Back from the brink
Born in Amalfi, a modest town with a population of just over 22,000 in the Antioquia Department in north-east Colombia, Daniel Muñoz’s journey to the Premier League encapsulates the versatility, commitment, and passion he has become renowned for as a player.
Growing up near to Medellín – the second-largest city in Colombia – Muñoz’s boyhood team were Atlético Nacional, his local club and the nation’s most successful side.
Pictures would later emerge on social of a teenage Muñoz in the stands, shirtless and roaring his Atlético heroes – but little did he know he would soon be joining them on the pitch.
Starting out as a player at the nearby Cosmos Soccer School as a six-year-old, Muñoz moved to Envigado at 12 years of age – the youth department which has produced the likes of James Rodriguez, Freddy Guarín and Jhon Cordoba – before moving to Arco Zaragoza Medellin, one of the most famous amateur teams in Colombia.
But despite a handful of trials elsewhere, including reports of interest abroad, Muñoz reached the age of 20 without having made his professional breakthrough, and was reputedly forced to consider retirement.
Yet Muñoz persisted and that allowed his former coach, Gabriel Sepulveda, to persuade him to briefly turn out for regional club, FC Total Soccer.
It was a turning point. There, Muñoz's displays alerted him to Jose Fernando Salazar – a scout from top-flight club Águilas Doradas – who would later recruit the defender and, upon his departure from the club, remark he was “a great athlete, and a better human being”.
Muñoz subsequently signed for ‘The Golden Team’, his first professional club, in early 2017.
Back from the brink of a departure from the game, the 20-year-old’s extraordinary journey to its elite was, at last, underway.
