Franco Vázquez

Franco Vázquez

File:20150616 - Portugal - Italie - Genève - Franco Vazquez.jpg Vázquez playing with Italy in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Franco Damián Vázquez
Date of birth	(1989-02-22) 22 February 1989
Place of birth	Tanti, Córdoba, Argentina
Height
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Palermo
Number	20
Youth career
2003–2005	Barrio Parque
2005–2007	Belgrano
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2011	Belgrano	95	(15)
2012–	Palermo	105	(22)
2012–2013	→ Rayo Vallecano (loan)	18	(3)
International career‡
2015–	Italy	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:44, 15 May 2016 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 June 2015

Franco Damián Vázquez (born 22 February 1989) is an Italian footballer, born and raised in Argentina, who plays as an attacking midfielder for Palermo and the Italian national team.

Early life

Vázquez was born to an Italian mother (born in Padua) and an Argentine father. Therefore, Vázquez holds both passports.

Club career

Belgrano

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.

Palermo

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. He officially joined the Sicilians' squad on 29 December 2011. He debuted in Palermo on 8 January against Napoli, and made a total 14 appearances with no goals (mostly as a substitute).

Rayo Vallecano (loan)

On 24 August 2012 he moved on loan to La Liga club Rayo Vallecano. 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 to Palermo.

Return to 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. On 15 May 2016, he scored in a 3–2 home win over Verona to help save Palermo from relegation at the conclusion of the 2015–16 Serie A season.

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. 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.

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. 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?"

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.

Style of play

Vázquez is a quick, talented, and mobile left-footed player, who possesses good vision, passing ability, and technique, which makes an effective assist provider; during the 2014–15 Serie A season, he was one of the top assist providers in the league with 10 assists. In addition to his creative abilities, he is also capable of contributing to his team with goals, due to his accurate striking ability from distance. A versatile player, he is usually deployed as an attacking midfielder, although he has also been deployed in several other offensive and midfield positions: he has been used as a winger, as a deep-lying playmaker, and as a second forward. His playing style has drawn comparisons with Javier Pastore, Alessandro Del Piero, and Roberto Baggio.

Honours

Palermo

• Serie B: 2013–14

Individual

• Serie A Top Assist Provider: 2014–15