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

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

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 United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

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 Premier Football League (formerly known as the TT Pro 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 an ...

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

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, 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 Football ...

in 2009. In May 2010 Daniel transferred to the

Puerto Rico Islanders The Puerto Rico Islanders were a professional association football team based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. They played in several different leagues from 2004 to 2012, when they suspended operations. In their last two seasons they played in the Nort ...

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 U ...

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

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

. Prior to the 2011

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

season, Daniel trialed with the

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

. 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 association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

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

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

. After temporarily leaving Philadelphia to play for the

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

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 announced that Keon Daniel would join

Miedź Legnica Miedź Legnica () is a professional football club based in Legnica, Poland, that competes in the I liga, following relegation in 2023. Miedź was founded in 1971. In 2018, Miedź Legnica achieved promotion to the top flight for the first time ...

in the

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

from

in 2014.

International

Daniel made his debut for the

in 2007. He scored his first senior international goal against

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

in January 2008 and his second against

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of 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 by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

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 an association football competition organized by CFU as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from the Caribbean. The tournament was held from 1989 to 2017, as the direct successor competition of the ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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 ...

, and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. He was also part of the squads for the multiple

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

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

Personal

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

Salvatore Schillaci Salvatore Schillaci (; 1 December 1964 – 18 September 2024), commonly known as Totò Schillaci, was an Italian professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. During his club career, he p ...

Honours

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 U ...

: 2010

References

External links

Keon Daniel Profile
at the Socawarriors.net website

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, Keon 1987 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Trinidad and Tobago men's footballers 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago sportsmen Trinidad and Tobago men's 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 men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Puerto Rico Expatriate men's 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