*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 17, 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of October 11, 2016
Daniel Francisco Barrera (born January 8, 1990) is a professional
soccer player who plays as a
midfielder for
Hartford Athletic in the
USL Championship. Born in Colombia, he has represented the United States at youth level.
Early life and education
Born in
Bogotá,
Colombia, Barrera moved to the United States at the age of eight, growing up in
Thousand Oaks, California.[1][2] He trained with
Sheffield United F.C. as a teen.[3] He developed his game in the United States both with the US Soccer residency program and at the high school level with
Westlake High School, where he skipped his senior year of high school.[4][5] He was named as a Parade magazine All-American and regarded as one of the top recruits coming out of high school.[4]RiseMag.com listed Barrera as the #1 recruit in his class.[6]
After being named to the
2011 PDL season All-League Team, Barrera signed with
Serbian SuperLiga side
FK Spartak Subotica (for sponsorship reasons the name was Spartak Zlatibor Voda that season) in August 2011 after a successful trial.[17] He made his debut for Spartak against
FK Borac Čačak on December 10, 2011.[18]
In July, Barrera signed with
Atlanta Silverbacks.[22] He was the first signing of new Silverbacks head coach Eric Wynalda, who had just been appointed some days earlier.[1] Wynalda, who coached Barrera at Cal FC, had previously stated that he's wanted Barrera playing for his team since 2010 when he first saw Barrera playing in Santa Barbara.[1]
Barrera transferred to
USL side
Fresno FC for the 2018 season on January 23, 2018.[36]
Hartford Athletic
Barrera signed with
Hartford Athletic on June 13, 2019.[37] He led the team in assists despite just 17 games played for the 2019 season with four. He was re signed for the 2020 season and named team captain.[38] During the 2020 season Barrera led the team in assists for the second year in a row and was named team MVP.[39] Barrera re signed with Hartford for the 2021 season on November 30, 2020.[39] In October 2021, Barrera was named to the
USL Championship's All-Time Hispanic Team.[40] Barrera recorded 12 assists during the 2021 season, the most of any player in the USL Championship.[41]
Barrera re-signed with Hartford ahead of the 2022 season.[42]
International career
When he was 17 he was a member of the USA team at the
2007 Pan-American Games being the youngest player of the roster. He also represented United States at
U17 and U18 levels.[2]
Danny's older brother,
Diego Barrera, is also a professional soccer player. Barrera enjoys being able to experience other cultures through his soccer experiences and plans to be a coach after he retires.[43] Barrera has a brief appearance and line in the
Will Ferrell movie
Kicking and Screaming as his coach Dan Metcalfe was also the movies soccer choreographer and used several of his youth players in the movie.[44]
Barrera and his partner Vanessa have four children, Jacob, Addie and Dallas. The couples fourth child, Dakota Rae was born in February 2021.[44]
^
abSciaretta, Brian (October 18, 2011).
"Barrera Aiming High At Spartak". www.Yanks-Abroad.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2016.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link)