Brandon Vazquez gets "special" San Diego homecoming with Austin FC | OneFootball

By Jon Arnold

To play for his hometown club growing up, Brandon Vazquez had to leave the country. Every day.

His parents would take him from the family home in Chula Vista to the border line, where he’d walk into Mexico, then take a taxi or Uber to Club Tijuana’s training facilities for the final leg of the trip. After sessions, he’d repeat it in reverse, the opposite commute many make daily at the world’s busiest border crossing.

Happy homecoming

Now, there’s no need. In fact, MLS expansion team San Diego FC has kids going the opposite direction, wooing talents from Baja California north to their new facility. And while Vazquez cherishes his own experience, he says he probably wouldn’t let his own kids follow in his footsteps.

“There was so much talent in San Diego, a crazy amount of talent," Vazquez said. "The closest professional team was Tijuana. A lot of people, including my family, if we wanted to watch a soccer game, we’d cross the border.

"Crossing the border every single day to go play was a journey, an adventure. I think it’s really cool players growing up in San Diego now have something more local than going to a different country, something to look up to.”

Vazquez will represent the visiting team in Saturday’s showdown between San Diego FC and Austin FC (10:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass), but there are plenty of fans in San Diego who look up to their native son. After leaving Xolos, Vazquez went on to a strong MLS career with Atlanta United and FC Cincinnati, then returned to LIGA MX with CF Monterrey. He arrived in Austin this winter as a then club-record signing. This weekend, he's back home.

Vazquez said he’s most excited to see his parents, whom he hasn’t seen in several months, but is trying to wrangle up 25 tickets for the match for other family and friends.

“Going back and playing in my hometown is going to be incredible. Growing up, I would’ve never thought San Diego would have a team. Now that there is one, being able to play in front of my family is special,” he said. “I’m excited for it.”

Finding form

The match won’t simply be a nice reunion, as it's also a critical Western Conference contest. Austin sit just outside the Audi MLS Cup Playoff places, going into the weekend on the back of four straight stalemates, while San Diego are second in the conference but suffered a 1-0 reverse in Seattle during the week.

Austin have scored only 11 goals in league action, with Vazquez scoring four. He's also added another three goals in a pair of US Open Cup matches earlier this month. Yet, the forward is well aware that the expectation for him and for the attacking trio he forms alongside fellow winter arrival Myrto Uzuni and Osman Bukari is to be among the league’s top scorers, not averaging less than a goal a game.

Vazquez said the team is starting to build an understanding, though it’s coming together less quickly than they’d like.

“Unfortunately, it’s felt like a slow progression. Ideally, we would be firing on all cylinders, all the forwards scoring goals every time we have a chance, you know?” Vazquez said. “But we’ve been figuring out the formation every single game, changing game plans every once in a while to try to see what fits best for us.”

Having registered 18 goals with FC Cincinnati in 2022 and eight in 2023, then netting 14 during his year with Monterrey, Vazquez has shown he knows how to put the ball in the net and believes he’ll be doing it more often with Austin very soon.

His head is in the right place, he says, as his family has fallen in love with the city of Austin. A couple of close friends recently moved to the area, and they’re all enjoying checking out the area together. But it’s not just good tacos and live music that has Vazquez in love with the city: It’s the people working with the club and the fans who support it who immediately won him over.

“My family and I have felt so welcome from the second we got here, and it makes me want to give back to the city and to the team tenfold,” he said. “I pour myself, all of myself, into this team every single day in every way that I can, so I think the team is getting there.

“There is stuff we need to improve on, but I see the hunger all of us have to keep improving and keep fighting to win.”

Playing spoiler

His goal is to help the Verde & Black rack up goals and wins for a long time. Even so, the existence of the home team Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium is something he never thought he’d see when he was growing up and making those international training trips.

Would he be wooed back to America’s Finest City by the siren song of the Pacific Coast and regularly playing in front of the loved ones who are supporting him on Saturday?

“Maybe. I’ll always keep my options open. Playing in San Diego, my hometown, it sounds amazing. Maybe one day, but my full focus is here in Austin,” he said. “My family and I have really loved it here, and every week we’re getting out more and more to explore. It just feels like I’m meant to be here right now.”

Already this month, Vazquez has scored against his former club, converting from the spot against Cincinnati. Now, he’ll look to spoil another of his own homecomings. Those days of flashing his passport, hopping into a cab, training on the Caliente turf, then heading back to the U.S. all led him to this place, where he hopes to ruin the weekend of his hometown fans.

But it will all be worth it if he hears 25 fans in the crowd celebrating.

WATCH: Brandon Vazquez opens Austin FC account in style!