Mauricio Vincello (born August 19, 1977, in Salto, Buenos Aires,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

) is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defender.

Playing career

Vincello began his career in his native country in

with the youth teams of Defensores de Salto, and

San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Boedo neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team, which plays in the Primera División, the first tier of the Argentine foot ...

. In 2000, he was signed by the

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes D ...

after impressing at the Copa Latina tournament in Miami. With the Lynx he played in a minimum of 20 games per season from 2000 to 2003, and he averaged a total of 2,092.5 minutes spent on the field per season. He scored his first goal for the Lynx on August 29, 2003, against the

Calgary Storm The Calgary Mustangs (formerly the Calgary Storm and Team Calgary) were a soccer team in Calgary, Alberta, that played in the semi-professional Premier Development League, USL Premier Development League in 2001 and the professional A-League (199 ...

. On February 25, 2004, he was acquired by the Montreal Impact in exchange for

Andres Arango Andres Arango (born April 23, 1983) is a former soccer player who played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League, USL A-League, and the North American Soccer League. Arango is currently a coach with Florida Premier FC in the United Premier So ...

. During the 2004 season he was the Impact's best offensive defender with two goals and four assists over the regular season. He scored his first goal with the Impact May 28, 2004, in a 4–1 win over his former team the Toronto Lynx. As well helped the team collect a total of 19 shutouts, a league record at the time. During the playoffs, he started in all five games and he scored the game-winning goal in the championship game where the Impact won 2–0 against the Seattle Sounders to claim the championship. The following season he was one of four players to spend more than 2,000 minutes of play on the field over the regular season. For the second time in a row he was the Impact's leading scorer among the team's defenders with two goals and three assists. In 2005, he helped the Impact to a 15-game undefeated streak, which marked a new league record. As well win the regular-season title and the

Voyageurs Cup The Voyageurs Cup () is the domestic trophy for professional soccer in Canada, awarded to the best men's and women's clubs in the country. The Cup was conceived and commissioned by fans of the Canada men's national team, the Voyageurs, in 20 ...

. During the 2006 season he helped the Impact post the best defense in the league for a fourth straight year, allowing only 15 goals in 28 games, a team record first set in 2004 and tied for the first time last year. Also helped the Impact collect 16 shutouts in 28 games, the second best total in club history tied with last year's, and three behind the league record of 19 set in 2004. He was also named into the USL All-Star Team that played English club

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

to a 0–0 draw. And for the second straight year he helped win the regular-season title and help win his third

. At the conclusion of the season he was awarded the Giuseppe-Saputo Trophy as the Impact team MVP. In 2007, he scored two goals and added one assist in the first quarter-final game against 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 ...

winning the game 3–2, but in the second quarter-final Montreal were eliminated losing 3–0 to the Islanders on a 5-3 aggregate goals. His highlights during the season were on August 26, 2007, where he played his 100th game for the Montreal club, becoming the 12th player in Impact history to reach this mark. And he was selected four times to the USL D1 Team of the Week. On September 25 at the team's annual awards banquet he was awarded Montreal' Defensive Player of the Year award. Impact head coach quoted saying: "Mauricio showed once again this year that he is the best left back in the league. He was essential to the team’s success this season both defensively and offensively." On February 19, 2008, he announced his retirement from football. Vincello had a stint in the National Professional Soccer League with the short lived expansion franchise the

Toronto ThunderHawks Toronto ThunderHawks were an indoor soccer team based in Mississauga, Ontario that competed in the defunct NPSL. The team began play in the 2000–2001 season, with home games at the Hershey Centre. The team was owned by businessman Neil Jami ...

during the 2000-2001 winter indoor season. He helped the ThunderHawks reach the postseason by finishing second in the National Conference, and reached the Conference finals where they were defeated by the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...

Honors

Montreal Impact

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 ...

Championship (1):

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Commissioners Cup (2):

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Champions (4): 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

References

External links

Profile of Mauricio Vincello
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincello, Mauricio 1977 births Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Men's association football defenders Living people Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Footballers from Misiones Province Toronto Lynx players USL First Division players A-League (1995–2004) players Toronto ThunderHawks players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players