Daniel Freire Mendes, (, born 18 January 1981 in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

) is a retired

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who started his career in Brazil back in 1999 with only 18 years of age, moved in 2014 to U.S to play for Minnesota United FC, after a long career in the

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

, the Swedish top league.

Career

He has previously played for

Kalmar FF Kalmar Fotbollförening, more commonly known as Kalmar FF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Kalmar. The club is affiliated to Smålands Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Guldfågeln Arena. Formed on 15 June 1910, the clu ...

AIK AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...

and

Degerfors IF Degerfors IF is a Swedish football club located in Degerfors. The club, formed 13 January 1907, is currently playing in the highest tier in Swedish football, Allsvenskan. Background Degerfors IF first played in the Allsvenskan in 1939 maki ...

. Mendes scored Allsvenskan's fastest goal in history after only 6 seconds. In 2006, Mendes scored most goals per minute played for

. All of his goals were scored as a substitute, earning him a reputation as the squad's "super sub". In 2014, Mendes left Sweden to go on loan with

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Socc ...

in the NASL. His stay was made permanent on October 9. Mendes remained with Minnesota until their move to

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

following the

2016 NASL season The 2016 North American Soccer League season is the 49th season of Division II soccer in the United States and Canada, and the 6th season of the modern North American Soccer League. Three expansion clubs joined the league, with Miami FC and Ra ...

. Mendes joined the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

Florida Tropics SC Florida Tropics SC is a professional soccer club based in Lakeland, Florida. They are owned by Central Florida Sports Ventures, LLC, led by Dr. Panos Iakovidis, and former USL commissioner and Rochester Rhinos owner Chris Economides. The organ ...

midway through their first season in early 2017. After the arena season ended, Mendes stayed in Florida, signing with

The Villages SC The Villages Soccer Club is an American soccer club from The Villages, Florida that plays in USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsore ...

of the fourth-division

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

. In December 2017, Mendes agreed to a new deal with the Tropics and returned to the team's lineup.

References

External links

Florida Tropics SC bio
*
Profile at Kalmar FF official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendes, Daniel 1981 births Living people Atlético Nacional footballers Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Degerfors IF players Kalmar FF players AIK Fotboll players Ulsan Hyundai FC players K League 1 players Allsvenskan players Superettan players Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players Sport Club Corinthians Paulista players Clube Atlético Juventus players GAIS players Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras players Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Men's association football forwards USL League Two players Florida Tropics SC players Major Arena Soccer League players Brazilian men's futsal players The Villages SC players Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Footballers from São Paulo