Álvaro Vázquez

Álvaro Vázquez

Vázquez in action for Catalonia in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Álvaro Vázquez García
Date of birth	(1991-04-27) 27 April 1991
Place of birth	Barcelona, Spain
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Swansea City (on loan from Getafe)
Number	26
Youth career
	Trajana
	CF Damm
2005–2009	Espanyol
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2009–2010	Espanyol B	18	(8)
2010–2012	Espanyol	60	(10)
2012–	Getafe	29	(4)
2013–	→ Swansea City (loan)	11	(0)
National team‡
2011	Spain U20	7	(5)
2011–2013	Spain U21	14	(7)
2012	Spain U23	3	(2)
2010–	Catalonia	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 January 2014. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 June 2013

Álvaro Vázquez García (born 27 April 1991), sometimes known as simply Álvaro, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Swansea City on loan from Getafe CF, as a striker.

Club career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Vázquez spent most of his life in Badalona.^[1] He joined RCD Espanyol's youth system in 2005 at the age of 14 and, four years later he made his senior debuts, appearing with the reserves in Segunda División B and suffering team relegation.

Álvaro made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 21 September 2010, coming on as a substitute for Sergio García midway through the second half of a 0–3 away loss against Real Madrid.^[2] Only five days later, he scored the game's only goal in a home fixture against CA Osasuna,^[3] and remained with the main squad for the rest of the season, mainly acting as backup to Pablo Osvaldo.

After Osvaldo departed for A.S. Roma in the summer of 2011, Vázquez was made starter by manager Mauricio Pochettino. In January 2012, over only four days, he scored four goals in two games: first, he equalized through a header in the last minutes of the local derby against FC Barcelona (1–1 home draw),^[4] then added a hat-trick against Córdoba CF for the season's Copa del Rey (4–2 home win, 5–4 on aggregate).^[5]

After spending the 2012–13 campaign with fellow top-divisioner Getafe CF,^[6] Vázquez became coach Michael Laudrup's eighth Spanish signing for his Swansea City team on 2 September 2013, with the loan move being subject to international clearance.^[7][8] He made his Premier League debut on the 22nd in a 2–0 victory at Crystal Palace, setting up Nathan Dyer for the second goal.

International career

Vázquez represented Spain at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia. He finished the competition with five goals (second-best, but with as many goals as the winner, Brazil's Henrique) as the national team reached the quarterfinals.^[9]

Also in 2011, Álvaro made his debut for the under-21s. He helped the nation win the 2013 UEFA European Football Championship by scoring in his only appearance, the 3–0 group stage win against the Netherlands.^[10]

Honours

Country

Spain U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2013

Individual

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: Silver Shoe 2011

References

External links

• Getafe official profile
• BDFutbol profile
• Futbolme profile (Spanish)
• Álvaro Vázquez career stats at Soccerbase
• Álvaro Vázquez – FIFA competition record
• Álvaro Vázquez at Transfermarkt