*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:16, 8 June 2024 (UTC)
Víctor Vázquez Solsona (born 20 January 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder.
After starting out at Barcelona he went on to spend most of his career with Club Brugge, appearing in 165 competitive games with the latter club and winning the 2014–15 Belgian Cup. He also competed professionally in Mexico, Canada, the United States and Qatar, winning a domestic treble with Toronto FC in 2017.
Club career
Barcelona
Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Vázquez joined the youth system of FC Barcelona at the age of 11. At La Masia, he was part of the iconic class of 1987 team, playing alongside future first team players Cesc Fàbregas, Lionel Messi and Gerard Piqué,[4] and being considered at one point to be the best player of the group, ahead of Messi.[5] He progressed through the youth ranks,[6] making his debut for the first team on 12 April 2008 after coming on as a substitute for Santiago Ezquerro in the final 15 minutes in a 2–2 La Liga away draw against Recreativo de Huelva.[7]Pep Guardiola called him for the team's pre-season in the following campaign,[8] where he appeared in three official games, but none in the domestic league.
Due to the lengthy calendar in 2009–10, many first-team players were given breaks towards the end of the year. Thus, on 29 December 2009, four Barça B players were called by Guardiola: Thiago, Gai Assulin, Jonathan dos Santos and Vázquez;[11] all returned to where they had come from the following month.
On 7 December 2010, after coming from the bench for fellow youth graduate Jeffrén Suárez, who suffered an early injury, Vázquez scored his first goal for Barcelona's first team, contributing to a 2–0 home win against FC Rubin Kazan in the Champions League group stage, as the hosts had already secured the first place in their group.[12][13]
Club Brugge
In late April 2011, after 14 years at the Camp Nou (including youth years), Vázquez agreed to join Club Brugge KV,[14] and a three-year contract was signed the following month.[15][16] In March 2013 he extended his link until 2016, being considered a key player and essential to the further development of the squad according to sporting director Arnar Grétarsson.[17]
On 30 December 2015, Cruz Azul signed Vázquez to a three-year contract for US$1.5 million.[20] His time in Mexico was largely unsuccessful, however,[4] and he only made a limited number of appearances before leaving;[21] he played 23 competitive games during his spell at the Estadio Azul, scoring once and providing one assist.[19]
In Toronto's last match of the regular season on 22 October 2017, a 2–2 away draw to Atlanta United FC, the former club broke the league's point record of 68 points, set by LA Galaxy in 1998, by one point.[31] Eight days later, in the first leg of the Eastern Conference semi-finals in the play-offs, Vázquez scored the opening goal in a 2–1 away win over the New York Red Bulls.[32] On 29 November, in the return leg of the Eastern final against Columbus Crew SC, at BMO Field, he missed a penalty in the 26th minute, but later set up the only goal of the match scored by Altidore, which saw his side emerge conference winners for the second consecutive year and earn a place in the MLS Cup Final.[33][34] On 9 December, in the decisive match played at the same venue, he was involved in Altidore's opener and subsequently scored the final goal in a 2–0 win over the Seattle Sounders FC for an unprecedented domestic treble.[35]
Vázquez's second season at the club was less successful however, as he struggled with injuries, collecting eight goals and nine assists in 21 MLS appearances and totalling matches 26 across all competitions.[36] Although Toronto defended their Canadian Championship title,[37] and even reached the final of the CONCACAF Champions League in 2018, with him starting in the second leg,[36][38] they missed out on the playoffs for the first time in four years.[39]
Vázquez returned to the Belgian top division in August 2020, joining K.A.S. Eupen on a two-year contract.[43] Two months later, he asked to be released for personal reasons and left the club.[44]
LA Galaxy
On 16 March 2021, Vázquez returned to MLS by signing with LA Galaxy, reuniting with former Toronto head coach Greg Vanney.[45] He made his debut on 18 April against Inter Miami CF,[46] and scored his first goal on 22 July in a 2–2 away draw with Real Salt Lake.[47]
Return to Toronto
In November 2022, Toronto FC claimed the negotiation rights to Vázquez at the 2022 MLS Re-Entry Draft.[48] The following month, he signed a one-year contract with an option for a further season to return to the club.[49]
A skilful and creative playmaker, Vázquez is noted for his vision, technique, passing and his composure in possession, which enables him to link-up with other players, distribute the ball quickly and create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates.[24][52] A team player, he has also drawn praise for his intelligence, work-rate, stamina, awareness, selflessness, movement off the ball and positional sense on the pitch, as well as for being a key dressing room personality.[10][53][54][55][56] Although he is primarily known for his ability to create goals he is capable of scoring them himself, and is also an accurate free kick[57] and penalty taker.[58] An experienced and versatile midfielder, he usually plays as an attacking midfielder behind the strikers,[57][59] but is also capable of playing in the centre in a 3–5–2 formation,[60] or on the left wing in a 4–4–2 formation.[61]
Vázquez has also occasionally been used in a more advanced position, operating in a free, creative role, playing behind or off of another forward as a second striker.[62][63][64]
Personal life
Vázquez is married to Andrea.[53] Their son Leo (born 2013) was named in honour of his childhood friend and former Barcelona teammate Messi.[57]
Vázquez had the words "solo el mas fuerte sobrevive" (only the strongest survives) tattooed on his arm as he recovered from his second knee surgery.[57] He also had several other tattoos which reference his wife, son, grandmother and sister, including the text "Life is meaningless without you, forever yours" on his back, dedicated to his wife.[10]
^San Antonio, Iván (29 December 2009). "El Barça sube a 4 del filial" [Barça promote 4 from reserves]. Sport (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
