Vini Dantas
Dantas on Riverhounds debut
Personal information
Full name Vinicius Helder dos Anjos Dantas
Date of birth (1989-09-14) 14 September 1989
Place of birth São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Florida Tropics
Number 28
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Azusa Pacific Cougars
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Molde 6 (1)
2012 Bodø/Glimt 13 (6)
2013 Lahti 30 (6)
2014 Ottawa Fury 26 (2)
2014–2020 Baltimore Blast (indoor) 100 (136)
2015 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 16 (2)
2020–2021 Tacoma Stars (indoor) 14 (16)
2022 Baltimore Blast (indoor) 2 (3)
2022– Florida Tropics (indoor) 10 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of January 18, 2023

Vinicius "Vini" Helder dos Anjos Dantas (born 14 September 1989) is a Brazilian football striker who plays for Florida Tropics SC of the Major Arena Soccer League.

Career

Dantas grew up in Sao Paulo in Brazil, predominantly playing futsal. He moved to the United States at age 18 to attend Azusa Pacific University on a football scholarship.[1] In 2011, he was spotted by former Liverpool player Jason McAteer who took him to Tranmere Rovers, where he was offered a contract. However, he was not granted a work permit in England, and the contract could not be fulfilled.[2]

In August 2011, he signed for the Norwegian club Molde FK, and on 17 September 2011 he made his Tippeligaen debut when he replaced Daniel Chima in the 65th minute against Fredrikstad FK.[3] Dantas scored his first goal for Molde in the club's 3-1 victory over Sarpsborg 08 on 20 November 2011. Molde won the league title in his first season,[1] qualifying for the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League in the process. Dantas made one appearance for Molde during its qualifying rounds,[4] coming on as a 72nd-minute substitute against FK Ventspils on 24 July 2012.[5] During the 2012 season, Dantas played only one match for Molde[6] but played regularly for Molde's reserve team in the Second Division[7] where he scored 15 goals in 12 matches in 2012.[8] In total, Dantas made six first team league appearances for Molde, scoring one goal.[4]

On 31 August 2012, Dantas joined the First Division side Bodø/Glimt of the Tippeligaen on a free transfer.[8] Dantas stayed at the club for one season, scoring six goals in 13 matches.[4] In March 2013, Dantas left Norway and signed a 1-year contract for Finnish team FC Lahti of the Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish football.[9]

In 2014, Dantas joined the Canadian club Ottawa Fury FC in the NASL, and made history by scoring the first-ever goal in franchise history.[10][11] Dantas went on to score two goals for Ottawa in 26 matches during the 2014 season. However, it was announced on November 26, 2014 that he would not be resigned by the club.[12] Following his release from Ottawa, Dantas began playing indoor soccer for the Baltimore Blast of the Major Arena Soccer League. Following the season, he was named a part of the All-Rookie Team after scoring 16 goals for the team[13] and advancing to the championship series.[14]

On March 16, 2015, Dantas signed with United Soccer League club Pittsburgh Riverhounds.[15] Dantas debuted for the Riverhounds on 28 March 2015 in the club's opening match of the 2015 season, a 5-2 victory over the Harrisburg City Islanders. Dantas came on as a substitute for Miroslav Čabrilo at the start of the second half and provided an assist on Rob Vincent's second goal in the 90th minute.[16] Dantas scored his first goal for the club on the third matchday of the season, the game-tying goal of a 1–1 draw with Saint Louis FC on 11 April 2015.[17]

In March 2022, Dantas rejoined the Baltimore Blast.[18]

On July 13, 2022, Dantas signed with Florida Tropics SC on a two-year deal.[19]

Career statistics

As of 29 March 2015[6]
Season Club League League Cup Continental Total
AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
2011MoldeTippeligaen 5110–61
20121021–31
2012Bodø/GlimtAdeccoligaen 13600–136
2013LahtiVeikkausliiga 30641–347
2014Ottawa FuryNASL 26221–283
2015Pittsburgh RiverhoundsUSL 16200–162
Career total 911793–10020

Honours

Molde

References

  1. 1 2 3 "FURY FC SIGN VINI DANTAS AS SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL PLAYER". Ottawa Fury FC. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Lasse Tomren (10 September 2011). "– Nei, jeg er ikke i slekt med Ronaldo". rbnett.no. Romsdals Budstikke. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "Vinicius Dantas". MFKweb.org.
  4. 1 2 3 "Soccerway profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "FK Ventspils 1 - 1 Molde FK". Eurosport Yahoo. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Vini Dantas" (in Norwegian). altomfotball.no. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  7. ↑ Tomren, Lasse (31 August 2012). "Dantas fra Molde til Bodø/Glimt" (in Norwegian). Romsdals Budstikke. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  8. 1 2 Vevang, Maria Kristina (31 August 2012). "Dantas til Bodø/Glimt" (in Norwegian). nrk.no. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "FURY FC SIGN VINI DANTAS AS SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL PLAYER". Ottawa Fury FC. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Interview with Vini Dantas". www.ottawafuryfc.com. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  11. ↑ Hofley, Chris (19 April 2014). "Ottawa Fury FC fall 2-1 in home opener". www.ottawasun.com. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  12. ↑ Holder, Gord. "Fury FC drops four players from roster". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "MASL Announces 2014/15 All-Rookie Team". Major Arena Soccer League. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "BLAST ADVANCE TO MASL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES". Baltimore Blast. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Riverhounds Add To Attack With Dantas". USL. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "Pittsburgh vs. Harrisburg". USL. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  17. ↑ "Thompson to the Rescue in St. Louis". Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  18. ↑ "Dantas Is Home – The Baltimore Blast". Baltimore Blast. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  19. ↑ Ackley, Brian. "With 194 career goals, Vini Dantas will join Florida Tropics on two-year deal". FLTropics.com. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
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