Alejo Véliz (footballer)

Alejo Véliz (born 19 September 2003) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.

Alejo Véliz
Véliz training for Argentina U20 in 2023
Personal information
Full name Alejo Véliz[1]
Date of birth (2003-09-19) 19 September 2003[1]
Place of birth Gödeken, Argentina
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Tottenham Hotspur
Number 36
Youth career
2006–2009 MCSD Gödeken
2009–2019 Club UDC
2019–2021 Rosario Central
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2023 Rosario Central 53 (17)
2023– Tottenham Hotspur 3 (0)
International career‡
2023 Argentina U20 8 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 May 2023

Early life

Alejo Véliz was born in Gödeken, a small town in the Province of Santa Fe, about 120 km from the city of Rosario. When he was only three years old, he started playing football with his hometown club but at the age of six he moved with his family to Bernardo de Irigoyen, another town in Santa Fe, where he soon started playing at the Club Unión Deportivo y Cultural and continued there until he reached 16 years old.[2]

Club career

Rosario Central

In late 2019 Véliz had his first trials with Rosario Central,[2][3] but he only started playing for the club more than a year later as youth competitions had been halted by the covid pandemic.[4]

Véliz made his professional debut for Rosario Central on 23 July 2021, replacing Alan Marinelli during a 1-0 home victory against the Venezuelan Deportivo Táchira, in the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana.[2][3][5]

He played only a small number of games in the Primera División that season but it was during the next that he made a breakthrough, scoring his first goal on 2 May 2022 during the 2–1 away Copa de la Liga loss to Club Atlético Huracán.[2][3]

He scored his second in the next game, a 3-1 victory against Estudiantes, in a match that was also the last one of his idol and mentor, Marco Ruben, at the Rosario Central Stadium.[3][6][7]

On 21 July 2022, Véliz scored the only goal of Rosario Central's Primera División victory against Newell's Old Boys in the historic Clásico Rosarino.[2][3][5][8][9]

Tottenham Hotspur

On 8 August 2023, Véliz signed a six-year deal with English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in a transfer estimated to be worth £13 million.[10][11] Véliz made his debut for the club in a 2–1 home win against Liverpool, coming on as a substitute in the 90th minute.

International career

Véliz was first called up for the Argentina national under-20 team by Fernando Batista in October 2021.[9] He was selected again by the new U20 head coach Javier Mascherano in February 2022[12] and during the following spring.[13]

Véliz was once again called to the U20 squad under Mascherano in January 2023 for the South American U-20 Championship in Colombia in which Argentina was eliminated on the first round.[14] There he played all 4 matches, starting against Paraguay and Peru.

In May 2023, he was included in the Argentine squad that took part in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup tournament, hosted by Argentina.[15] On 20 May he scored his first goal of the competition in the 2–1 victory over Uzbekistan.[16] Three days later he scored again, this time in a 3–0 win against Guatemala.[17]

References
  1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2023™ SQUAD LIST: Argentina (ARG)" (PDF). FIFA. 22 May 2023. p. 1. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  2. "De jugar en el club de su pueblo a ser el héroe de Rosario Central en el clásico: la historia de Alejo Véliz". TyC Sports (in Spanish). 22 July 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  3. "Alejo Veliz entre lágrimas: 'Soñé toda la vida con esto'". Olé (in Spanish). 21 July 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  4. Sacchi, José Pablo (22 July 2022). "La historia de Alejo Véliz, héroe canalla del clásico: el pibe que bailaba malambo y jugaba en el club del pueblo". Rosario3 (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  5. Lopesino, Juan (27 July 2022). "Alejo Véliz, el gran arma de Carlos Tevez". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  6. "Central ganó y Ruben convirtió en su despedida". Cadena 3 Argentina (in Spanish). 7 May 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  7. "Véliz: «Mi ídolo es Marco Ruben, nos escribe siempre para saber cómo estamos»". Diario Digital Conclusión (in Spanish). 22 July 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  8. "La emoción de Alejo Veliz tras darle el triunfo clásico a Rosario Central". El Gráfico (in Spanish). 21 July 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  9. ""Soñé toda la vida con esto": las lágrimas de Alejo Véliz, autor del gol con el que Central le ganó el clásico de Rosario a Newell's". infobae (in European Spanish). ESPN. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  10. "Veliz signs from Rosario Central". Tottenham Hotspur. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  11. "Striker Veliz joins Tottenham". BBC Sport. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  12. "Los 23 citados en la primera lista de Mascherano". Olé (in Spanish). 3 February 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  13. Mendoza, Rodrigo (21 May 2022). "Rosario Central: sin refuerzos, puntapié inicial a la pretemporada". TyC Sports (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  14. "Lista oficial de convocados de la Selección Sub 20 para el Sudamericano". AFA. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  15. "Lista de convocados para el Mundial Sub 20". AFA. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  16. "La Selección Argentina debutó en el Mundial con un triunfo sobre Uzbekistán por 2 a 1". AFA. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  17. "La Selección Argentina goleó 3–0 a Guatemala y ya está clasificada para la próxima fase". AFA. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
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