Franco Vázquez

Franco Vázquez
Personal information
Full nameFranco Damián Vázquez
Date of birth22 February 1989[1]
Place of birthTanti, Córdoba, Argentina
Height1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionAttacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
Palermo
Number20
Youth career
2003–2005Barrio Parque
2005–2007Belgrano
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2007–2011Belgrano95(15)
2012–Palermo57(11)
2012–2013→ Rayo Vallecano (loan)18(3)
National team‡
2015–Italy1(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:46, 18 January 2015 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 March 2015

Franco Damián Vázquez (born 22 February 1989) is an Italian-Argentine professional footballer, who plays as an attacking midfielder for Palermo.

Club career

Nicknamed El Mudo (The Mute), Vázquez started his career at Belgrano, with whom he debuted in 2007 and then became a mainstay at the club, achieving interest from a number of Italian clubs (the first being Parma in 2010) as a consequence.[1]

In August 2011 he was heavily linked with a move to Palermo as a replacement for fellow Argentine Javier Pastore; the move, effective from January 2012, was subsequently confirmed on 1 September 2011 with a bid of €4.53m being paid by the Sicilians as a result.[2] He officially joined the Sicilians' squad on 29 December 2011.[3] He debuted in Palermo on 8 January against Napoli, and made a total 14 appearances with no goals (mostly as a substitute).

On 24 August 2012 he moved on loan to Liga BBVA club Rayo Vallecano.[4] He mostly played as a substitute, and failed to make a breakthrough in the first team squad, not being signed permanently by the club at the end of the season and therefore returning at Palermo.

He was originally kept out of the squad list by head coach Gennaro Gattuso and therefore ineligible to play in any games for the first half of the 2013–14 Serie B season, but reincluded into the first team roster by new boss Giuseppe Iachini later in January 2014 as a replacement to on-loan youngster Valerio Verre, and then being used also as a second striker in a more regular basis - a role that gave him the opportunity to score goals for the team. In the following 2014–15 Serie A campaign, Vázquez gained notoriety thanks to him forming successful and effective striking partnership with Paulo Dybala. On 16 January 2015, he agreed a contract extension with Palermo until 30 June 2019.[5]

International career

Having Italian citizenship sparked the Italian national team's interest since Vázquez had never played at international level, but the player was still uncertain about whether to accept the possible upcoming call or not.[6] Later in January 2015, he stated he would probably accept a call-up from Italian head coach Antonio Conte, also due to the heavy competition for a place in the Argentine team.[7]

On 21 March 2015, Vázquez received his first Italian national team call-up for a European 2016 qualification game against Bulgaria and a friendly match against England.[8] Manager Antonio Conte was criticised for calling up Argentine-born Vázquez along with Brazilian-born Éder. Speaking at a Serie A meeting on 23 March 2015, Roberto Mancini said, "The Italian national team should be Italian. An Italian player deserves to play for the national team while someone who wasn't born in Italy, even if they have relatives, I don't think they deserve to." Conte's response to the use of foreign-born players was, "If Mauro Camoranesi (who was born in Argentina) was allowed to help Italy win the 2006 World Cup, then why can't Éder and Franco Vázquez lead the Azzurri to glory in next year's European Championship?"[9][10]

Vázquez made his debut in the 1–1 draw against England at Juventus Stadium in Turin on 31 March 2015, replacing fellow oriundo Éder after 61 minutes.[11]

Personal life

Vázquez holds Argentinian and Italian passports; his mother was born in the Italian city of Padova.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Franco Vázquez : 1989 - Argentina" (in Italian). Generazione di Talenti. August 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  2. ↑ "UN PALERMO CHE INVESTE" [A PALERMO THAT INVESTS] (in Italian). ilpalermocalcio.it. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  3. ↑ "VAZQUEZ A PALERMO "FELICE DI ESSERE QUI"" [VAZQUEZ IN PALERMO "HAPPY TO BE HERE"] (in Italian). ilpalermocalcio.it. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "VAZQUEZ AL RAYO VALLECANO" [VAZQUEZ TO RAYO VALLECANO] (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 27 August 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  5. ↑ ""MUDO", LA STORIA CONTINUA. VAZQUEZ ROSANERO FINO AL 2019" ["MUDO", HISTORY GOES ON. VAZQUEZ TO STAY ROSANERO TILL 2019] (in Italian). US Città di Palermo. 18 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Serie A Palermo, Vazquez: «Giocare per l'Italia? Decisione difficile»" [Serie A Palermo, Vázquez: "Playing for Italy? Tough decision"] (in Italian). Corriere dello Sport. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Le promesse di Franco Vazquez: "Rimango a Palermo e accetto di giocare per l'Italia"" [The promises of Franco Vázquez: "I'm staying at Palermo and I accept playing for Italy"] (in Italian). Giornale di Sicilia. 18 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Nazionale, Conte chiama Eder, Vazquez e Valdifiori per Bulgaria e Inghilterra" [National team, Conte calls up Éder, Vázquez and Valdifiori for Bulgaria and England] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  9. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3007660/Roberto-Mancini-believes-foreign-born-players-NOT-able-play-Italy.html
  10. ↑ http://www.espnfc.us/italy/story/2363437/antonio-conte-defends-use-of-foreign-born-players-on-italy-squad
  11. ↑ "Italy 1-1 England". BBC Sport. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.