Leandro Velázquez

Leandro Velázquez

Personal information
Full name	Leandro Sebastián Velázquez
Date of birth	(1989-05-10) 10 May 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Johor Darul Ta'zim
Youth career
	Vélez Sársfield
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2014	Vélez Sársfield	45	(3)
2010–2011	→ Newell's Old Boys (loan)	14	(1)
2012–2013	→ San Martín de San Juan (loan)	14	(0)
2014	Independiente Rivadavia	14	(1)
2015	Johor Darul Ta'zim II	29	(16)
2015	→ Johor Darul Ta'zim (loan)	2	(1)
2016	Deportivo Pasto	34	(5)
2016–2018	Veracruz	16	(1)
2018–2019	Rionegro Águilas	18	(3)
2019–2023	Johor Darul Ta'zim	77	(25)
International career^‡
2009	Argentina U20	9	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 July 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of malaysia

Leandro Sebastián Velázquez (born 10 May 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim 2024.

Club career

Vélez Sársfield

Leandro made his league debut for Vélez Sársfield in the week before his 19th birthday. He played in a 1–1 draw with Racing on 4 April 2008. He scored his first goal against Estudiantes de La Plata in the Torneo Apertura 2008 and was part of the winning team in the Torneo Clausura 2009. Leandro entered the field during the last game against Huracán when Vélez needed a victory to become champion, and was replaced by Leandro Coronel immediately after the team scored the winning goal.

Loan to Newell's Old Boys

Leandro was loaned for the 2009–10 season to Newell's Old Boys.[1]

Johor Darul Ta'zim

In October 2015, Leandro was called up in the starting eleven in the 2015 AFC Cup Final squad for Johor Darul Ta'zim, where he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory against Istiklol.

Deportivo Pasto

On 17 January 2016, Leandro left Johor Darul Ta'zim and joined Deportivo Pasto with free transfer fee.

Return to Johor Darul Ta;zim

On 21 February 2019, Johor Darul Ta'zim confirm the return signing of Velazquez in the Johor Darul Ta'zim squad.[2] On 30 April 2022, during the last fixture of the 2022 AFC Champions League group stage, he scored a free kick against 2021 K League 1 runners-up, Ulsan Hyundai which ended up with Johor progressing as group winners to the Round of 16.

International career

In January 2009, Leandro was selected to join the Argentina U20 squad for the 2009 South American Youth Championship in Venezuela. However, His team failed to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Having played in Malaysia since 2019, there is a possibility of Velázquez being naturalized as a Malaysian citizen in the future, thus enabling him to play for the Malaysia national team.[3][4]

Honours

Club

Vélez Sársfield

• Argentine Primera División: 2009 Clausura

Johor Darul Ta'zim

• AFC Cup: 2015
• Malaysia Super League: 2019, 2020, 2021,[5] 2022, 2023
• Malaysia Cup: 2019, 2022, 2023
• Piala Sumbangsih: 2020, 2021, 2022,[6] 2023
• Malaysia FA Cup: 2022, 2023

References

1. "Velázquez, con pilcha rojinegra" (in Spanish). La Capital. 23 June 2010. Archived from the original on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
2. "BREAKING: Malaysia Super League champions JDT confirm signing of former star Leandro Velazquez". Fox Sports. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
3. "Leandro Velazquez Bakal Jadi Bintang Naturalisasi Harimau Malaya?". MakanBola (in Malay). Retrieved 24 October 2023.
4. "TMJ syor Velazquez pemain naturalisasi terbaru". Harian Metro (in Malay). Harian Metro. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
5. "Johor Darul Ta'zim win 8th consecutive Malaysia Super League title". ESPN. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
6. "Charity Shield: JDT thrash KL City FC 3–0". Malay Mail. Retrieved 27 February 2022.

External links

• Leandro Velázquez at Liga MX (archive) (in Spanish)
• Leandro Velázquez at ESPN FC
• Argentine Primera statistics at Fútbol XXI (in Spanish) at the Wayback Machine (archived 2012-06-12)
• Leandro Velázquez at Soccerway