Goa, June 27, 2022: On Friday, June 24, Indian Super League (ISL) outfit FC Goa confirmed the signing of Alvaro Vazquez on a two-year deal that runs till the summer of 2024.

The Spanish striker is already a well-known face in the ISL, having played a key role at Kerala Blasters in the 2021-22 season. An important part of the Southerners’ squad then, he netted eight goals and registered two assists as the team made their first final appearance since 2016.

“I’m extremely happy to join FC Goa. The club has an ambitious project and a playing style that I love. I’m convinced that I can be the best version of myself here,” Vazquez said after putting pen-to-paper on his contract at the Club.

In a bid to introduce the new signing Alvaro Vazquez to the FC Goa faithful, fcgoa.in takes a look at 10 things to know about him:

1. Alvaro Vazquez has played alongside former Gaurs, Ferran Corominas and Adrian Colunga. Colunga and Vazquez were teammates at Getafe, while he partnered with Corominas at Espanyol. Looks like he was always destined to be a Gaur!

2. Over the years, Vazquez has played under several top football coaches in the world. During one of his stints at Espanyol, the striker learned the ropes under Mauricio Pochettino. Michel Laudrup was the manager at Swansea City during Vazquez’s loan move to the Premier League outfit. Quique Sanchez Flores, the current manager of Getafe, has coached Vazquez twice – once each at Espanyol and Getafe.

3. Alvaro Vazquez won the UEFA U21 EURO Championship with Spain in 2013. He was part of a star-studded side that included the likes of Alvaro Morata, Isco, Thiago Alcantara, Marc Bartra, Alberto Moreno, David de Gea, etc. and scored a goal against The Netherlands in the group stages.

4. The former Spain junior international was the joint-top-scorer at FIFA U20 World Cup 2011, with five goals. The likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Oscar, Philippe Coutinho, James Rodriguez, Mohamed Salah and Antoine Griezmann also played in the same tournament, but all of them had fewer goals than Vazquez!

5. At the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2011, Alvaro Vazquez was part of the Spain squad that also featured Cristian Tello, Isco, Sergio Canales, Koke, Sergi Roberto and Marc Bartra among others. Two of his highlights from the tournament are a 12-minute hat-trick against Australia in the group stages, and the penalty in the shootout against South Korea in the Round-of-16 that took Spain to the Quarter-finals.

6. Vazquez scored one of the biggest goals of his club career on January 8, 2012, when he netted against a super-strong Barcelona side that included Leo Messi, Carles Puyol, Victor Valdes, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Javier Mascherano, Sergio Busquets etc. to equalise for Espanyol in LaLiga.

7. In the 2021-22 ISL season, the Spaniard represented Kerala Blasters in 23 matches and clocked 1848 minutes. His tally of 32 on-target shots was the joint-highest that season.

8. On February 4, 2022, the 31-year-old set the record for the longest goal of all time in the Indian Super League, finding the back of the net with a thunderous strike from 59 metres out in a clash between Kerala Blasters and NorthEast United.

9. Alvaro Vazquez’ overall stats in club football: 64 goals and 16 assists in 322 matches, including 154 appearances in LaLiga and 12 in the Premier League.

10. Alvaro Vazquez’ overall stats in international football: 16 goals and 3 assists in 22 matches. He has played for Spain in the U19, U20 and U21 levels.