Vicente Martín Sánchez Bragunde (; born 7 December 1979) is a Uruguayan former 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 ...
who last played as a
right winger
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
Rio Grande Valley FC Toros
Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, is an American semi-professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the USL Championship in the 2016 season.
The team served as a ...
in the
USL Championship
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...
. He has the second most goals all time for
Deportivo Toluca
Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Club Deportivo Toluca, is a Mexican football club, playing in the Primera División de México, the top-flight of Mexican football. Toluca's stadium, Estadio Nemesio Díez Riega ...
and the eighth most appearances for Toluca.
Club career
Sánchez was born in
Montevideo. He played for
Sud América,
Tacuarembó
Tacuarembó ( Guarani: ''Takuarembo'', literally: "Bamboo shoot") is the capital city of the Tacuarembó Department in north-central Uruguay.
Location and geography
The city is located on Km. 390 of Route 5, south-southwest of Rivera, the c ...
,
Deportivo Toluca
Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Club Deportivo Toluca, is a Mexican football club, playing in the Primera División de México, the top-flight of Mexican football. Toluca's stadium, Estadio Nemesio Díez Riega ...
,
FC Schalke 04,
América and
Nacional. On 18 January 2008, he joined German club
Schalke, where he remained for two seasons. He played in Mexico again for Club América. On 1 August 2010, he scored his first goal for Club América in a match versus
Chiapas.
Sánchez made the move to
Major League Soccer on 6 August 2013 when he signed for
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...
. On 14 September 2013, he scored his first goal for Colorado and forced an own goal in a 2–1 win over
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...
. He quickly became an integral part of the team and became the designated penalty taker. To start the 2014 season Sanchez scored 4 pk goals in the first 3 games for Colorado.
Even with his play time being carefully managed and his appearances limited to substitutions in the last half of most games, Sánchez was a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...
2015 Major League Soccer season. Despite being a crowd favorite with the
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...
fans and the #2 scorer for the team, Sánchez's 2016 contract option was declined as the
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...
front office set out to acquire new talent in the form of players such as
Marco Pappa
Marco Pablo Pappa Ponce (born 15 November 1987) is a Guatemalan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga Nacional club Achuapa.
Club career
Born in Guatemala City, Pappa, who plays as a winger, joined his local side, Munic ...
,
Shkëlzen Gashi
Shkëlzen Taib Gashi (born 15 July 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and forward for Swiss club Aarau. Born in Switzerland, he has represented the Albania national team.
Club career Early career and Zürich
Gashi wa ...
,
Jermaine Jones
Jermaine Junior Jones (born November 3, 1981) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defensive midfielder.
Born in Germany to an American father and German mother, he came up through the German club system and represe ...
and
Tim Howard. Sánchez went through the MLS Re-Entry Draft but was not selected by any other team.
He joined his hometown club
Defensor Sporting
Defensor Sporting Club is a sports club based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Founded in 1913, Defensor has several sports sections, with football and basketball being the most important and the ones in which the club has achieved significant achievem ...
for the 2016
Primera Division Clausura season and helped his team finish fourth, qualifying for the
2017 Copa Sudamericana
The 2017 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 16th edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the ''Copa Sudamericana'', or pt, Copa Sul-Americana), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.
Argent ...
.
Sánchez returned to MLS and joined the
Houston Dynamo for the 2017 season. He helped the Dynamo reach the playoff and got the game winning assist in their opening game versus
Sporting Kansas City.
On 2 April 2021, it was announced that Sánchez would come out of retirement to play and coach for
USL Championship
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...
side
Rio Grande Valley FC.
International career
He played for
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguay national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Uruguay) represents Uruguay in international football, and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The Uruguayan team i ...
in the
2007 Copa América and has won 31 caps for the national side, scoring five goals.
International goals
, -
, 1, , 13 July 2004, ,
Estadio Miguel Grau,
Piura, , , , 2–2, , 2–4 (L), ,
2004 Copa América
The 2004 Copa América was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held i ...
, -
, 2, , 24 July 2004, ,
Estadio Garcilaso de la Vega,
Cuzco
Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...
, , , , 1–2, , 1–2 (W), ,
2004 Copa América
The 2004 Copa América was the 41st edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body, and was held i ...
, -
, 3, , 18 October 2006, ,
Estadio Centenario
Estadio Centenario is a stadium in the Parque Batlle of Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centenary of Ur ...
,
Montevideo, , , , 1–0, , 4–0 (W), ,
Friendly
, -
, 4, , 30 June 2007, ,
Estadio Polideportivo,
San Cristóbal, , , , 0–1, , 0–1 (W), ,
2007 Copa América
, -
, 5, , 13 October 2007, ,
Estadio Centenario
Estadio Centenario is a stadium in the Parque Batlle of Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centenary of Ur ...
,
Montevideo, , , , 4–0, , 5–0 (W), ,
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
Personal life
Sánchez holds a
U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.
Honours
Toluca
*
Primera División de México:
Apertura 2002,
Apertura 2005
*
CONCACAF Champion's Cup:
2003
Schalke 04
*
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
: Runner-up
2009–10
Uruguay
*
Copa América Third Place:
2004; Fourth Place:
2007
Individual
*
Mexican Primera División Golden Ball:
Apertura 2006
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Vicente
1979 births
Living people
Men's association football forwards
Colorado Rapids players
Club Nacional de Football players
Houston Dynamo FC players
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
Uruguayan Primera División players
Bundesliga players
Liga MX players
Major League Soccer players
Sud América players
Footballers from Montevideo
FC Schalke 04 players
Tacuarembó F.C. players
Deportivo Toluca F.C. players
Club América footballers
2004 Copa América players
2007 Copa América players
Uruguay men's international footballers
Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers
Uruguayan men's footballers
Rio Grande Valley FC Toros players