Édison Vicente Méndez Méndez (; born March 16, 1979, in Ibarra) is an Ecuadorian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and former player who played as either a winger or an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He is the current manager of club deportivo La Union. Méndez is a former

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

International and is the second-most capped player for his country.

Playing style

He is known for his pace, accurate passing and long range shooting. He is also known as a dead-ball specialist, and generally takes free kicks and corners for his country and club. While he is right-footed, he can play on either wing as well as in the middle.

Club career

Deportivo Quito

Méndez began his career with

Sociedad Deportivo Quito Sociedad Deportivo Quito is an Ecuadorian club Association football, football club based in Quito. For most of its existence, it competed in Serie A, the highest level of the Ecuadorian professional football league. And currently competes in the ...

of his native Ecuador. After his

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

performances, during which he scored the winning goal in Ecuador's 1-0 win over

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, he was rumored to have attracted interest from English clubs, notably

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

and Everton.

Short spells in Ecuador and Mexico

He transferred to Club Irapuato of the

Primera División de México Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divi ...

for the latter part of the 2004 season, starting 16 games and scoring 5 goals during the remainder of that season. Following Irapuato's relegation the following year, Méndez moved to

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

, where he struggled to find a place, in 14 games, and scoring 2 goals. He returned to Ecuador, and was part of the

LDU Quito Liga Deportiva Universitaria () is an Ecuadorian professional football club based in Quito. They play in the Serie A, the highest level of the Ecuadorian professional football league. They play their home games at the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgad ...

team who won the Ecuadorian Apertura season in 2005.

PSV Eindhoven

In 2006, shortly after the World Cup, there was speculation of a move to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, more specifically

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. He ended all rumours in August 2006 by signing a one-season loan deal with

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

, which was followed by a contract for three and a half years which would tie him to the

Philips Stadion The Philips Stadion () is a Association football, football stadium in Eindhoven, Netherlands. As the home of PSV Eindhoven (Philips Sport Vereniging), it is also known as PSV Stadion. With a capacity of 35,119, it is the third-largest football s ...

outfit until 2010. He made his debut in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

against Willem II, and marked his stamp in his new club by scoring two goals for a 3–1 win. The following week he became the first

ian to play in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

and made his debut against

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...

He was voted Man of the Match in the game. In March 2007, he became the first Ecuadorian to score in the

by getting the only goal in the round of 16 match against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. Mendez, along with fellow midfielders

Timmy Simons Timmy Simons (born 11 December 1976) is a Belgian professional association football, football coach and a former defensive midfielder who is the manager of K.V.C. Westerlo, Westerlo. He was known for his tireless work ethic and Penalty kick (a ...

and veteran Philip Cocu helped PSV reach the quarterfinals. Mendez's reputation was enhanced when he was among 50 players nominated for the

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...

-award for the best players in Europe. In Winter 2007, rumors stated that Mendez wanted a move back to Ecuador.

Return to Ecuador

On August 4, 2009, Mendez returned to Ecuador for personal reasons to play for his former team

. However, there is speculation that he could return to the club for the 2012 season.

Going to Brazil

In March, Brazilian club

Clube Atlético Mineiro The Clube Atlético Mineiro (), commonly known as Atlético Mineiro and colloquially as the Galo (, "Rooster"), is a professional association football club in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Minas ...

announced Méndez as its new player. The Ecuadorian midfielder started defending his new team after the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

Independiente Santa Fe

On December 11, 2013, it was confirmed that Mendez would join Colombian side Santa Fe.

Return to El Nacional

On January 7, 2015, it was confirmed that would Méndez return to Ecuador to play for El Nacional.

International career

Ecuador U20

He participated at the South American U-20 Championship in Paraguay in 1999, and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

qualifying tournament in Brazil in January 2000. Two months later, he was called up to the full squad and made his debut in a 3–1 defeat against Honduras in

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

Ecuador national team

He played all three games of Ecuador's

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

campaign, scoring in the 1-0 victory in the final group stage match over

, the country's first ever victory in a

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

. The win against

came as a surprise, eliminating them and sealing Méndez's reputation as a star. He was seen by many to be the promise or Ecuadorian football and gained interest from many clubs. He scored five goals in the qualifying stage for the

, including a dazzling double from long range against

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

in 2005, helping Ecuador to a 5–2 win in

. With his goals, he helped

qualify to the Germany 06 edition. Méndez again played throughout his team's historic campaign in the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, which culminated in a 1–0 defeat to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the round of sixteen. He was credited with two assists throughout the whole tournament. He played for

in the Copa América 2007. In that tournament he scored a consolation goal against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

as they were eliminated 2-1. On February 26, 2008, Mendez announced his retirement from the national team, to the surprise of most

ians and the

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n world. He has stated that one of the reasons for his early retirement is dissatisfaction with the newly appointed Ecuador coach, Sixto Vizuete. However, on 12 May 2008, Méndez announced his return to the national team, after a meeting with Vizuete and the FEF president, Luis Chiriboga, in which they solved any differences and misunderstandings that could have led the player to his early retirement. On June 30, 2014, after the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

held in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, Méndez stated that "His cycle is over", retiring from the Ecuador national team after a span of 14 years, ending with 111 Caps and 18 Goals for his country.

Personal life

His nephew is fellow professional footballer and Ecuadorean international player Sebas Méndez.

Career statistics

International goals

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

Honours

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

(2): 2005 Apertura,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, also known as Copa Sudamericana (; ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body of football in South America, since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club com ...

(1):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

(2): 2006–07, 2007–08

References

External links

Interview in Copa America Official ProgramMéndez's FEF player card

www.psvweb.nl profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez, Edison 1979 births Living people Copa Sudamericana–winning players Sportspeople from Ibarra, Ecuador Footballers from Imbabura Province Ecuadorian men's footballers 21st-century Ecuadorian sportsmen S.D. Quito footballers C.D. El Nacional footballers C.D. Irapuato footballers Santos Laguna footballers L.D.U. Quito footballers PSV Eindhoven players Clube Atlético Mineiro players C.S. Emelec footballers Independiente Santa Fe footballers Ecuadorian Serie A players Liga MX players Eredivisie players Categoría Primera A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Ecuador men's international footballers 2001 Copa América players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2004 Copa América players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2007 Copa América players 2011 Copa América players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Ecuadorian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands FIFA Men's Century Club Men's association football midfielders Ecuadorian football managers C.D. El Nacional managers L.D.U. Quito managers Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia