Juan Sergio Velazquez is a Mexican retired

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 played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

in the

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 ...

and Major Indoor Soccer League. Born in Leon, Guanejuato, Mexico, Velazquez's family moved to

El Monte, California El Monte is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of the city of Los Angeles. El Monte's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte" and is historically known as "The End of the San ...

when he was ten. He attended Rosemead High School in Rosemead, Ca. Rosemead H.S. did not have a soccer team at the time Velazquez attended but was scouted by UCLA while he played with the Valley Germans semi pro club when he was 17. He attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

where he played on the men's soccer team in 1971 and again in 1973 and 1974. He was a 1971 and 1973 Honorable Mention All American. Velazquez still holds the record for Most Goals in a season for UCLA scoring 28 goals in the 1973 season. On January 15, 1975, the San Antonio Thunder picked Velasquez in first round (second overall) of the

draft. Six days later, the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs were an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 North American Soccer League season, 1974 ...

traded

Luis Marotte Luis Marotte (born October 14, 1944) is an Uruguayan former association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Marotte played in the Canadian National Soccer League, National Soccer League in 1969 with Toronto Hellas. The follo ...

, Pedro Martinez, Renato Costa, Julio Cesar Cortez, Ricardo de Rienzo, Mario Zanotti and Blas Sanchez to the San Antonio Thunder in exchange for Velasquez and the Thunder's 1976 and 1977 first round draft picks. Velazquez spent two seasons with the Aztecs before being traded to the Seattle Sounders in exchange for Paul Gizzi on February 2, 1977. Velasquez also played one season for the Phoenix Inferno of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

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MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velazquez, Sergio Living people 1952 births American men's soccer players Los Angeles Aztecs players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Phoenix Inferno players Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players UCLA Bruins men's soccer players Sportspeople from El Monte, California Men's association football forwards 20th-century American sportsmen