Mario Méndez (Panamanian footballer)

Mario Uriel Méndez, commonly known as El Cholito (born January 5, 1977 in David, Chiriquí) is a retired Panamanian football defender and currently is a manager.

Mario Méndez
Personal information
Full name Mario Uriel Méndez
Date of birth (1977-01-05) January 5, 1977
Place of birth David, Panama
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Defender
Youth career
Deportivo Vianeth
– Cruz Azul F.C.
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1998 Chiriquí 81 (11)
1998–2005 Tauro 133 (17)
2005 San Francisco
2006 Chorrillo 26 (2)
2007–2008 Atlético Chiriquí 36 (1)
National team
1996–2004 Panama 33 (4)
Teams managed
2008–2010 Atlético Chiriquí
2011 Panama U-20 (assistant)
2011 Chorrillo (assistant)
2012–2013 Atlético Chiriquí
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Club

In Panama, Méndez played for Chiriquí, Tauro, Chorrillo, whom he joined in January 2006 from San Francisco,[1] and Atlético Chiriquí. In 2004, he had the opportunity to go to trial to Vasco da Gama but hurt his Achilles tendon in Julio Dely Valdés and Jorge Dely Valdés farewell game.[2]

International

Méndez made his debut for Panama in an August 1996 friendly match against Honduras and has earned a total of 33 caps, scoring 4 goals. He represented his country in 8 FIFA World Cup qualification matches[3] and El Cholito was part of the Panama squad that participated in the UNCAF Nations Cup 2003 held in Guatemala.[4]

His final international was an August 2003 friendly match against Paraguay.

International goals
Scores and results list Panama's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
116 February 2000Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama El Salvador4–14–1Friendly match
219 March 2000Estadio Cacique Diriangén, Diriamba, Nicaragua Nicaragua1–02–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
314 March 2001Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama El Salvador1–01–0Friendly match
416 February 2003Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama Guatemala1–02–02003 UNCAF Nations Cup

Managerial career

Shortly after retiring in 2008, Méndez became the manager of Atlético Chiriquí (the only team in the Liga Panameña de Fútbol Chiriquí). In the 2009 Apertura I championship, he led Atlético Chiriquí to their first qualification to the semifinals round after being 2nd in the general table. Unfortunately for Cholito, they lost on aggregate score to San Francisco. In August 2011 he became assistant to Miguel Mansilla at Chorrillo after he was dismissed as manager of the Panama U-20's.[5]

In May 2012 he returned at the helm at Atlético Chiriquí,[6] only to resign in March 2013.[7]

References
  1. Méndez reforzará al Chorrillo - Panamá América (in Spanish)
  2. El 'Cholito' de la 'Sele' Archived 2015-03-16 at the Wayback Machine - Somos Lasele (in Spanish)
  3. Mario Méndez – FIFA competition record
  4. Qualifying Tournament for Gold Cup 2003 - Details Archived 2010-01-17 at WebCite - RSSSF
  5. 'Cholito' Méndez encontró asilo en el Chorrillo FC - Dia a Dia (in Spanish)
  6. Mario Méndez regresa al Atlético Chiriquí - La Prensa (in Spanish)
  7. Mario Méndez renuncia como técnico del Atlético Chiriquí - La Prensa (in Spanish)
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