Adolfo Mella is a Canadian former soccer player who played in the

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

, Canadian Professional Soccer League, and the National Professional Soccer League.

Playing career

Mella played a match with the

Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

in 1991. Mella played with Richmond Hill Kick in 1992 in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

. He signed with

Toronto Supra SC Toronto was a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1994. The team was a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and played its final home games at Lamport Stadium in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The club found success early on since its incep ...

for the 1996 season. During the 1996 season he was selected for the CNSL All-Star team against Toronto Italia which featured

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...

. In 1997, he helped Supra reach the playoffs where he scored two goals for Toronto in their 8-1 victory on goals on aggravate over

Toronto Croatia Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

. In finals the club faced

St. Catharines Wolves St. Catharines Roma Wolves (also known as St. Catharines Wolves or simply Roma Wolves), are a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1967. The team currently plays in the semi-professional League1 Ontario in both the men's and women's divisions. The ...

, where in the final match Mella scored a goal but Supra failed to bounce back from a 4-3 defeat. During the 1996 winter season he featured in the National Professional Soccer League with the

Toronto Shooting Stars Toronto Shooting Stars were an indoor soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario that competed in the defunct NPSL. The team began play in the 1996-1997 season, with home games taking place at Maple Leaf Gardens. However, the ownership of the franc ...

, where he holds the franchise's all-time goalscorer record with 37 goals. In 1997, he had a tenure with Montreal Impact during their 1997-1998 winter indoor season appearing in 26 matches and recording 21 goals. Mella signed with

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes ...

of the

in 1998. He made his debut for the club on July 19, 1998 in a match against

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

. He scored his first for the organization on August 23, 1998 against his former club Montreal Impact in a 2-1 victory. In the 1998-1999 winter season he signed with

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, m ...

, and in 2000 he signed with expansion franchise

Toronto ThunderHawks Toronto ThunderHawks were an indoor soccer team based in Mississauga, Ontario that competed in the defunct NPSL. The team began play in the 2000–2001 season, with home games at the Hershey Centre. The team was owned by businessman Neil Ja ...

. The following year Mella signed with the

Brampton Hitmen Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it the ...

in the Canadian Professional Soccer League. During his term with Brampton he won the

CPSL Championship The Canadian Soccer League championship final or CSL Championship is the post-season match of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and is the successor to the CNSL Championship. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North A ...

after defeating

Vaughan Sun Devils The Glen Shields Sun Devils were a soccer team which played in the Canadian Soccer League, Canadian Professional Soccer League from 1998–2002. They played their home matches in Thornhill, Ontario. The franchise was one of the original teams of ...

in the playoff finals by a score of 1-0. In 2006, Mella returned to his former club the

Toronto Supra Portuguese SC Toronto was a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1994. The team was a member of the Canadian Soccer League, and played its final home games at Lamport Stadium in the city of Toronto, Ontario. The club found success early on since its incepti ...

for the 2006 CSL season. He made his debut for the organization in a friendly match

S.C. Braga Sporting Clube de Braga () (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese f ...

. He helped Supra finish fourth in the International Division and secured a postseason berth. He featured in the quarterfinal match against the

Serbian White Eagles FC Serbian White Eagles Football Club ( sr, Фудбалски клуб Српски бели орлови / ''Fudbalski klub Srpski beli orlovi'') is a Canadian soccer team. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, an unsanctioned socce ...

, but were eliminated from the competition by a score of 3-0. He had a stint with

for the 2007 CSL season. During his tenure with Toronto he won the

Croatian World Club Championship The Croatian World Club Championship is a FIFA sanctioned international football tournament for Croatian diaspora football clubs. Founded in 2007, the tournament is organised by the Croatian Football Federation on behalf of the Croatian Heritage ...

, and concluded his career with the

Brampton Lions Brampton City United FC is a Canadian soccer team, founded in 2002. The team plays in the Lika Supergroup Open Division. The club plays out of Victoria Park Stadium in the community of Brampton, Ontario. The Metro Lions were the second club from ...

in 2009.

International career

Mella played for the

Canada national futsal team The Canadian national futsal team is a futsal team that represents Canada at international competitions. It is controlled by the Canadian Soccer Association and affiliated with CONCACAF. Their first FIFA sanctioned international was played in 's ...

, where he made six appearances and recorded one goal. He made his debut for Canada on May 31, 2008 against

Ukraine national futsal team The Ukraine national futsal team represents Ukraine in international futsal competitions such as the FIFA Futsal World Cup and the European Championships and is controlled by the Football Federation of Ukraine. History In the 2008 FIFA Futsal ...

. He was selected to represent the Canada in the

2008 Grand Prix de Futsal The 2008 Grand Prix de Futsal was the fourth edition of the international futsal competition of the same kind as the FIFA Futsal World Cup but with invited nations and held annually in Brazil.It was first held in 2005. Venues * Fortaleza ( Cea ...

Honours

;Brampton Hitmen *

: 1 ::

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mella, Adolfo Living people Canadian soccer players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Milwaukee Wave players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Brampton Stallions (Hitmen) players SC Toronto players Soccer players from Montreal Toronto Lynx players Toronto Shooting Stars players Toronto ThunderHawks players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players A-League (1995–2004) players Toronto Croatia players Canadian National Soccer League players Brampton United players Association football midfielders Year of birth missing (living people)