Brandon Vazquez
Photography by Peter Bonilla.
We’re not even halfway through the year, and Brandon Vazquez has already set the record for the most goals in a single season in FC Cincinnati history. He’s one of the most in-form strikers in 2022, but what you see today is the result of years of perseverance and sacrifice. Stars aren’t made in a day, and the steps Brandon has taken in his 23 years have forged him into one of the league's most exciting prospects.
From the moment he could walk, Brandon remembers having a ball at his feet – and being born into a family that loved soccer, who can blame him. “I have a picture of me standing with a soccer ball and little Copa boots on that my parents got me. They also gave me my first Ronaldinho jersey before I knew who he was. As soon as I learned to use a computer, I would go on YouTube to watch Ronaldinho highlight videos. I was obsessed.”
Watching those highlights would then give Brandon new things to try when he faced off against his two brothers in their backyard. “I would try all his tricks in the backyard with my brothers. I could keep up with my brother, who was three years older, and we used to bully our younger brother off the ball. The competition was fierce in those games, but it was always a lot of fun,” he remembers.
From his first dribbles in the backyard, Brandon soon joined a local YMCA team to play against other kids his age. Even at that age, he was already showing promise as the player he'd one day become.
“I was scoring like five or six goals a game, and all the other parents would get super pissed. One day, they went up to my dad and told him I couldn’t play with them anymore and had to go up an age group. I went up, and it was the same thing. I ended up having to play with kids three years older than me when I was only seven.”
After a few years of playing at home and at his local YMCA, Brandon finally joined the club soccer scene in San Diego, where he again began to stand out from his peers. By the time he was 13, he made a move to play for Club Tijuana.
“I was still living in San Diego, but I was waking up at five every day to cross the border and train at seven in the morning. It was probably the best thing I could have done for myself,” he reflects.
As soon as he joined Tijuana, Brandon got to experience the life of a pro player. His demanding training sessions in the morning in Tijuana were complimented by private sessions in San Diego in the afternoons. Eventually, Brandon had to make the decision to transition to online school to be able to balance his academic and athletic goals. Despite having to sacrifice a regular school life, playing for Tijuana gave Brandon the opportunity to be exposed to Mexican culture, which had always been an important part of his identity.
“Playing there is just different than U.S. soccer. I was playing against many kids who saw soccer as their way out of poverty. They had a different hunger to succeed, and the intensity was just a different level. On top of that, it was great getting to travel throughout Mexico and see my family’s country.”
To this day, those moments on the road in Mexico stay with Brandon, and he confesses they were probably the most fun days of his youth.
“When I was playing for Tijuana’s second team, we would play in Sinaloa or cities like that. We wouldn’t fly, so we’d take a bus instead for like 28 hours just to get to a game. We would sleep on the bus, and sometimes there would be bugs all over the floor and the seats. It’s funny to look back at it now, but at the time, you’re not really thinking about why you’re even doing that. It’s just part of the journey. Playing and traveling in Mexico really shaped me. Those experiences definitely sum up part of who I am today.”
Throughout it all, Brandon’s parents -- who make him eligible to play for both Mexico and the US -- were certainly happy to facilitate anything that would help their son reach his dream of becoming a professional soccer player. “My parents did so much for me. When I was playing club, my mom would drive me an hour away to my practices two to three times a week, and when I played for Tijuana, my dad would drive across the border every day. They sacrificed so much for me to even have an opportunity, so I owe them a lot. It couldn’t have been easy also just to have me away traveling all the time, but they supported me every step of the way,” he says.
After three years at Tijuana, those efforts by Brandon and his family would finally be rewarded. After coming back from playing in the U-17 World Cup, Brandon was able to solidify his rise through the youth ranks at the club and make his debut for the senior side at just 17 years old. At the time, Brandon had also recently moved up to the U-19 USMNT, and his coach Brad Friedel would end up opening the door for Brandon to join MLS. Friedel recommended Atlanta United GM Carlos Bocanegra to pick up the young forward ahead of the club’s opening season, and before Brandon knew it, he was signing with the newest MLS franchise at the time.
