Nicolás Vélez
Nicolás Leandro Vélez (born 4 July 1990) is an Argentine professional soccer who plays for Felda United F.C.. as a forward, for 2020 Malaysian Super League seasons.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nicolás Leandro Vélez | ||
| Date of birth | 4 July 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position(s) | Forward , Second Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Felda United F.C. | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| River Plate[2] | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2012 | Huracán | 2 | (0) |
| 2013 | Atlético Sanluqueño | 8 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | Warriors | 38 | (29) |
| 2015 | NorthEast United | 14 | (5) |
| 2016 | Hajduk Split | 4 | (0) |
| 2016 | NorthEast United | 11 | (3) |
| 2017 | Suphanburi | 28 | (13) |
| 2018 | Negeri Sembilan | 14 | (8) |
| 2018–2019 | Belenenses SAD | 11 | (0) |
| 2020– | Felda United F.C. | 4 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 August 2019 | |||
Club career
Early football life
Velez is a product of the famed River Plate youth academy having played in the same team as Erik Lamela and Roberto Pereyra, before leaving for another top-tier Argentinian team, Huracan, in search of first-team opportunities.[2]
Huracán
Nicolás Vélez started his professional footballing career with Club Atlético Huracán at the age of 19.
Atlético Sanluqueño
After being released by his former club in Argentina, he joined Spanish 3rd tier club Atlético Sanluqueño. He left the club in 2013, saying there were “many problems” at the Spanish club, so he asked his agent to look at options elsewhere.[3]
Warriors FC
He signed for Warriors FC in the S.League in 2014.[4] He scored a hat-trick for the Warriors against Albirex Niigata (S) in a 4–0 victory, keeping them in contention of the title.[5] In his first season in Singapore, he scored an impressive 21 goals in 26 appearances, second only to Brazilian Rodrigo Tosi (24 goals) helping Warriors FC to the S.League title. Velez capped his first Asian campaign by being named S.League young player of the year.[6]
In the 2015 Singapore Charity Shield which doubled as the first league game of the 2015 season, Vélez scored the only goal of the match, winning the Shield and the first three points of the season for the Warriors.[7] He scored two goals in the next game, a 3–1 win over Harimau Muda.[8] He notched his sixth goal of the season on 24 April 2015 against fellow title contenders Brunei DPMM FC before earning a red card in the 69th minute following an on-field spat.[9]
The South American also earned call-ups to Singapore Selection sides that took on Juventus, Arsenal and Stoke City in the last 18 months.[10]
NorthEast United FC
In August 2015 Velez announced that he has decided to join Indian Super League side NorthEast United.[2] On his joining the Indian side he said "I'm very happy to have this chance, but I'm sad to leave Warriors, because I am leaving behind many friends in Singapore.I want to say 'thank you' to my club for giving me the chance to show what I can do alongside some of the best players in the world". After debuting on 6 October 2015 he scored his first goal on the same night in 82 minute with a losing effort against Kerala Blasters. He ended the season with 5 goals, marking his name as the top goal scorer for the club.
Hajduk Split
In January 2016, Vélez joined the Croatian First Football League club Hajduk Split and signed the contract with a two and half years.[11] He made his debut on 13 February 2016 in a 2–0 win against Slaven Belupo . On 30 June 2016, he was released from Hajduk.[12]
NorthEast United FC
In the third season of Indian Super League, Velez made his 2nd appearance for the club and assisted Katsumi Yusa for the first winning goal against Kerela Blasters on the night of October 1, 2016 when the season officially kick off. Velez was awarded the Hero of the Match in the 41st Match of the season between NorthEast United FC and Atlético de Kolkata.[13]
Negeri Sembilan
Velez joined newly promoted side Negeri Sembilan for the 2018 Malaysian Super League season after leaving Suphanburi at the end of 2017. He scored his first goal when playing against fellow promoted side, Kuala Lumpur in a 2–0 home win.
Belenenses
In January 2019, he joined Belenenses.[14]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 7 February 2018.[15]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Huracán | 2010–11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 2 | 0 | 1 | - | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Atlético Sanluqueño | 2012–13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| Total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 8 | 0 | |
| Warriors FC | 2014 | 26 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 21 |
| 2015 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 22 | 9 | |
| Total | 38 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 51 | 30 | |
| NorthEast United | 2015 | 12 | 5 | - | - | - | 12 | 5 | |||
| Total | 12 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 5 | |
| Hajduk Split | 2016–17 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 0 | |
| NorthEast United | 2016 | 11 | 3 | - | - | - | 11 | 3 | |||
| Total | 11 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 11 | 3 | |
| Suphanburi | 2017 | 28 | 13 | - | - | - | 28 | 13 | |||
| Total | 28 | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 28 | 13 | |
| Negeri Sembilan | 2018 | 14 | 8 | - | - | - | 14 | 8 | |||
| Total | 14 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | 8 | |
| Career total | 117 | 58 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 131 | 59 | |
rowspan="1"| NorthEast United |2019 |11||3||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||11||3
Honours
Individual
References
- https://int.soccerway.com/players/nicolas-velez/166613/
- http://news.asiaone.com/news/sports/s-league-warriors-argentine-hotshot-earns-big-money-move-indian-super-league
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Profile of Nicolás Vélez on Goal.com
- "Velez sends Warriors top". 27 April 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- http://www.sleague.com/news-features/news/2014/november/awards-night-signals-end-of-2014-s-league-season/
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Weaver: We Gave The Game Away". 24 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
- http://www.tnp.sg/sports/singapore-football/warriors-velez-set-indian-super-league-move#sthash.BacFyx4W.dpuf
- "Argentinac Velez potpisao ugovor na dvije i pol godine" (in Croatian). Hajduk.hr. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
- "NICOLAS VELEZ VIŠE NIJE IGRAČ HAJDUKA" (in Croatian). hajduk.hr. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- Team, ISL Media. "Hume rescues a late point for ATK against NorthEast - ISL News". www.indiansuperleague.com. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- "Avançado argentino Nicolás Veléz é o primeiro reforço de 'inverno' do Belenenses". www.rtp.pt (in Portuguese).
- "Nicolas Velez". Soccerway. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
- "Awards night signals end of 2014 S.League season". S.League. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
External links
- Nicolás Vélez at Soccerway