Carlos Mendes

Biography

Position: Defender

Tenure: 2005-

Height: 5' 11" (180 cm)

Weight: 178 lbs (80 kg)

Birthdate: December 25, 1980

Birthplace: Mineola, NY

College: Old Dominion

Debut: 2005.04.02, MET 0 RSL 0

Transactions: Signed from Rochester (USL), 2005

Squad Number : 44

Upon graduating, Mendes joined the Long Island Rough Riders of the USL Pro Soccer League, who converted him into a defender. After playing for the Rough Riders in 2002 and winning the PDL title while scoring the equalizer in the Championship game against the Wilmington Hammerheads in N.C., Mendes moved up a division to play for the Rochester Raging Rhinos, where he became a consistent starter for the next two seasons.

Mendes signed with the MetroStars before the start of the 2005 season, and surprised by becoming a starter in central defense, filling the position formerly held by Eddie Pope. During the 2006 MLS campaign Mendes started every game on the season but one, which was due to caution point accumulation. For his efforts, he was voted team Defender of the Year by members of the soccer media.

Mendes continued his solid play anchoring the clubs backline during the early part of the 2007 season with Red Bull New York. However he fell out of favor with coach Bruce Arena and was in and out of the lineup during the latter part of the season. He concluded the campaign appearing in 23 matches (19 starts), his lowest totals since joining the club. For the 2008 season Mendes was converted into a defensive midfielder and appeared in 17 regular season matches.

He returned to central defense in the MLS Playoffs starting in the clubs 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake, helping the club reach its first ever MLS Cup Final. 2009 was an injury plagued season for Mendes as he was limited to 12 league appearances. Mendes began the 2010 season recuperating from his injury problems, once fully fit he replaced Mike Petke as Hans Backe's first choice center back pairing with first year player Tim Ream. On October 21, 2010 Mendes helped Red Bulls record its 13th clean sheet of the season in a 2-0 victory over New England Revolution which clinched the regular season Eastern Conference title.On March 26, 2011, Mendes became the sixth New York player to hit 10,000 MLS minutes played for the club.

Carlos Mendes Performance

Carlos Mendes Look so Handsome

Carlos Mendes Poster