The San Jose Earthquakes’ campaign in the 2023 MLS season wasn’t that impressive. But one of their few bright spots was the fantastic performance of Brazilian goalkeeper Daniel, who moved to the United States early in the year from Internacional.
While conceding 28 goals in 22 games, he kept a clean sheet in five league matches, and his saves helped the California franchise reach the playoffs. The Quakes’ dream ended early though, as they fell on penalties in the Wild Card against Sporting Kansas City. Nevertheless, they are already looking towards 2024 knowing that they have someone to relty on between the sticks.
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Daniel’s great start in MLS
The league’s official site highlighted the Barra do Garças native as the highlight of the year for San Jose. The team led by Luchi González achieved both 10 victories and 10 defeats in the regular season, but in the analysis published on the MLS website, they point out that if the Earthquakes were “hard to beat,” it was thanks to Daniel.
They also mentioned that by midseason, it became clear that this team could only go as far as the goalkeeper and some other players were able to guide them. They also reflected on his stats during the campaign to explain why he was the franchise’s standout figure in 2023. Under contract through 2024, the 29-year-old goalkeeper was named one of the five players San Jose should build around next year.
Samba Gold 2023: Open voting!
Voting for the Samba Gold Award 2023 is now open. Choose your favorite in the men’s, women’s and under-20 categories!
