Andy Baquero Ruiz (born 17 August 1994) is a Cuban 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 for
Vaughan Azzurri
Vaughan Azzurri is a Canadian semi-professional soccer team based in Vaughan, Ontario, that currently competes in the League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. The semi-professional team was founded in 2014 by the Vaughan Soccer Club, which ...
in
League1 Ontario
League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association.
League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...
In his youth, Baquero did karate and later baseball, before switching to football at age nine.
Club career
Baquero began his professional career at 18 with
La Habana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Villa Clara and
Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 191,081 (2022), it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños''.
History
Pinar del Río was ...
.
In 2019, he was granted permission to leave Cuba and go to the Dominican Republic where he went on trial with
Atlántico FC
Atlántico Fútbol Club is a People of the Dominican Republic, Dominican professional association football, football team based in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, founded in 2015. The team plays in the Liga Dominicana de Fútbol.
History
Foun ...
Liga Dominicana de Fútbol
The Liga Dominicana de Fútbol is the first professional football league in Dominican Republic, it was launched in March 2015. For sponsorship reasons it is known as ''LDF Banco Popular''.
History
Prior to the league's establishment, football in ...
for a half season, scoring three goals and adding two assists in nine appearances. He had previously received an offer from
A.D. Chalatenango
Asociación Deportiva Chalatenango is a El Salvador, Salvadoran professional association football, football club based in Chalatenango, Chalatenango, Chalatenango, El Salvador. The club formerly played in the top-tier Primera División de Fútbol ...
of the
Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador
The Primera División de Fútbol Profesional de El Salvador (First Division of Professional Football of El Salvador), more commonly known as La Liga Mayor or La Primera, also known as Liga Pepsi for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional ...
on a ten month contract, however, it was rejected by the
Football Association of Cuba
The Asociación de Fútbol de Cuba is the official governing body of the sport of football in Cuba including the Cuba national football team, Cuba women's national football team and Cuba national futsal team.
Association staff
Notable former ...
, due to concerns about the intermediary who sent the offer. In total, he had 4 contract offers that were rejected.
After his defection from Cuba to Canada, he began to work in construction, but also began to train with
Vaughan Azzurri
Vaughan Azzurri is a Canadian semi-professional soccer team based in Vaughan, Ontario, that currently competes in the League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. The semi-professional team was founded in 2014 by the Vaughan Soccer Club, which ...
of
League1 Ontario
League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association.
League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...
and was set to join them for their 2020 season, however, the season was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Ahead of the 2021 season, he went on trial with
Canadian Premier League
The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...
side
Valour FC
Valour FC is a Canadian professional soccer club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, which competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays their home matches at Princess Auto Stadium.
The team is coached by Phillip Dos Santos and community owned throu ...
. In June 2021, Baquero signed with the club. In his first season, he made 23 appearances for the side, playing the fourth-most minutes on the team. In January 2022, he re-signed with the club. Although the club had held a club option on his contract for 2022, they agreed to a new contract to retain him for 2023 as well.
International career
Baquero has played in the
2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship
The 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship determined the four CONCACAF representatives to advance to the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico. Jamaica staged the championship between 14 and 27 February.
The United States defeated Canada 3–0 in the ...
,
2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship
The 2013 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was an association football tournament that took place between February 18 and March 3, 2013. The CONCACAF U-20 Championship determined the four CONCACAF teams that would participate at the 2013 FIFA U-20 Wo ...
,
2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...
. In June 2015, he scored a goal in a friendly hosted in Cuba against
North American Soccer League
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to
1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...
club team
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to
* New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada)
* New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...
.
In 2016, he was recruited to join the Cuba national futsal team.
On 7 September 2019, following a match in
Toronto, Canada
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
in the
2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League
The 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League was the inaugural season of the CONCACAF Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 41 member associations of CONCACAF. The Nations League qua ...
against
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, Baquero defected from Cuba along with teammate Alejandro Portal and settled in Canada. As a result of his defection, he would be banned from representing the national team and from returning to Cuba (where the rest of his family was) for eight years until 2027. In November 2023, he was able reunite with his mother, who he had been unable to see due to his defection, when she came to Canada.
Personal life
Baquero is also a musician, releasing music under his stage name ''AB2''. In 2020, he was nominated by the Latin Awards Canada for the Breakthrough Artist of the Year in Canada. At the 2022 Latin Awards Canada, his song "Garantizo" was nominated in the Best Urban Pop Fusion Song and Best Music Video categories (winning the Best Urban Pop Fusion Song honour).
Career statistics
International goals
:''Scores and results list Cuba's goal tally first.''