João Klauss
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.
 Klauss with LASK Linz in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | João Klauss de Mello | ||
| Date of birth | 1 March 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Criciúma, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | St. Louis City SC | ||
| 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 SC | 19 | (10) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 October 2023 (CST) | |||
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 Porte 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 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 24 September 2023[9]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | 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[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 42 | 24 |
| LASK (Loan) | 2018–19 | Austrian Bundesliga | 14 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | 16 | 4 | |
| 2019–20 | Austrian Bundesliga | 28 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 13[lower-alpha 3] | 5 | 45 | 20 | |
| Total | 42 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 5 | 61 | 24 | ||
| TSG Hoffenheim | 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 4] | 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 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 0 | – | 16 | 8 | |
| Career total | 173 | 63 | 18 | 8 | 24 | 6 | 215 | 77 | ||
- Includes Finnish Cup, Austrian Cup, DFB-Pokal, Belgian Cup
- Four appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Four appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
HSK
Individual
- Veikkausliiga Player of the Year: 2018
- Veikkausliiga Top scorer: 2018
- Veikkausliiga Striker of the Year: 2018
- Veikkausliiga Breakthrough the Year: 2018
- Veikkausliiga Team of the Year: 2018
References
- "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.
- "KLAUSS DE MELLO ON HJK:N UUSI HYÖKKÄÄJÄ". HJK.fi. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- VERSTÄRKUNG FÜR DEN LASK!, lask.at, 8 January 2019
- "JOÃO KLAUSS IS EEN KANARIE!" (Press release) (in Dutch). Sint-Truiden. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
- "St. Louis CITY SC Signs Forward João Klauss as Designated Player | St. Louis SC".
- "St. Louis City wins inaugural match, beats Austin 3-2". AP NEWS. 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
- "Verstärkung für den LASK!". January 8, 2019.
- "Klauss will beim LASK nicht nur Deutsch lernen". nachrichten.at.
- João Klauss at Soccerway