Mario Uriel Méndez, commonly known as ''El Cholito'' (born January 5, 1977 in

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, Chiriquí) is a retired

Panamanian Panamanians (Spanish: ''Panameños'') are people identified with Panama, a transcontinental country in Central America (a region within North America) and South America, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For m ...

football defender and currently is a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Playing career

Club

In Panama, Méndez played for Chiriquí, Tauro, Chorrillo, whom he joined in January 2006 from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, and

Atlético Chiriquí Club Atlético Chiriquí is a Panamanian football team playing in Liga Panameña de Fútbol. It is based in David, Chiriquí and was founded on June 18, 2002 by Luis Denis Arce. Their home stadium is Estadio San Cristóbal. History Atlético ...

. In 2004, he had the opportunity to go to trial to Vasco da Gama but hurt his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...

Julio Dely Valdés Julio César Dely Valdés (born March 12, 1967) is a Panamanian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a twin brother of Jorge Dely Valdés and younger brother of Armando Dely Valdés. Club career Born in Colón, Dely ...

and

Jorge Dely Valdés Jorge Luis Dely Valdés (born March 12, 1967) is a Panamanian former footballer who played as a forward. He is a twin brother of Julio Dely Valdés and younger brother of Armando Dely Valdés. Club career Born in Colon, Dely Valdés began ...

farewell game.

International

Méndez made his debut for

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

in an August 1996

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against Honduras and has earned a total of 33 caps, scoring 4 goals. He represented his country in 8 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and ''El Cholito'' was part of the

squad that participated in the

UNCAF Nations Cup 2003 The 2003 UNCAF Nations Cup was an association football tournament. It was held in two venues in Panama in February 2003, and was played in a round robin tournament, each of the 6 teams playing each other once. Costa Rica won their record fourt ...

held in Guatemala. His final international was an August 2003 friendly match against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list Panama's goal tally first.''

Managerial career

Shortly after retiring in 2008, Méndez became the manager of

(the only team in the

Liga Panameña de Fútbol The Liga Panameña de Fútbol (LPF) ( en, Panamanian Football League) is the top division football league in Panama. Until 2009, the league was named ''Asociación Nacional Pro Fútbol (ANAPROF)''. Competition format The league's season is divide ...

Chiriquí). In the 2009 Apertura I championship, he led

to their first qualification to the semifinals round after being 2nd in the general table. Unfortunately for ''Cholito'', they lost on

aggregate score There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

. In August 2011 he became assistant to

Miguel Mansilla Miguel Ángel Mansilla Acuña (25 April 1953 – 26 June 2013) was a Uruguayan professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Born in Cerro Largo, Mansilla came through the youth ranksChorrillo after he was dismissed as manager of the Panama U-20's. In May 2012 he returned at the helm at

, only to resign in March 2013.Mario Méndez renuncia como técnico del Atlético Chiriquí
- La Prensa

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez, Mario 1977 births Living people People from David District Association football defenders Panamanian footballers Panama international footballers 1997 UNCAF Nations Cup players 2003 UNCAF Nations Cup players Chiriquí FC players Tauro F.C. players San Francisco F.C. players Unión Deportivo Universitario players Atlético Chiriquí players Panamanian football managers Central American Games silver medalists for Panama Central American Games medalists in football