Duncan "Melvin" Tarley (born October 31, 1982) is a Liberian 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 ...

Career

Professional

Tarley first came to prominence in 2005, during

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional association football, soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. T ...

's run to the semi-finals of the

2005 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The 2005 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup ran from June through September, 2005, open to all soccer teams in the United States. The Los Angeles Galaxy won their second Open Cup championship with a 1–0 victory over FC Dallas at the Home Depot Center i ...

. Tarley scored six goals in the competition - including four 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 ...

- to tie as the tournament's top goalscorer. Tarley's first appearance in Major League Soccer came with

in 2005. The

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

acquired Tarley's rights from Real Salt Lake in exchange for a 4th round pick in the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft on August 15, 2006, but he was waived by the Rapids at the end of the 2006 season having appeared in just three games. He returned to the

of the

USL-1 The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second D ...

for one season, prior to joining 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 ...

in 2007, and later moving on to

Miami FC Miami FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (201 ...

, also in 2007. Tarley re-joined

in 2008. On March 22, 2010, he signed with

NSC Minnesota Stars NSC may refer to: Banking and investment * National Sort Code, an Irish bank code * Nomura Securities Co, an investment bank Computing * National Software Centre, an Irish organization * National Supercomputer Centre in Sweden * NetShow Cha ...

. In 2012–13 season, he moved to Indian

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

club DSK Shivajians.

International

At the time of Tarley's selection for the Liberian U-21 national team in 1998, he was the youngest player in team history, only 14 years old. He played his first game for the senior national team in 2004.

Personal life

Tarley's football hero during his youth in Liberia was

George Weah George Manneh Oppong Weah (born 1 October 1966) is a Liberian politician and former professional Association football, footballer who served as the 25th president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before his election for the presidency, Weah served ...

, while his current favorite player is

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...

References

External links

Minnesota Thunder bio
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarley, Melvin 1982 births Living people Liberia men's international footballers Footballers from Monrovia Liberian men's footballers 21st-century Liberian sportsmen Real Salt Lake players Colorado Rapids players A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division players Minnesota Thunder players Major League Soccer players Puerto Rico Islanders players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2006–2016) players Expatriate men's footballers in Cambodia Phnom Penh Crown FC players Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players Liberian expatriates in Puerto Rico USSF Division 2 Professional League players Men's association football forwards