Emiliano Daniel Velázquez Maldonado (born 30 April 1994) is an Uruguayan professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for Mexican club Juárez.

Club career

Danubio

Born in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Velázquez graduated from local

Danubio F.C. Danubio Fútbol Club is a Uruguayan football club based in Jardines del Hipódromo, Montevideo that currently plays in the Uruguayan Primera División. Founded in 1932, the club's home stadium is Jardines del Hipódromo, which has a capacity ...

's youth system, and made his first-team debut on 3 June 2012, starting and being

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in a 2–1 away loss against

C.A. Bella Vista Club Atlético Bella Vista, usually known simply as Bella Vista is a Uruguayan football club based in Montevideo. The club plays its home games at Estadio José Nasazzi, which can hold 10,000 spectators. History Club Atlético Bella Vista was f ...

. It was his maiden appearance of the campaign. Velázquez appeared regularly in the 2012–13 season, appearing in 24 matches (all starts, 2106 minutes of action), as his side finished dead last in ''Apertura'' but was fifth in ''Clausura''. On 31 August 2013, he scored his first professional goal, netting the last of a 2–1 away win against Liverpool F.C. Montevideo; he was an ever-present figure during the club's winning campaign.

Atlético Madrid

On 27 August 2014, Velázquez signed a five-year deal with

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

, and the following day he was loaned to

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and op ...

for the 2014–15 season. He made his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

debut on 28 September, starting in a 1–0 home win against

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a association football, football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, ...

. Velázquez scored his first goal in the main category of Spanish football on 21 December, netting the last in a 1–1 draw at

Granada CF Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. (), known simply as Granada, is a Spanish football club based in the city of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, that plays in the Segunda División, after being relegated from La Liga in the 2021� ...

. After contributing with 27 appearances and avoiding relegation, his loan was extended for another year on 2 July 2015. After an unassuming loan spell at

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

side

S.C. Braga Sporting Clube de Braga () (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese f ...

, Velázquez returned to Getafe on 26 July 2017, also in a one-year loan deal. On 24 August, however, he joined

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

club

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Lig ...

on a season-long loan from the latter.

Rayo Vallecano

After contributing with two goals in 25 appearances as Rayo achieved promotion to the top tier as champions, Velázquez signed a three-year contract with the club on 23 July 2018. He would be mainly used as a backup to

Jordi Amat Jordi Amat Maas (; ; born 21 March 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim and the Indonesia national team. He spent the better part of his career with Espanyol and Swa ...

and

Abdoulaye Ba Abdoulaye Ba (born 1 January 1991) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays for Azerbaijani club Sabah FC as a central defender. Club career Born in Saint-Louis, Ba joined FC Porto's youth ranks in 2008, aged 17. He spent his first two ...

during the 2018–19 season, as the ''Franjirrojos'' were immediately relegated back. In July 2019, Velázquez suffered a serious

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury which sidelined him for the most of the campaign. He returned to action nearly a year later, and subsequently became a regular starter under

Andoni Iraola Andoni Iraola Sagarna (, ; born 22 June 1982) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a right-back, currently manager of Rayo Vallecano. Combative and with good passing skills, he spent the vast majority of his professional c ...

as the club achieved another promotion in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Santos

On 30 August 2021, Velázquez signed a contract with Brazilian club Santos until the end of 2022. He made his club debut on 18 September, starting in a 0–0 away draw against

Ceará Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...

. On 5 July 2022, Velázquez terminated his contract with Santos.

Juárez

On 12 July 2022, Velázquez switched teams and countries again, after signing for

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

side Juárez.

Nacional

On 8 September 2023, Velázquez moved to his home country after 9 years to play for

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

International career

Velázquez appeared with Uruguay under-17's in the

2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the fourteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and the eleventh played since the change in age limits from under 16s to Under 17s in 1991. It was held in Mexico with games being played amongst various venues ...

, being also his side's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He also played for the

under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

's in

2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...

hosted in Turkey. On 8 September 2013, Velázquez was called up to the main squad by manager

Óscar Tabárez Óscar Washington Tabárez Silva (; born 3 March 1947), known as ''El Maestro'' (The Teacher), is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player. He most recently coached the Uruguay national team. After an unassuming career as a ...

for a friendly against

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. He only made his full international debut on 10 October of the following year, starting in a 1–1 draw against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

at the

Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium ( ar, استاد الأمير عبدالله الفيصل) is a stadium in the port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The stadium is located in the south east of Jeddah, between King Abdulaziz University and the ind ...

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

Personal life

Velázquez's older brother Matías is also a footballer. A

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, he also represented Danubio. In September 2020, Velázquez acquired the Spanish nationality after six years living in the country.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Rayo Vallecano *

: 2017–18

References

External links

Profile
at the Uruguayan Football Association website {{DEFAULTSORT:Velazquez, Emiliano 1994 births Living people Footballers from Montevideo Uruguayan men's footballers Men's association football defenders Uruguayan Primera División players La Liga players Danubio F.C. players Atlético Madrid footballers Getafe CF footballers Rayo Vallecano players Primeira Liga players S.C. Braga players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Santos FC players FC Juárez footballers Uruguay men's youth international footballers Uruguay men's under-20 international footballers Uruguay men's international footballers Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico