LA Galaxy sign veteran midfielder Victor Vazquez

The LA Galaxy announced Wednesday they have signed midfielder Victor Vazquez on a one-year deal with a one-year option.

The 34-year-old was most recently with Belgian club Eupen. His career has taken him to seven countries to date, including a memorable spell at Toronto FC.

“Victor is a talented, experienced and accomplished player who is familiar with Greg and playing in Major League Soccer,” said LA Galaxy General Manager Dennis te Kloese in a team statement. “He was a top, creative player in our league while with Toronto and he will bring a great deal of leadership to our club both on and off the field. We are thrilled to add Victor to our roster and look forward to him representing the LA Galaxy.”

The Barcelona-born Vazquez began his career in FC Barcelona’s system, making his first-team debut in 2008 under Pep Guardiola. From there, he had a long and successful spell at Belgian outfit Club Brugge, then had a short stint in Mexico with Cruz Azul in 2016. In 2017 he moved to TFC to play under new Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney, and won a domestic treble that season, where he was voted to the MLS Best XI for his exploits.

In 2019 he went to Qatar to play for two clubs, Al-Arabi and Umm Salal, before returning to Belgium with Eupen last year. He left that club for personal reasons and joins the Galaxy as a free agent.

An attacking midfielder, Vazquez played an important role in TFC’s success while he was there and was a fantastic complimentary piece to Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore. Capable of scoring himself but adept at setting up teammates, Vazquez was the closest thing to a modern playmaker in MLS while in Toronto.

However, he is getting pretty advanced in age at this point and during his time with TFC durability was an issue. Can he stay healthy? Can he endure the rigors of another MLS season? These are open questions, so this is another risk/reward signing.

We’ll keep you posted on news around this signing and more information as the Galaxy continue their preseason.

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