Marcelo Palomino (born May 21, 2001) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as 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. ...

for

Superettan Superettan (; ) is an association football league and the second highest league in the Swedish football league system, league system of Swedish football, Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and rel ...

side

GIF Sundsvall Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (), Giffarna or simply Sundsvall, is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Sundsvall. The club is affiliated with Medelpads Fotbollf� ...

Career

Youth

Palomino joined the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

academy when he was 11 years old. Whilst with the Dynamo academy, Palomino was named Dynamo Academy Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons between 2016 and 2018. He spent parts of the 2017 and 2018 seasons with Houston's

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

affiliate side Brazos Valley Cavalry, scoring 7 goals in 8 appearances for the club, helping them to the PDL Mid-South Division title in 2018. He also spent time training with the Dynamo first team regularly in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, after turning 18, Palomino turned down contract offers from the Dynamo to pursue an opportunity in Europe, going on trials with Portuguese club

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

, German club

TSV 1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's association football, football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football league system ...

, and others.

Professional

Houston Dynamo

On January 6, 2019, Palomino signed with

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 ...

side

as a homegrown player. He made his professional debut on October 3, 2020, appearing as a 77th-minute substitute during a 2–1 loss to

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

. Palomino finished the 2020 season having made 3 appearances, all as a substitute, for the Dynamo. On March 3, 2021, Palomino joined

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

club

Charlotte Independence Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that plays in the USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Independence currently play their home games at American Legion Memoria ...

on loan for the

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

season. He made his debut for Charlotte on May 1 in a 3–0 defeat against the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

. In the next game, on May 14, Palomino scored his first goal for the Independence against

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

, his 12th-minute goal being the first in a 3–0 victory. He ended the regular season with 6 goals and 1 assist in 31 appearances, helping Charlotte finish 2nd in the Atlantic Division and qualify for the playoffs. After not appearing in Charlotte's first playoff game, he came on as a late substitute in their 2nd, a 1–0 loss to Louisville City in the conference semifinals. Palomino made 2 Open Cup appearances for the Dynamo in 2022, but primarily played for Houston Dynamo 2 in

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

, where he scored 7 goals and had 2 assists in 18 appearances.

AFC Eskilstuna

On January 9, 2023, Palomino joined Swedish club

AFC Eskilstuna Athletic Football Club Eskilstuna, also known as AFC Eskilstuna or simply AFC, is a Swedish professional football club based in Eskilstuna. The club has previously been known under the names FC Café Opera and Väsby United before switching owne ...

on a permanent deal, signing a four-year contract.

GIF Sundsvall

On January 26, 2024, Palomino moved to another

club

on a three-year deal.

Career Statistics

References

External links

Marcelo Palomino
at Houston Dynamo {{DEFAULTSORT:Palomino, Marcelo 2001 births Soccer players from Houston Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Twin City Toucans FC players Charlotte Independence players Houston Dynamo FC players Houston Dynamo 2 players AFC Eskilstuna players GIF Sundsvall players Major League Soccer players Homegrown Players (MLS) MLS Next Pro players USL League Two players Superettan players American expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden American expatriate sportspeople in Sweden 21st-century American sportsmen