Aidan Jun Valcarcel Daniels (born September 6, 1998) is a Canadian professional soccer player who currently plays for the HFX Wanderers of the Canadian Premier League.
 Daniels in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aidan Jun Valcarcel Daniels[1] | ||
| Date of birth | September 6, 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Markham, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | HFX Wanderers | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ajax FC | |||
| Richmond Hill SC | |||
| 2012–2016 | Toronto FC | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Toronto FC III | 5 | (0) |
| 2016–2019 | Toronto FC II | 65 | (3) |
| 2018–2019 | Toronto FC | 1 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Ottawa Fury (loan) | 14 | (1) |
| 2020 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 16 | (3) |
| 2021 | OKC Energy | 30 | (3) |
| 2022– | HFX Wanderers | 75 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | Canada U17 | 4 | (0) |
| 2017 | Canada U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2018 | Canada U21 | 4 | (0) |
| 2021 | Canada U23 | 4 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 19, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of March 28, 2021 | |||
Club career
editToronto FC
editOn April 13, 2018, Daniels signed as a homegrown player with Major League Soccer side Toronto FC.[2] On 21 April 2018, Daniels made his MLS debut with Toronto FC against Houston Dynamo.[3]
Toronto FC II
editWhen Daniels turned 17 on 8 July 2016, he signed a professional contract with Toronto FC II.[4] A product of the Toronto FC Academy, he was rewarded with a loan to affiliate club Toronto FC II ahead of the 2016 USL season. Having already been capped internationally while playing for the academy, Daniels made his professional debut in the season opener on March 26, 2016. He played for 78 minutes in a 2–2 draw with New York Red Bulls II, before being replaced by Malik Johnson.[5] During the 2017 offseason, Daniels would train with Danish club HB Køge.[6] Upon completion of the 2017 season, Daniels would re-sign with the club for the 2018 season.[7] Daniels would be named the #20 rated prospect under 20 by the league in 2018.[8] Daniels would have his option for the 2020 season declined by Toronto, ending his time with the club after two seasons.[9]
Loan to Ottawa Fury FC
editOn March 6, 2019, it was announced that Daniels would be loaned to USL Championship club Ottawa Fury FC for the 2019 season.[10]
Colorado Springs Switchbacks
editDaniels would sign with USL Championship club Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC for the 2020 season.[11] On July 11, he scored his first goal against New Mexico United.[12] He later re-signed with the club for the 2021 season.[13]
OKC Energy
editOn January 26, 2021, Daniels joined USL Championship side OKC Energy.[14] In December 2021, Oklahoma City Energy would announce that they would go on hiatus for the 2022 season, ending Daniels' time with the club after one season.[15]
HFX Wanderers
editIn January 2022, Canadian Premier League side HFX Wanderers announced they had signed Daniels to a two-year deal.[16] He made his debut for the Wanderers on April 7 against York United.[17] Daniels scored his first goal for his new club on May 10 in the Canadian Championship, netting the second against Guelph United in a 2–0 victory.[18] In January 2022 the Wanderers announced Daniels had signed a new contract through 2023, with added options for 2024 and 2025.[19]
International career
editDaniels qualifies to represent Canada, South Africa or the Philippines at senior level as his father hails from Johannesburg and his mother from Manila.[1] After call-ups to the Canada Under-15 camps in USA and Laval in 2013, Daniels finally made his international debut in 2015. He made two appearances at the Under-17 CONCACAF Championship, the first coming in a 3–1 victory over Saint Lucia on March 9, 2015. His next appearance came just three days later in a 1–0 defeat to Panama.[1] In February 2017, Daniels was named to Canada's roster for the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship[20] In May 2018, Daniels was named to Canada's under-21 squad for the 2018 Toulon Tournament.[21] Daniels was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship on February 26, 2020.[22] He was named to the final squad for Olympic qualification on March 10, 2021.[23]
Personal
editDaniels' father was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and his mother was born in Manila, Philippines. His grandfather was a professional soccer player in South Africa and also played for Portuguese club Sporting CP. His uncles also played professionally, while an Achilles injury prevented his father from signing a professional contract.[24]
Career statistics
edit- As of October 19, 2024[25]
| Club | League | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Toronto FC III | PDL | 2016[26] | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| League1 Ontario | 2017[27] | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Toronto FC II | USL | 2016 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| Total | 65 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 3 | ||
| Toronto FC | MLS | 2018 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Ottawa Fury (loan) | USL Championship | 2019 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 2020 | 16 | 3 | — | — | 16 | 3 | |||
| OKC Energy | 2021 | 30 | 3 | — | — | 30 | 3 | |||
| HFX Wanderers | Canadian Premier League | 2022 | 21 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | 23 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 4 | ||
| 2024 | 26 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |||
| Total | 75 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 80 | 5 | ||
| Career Total | 206 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 211 | 15 | ||
References
edit
- ^ a b c "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
- ^ "Toronto FC Sign Two Homegrown Players and Another Local Product". torontofc.ca. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (April 21, 2018). "FT: Houston Dynamo 5-1 Toronto FC — TFC youngsters suffer nightmare loss". Waking the Red.
- ^ "Toronto FC II Sign Aidan Daniels". Toronto FC. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ "Aidan Daniels". Toronto FC. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
- ^ James Grossi (November 12, 2017). "TFC II send four on training stint to Denmark". Waking The Red. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
- ^ "Toronto FC II announce roster moves". Toronto FC. December 4, 2017.
- ^ "2018 USL 20 under 20". USL. October 12, 2018. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ "Toronto FC announces roster decisions to conclude 2019 season". Toronto FC. November 21, 2019.
- ^ "Fury FC welcomes three on loan from Toronto FC". Ottawa Fury FC. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ "Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC sign Aiden Daniels". Colorado Springs Switchbacks. December 23, 2019.
- ^ Benedetto, Vinny (August 14, 2020). "Aidan Daniels looks to deliver on daily basis during time with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC". The Gazette (Colorado Springs).
- ^ Benedetto, Vinny (November 12, 2020). "Switchbacks bring back Aidan Daniels after strong first season in Colorado Springs". The Gazette (Colorado Springs).
- ^ "Energy FC Acquires Kurimoto, Daniels from Colorado Springs". 26 January 2021.
- ^ "Energy FC to suspend play in 2022 season, resume in 2023". Oklahoma City Energy. December 3, 2021. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
- ^ "Halifax Wanderers Sign Canadian Aidan Daniels". HFX Wanderers. January 19, 2022.
- ^ "Stories of the match: Wanderers 1-0 victory over York United FC". April 8, 2022.
- ^ "Stories of the Match: Wanderers 2-0 CanChamp victory over Guelph United FC". May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Wanderers sign Aidan Daniels and Jake Ruby to new contracts". January 9, 2023.
- ^ Neil Davidson (Feb 9, 2017). "Canada names young squad for CONCACAF U-20 Championship". Sportsnet.
- ^ Alicia Rodriguez (May 19, 2018). "Canada national team roster for prestigious Toulon Tournament released". Major League Soccer.
- ^ "Canada Soccer announces Provisional List for Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying". Canada Soccer. 26 February 2020. Archived from the original on 9 March 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ "CANADA SOCCER ANNOUNCES SQUAD FOR CONCACAF MEN'S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING". March 10, 2021.
- ^ Merk, Carson A. (January 31, 2020). "Fresh air and a fresh start for Aidan Daniels". Beautiful Game Network.
- ^ Aidan Daniels at Soccerway
- ^ "TFC Academy 2016 Stats". USL League Two.
- ^ "Aidan Daniels 2017 League1 Ontario". League1 Ontario.