Daniel Muñoz Rebuilt His Path Through Total Soccer in 2014
daniel muñoz’s path to the World Cup passed through Total Soccer in Medellín in 2014, after failed trials in Europe and Mexico sent him back to Colombia at 18 years old. The restart did not come from a professional contract or a fast track; it came from an amateur setup that kept him moving when the earlier route stalled.
He later moved on to Genk in Belgium and then Crystal Palace in England, but the turning point was that return to Medellín. Muñoz will represent his town at the World Cup, and his own words this week put the focus back on the work that still defines him: “Con Uzbekistán vamos a tener un partido complejo, hay que pelear cada balón.”
Total Soccer in Medellín
Muñoz arrived at Total Soccer in 2014 after a friend recommended that he present himself there. He had already tried out for several European teams and one team in Mexico, then came home still looking for a way back into the game.
The club could not use him immediately in Liga Antioqueña de Fútbol or Federación Colombiana de Fútbol tournaments in 2014 because he was registered with Envigado Fútbol Club. He stayed training and playing friendlies with Total Soccer instead, which kept him active while the paperwork and eligibility issue blocked official matches.
From Amalfi to Medellín
Born on 26 May 1996 in Amalfi, Antioquia, Muñoz first played in his hometown through a connection to the Corporación Deportiva Los Felinos. Jim Davis Escobar, the coordinator there, marked those early years, and the move to Medellín changed the scale of the challenge without erasing where he came from.
He was also linked to the Los Del Sur barra of Atlético Nacional when he arrived in Medellín, and as a child he used to escape from home to follow Atlético Nacional. That early pull toward football turned into something more structured once he reached Total Soccer, where Gabriel Sepúlveda led the club as president and technical director.
2015 and 2016 at Total Soccer
After that 2014 restart, Muñoz played Primera B of the Liga Antioqueña de Fútbol in 2015. By 2016, he was being considered for the Torneo Nacional Sub-20, a sign that the stopgap had become a real launch point rather than just a place to wait out earlier setbacks.
Former teammates Brayan Castrillón, Santiago Orozco, Johan Montes and Santiago Noreña were part of that period at Total Soccer, where the daily work mattered more than the headline. The story now sits at the other end of that road: a player who passed through amateur football in Medellín, moved on to Europe, and has already passed into the history of Crystal Palace.
