Víctor Vázquez retires as player to become FC Santa Coloma head coach
The 38-year-old La Masia graduate announced his retirement in an emotional video and will concentrate full-time on managing FC Santa Coloma after.
Key Points
- Vázquez (38) has retired as a player and will become FC Santa Coloma’s permanent head coach.
- He announced the decision in a social media video, saying it’s driven by passion for coaching, not exhaustion or injury.
- Vázquez had been performing coaching duties following Albert Gómez’s dismissal; Àlex Moya will assist him.
- Former La Masia standout, Vázquez played for Barcelona, Club Brugge, Toronto FC, LA Galaxy and others and received wide support from peers.
Víctor Vázquez, the 38-year-old midfielder formed at La Masia who has been serving as president of FC Santa Coloma, has announced his retirement as a player and will take up the role of head coach of the Andorran first-division club. He made the decision public in an emotional video on social media, saying he will now concentrate fully on coaching.
The move formalises a transition the club had been signalling in recent weeks after the dismissal of Albert Gómez. Vázquez had already been performing coaching duties in recent fixtures; the club confirmed he will assume the role permanently and be assisted by Àlex Moya. Santa Coloma sit fourth in the league, five points behind the leader.
In his video message Vázquez described the opportunity as “a great door I had long dreamed of opening” and stressed the decision was not motivated by physical or mental exhaustion, despite an old knee injury that affected parts of his career. He added that his passion for football remains and that he was not saying goodbye to the sport, closing the message with “Thanks, football.”
Vázquez reviewed his career, recalling his first steps at FC Martinenc and Damm, his arrival at La Masia at 14, and his debut for Barcelona’s first team — including a goal at the Camp Nou in a Champions League match. Considered one of La Masia’s standout talents alongside a generation that included Lionel Messi, he went on to play abroad for Club Brugge (which he has called “my second home”), Cruz Azul, Toronto FC, Al Arabi, Umm Salal, LA Galaxy and East Bengal before moving to Andorra.
The announcement prompted numerous messages of support from former teammates and figures across the game, including Bojan Krkić, Carlos Martínez, Jonathan Soriano, Marc Muniesa, Rubén Miño and coach Felip Ortiz, while several of his former clubs issued words of admiration. Vázquez said he intends to “begin to write another great story” with FC Santa Coloma as he shifts from player-president to full-time manager.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: