Daniel Lajud Martínez ( ar, دانيال لحود مارتينيز; born 22 January 1999), also known as Daniel Kuri). ( ar, دانيل الخوري, link=no), is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

for

Liga de Expansión MX The Liga de Expansión MX, also known as Liga de Desarrollo (Liga BBVA Expansión MX for sponsorship reasons), is a Mexican football league founded in 2020 as part of the Mexican Football Federation's "Stabilization Project", which has the prima ...

club Atlante and the Lebanon national team. Coming through the youth system, Lajud began his senior career with

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

, scoring on his

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

debut in 2018. He was sent on loan to fellow Liga MX clubs

Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...

and

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

in 2019, before moving to

side

in 2020, with whom he won the Guardianes 2020. After a one-season spell at Raya2, Monterrey's

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

, Lajud left Monterrey for Atlante in 2022, winning the Apertura 2022 in his first season at the club. Born in Mexico, Lajud is of Lebanese descent through his father; he was called up to the Lebanon national team in 2022.

Club career

Monterrey and loans

Lajud joined

's youth academy in 2014, progressing through their under-15, under-17 and under-20 teams. He registered to Monterrey's senior team in the

Clausura 2018 Copa MX The Clausura 2018 Copa MX (officially the Clausura 2018 Copa Corona (beer), Corona MX for sponsorship reasons) was the 79th staging of the Copa MX, the 51st staging in the professional era and is the twelfth tournament played since the 1996–97 C ...

, making his competitive debut on 20 February 2018, in a 2–1 win against

Dorados Dorados de Sinaloa, or Dorados, is a Mexican professional football club based on Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico. History Dorados de Sinaloa was founded on August 9, 2003. The Dorados was the youngest team to play on First Division de México, hav ...

. Lajud made his league debut in the

on 20 October 2018 in a 2–1 win against

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

; he was substituted in during the 72nd minute and scored the winning goal in the 84th minute. In January 2019, Lajud was sent on loan to

in the

, and then to

six months later. In January 2020, Lajud moved to

Tampico Madero Club Deportivo y Social Tampico Madero is a Mexican professional football club based in Tampico, Tamaulipas that plays in the Liga Premier de México. History CD Tampico The club was founded on July 8, 1945 soon after the club played a promot ...

on loan, with whom he won the Guardianes 2020. During the 2021–22 season, Lajud played for Raya2, Monterrey's

in the Liga de Expansión MX. He was released by Monterrey in summer 2022.

Atlante

On 28 June 2022, Lajud joined Atlante. He made his debut two days later as a starter in a 3–0 home win against Atlético La Paz; after the end of the match, Lajud proposed to his girlfriend. On 13 July, Lajud scored his first goal for Atlante in a 3–1 win against

Cancún Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...

. He scored consecutive braces in a 5–0 win against

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...

and a 2–2 draw against

Cimarrones de Sonora The Cimarrones de Sonora Fútbol Club is a Mexican football club that plays in the Liga de Expansión MX. The club is based in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. History The "Cimarrones de Sonora" were born in 2013, when the "Rays" of Poblado Miguel Al ...

, on 5 and 8 September, respectively. After defeating

Celaya Celaya (; ) is a city and its surrounding municipalities of Mexico, municipality in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, located in the southeast quadrant of the state. It is the third most populous city in the state, with a 2005 census population of 3 ...

in the final, Layun helped Atlante win the Apertura 2022. In the first matchday of the Clausura 2023, Lajud scored a brace against

Alebrijes de Oaxaca Alebrijes de Oaxaca Fútbol Club is a Mexican football team based in the city of Oaxaca, state of Oaxaca. They play in the second tier of Mexican football league, Liga de Expansión MX. The team was created when the Tecamachalco franchise won ...

in a 4–0 win on 5 January 2023. He scored another brace on 31 January, helping his side win 3–0 against

Mineros de Zacatecas Club Deportivo Mineros de Zacatecas is a Mexican football club from Zacatecas that compete in the Mexican Liga de Expansión MX. They are currently managed by Omar Alexis Moreno. History In December 2012, Grupo Pachuca purchased the Estudiant ...

International career

On 19 September 2022, he obtained a

Lebanese passport The passport of the Republic of Lebanon ( ar, جواز سفر الجمهورية اللبنانية) (french: Passeport de la République libanaise) is a passport issued to the citizens of the Republic of Lebanon to enable them to travel outside ...

in order to play for the Lebanon national team. Lajud was first called up by coach Aleksandar Ilić ahead of Lebanon's friendly fixture against

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, United Arab Emirates on 19 November 2022. He made his debut as a starter, with the match ending in a 2–0 defeat. In December 2023, Lajud was included in the Lebanese squad for the

2023 AFC Asian Cup The 2023 AFC Asian Cup will be the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It will involve 24 national teams after expansion in 201 ...

Style of play

Lajud is an

known for his speed and powerful mid-range

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can ...

Personal life

Lajud is of Lebanese descent through his father. Lajud's brother, Rodrigo, is also a footballer. On 30 June 2022, he proposed to his girlfriend at

Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes (English: “Sports City Stadium”; formerly Estadio Azul) is a 33,000-seat stadium located in Ciudad de los Deportes, Mexico City. This sports facility is used for association football matches and for American foo ...

, Atlante's home stadium, following his club debut.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Tampico Madero *

: Guardianes 2020 Atlante * Liga de Expansión MX: Apertura 2022

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lajud, Daniel 1999 births Living people Sportspeople from Veracruz (city) Footballers from Veracruz Mexican people of Lebanese descent Sportspeople of Lebanese descent Citizens of Lebanon through descent Lebanese people of Mexican descent Mexican men's footballers Lebanese men's footballers Men's association football midfielders C.F. Monterrey players Querétaro F.C. footballers Club Puebla players C.D.S. Tampico Madero footballers Raya2 Expansión players Atlante F.C. footballers Liga MX players Liga de Expansión MX players Lebanon men's international footballers International sportspeople born abroad 2023 AFC Asian Cup players