Nelson Vargas
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| Nelson Vargas | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nelson Vargas | |
| Date of birth | August 6, 1974 | |
| Place of birth | Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |
| Playing position | Forward | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1996-1997 1998-2000 |
Tampa Bay Mutiny Miami Fusion |
32 (3) 57 (2) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1991-1994 | U.S. national team | 4 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Nelson Vargas (born August 6, 1974 in Holyoke, Massachusetts) is a former U.S. soccer player. He spent five seasons in Major League Soccer and the part of one season in Major Indoor Soccer League. He was also a member of the U.S. soccer team at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
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[edit] Youth
Vargas attended Miami Coral Park High School and played youth soccer with Inter Juventus in Miami. After high school, he chose to forego college and he moved to Europe to train with AC Milan.
[edit] MLS
The Tampa Bay Mutiny selected Vargas in the twelfth round (117th overall) in the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft. He spent two seasons with the Mutiny before the Miami Fusion selected Vargas in the 1997 MLS Expansion Draft. After three seasons in Miami, the Fusion waived Vargas on November 2000. He had sprained his ankle in July 2000 which put him out for the season.[1]
[edit] U.S. national teams
In 1991, Vargas was a member of the U.S. team at the U-17 World Youth Championship which went 3-0 in the first round. In the second round, the team tied Qatar 1-1 in regulation only to fall 5-4 in penalty kicks.
That same year, he earned his first of four caps with the U.S. national team when he came on at half time for Mike Slivinski in a September 14 win over Jamaica. At the time, Slivinski was the youngest U.S. player to earn a cap and Vargas was only three months older. Vargas did not play again with the senior national team until November 19, 1994 in a loss to Trinidad and Tobago. He then played two more games that year, his last coming on December 11th. Vargas neither started a game nor scored a goal with the U.S. senior team.
In 1993, Vargas was selected for the U.S. team which qualified for the 1993 U-20 World Cup to be held in Australia. He scored two goal in the CONCACAF qualifying games. At the World Cup, the U.S. went 1-1-1 in group play, qualifying for the second round where it fell to Brazil.
In 1996, U.S. coach Bruce Arena named Vargas to the U.S. soccer team at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Once again, the team went 1-1-1, but this time failed to make the second round.
[edit] Acting
Vargas has had two small film roles. In 2002, he was a bit player in the movie Manito. In 2005, he played the part of John Souza in The Game of Their Lives, a movie about the U.S. victory over England in the 1950 FIFA World Cup.[2]
