Júnior Leandro Mendieta (born 13 June 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Mamelodi Sundowns.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Júnior Leandro Mendieta | ||
| Date of birth | (1993-06-13) 13 June 1993 (age 31) | ||
| Place of birth | Corrientes, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Mamelodi Sundowns | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 0000 | Quilmes | ||
| 0000–2015 | Deportivo Morón | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2016 | Deportivo Morón | 34 | (14) |
| 2016–2020 | Lanús | 0 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | → Los Andes (loan) | 45 | (11) |
| 2018–2019 | → Deportivo Morón (loan) | 19 | (5) |
| 2019–2020 | → Atlético de Rafaela (loan) | 18 | (3) |
| 2020–2021 | → Stellenbosch (loan) | 22 | (6) |
| 2021–2023 | Stellenbosch | 55 | (16) |
| 2023– | Mamelodi Sundowns | 5 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:14, 12 August 2023 (UTC) | |||
Mendieta started his senior career with Deportivo MoróninPrimera B Metropolitana, having played for Quilmes at youth level.[2] His professional debut arrived on 14 February 2015 during a draw with Deportivo Merlo, prior to Mendieta receiving red cards in consecutive appearances in August against Defensores de Belgrano and Platense.[1][3] A month later, he scored his senior goal against Almagro.[1] Mendieta scored twice more that year, which preceded six goals in fourteen games in the next campaign.[1] On 30 June 2016, Argentine Primera División side Lanús signed Mendieta.[1] He was immediately loaned to Los Andes.[1]
Mendieta remained with Los Andes for the 2016–17 and 2017–18 Primera B Nacional seasons, scoring seven times in forty-six matches in all competitions.[1] After returning to Lanús in June, Mendieta subsequently agreed to rejoin Deportivo Morón; signing a loan contract.[1] He netted twice for Morón, both came in a fixture with Instituto in November 2018, across nineteen appearances.[1] Mendieta had a third loan spell away from Lanús in 2019–20, joining Atlético de Rafaela for twelve months in July 2019.[1] One goal in eighteen matches followed, in a campaign that was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
Mendieta's contract with Lanús expired on 30 June 2020, with the midfielder subsequently revealing that a potential move to South African Premier Division side Stellenbosch was being finalized; amid interest from Rafaela for a permanent contract.[4] The move to Africa was belatedly confirmed on 30 October.[5] His first appearance arrived on 4 November against SuperSport United, as he replaced Jayden Adams with twenty-five minutes left of an eventual 1–0 defeat.[1] He scored his first goal on 21 November versus Chippa United, before netting his second on 12 February against Golden Arrows.[1]
Mendieta received a call-up to the Argentina U23s for the 2016 Sait Nagjee Trophy in India.[2][6] However, due to contractual issues, he was deselected prior to the tournament.[6]
In 2017, Mendieta was arrested by police after trespassing at Morón Air Base.[7] He was released without charge soon later, having claimed he accidentally entered the base after becoming lost.[8]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Deportivo Morón | 2015 | Primera B Metropolitana | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4[a] | 2 | 25 | 3 | ||
| 2016 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 34 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 2 | 39 | 9 | ||||
| Lanús | 2016–17 | Primera División | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017–18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Los Andes (loan) | 2016–17 | Primera B Nacional | 25 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 26 | 6 | ||
| 2017–18 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 46 | 7 | ||||
| Deportivo Morón (loan) | 2018–19 | Primera B Nacional | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 | ||
| Atlético de Rafaela (loan) | 2019–20 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | |||
| Stellenbosch (loan) | 2020–21 | Premier Division | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 141 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 148 | 24 | ||