Santiago Patiño (born 10 March 1997) is a Colombian

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 a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

San Antonio FC San Antonio FC is a professional soccer club based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference. History San Antonio F ...

. Having played college soccer for the

FIU Panthers The FIU Panthers (also known as Florida INT Panthers) are the athletic teams representing Florida International University, an American public university located in Westchester, Florida. The Panthers currently compete in National Collegiate Athl ...

, he was selected third overall in the

2019 MLS SuperDraft The 2019 MLS SuperDraft was the twentieth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is typically held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention, which in 2019 was held in Chicago, Illinois. The fi ...

by Orlando City.

Club career

Youth and college

Patiño was born in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

, Colombia. When he was 9 years old, Patiño's parents split and he chose to live with his father, playing in the junior teams of the football clubs his father transferred to. When he was 12 years old, Patiño moved to

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

with his mother where he played for Orlando City’s Development Academy and Freedom High School. He played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

from 2015 to 2018, scoring 37 goals in 69 matches. He was a three time All-Conference USA selection and named MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist in his junior year. Prior to his professional deal, Patiño spent the summer of 2016 in the NPSL with

Kraze United Kraze United FC are a National Premier Soccer League team based in Orlando, Florida. The Kraze play in the NPSL's Sunshine Conference with five other Florida-based teams. The team roster includes Bitielo Jean Jacques, current Haiti national team ...

and also played in the PDL with both

SIMA Águilas SIMA Águilas were an amateur soccer team based in Montverde, Florida that competed in USL League Two. The team was affiliated with the Montverde Academy. History SIMA Águilas was announced as a Premier Development League expansion team on ...

and Seattle Sounders U23.

Orlando City

Before they selected him in the

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

, Orlando City had tried to sign Patiño as a Homegrown Player but the move was controversially blocked by

MLS 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 ...

. The team's Executive VP of soccer operations Luiz Muzzi continued to argue the case throughout the Combine and events leading up to the draft stating "We feel like the league did us wrong on this one." Orlando eventually decided to draft him with their #3 overall pick despite the selection being seen as a reach with Orlando City head coach

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describing the move as "a message to all our other homegrowns." He made his professional debut on 16 March 2019 in a 3–1 defeat to Montreal Impact, coming on as a 74th minute substitute and assisting

Dom Dwyer Dominic James Dwyer (born July 30, 1990) is a professional soccer player who plays as a forward. Born in England, he represented the United States national team. While in England, Dwyer represented, among other teams, Norwich City as a youth. ...

's goal in stoppage time. He scored his first professional goal 7 July 2019, entering as an 81st minute substitute and scoring with his first touch of the game from a corner to put Orlando 2–1 up against

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

. Orlando ended up conceding a 90th minute equalizer to tie 2–2. He had his contract option declined as part of the club's end of season roster moves in December 2020.

Loan to Cimarrones de Sonora

On 21 August 2020, Patiño joined Mexican team

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 ...

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 ...

for the rest of the year. He made his debut for the club as a substitute on 7 September in a 2–0 win over

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 ...

, making his first start on 16 September in a 1–0 defeat to Atlante. He scored his first goal on 22 September 2020, a 90th minute conciliation goal in a 2–1 defeat to Correcaminos.

San Antonio FC

On 6 January 2021, Patiño signed as a free agent with

USL Championship 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 ...

team

. He debuted for the club on 2 May, 2021 in a 3-0 win over

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, in which Patiño scored a hat-trick. Patiño scored in the 101st minute of the 2022 USL Championship Western Conference Playoffs Final and played in the USL Championship Final on 13 November 2022. In that game, Patiño scored two goals and led his team to a 3-1 victory against

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, known through the 2018 season as the United Soccer League (USL), which is currently the second tier of th ...

; for his efforts Patiño was named the USL Championship Final Most Valuable Player.

International

In August 2019, Patiño received his first international call up to the Colombia U23 training camp ahead of the

Tokyo 2020 Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

Personal life

Santiago is the son of former professional goalkeeper Milton Patiño. His uncle,

Jairo Patiño Jairo Leonard Patiño Rosero (born 5 April 1978) is a Colombian retired professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Nicknamed ''El Viejo'', Patiño started his career in 1999 at his hometown club Deportivo Cali. He moved to ...

, also played football and was capped internationally for

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patino, Santiago 1997 births Living people Colombian men's footballers Colombian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football forwards SIMA Águilas players Seattle Sounders FC U-23 players Orlando City SC players Orlando City SC draft picks San Antonio FC players Colombian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Major League Soccer players FIU Panthers men's soccer players All-American college men's soccer players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Footballers from Medellín Cimarrones de Sonora players Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Avaí FC players Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil