Brandon Vazquez’s strong start at Liga MX side Monterrey continued Saturday with a Man of the Match performance.
Vazquez scored twice in Monterrey’s 3-1 home victory over Atletico San Luis, giving the American acquisition three goals in his first three appearances for the club.
The U.S. men’s national team forward needed only 15 minutes to break the deadlock, sending a looping header into the back of the net. Sebastian Vegas’ cross was sent into the San Luis box and Vazquez got on the end of it for a 1-0 Monterrey lead.
After Atletico San Luis tied the match, Vazquez recaptured the lead for Monterrey six minutes before halftime. The 26-year-old’s low shot in the 39th minute capped off a quick counterattack from Monterrey for a 2-1 advantage.
Sergio Canales’ second-half goal iced the result for Monterrey, giving the hosts a 3-1-0 record through four Clausura matches. Vazquez also won seven duels and drew three fouls in his 90-minute outing.
Monterrey next visits Club America on February 3, seeking to continue its unbeaten start.
Huh. First one he pretty much jumped over the head of San Luis CB Julio Dominguez – who is, incidentally, 36 years old and stands just 5’9″ – and the second one…woof. For whatever reason #30, Jordan Silva – who was the other CB alongside Dominguez – rolled almost all the way to the right touchline and then put an alarmingly bad lame-duck pass back across the middle that was of course duly pounced on and collected by Monterrey. (Insert facepalm from the entire San Luis bench here.) The CM did what he should have done in an impossible situation and stepped, trying to put out the fire, but hey, there’s Dominguez again, holding his spot and while motioning to direct traffic behind him, completely unaware that Silva hadn’t just gifted Monterrey one of the most ill-advised passes I’ve ever seen at the professional level but had also done it while completely vacating his space. So of course there’s a gaping hole beside him.
Silva frantically tried to scamper back, but of course was way too late, and also too late, the right winger noticed there was a great big hole in the back where Silva should have been and tried to cover it, but Vasquez is just so big he might as well have been a brick wall and there was just no way the RW was ever going to get around him in time to stop the shot. And boom. Back of the net.
I’ll just shake my head. Again, I’ll repeat that Monterrey is a $25 million team, the highest in Liga MX, and San Luis is dead last, spending just over $4 million on player salaries, less than half the payroll of the lowest-spending MLS team, and it very much does appear they got exactly what they paid for. So Vasquez is on a team with as much as six times the payroll of some of its competitors, with very skilled guys who can provide him service…and Liga MX, while very technical, is also filled with smaller slower guys. And Vasquez was a hoss even in MLS…which is filled with genuine Specimens.
It wasn’t a hard prediction that Vasquez was going to score goals for fun with Monterrey. This was always a Golden Ticket-type move for him. A particularly good season could easily get him noticed by a team in say, La Liga, that might quite rightly suspect Vasquez would be a fit for them as well. Age 26 is hardly old for a big striker.
So you’re saying Vasquez is going to carve up Liga MX defenses that are not suited to stopping him, as well as MLS defenses were?
How is that supposed to impress La Liga, or any other Top 5 league people?
Because some La Liga or Portuguese League teams are lazy and don’t really scout MLS but do have scouts in Liga Mx. However, Liga Mx has been criticized for not selling players in recent years though so getting a team to offer a satisfactory number for a 26 yr old could be challenging. The three biggest sales for Liga Mx to Europe were all to Russia and all were at or under Vazquez’s 7.5 million dollar purchase. The year before that was Montes to Espanyol for 8 million.
JR,
I’m all for Brandon making as much money as possible.
+ The Top 5 leagues have their share of crap defenders and half ass scouting operations.
+ Tearing up the likes of San Luis never hurts in terms of building up Brandon’s confidence.
+ Brandon doesn’t have to go to Europe
If I’m a half way decent Top 5 league team, like for example, Brentford , Brighton, Bayer Leverkusen , Burnley or Bournemouth and Monterrey is asking for more than walking around money for Brandon don’t you think they would want a decent amount of game tape at the very least?
If Brandon’ becomes a dominant player in Liga MX and stays there, he can make a case for being in the mix for Copa America and 2026. Landon spent his entire career in a no Top 5 league outside of Europe and did ok.
SBI people regularly spit on and ridicule attacking performance in the Eredivisie because that league lacks defensive credibility. But it’s okay to think that Brandon beating up semi pro small people who are dumb defenders is impressive?
The question is how will Brandon be as exceptional for the USMNT as LD was. Will Gregg give him a chance to make his case?
Now that he is not an MLS player Gregg won’t be compelled to count him towards the USMNT MLS quota.
V: yeah I would guess Brandon will make more in Mexico than in most places in Europe. I do think the only way Vazquez makes a move to a top 5 league is a big performance for the US. There’s nothing wrong with him playing before 45,000 fans each week and scoring goals for fun. As for his chances of a call up, Gregg’s been calling up Zendajas pretty regularly and if he wants to keep playing Pepi and Balo together he might bring another striker at some point.
How about just giving the man his flowers instead of pointing out all of the reasons he “should” be scoring goals. The problem with what you’re doing is there can be an expectation, but then there is actually doing it, and in a new league albeit. Vazquez is making good runs, finding holes in the defense to get on the end of crosses but more importantly he’s finishing his chances
Oh, no doubt. Those were two beautiful finishes and if it sounded like I was disparaging him I wasn’t. Man came in like a house on fire right off the bat and there’s no doubt he’s grabbing his chances with both hands.
