San Jose Earthquakes complete the signing of Daniel from Club Internacional

MLS outfit San Jose Earthquakes have completed the signing of Daniel using the Target Allocation Money (TAM). The goalkeeper arrives from the Brazilian Serie A Club Internacional.

He joins San Jose until the 2024 Major League Soccer season, with an option to extend for 2025.

Chris Leitch, General Manager of the Earthquakes, released a statement saying, “Daniel comes to San Jose with an impressive pedigree from a top league and club in South America. He has made nearly 50 appearances in the top-flight Brazilian Serie A, as well as premier domestic and international tournaments.”

“We believe his quality will add a different level of competition to the goalkeeper position.”

Competition for the Goal Keeping spot

Ever since Daniel joined the Club Internacional senior team in 2016, he has played 83 matches and kept 37 clean sheets. At San Jose, he will have to compete with JT Marcinkowski for the starting spot in goal. Marcinkowski has been a staple at the club since 2020 and is one of the best in the Western Conference.

Another man with a goal is academy graduate Emmanuel Ochoa. Ochoa has previously played for the San Jose reserve team and holds dual nationality, having represented both Mexico and the USA at the youth level.

This move comes as part of San Jose’s efforts to reinforce its defense. The Californian club finished bottom in the Western Conference with just 35 points in 34 games. The Earthquakes put out a negative goal difference of 17 with a record of 8W-15L-11D during the season.

Luchi Gonzalez, the new head coach, hopes to use the reinforcements as a head start to achieve success in 2023.

The season begins on February 15 when San Jose visits Atlanta United at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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