Soccer <\/p>\n
To play for his hometown club growing up, Brandon Vazquez<\/a> had to leave the country. Every day.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n His parents would take him from the family home in Chula Vista to the border line, where he\u2019d walk into Mexico, then take a taxi or Uber to Club Tijuana\u2019s training facilities for the final leg of the trip. After sessions, he\u2019d repeat it in reverse, the opposite commute many make daily at the world\u2019s busiest border crossing.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Now, there\u2019s no need. In fact, MLS expansion team San Diego FC<\/a> have kids going the opposite direction, wooing talents from Baja California north to their new facility. And while Vazquez cherishes his own experience, he probably wouldn\u2019t let his own kids follow in his footsteps.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was so much talent in San Diego, a crazy amount of talent,” Vazquez, now 26, said. “The closest professional team was Tijuana. A lot of people, including my family, if we wanted to watch a soccer game, we\u2019d cross the border.<\/p>\n “Crossing the border every single day to go play was a journey, an adventure. I think it\u2019s really cool players growing up in San Diego now have something more local than going to a different country, something to look up to.\u201d<\/p>\n Vazquez will represent the visiting team in Saturday\u2019s showdown between San Diego FC and Austin FC<\/a> (10:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass<\/a>), but there are plenty of fans in San Diego who look up to their native son. After leaving Xolos, Vazquez went on to a strong MLS career with Atlanta United<\/a> and FC Cincinnati<\/a>, then returned to LIGA MX with CF Monterrey. He arrived in Austin<\/a> this winter as a then-club-record signing. This weekend, he’s back home.<\/p>\n Vazquez is most excited to see his parents, whom he hasn\u2019t seen in several months, but is trying to wrangle up 25 tickets for the match for other family and friends.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing back and playing in my hometown is going to be incredible. Growing up, I would\u2019ve never thought San Diego would have a team. Now that there is one, being able to play in front of my family is special,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m excited for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n VERDE looks good on you, @Brvndonv<\/a>! ???? pic.twitter.com\/xwiKiYfLXV<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Austin FC (@AustinFC) January 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The match won\u2019t simply be a nice reunion, as it’s also a critical Western Conference contest. Austin sit just outside the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs places, going into the weekend on the back of four straight stalemates, while San Diego are second in the conference but suffered a 1-0 defeat in Seattle<\/a> during the week.<\/p>\n Austin have scored only 11 goals in league action, with Vazquez scoring four. He’s also added another three goals in a pair of US Open Cup<\/a> matches earlier this month. Yet, the forward is well aware that the expectation for him and for the attacking trio he forms alongside fellow winter arrival Myrto Uzuni<\/a> and Osman Bukari<\/a> is to be among the league\u2019s top scorers, not averaging less than a goal a game.<\/p>\n Vazquez said the team is starting to build an understanding, though it\u2019s coming together less quickly than they\u2019d like.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, it\u2019s felt like a slow progression. Ideally, we would be firing on all cylinders, all the forwards scoring goals every time we have a chance, you know?\u201d Vazquez said. \u201cBut we\u2019ve been figuring out the formation every single game, changing game plans every once in a while to try to see what fits best for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Having registered 18 goals with FC Cincinnati in 2022 and eight in 2023, then netting 14 during his year with Monterrey, Vazquez has shown he knows how to put the ball in the net and believes he\u2019ll be doing it more often with Austin very soon.<\/p>\n His head is in the right place, he says, as his family has fallen in love with the city of Austin. A couple of close friends recently moved nearby, and they\u2019re all enjoying checking out the area together. But it\u2019s not just good tacos and live music that has Vazquez in love with the city: It\u2019s the people working with the club and the fans who support it who immediately won him over.<\/p>\n \u201cMy family and I have felt so welcome from the second we got here, and it makes me want to give back to the city and to the team tenfold,\u201d he said. \u201cI pour myself, all of myself, into this team every single day in every way that I can, so I think the team is getting there.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is stuff we need to improve on, but I see the hunger all of us have to keep improving and keep fighting to win.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n ABSOLUTE SCREAMER FROM @Brvndonv<\/a>! ???? pic.twitter.com\/j7TFnMaABu<\/a><\/p>\nHappy homecoming<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Finding form<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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