João Paulo (footballer, born 1991)

João Paulo Mior (born 8 March 1991), known as João Paulo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Seattle Sounders FC.

João Paulo
Paulo with Santa Cruz in 2016
Personal information
Full name João Paulo Mior[1]
Date of birth (1991-03-08) 8 March 1991[1]
Place of birth Serafina Corrêa, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Seattle Sounders FC
Number 6
Youth career
2004–2006 Gaúcho
2007–2009 Internacional
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2015 Internacional 39 (1)
2013 → Atlético Goianiense (loan) 45 (6)
2014 → Goiás (loan) 12 (0)
2015 → Santa Cruz (loan) 45 (3)
2016 Santa Cruz 44 (3)
2017–2021 Botafogo 93 (6)
2020 → Seattle Sounders FC (loan) 23 (2)
2021– Seattle Sounders FC 39 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 March 2023

Career

João Paulo played youth futsal until the age of 14, when he switched to football on a full-time basis.[2] He made his professional debut for Internacional in the 2010 Campeonato Gaúcho and he spent three seasons with the club. He was then loaned out to Atlético Goianiense in 2013, Goiás in 2014, and Santa Cruz in 2015. João Paulo transferred permanently to Santa Cruz in 2016 before being signed by Botafogo, where he played for three seasons and made 68 appearances, scoring five goals.[3][4]

Seattle Sounders FC

On 31 January 2020, João Paulo was signed on loan by Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer to a Designated Player contract.[4] He made his debut in two 2020 CONCACAF Champions League fixtures, playing both legs in the Round of 16 against Honduran club C.D. Olimpia. During the first leg in San Pedro Sula, João Paulo scored the opening goal in a 2–2 draw;[5] in the second leg, he scored Seattle's second goal in another 2–2 draw and converted his penalty in the shootout, but the Sounders were unable to advance.[6] In his first MLS season with the club, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, João Paulo made 19 appearances, including 17 starts, scoring two goals and recording five assists as a deep-lying playmaker.[7][8]

His loan was made permanent by Seattle on 21 January 2021.[9] João Paulo scored the club's first goal of the 2021 season, a volley from outside the penalty area against Minnesota United FC, which was voted MLS Goal of the Week.[2][10] He played 31 matches for the Sounders during the regular season and scored three total goals, including another Goal of the Week winner in October against the Colorado Rapids.[11] João Paulo was named to the five-candidate shortlist for the Landon Donovan MVP Award for his 11 assists and defensive performances, which helped the Sounders qualify for the playoffs despite a depleted roster.[2]

João Paulo scored his first goal of the 2022 season against Minnesota—his third against the club—during a 2–1 away victory on 2 April.[12] He played through Seattle's run to the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League Final, where the started in both legs as the Sounders won their first continental title. João Paulo left the final's second leg in the first half with an anterior cruciate ligament tear that left him unable to play for the rest of the year.[13] His role in midfield was initially replaced with 16-year-old youth product Obed Vargas, who he had mentored, but Vargas suffered a back injury a month later.[14] The lack of available defensive midfielders on the team was a factor in Seattle missing the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in their history.[15]

Career statistics
As of 2 March 2023
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Internacional 2010 Série A 00––3[lower-alpha 1]030
2011 Série A 140––1[lower-alpha 1]0150
2012 Série A 40–4[lower-alpha 2]014[lower-alpha 1]1221
2013 Série A –––3[lower-alpha 1]030
Total 1800040211431
Atlético Goianiense (loan) 2013 Série B 35430–10[lower-alpha 3]2486
Goiás (loan) 2014 Série A 5010007[lower-alpha 3]0130
Santa Cruz (loan) 2015 Série B 341–3[lower-alpha 4]011[lower-alpha 5]2483
Santa Cruz 2016 Série A 34230–20[lower-alpha 6]1576
Botafogo 2017 Série A 3026013[lower-alpha 2]16[lower-alpha 7]0553
2018 Série A 2010–12[lower-alpha 7]0150
2019 Série A 363204[lower-alpha 4]07[lower-alpha 7]1494
Total 685901712511197
Seattle Sounders FC (loan) 2020 MLS 232–2[lower-alpha 8]24[lower-alpha 9]0254
Seattle Sounders FC 2021 MLS 323–3[lower-alpha 10]01[lower-alpha 9]0353
2022 MLS 61006[lower-alpha 8]0–121
2023 MLS 1 0 – – 1[lower-alpha 11] 0 2 0
Total 394009020494
Career total 2561816035399740231
  1. Appearance(s) in Campeonato Gaúcho
  2. Appearances in Copa Libertadores
  3. Appearances in Campeonato Goiano
  4. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana
  5. Appearances in Campeonato Pernambucano
  6. Ten appearances and one goal in Campeonato Pernambucano, ten appearances in Copa do Nordeste
  7. Appearances in Campeonato Carioca
  8. Appearances in CONCACAF Champions League
  9. Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
  10. Appearances in Leagues Cup
  11. Appearance(s) in FIFA Club World Cup

Personal life

João Paulo has been a fan of American football since his childhood and supports the Pittsburgh Steelers.[2] He is the nephew of former Gremio player Casemiro Mior.[16]

Honours

Internacional

Santa Cruz

Botafogo

Seattle Sounders FC

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2022™: List of Players: Seattle Sounders FC" (PDF). FIFA. 7 February 2023. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  2. Evans, Jayda (18 November 2021). "Joao Paulo helped the injury-ravaged Sounders stay atop the MLS standings this season. Now, he's an MVP finalist". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  3. Cardillo, Julian (31 January 2020). "Seattle Sounders add Brazilian midfielder João Paulo as designated player". Pro Soccer USA. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  4. Evans, Jayda (31 January 2020). "Sounders make major signing to bring in Brazilian midfielder Joao Paulo as third designated player". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  5. Evans, Jayda (20 February 2020). "What we learned from the Sounders' CONCACAF Champions League draw vs. CD Olimpia". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  6. Evans, Jayda (27 February 2020). "Sounders stunned in CONCACAF Champions League, losing in penalty shootout to visiting CD Olimpia". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  7. Evans, Jayda (21 January 2021). "Notebook: Sounders complete deal to keep Joao Paulo through 2023, Jordan Morris reportedly in Wales and more". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  8. Bogert, Tom (30 December 2020). "Joao Paulo reportedly nearing Seattle Sounders return after 2020 loan". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  9. Bogert, Tom (21 January 2021). "Seattle Sounders sign midfielder Joao Paulo from Botafogo on permanent transfer". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  10. "Seattle Sounders midfielder Joao Paulo wins AT&T Goal of the Week for Week 1". MLSsoccer.com. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  11. Sigal, Jonathan (4 October 2021). ""I'm actually speechless": Seattle Sounders hail Joao Paulo golazo vs. Colorado Rapids". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  12. Evans, Jayda (2 April 2022). "Joao Paulo delivers as Sounders return from break to beat Minnesota United". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  13. Evans, Jayda (5 May 2022). "Sounders star midfielder Joao Paulo out for season with torn ACL, coach Brian Schmetzer says". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  14. Evans, Jayda (26 July 2022). "Sounders still searching for best midfield rotation without injured Joao Paulo". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  15. Evans, Jayda (13 October 2022). "After disappointing season, where do the Sounders go from here?". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  16. "Inter pode apostar em jovem para abdicar de esquema tático 'polêmico'". Retrieved 2 March 2023.
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