Marco Vélez (born June 26, 1980, in Carolina) is a Puerto Rican former

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 lea ...

who played as a defender and currently works as

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

for Puerto Rico Surf SC.

Career

Youth and college

Vélez began playing soccer at an early age in Puerto Rico with Colegio San Jose, but moved to

Nick Bollettieri Nicholas James Bollettieri (July 31, 1931 – December 4, 2022) was an American tennis coach. He pioneered the concept of a tennis boarding school, and helped develop many leading tennis players during the past decades, including Andre Agassi, J ...

's IMG Soccer Academy when in high school. He then attended

Barry University Barry University is a private Catholic university in Miami Shores, Florida. Founded in 1940 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, it is one of the largest Catholic universities in the Southeast and is located within the Archdiocese of Miami. Th ...

from 1999 to 2001, playing on the men's soccer team. During his freshman and sophomore years he was named first team All Conference.

Professional

Vélez was drafted by the MetroStars in the

2003 MLS SuperDraft The 2003 MLS Superdraft was held January 17, 2003 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was the fifth annual SuperDraft held by Major League Soccer. Player selection ;Key Round One Round one trades Round Two Round two trades R ...

, but decided to sign with the Seattle Sounders of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

instead of playing in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. While a defender in college, Vélez played as a forward during the 2003 season, before returning to the back line in 2004. He helped the Sounders reach the league finals in 2004. Vélez signed with the

Puerto Rico Islanders The Puerto Rico Islanders were a professional association football team based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. They played in several different leagues from 2004 to 2012, when they suspended operations. In their last two seasons they played in the Nort ...

in 2005, where he scored 2 goals in 22 games playing as a defender. During the 2006 season, Vélez was instrumental in the Islanders' run to the playoffs and their qualification for the

CONCACAF Champions Cup The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

, the first time in team history they had qualified for either tournament. Vélez was selected to be the Islanders' captain during the CONCACAF Champions Cup qualifiers. During the 2007 season, Vélez scored one goal and added one assist in twenty-seven games. His everyday play as defender was crucial to the Islanders advancing for the first time in team history to the USL Semi-Finals. Velez led the Islanders in matches and minutes played. In July 2007, the

California Cougars The California Cougars were an indoor soccer team, founded in 2004. The team was a charter member of the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL-Pro), the first division of arena (indoor) soccer in North America. They played their home matches a ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League drafted Vélez in the sixth round (49th overall) of the league's supplemental draft., but he never played for the team. Vélez transferred from the Puerto Rico Islanders to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

in 2008, and in doing so became the first native Puerto Rican to participate in MLS. He made his MLS debut on 29 March 2008 in a 2–0 defeat to

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

. In his first season in Major League Soccer, Vélez started all the games in which he participated.

released Marco on August 13, 2009 and returned to his former club

. Vélez left Toronto with 38 appearances, 31 of those as a starter. The defender compiled 2,753 minutes and finished his time with the club with two goals, four cautions, and two ejections. In 2010, he re-signed with the Islanders.

International

Vélez made his debut for the

Puerto Rico national football team The Puerto Rico national football team () represents Puerto Rico in men's international Association football, football, and are governed by the Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol (). The team's nickname is ''El Huracán Azul'' meaning The ...

in 2004, and was named captain of the team by coach Colin Clarke in 2008. He scored his first and only goal at the

2012 Caribbean Cup The 2012 Caribbean Cup was the 17th edition of the Caribbean Cup, an international football competition for national teams of member nations affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) of the CONCACAF region. The final stage was hosted by ...

against

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Coaching career

While playing his last season in the Puerto Rico Islanders, he also served as assistant coach. In 2013 he assisted Jeaustin Campos with the Puerto Rico U-15 national football team. In 2015 he coached Bayamón FC. In 2016 he was appointed assistant coach for

Puerto Rico FC Puerto Rico FC was a professional football club based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Founded in 2015, the team played in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team debuted in the 2016 fall seas ...

. He served as assistant coach until early 2017 when he took charge as interim head coach. After finishing the season with Puerto Rico FC, the team announced that it wasn't coming back for the 2018 season. In January 2018, he returned as head coach for Bayamón FC. In June 2018, he took the role of assistant coach of the Puerto Rico national football team after former Toronto FC teammate

Amado Guevara Amado Guevara (born 2 May 1976) is a Honduran former professional footballer and manager. He was the coach of Puerto Rico from 2018 to 2019. A former midfielder, he is the second all-time cap leader for the Honduras national team seconded by ...

was appointed as head coach. In December 2018,

confirmed that Marco Vélez will coach the Puerto Rico national under-17 football team during 2019 World Cup Qualification.

Honors

Player

Toronto FC

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

Winner (1):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Puerto Rico Islanders

USSF Division 2 Pro League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

Champions (1): 2010 *

CFU Club Championship The Caribbean Club Championship, also known as the CFU Club Championship or CFU Club Champions' Cup, was an annual international football competition held amongst association football clubs that are members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). ...

::''Winner (1):''

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Coach

Bayamón FC

*Puerto Rican Football Federation Preparatory Tournament Champions (1): 2018

References

External links

*
Puerto Rico Islanders bio
*
2003 Sounder stats

2004 Sounder stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velez, Marco 1980 births Living people Men's association football defenders Barry University alumni IMG Academy Bradenton players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Sportspeople from Carolina, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican expatriate men's footballers Puerto Rican expatriate sportspeople in Canada Puerto Rican men's footballers Puerto Rico men's international footballers Puerto Rico Islanders players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Toronto FC players A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division players USL League Two players USSF Division 2 Professional League players New York Red Bulls draft picks