports analytics company Opta.

He opened his Valladolid account in the 90th minute of a 1-0 victory over Valencia CF on Jan. 29, acrobatically knocking in a cross from Venezuelan Darwin Machis at Valladolid’s Estadio Municipal Jose Zorrilla. On Sunday, he outjumped a defender to head in Luis Perez’s cross in the 73rd minute for a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad.

The victories have moved Valladolid (7-11-2) out of the relegation zone into 13th place in Spain’s 20-team top tier. Valladolid had lost its five previous matches, outscored 10-0, before Larin’s arrival.

The goals — and the team’s rise up the standings — have made the Canadian a fan favourite. Valladolid’s English-language Twitter account ran a picture of the Hulk with Larin’s face superimposed on its giant green body with the caption: “Cyle in Valladolid is a BEAST.”

Other club tweets read simply “Hero” and “We love you, Larin.”

Valladolid hosts ninth-place Osasuna (8-7-5) on Sunday.

Larin, Canada’s leading men’s international scorer, made the move to Spain on Jan. 24 in a loan deal with a purchase option at the end of the season. He joined fellow Canadian Tajon Buchanan at Club Brugge in July from Turkey’s Besiktas but failed to establish himself in the lineup. He had one goal in 13 appearances for the Belgian side.

The six-foot-two striker has scored everywhere else he has played. He was the Major League Soccer rookie of the year in 2015, when he scored a rookie-record 17 goals; he had 23 goals in 45 games to help Besiktas to the Turkish league and cup double in 2020-21; and he has 25 goals in 48 appearances for Canada, including 13 in 16 World Cup qualifying games.