Philadelphia Union’s Rising Star: David Vazquez

Last month I highlighted a star in the making with the ranks at Philadelphia Union, specifically attacking midfielder CJ Olney, and how Union had snapped him up as a permanent member of UII’s squad. This time around, I’m here to highlight Olney’s UII teammate, American winger David Vazquez.

Is Vazquez the next Union Homegrown?

Vazquez has been the talk of the town recently as many outlets and reporters are reporting that Union is signing Vazquez to a homegrown MLS contract soon. Vazquez has been one of the standout players for me in the UII squad this past season and his performances haven’t gone unnoticed at the international level either.

Vazquez played 21 games for UII last season in the MLS Next Pro and he featured in UII’s playoff game this past season. In those games, he managed to score 5 times and assist 2 times, which doesn’t sound like a lot of contributions in that number of games, but the box score stats don’t tell the full story.

Vazquez is primarily a left winger, who can fill in at centre attacking midfielder if needed, and he’s an exceptional one at that. He was in the top 5 or higher in the team for goals, shots, shots on target, fouls suffered, and total attacking assists. He ran away as the best dribbler on the team, with 34 successful dribbles in those 21 games, 13 more than 2^nd placed Rafanello. He was also top 5 in successful crosses and accurate forward zone passes.

Vazquez is very technically gifted on the ball and his dribbling ability is easily his biggest weapon. He loves taking defenders on one-on-one and beating his man, and usually, he’s successful at beating his man and contributing with the ball afterward.

Balling for Club and Country

The US Youth National setup has also been impressed by Vazquez and his performances in a UII shirt as he was taken to the U17s World Cup earlier this year, where he played 4 games for the US U17s and scored once.

However, his most impressive international outing of this year was at the U17 CONCACAF Championship, where he played 7 times and assisted 4 times as the US U17s went on to be runners-up.

Vazques is another youngster that I’m happy to put my stamp of approval on, just like I did when Jesus Bueno first joined the club, and just like I did last month with Vazquez’s teammate CJ Olney. I can see Vazquez only getting better with more experience, and I feel like he could be knocking on the door and getting some senior minutes next season. Vazquez is one of those players who always pops when you’re watching games, someone who always catches the eye and looks a quality threat when going forward.

It’s only a matter of time

Once the deal has been officially announced by the club, it’ll be great news for Union as they lock down yet another young starlet who’s on a meteoric rise through the ranks. With the offseason in full swing and the senior team looking like they’ll be going through some major shake-ups, this could be a prime moment for kids like Olney and Vazquez to get some senior minutes like the UII teammate Chris Donovan, who’s just been rewarded for his senior team contributions with a new contract.

There are a lot more young stars throughout the Union’s academy setup and I’ll be looking to highlight them all over the coming months of the offseason, so you guys, the fans, can be fully prepared and excited for when these young stars walk the same path as the likes of the Aaronson brothers and Jack McGlynn and become the next generation of Philadelphia Union superstars.