I’m just saying he’s in a very plus situation for him that dramatically showcases what he does well. As I’ve said in prior posts, he’s tactically very aware, physically imposing, and a great finisher and he demonstrated all the above with those two goals.
If I was making a point, it’s that MLS is way underrated, and that all leagues do not exactly play the same game. Liga MX places a premium on technical ability over physical ability; MLS is an extremely athletic league. Most of them are just not equipped to handle a guy like Vasquez and it shows. But you can lump La Liga and to a fair extent Serie A into that same bucket as Liga MX…and once again, Brandon’s physical attributes would make him a mismatch against many of the defenders he’d face. I personally don’t think it’s a reach to say he could possibly do well those leagues.
Thank you!!!!
Quozzel,
” Brandon’s physical attributes would make him a mismatch against many of the defenders he’d face.”
You stress this so much about Brandon that one would think that forwards who are approximately 6’2″, 198 pounds are rare.
They aren’t. Not really.
Jozy, Clint, Pepi, Pefok, Lewandoski , Fullkrug, and Mitrovic for example are all roughly near enough those dimensions as to not make a difference.
So are Vlahovic, Giroud, Abraham, Lukaku and Thuram all of whom play in Italy.
Brandon’s physical attributes, don’t hurt him but they aren’t why he’s a good scorer. You don’t give him enough credit for the area between his ears.
From what I’ve seen of him, he is very disciplined with his positioning and timing in the area between the box and the center circle. He’s frequently available and where he should be.
That great sense of timing also explains why he’s so good in the air, not the fact that he is 6’2″.
Good headers are like good rebounders. Charles Barkley, all 6’4 ” of him is one of the all time great rebounders.
Gerd Muller and Wayne Rooney, all of 5’9″ of them were great headers of the ball.
Brandon is good because he knows how to play his position, not because he is 6’2 and 198 pounds. Owen Otawasie is the exact same size and he isn’t very good at his position.
Ronnie,
Agreed, expectations vs execution…and Brandon is executing.
Additionally, and for me, the key to Brandon’s time in Liga MX will be how he does against the big / quality teams…Chivas, Club America, UANL Tigres, and which ever of the other teams in Liga MX is doing well during a particular season. In order for his time in Mexico to be viewed as a success, he needs to have goal contributions, and preferably goals, against those teams.
Well done Brandon…keep it going! I’m happy for Brandon. He is getting out of the gate fast and that is important for him in Liga MX, as already mentioned.
You can’t blame him for making the move to Liga MX. He made a business decision for his family…and probably a sporting decision, as well, as he was more likely to play right away in Liga MX. Playing sooner, rather than later, may have had an eye towards making the UMSNT roster for Copa America.
That said, going forward, if Brandon has an eye on a move to Europe, that will be very challenging. First his age…25. Not many European teams are going to want to spend big money on a 27 year old, or older, player. Secondly, and historically Liga MX teams haven’t sold a lot of players to Europe because of two main reasons…the player is Mexican, or they place an exorbitant price tag on the player.
Brandon falls under both categories…kinda, as he is of Mexican descent.
Liga MX doesn’t like to sell it’s best Mexican players to Europe because they are worth more to Liga MX, for sporting AND marketing reasons, than their value on the open transfer market.
Liga MX doesn’t sell players that are in their late 20’s to Europe because they put a crazy price tag on them, and European teams walk away.
On a side note, I’m rooting for Brandon, but he is not Landon Donovan, and just as importantly, it is not 2002…the current USMNT landscape, competition for spots, and expectations / perceptions, have changed significantly since Donovan’s time.
I hope Brandon continues to do well, but after his time in Liga MX, I think it is more likely he heads back to MLS, circa 2027 – 2029, than to Europe.
Quozzel,
Brandon’s size, both height and weight, are not the only reason he is scoring, or good in the air, but regardless of what anyone else on this site says, it is definitely an advantage, and one that Brandon uses to his advantage very well, as he should.
While 6’2″ and 198 lbs. is not a unicorn in professional soccer, it is definitely more unique than the norm.
It’s also worth sharing, Dempsey played at 170 lbs. and Pepi checks in at 165 lbs., although Pepi is bulking up, so neither has the physical attributes that Brandon does.
…to be clear, Quozzel, you are correct.
Additionally, for every Haaland, there are three players, or more, that are not that big…i.e., Gabriel Jesus, Julian Alvarez, and Ollie Watkins.
Quozzel,
Brandon’s size is certainly a major contributing factor to his aerial success. While Brandon’s physical attributes of 6’2″ and 198 lbs. are not the only reasons he is scoring, they are definitely an advantage, especially for his heading prowess, and ones that he using to his advantage very well, and as he should.
Regardless of what anyone else on this site says, players of that size are not unicorns in professional soccer, but they are certainly more a rarity than the norm.
For every Haaland, there are three players that are not that big…i.e., Gabriel Jesus, Julian Alvarez, and Ollie Watkins.
As a side note, it is important to share a clear distinction…Dempsey played at 170 lbs. and Pepi checks in at 165 lbs. although he is bulking up, so not valid comparisons to Vazquez…at least not with regards to height and weight.