Keon Kelly Daniel (born 16 January 1987 in Lambeau) is a Trinidadian 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, rugb ...

who most recently played for Polish side GKS Tychy.

Career

Club

Daniel attended Signal Hill Secondary School in his native Tobago, and later attended the St Clair Coaching School. After a two-week trial with

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

in 2005 Daniel turned professional when he signed with

United Petrotrin United Petrotrin Football Club was a football club from Trinidad and Tobago and a former member of the TT Pro League of Trinidad. It was dissolved in 2009. History Formed in 1980, ''Trintoc'' entered the Point Fortin Football League that same ye ...

of the

TT Pro League The TT Pro League (formerly known as the Professional Football League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad ...

in 2006. After another trial in England in August 2008, this time with

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, Daniel joined league rivals

Caledonia AIA Morvant Caledonia United (formerly known as Caledonia AIA) is a professional football team in Trinidad and Tobago's top-level TT Pro League. It is based in Morvant; its home stadium is Hasely Crawford Stadium. History The Caledonia AIA Footba ...

in 2009. In May 2010 Daniel transferred to the Puerto Rico Islanders of the

USSF D2 Pro League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding Un ...

. He made his debut for the Islanders on 26 June 2010 as a substitute in a 3–0 loss to the Rochester Rhinos. Prior to the 2011

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 Cana ...

season, Daniel trialed with the

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 2010 ...

. Following the successful trial, Daniel signed with the Union on 18 March 2011. In Week 7 of the season, Daniel was named to the MLS Team of the Week for his performance against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

. His first goal for Philadelphia was scored on 11 June 2011 in an MLS game against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

. After temporarily leaving Philadelphia to play for the

Trinidad and Tobago national football team The Trinidad and Tobago national football team, nicknamed the " Soca Warriors", represents the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in international football. It is controlled by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association, which is a ...

in September 2011, Daniel was forced to remain in Trinidad and Tobago due to an expired visa until February 2012. This incident spawned the "Free Keon" meme used amongst Philadelphia Union fans at live matches and online social networking groups.

Miedź Legnica

It was announce that Keon Daniel would join

Miedź Legnica Miedź Legnica is a Polish professional football club, based in Legnica, Poland, that competes in the Polish Ekstraklasa. Miedź was founded in 1971. The club's manager is Wojciech Łobodziński. In 2018, Miedź Legnica achieved promotion to t ...

in the

I liga (Poland) I liga ( pl, Pierwsza liga, ), currently named Fortuna I liga due to its sponsorship by Fortuna, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga ...

from

in 2014.

International

Daniel made his debut for the

in 2007. He scored his first senior international goal against

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

in January 2008 and his second against

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...

in March 2008, both from free kicks. He was also part of the Trinidad & Tobago squads which competed in the

Caribbean Cup The Caribbean Cup was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. The first competition, established by Shell and run by former England Cricket fast bowler Fred Rumsey, wa ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. He was also part of the squads for the multiple

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

s, as well as

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...

, and

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...

. In total, Daniel has made 57 international appearances and scored 14 goals.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Trinidad and Tobago's goal tally first.''

Career statistics

Club

Updated 3 August 2013

International

''Statistics accurate as of 9 July 2013''

Personal

Daniel's nickname is "Schillaci", after the famous Italian striker

Salvatore Schillaci Salvatore Schillaci (; born 1 December 1964), commonly referred to by his nickname Totò, is an Italian former professional footballer, who played as a striker. During his club career, he played for Messina (1982–1989), Juventus (1989–1992 ...

.Keon “Schillaci” Daniel enters new League
/ref>

Honors

;Puerto Rico Islanders *

USSF Division 2 Pro League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding Un ...

Champions: 2010

References

External links

Keon Daniel Profile
at the Socawarriors.net website

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, Keon 1987 births Living people Association football midfielders Trinidad and Tobago footballers Trinidad and Tobago international footballers United Petrotrin F.C. players TT Pro League players Morvant Caledonia United players Puerto Rico Islanders players Philadelphia Union players Miedź Legnica players Flota Świnoujście players GKS Tychy players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Major League Soccer players I liga players III liga players Trinidad and Tobago expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Poland Expatriate footballers in Puerto Rico Expatriate soccer players in the United States Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in Poland Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in Puerto Rico Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in the United States 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players