Sebastián Velásquez (born 11 February 1991) is a Colombian 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 lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...

club

Greenville Triumph SC Greenville Triumph SC is a professional association football, soccer team based in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. The club began play in USL League One in 2019. History The formation of USL D3 was first announced in April 2017, and ...

Early life

Velásquez was born in the Colombian city of

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

and moved to the United States at a young age, with his family settling in South Carolina. As a freshman in high school, he was instrumental in winning a state championship with Greenville High School (Greenville, SC), where they also finished the year ranked No. 1 in the nation by the NSCAA. At the club level, he played alongside future

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

teammate Enzo Martinez, and they won a national championship in 2009. He then played at the junior college level for the Spartanburg Methodist Pioneers in

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 11th ...

Career

Velásquez was selected 36th overall in the

2012 MLS SuperDraft The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting a total of 38 ...

. On March 10, 2012, Velásquez made his professional debut in a start for Real Salt Lake against

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

. In the 73rd minute, he provided a cross that was turned into the net by Galaxy defender Sean Franklin and Real went on to win the game 3–1. On November 8, 2013, Velásquez scored his first

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional 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 sanctioned by the United ...

goal with a header during the second leg of the 2013 Western Conference semifinals against LA Galaxy. In December 2014, he was traded to

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

in exchange for allocation money. Velásquez was named NYCFC soccer player of the month by the Third Rail Supporters Club in March 2015. On January 15, 2016, Velásquez became the first player to be signed by NASL expansion side

Rayo OKC Rayo OKC, also known as Rayo Oklahoma City, was an American professional soccer team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They joined the North American Soccer League (NASL) – the second tier of the American soccer pyramid – beginning ...

. He was also the first player to appear on the NYCFC Fan Podcast on April 1, 2016, a milestone for the podcast. On January 16, 2019, Velásquez was announced as a new player for

K League 2 The K League 2 () is the men's second-highest division of the South Korean football league system. It is contested between thirteen professional clubs and operates on a promotion and relegation system with K League 1. History In 2011, the or ...

team

Suwon FC Suwon FC (; Hanja: 水原 FC) is a South Korean professional football club based in Suwon, that competes in the K League 1, the South Korea's top professional league. They play their home games at Suwon Stadium. History Early years: semi-profes ...

. This was Velásquez's first football experience outside the United States. After six months at Suwon, he announced in June 2019, that he had left the club and would return to the United States. On June 9, 2023,

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

club

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2014, b ...

announced the signing of Velásquez from

Memphis 901 FC Memphis 901 FC was an American professional soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. On November 13, 2024, it was announced that the team would be folding after they wer ...

ahead of the 2023 USL Championship season. Velásquez was released by Indy Eleven on November 30, 2023, following the conclusion of the 2023 season. In January 2024, Velásquez signed with

club

Greenville Triumph Greenville Triumph SC is a professional soccer team based in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. The club began play in USL League One in 2019. History The formation of USL D3 was first announced in April 2017, and league officials bega ...

Personal life

Velásquez was raised Catholic by his mother but left the Church in 2013 and joined another

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

denomination. His teammates nicknamed him the Colombian

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

. After a

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

at a Walmart in

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

in 2019, he helped raise funds for a girls' youth soccer team that was outside the store at the time of the shooting and took time to meet the players afterward.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Velasquez, Sebastian 1991 births Living people Former Roman Catholics Colombian Christians Footballers from Medellín Colombian men's footballers Real Salt Lake players New York City FC players Rayo OKC players Real Monarchs players Suwon FC players El Paso Locomotive FC players Miami FC players Bnei Sakhnin F.C. players Hapoel Umm al-Fahm F.C. players Memphis 901 FC players Indy Eleven players Greenville Triumph SC players Soccer players from South Carolina Colombian emigrants to the United States Real Salt Lake draft picks Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players USL Championship players Israeli Premier League players Spartanburg Methodist Pioneers men's soccer players Sportspeople from Greenville, South Carolina Colombian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Colombian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Colombian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Men's association football midfielders