João Klauss

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Klauss and the second or paternal family name is de Mello.
João Klauss
Klauss with LASK Linz in 2020
Personal information
Full name João Klauss de Mello
Date of birth (1997-03-01) 1 March 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Criciúma, Brazil
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 St. Louis City
Number 9
Youth career
2006–2010 Internacional
2010–2011 Juventude
2011–2016 Grêmio
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2020 TSG Hoffenheim II 24 (5)
2018 → HJK (loan) 33 (21)
2019–2020 → LASK (loan) 42 (15)
2020–2022 TSG Hoffenheim 4 (0)
2021–2022 → Standard Liège (loan) 33 (7)
2022 → Sint-Truiden (loan) 8 (2)
2022 St. Louis City 2 4 (4)
2023– St. Louis City 46 (15)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 October 2024

João Klauss de Mello (born 1 March 1997), sometimes known as just Klauss, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club St. Louis City SC.

Early life

João Klauss de Mello was born in Criciúma, Santa Catarina. He began his career with Internacional in Porto Alegre, joining the club at the age of nine. Klauss moved with his mother to Porto Alegre after his parents separated. Both parents supported his football career from early on. At the age of 13, he was released from Internacional's youth program and moved to Juventude in Caxias do Sul. After a year, he moved back to Porto Alegre and joined the Grêmio's youth academy.[1]

Club career

Klauss with HJK in 2018

Klauss signed for his first European club in January 2017, when he moved to TSG Hoffenheim in Germany. He initially struggled with the cultural change. He played 17 matches and scored four goals for Hoffenheim II in the Regionalliga Südwest.

He was loaned to HJK in March 2018.[2] On 8 April, he scored in his debut in the Veikkausliiga against Ilves.

On 8 January 2019, Klauss was loaned out to LASK until 30 June 2020.[3] On 31 January 2022, Klauss joined Sint-Truiden on loan.[4]

Klauss joined Major League Soccer side St. Louis City SC in July 2022, following his loan at Sint-Truiden. He was the club's first designated player.[5] On February 25, 2023, the opening match of the MLS season, Klauss scored the final goal in a 3–2 victory over Austin FC, the first win in St. Louis's franchise history.[6]

Personal life

Born in Brazil, Klauss is of German descent through his father, and Italian descent through his mother. He holds an Italian passport.[7][8]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 October 2024[9]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II 2016–17 Regionalliga Südwest 7 1 – – – 7 1
2017–18 Regionalliga Südwest 17 4 – – – 17 4
2020–21 Regionalliga Südwest 3 1 – – – 3 1
Total 27 6 – – – 27 6
HJK (loan) 2018 Veikkausliiga 33 21 3 2 6[b] 1 – 42 24
LASK (Loan) 2018–19 Austrian Bundesliga 14 3 2 1 – – 16 4
2019–20 Austrian Bundesliga 28 12 4 3 13[c] 5 – 45 20
Total 42 15 6 4 13 5 – 61 24
TSG Hoffenheim 2020–21 Bundesliga 4 0 1 0 5[d] 0 – 10 0
Standard Liège (loan) 2020–21 Belgian First Division A 19 5 5 1 – – 24 6
2021–22 Belgian First Division A 20 2 3 1 – – 23 3
Total 39 7 8 2 – – 47 9
Sint-Truiden (loan) 2021–22 Belgian First Division A 8 2 – – – 8 2
St. Louis City 2 2022 MLS Next Pro 4 4 – – – 4 4
St. Louis City 2023 MLS 19 10 0 0 – 2[e] 0 21 10
2024 MLS 27 5 – 2[f] 0 – 29 5
Total 46 15 0 0 2 0 2 0 50 15
Career total 203 70 18 8 26 6 2 0 249 84
  1. ^ Includes Finnish Cup, Austrian Cup, DFB-Pokal, Belgian Cup
  2. ^ Four appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Four appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs
  6. ^ Appearances in CONCACAF Champions Cup

Honours

HJK

St. Louis City SC

Individual

  • Veikkausliiga Player of the Year: 2018
  • Veikkausliiga Top scorer: 2018
  • Veikkausliiga Striker of the Year: 2018[10]
  • Veikkausliiga Breakthrough the Year: 2018[11]
  • Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2018[12]
  • Veikkausliiga Player of the Month: August 2018,[13] September 2018[14]

References

  1. ^ "HJK:n uusi hyökkääjä valitsi jalkapallouran 10-vuotiaana ja juoksi suurkaupungissa ahdistelijoitaan karkuun: "Ajattelin koko ajan, että minusta tulee ammattijalkapalloilija"". Helsingin Sanomat. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  2. ^ "KLAUSS DE MELLO ON HJK:N UUSI HYÖKKÄÄJÄ". HJK.fi. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  3. ^ VERSTÄRKUNG FÜR DEN LASK!, lask.at, 8 January 2019
  4. ^ "JOÃO KLAUSS IS EEN KANARIE!" (Press release) (in Dutch). Sint-Truiden. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  5. ^ "St. Louis CITY SC Signs Forward João Klauss as Designated Player | St. Louis SC".
  6. ^ "St. Louis City wins inaugural match, beats Austin 3-2". AP NEWS. 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Verstärkung für den LASK!". 8 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Klauss will beim LASK nicht nur Deutsch lernen". nachrichten.at.
  9. ^ João Klauss at Soccerway
  10. ^ Happonen, Jesse (3 November 2018). "Tässä Veikkausliiga-kauden 2018 kaikki palkitut – HJK-tähti putsasi palkintopöydän". Arvokisat (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  11. ^ Happonen, Jesse (3 November 2018). "Tässä Veikkausliiga-kauden 2018 kaikki palkitut – HJK-tähti putsasi palkintopöydän". Arvokisat (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Jalkapallotoimittajat nimesivät oman tähdistöjoukkueen". www.veikkausliiga.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  13. ^ Klauss Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja, JPY, 12 September 2018
  14. ^ HJK:n Klauss jälleen Veikkausliigan kuukauden pelaaja, JPY, 4 October 2018