“I was only 18, and I was so excited. I’d already been away from home a few times for IMG Academy and tournaments, but this was really the first time I was gonna be living alone. It was exciting to live on my own and get to experience what it’s like to be an adult and be responsible at the same time. I knew I needed to stay level-headed, keep my feet on the ground, and just keep grinding.”
Like any typical 18-year-old, though, the transition to living on his own had its ups and downs.
“My biggest struggle was learning how to cook. Thankfully, my mom came out with me, and we went to Target to get pots and pans. But I still had no idea how to use any of the kitchen stuff. I had seen my mom cook plenty of times, but I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know how often I was supposed to clean certain things and how to manage things in the kitchen, but I would call my mom whenever I needed help or when I wanted to learn how to make something. She was a lifesaver.”
Off the field, Brandon also used his newfound independence to focus on a few hobbies. “There was a lot to do in Atlanta, but for the most part, I would come home from training, finish up school assignments, and then play video games with my brothers back home. Fortnite had just come out, so we’d hop on and just play for hours and hours. My brothers and I don’t call or text that much, but we keep in touch by playing video games. At the time, we were really into Fortnite and Borderlands, and we would even stream on Twitch while I was back in Atlanta.”
Apart from the excitement of moving out on his own, finding himself at Atlanta United gave Brandon an extra dose of motivation.
“Seeing the stadium and the fans was something I had never experienced before to that extent. I had gotten glimpses at the U-17 World Cup in Chile and a little bit in Tijuana, but not to the extent I encountered in Atlanta. Our first-ever game was against the New York Red Bulls, and the stadium was exploding. I thought Bobby Dodd was gonna fall apart because of how loud it was.”
The experience under Tata Martino during his first year in MLS was also an important moment in his career.
“Before he even came in, we all had a huge amount of respect for him. And he set up his practices so that everyone was competing at the top level during those training sessions. It created an amazing culture, and we obviously had incredible players like Josef [Martinez], Miguel [Almiron], Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, you name it.”
By the end of the year, Brandon was able to lift his first trophy, and even if he wasn’t on the field for the grand final, the moment was special, nonetheless.
“I just remember being on the bench thinking, ‘Damn, I wanna go in so badly.’ I never went in, but then the final whistle blew, and we all erupted. The stadium was euphoric, it was insane. We must have celebrated for a full week after that. It’s a great memory for sure.”
While 2018 was a great year for Brandon to adapt to MLS and be part of a historic squad under Tata Martino, 2019 would see him start getting more minutes under Frank De Boer.
“Under Frank is when I started playing a lot more. I felt more comfortable, and it was surreal to be playing first division against big names, and we even won two more trophies,” remembers Brandon. Still, he decided to leave Atlanta the following year in search of new challenges.
“I knew with Josef there, I was never really going to be able to start, regardless of how good I was training. He’s just an incredible player in all regards. I let the team know I wanted to leave, and one day before the expansion draft that year, they took me off the unprotected list. FC Cincinnati worked out a deal, and I was excited because I knew I was going to have better chances at getting playing time. I was just looking for the best thing for my career, and that was it at the time.”
Still, the move to Cincinnati was not everything Brandon had initially imagined.
“My first two years here were definitely really hard. If I’m being honest, it was difficult going from a team that had won everything to a team where it was like winning a championship if we won a game. On top of that, I felt like in my first two years in Cincinnati, I was still in the same position I was at in Atlanta. I was just coming off the bench and only getting a few minutes here and there.”
All of these challenges on the field took a toll mentally, and adapting to the move to Cincinnati was a struggle for Brandon.
“I would drive back from training, and I would be in the worst mood ever. I would think the worst things like, ‘coming here was a mistake,’ and that sort of stuff. Thankfully, I had my fiancée living with me, and I would get home, and she would instantly put a smile on my face, and life would just get better. The next day would just be a fresh day to go grind again.”
“Soon enough, I was able to have a better mentality about my situation. I realized all I could do was control how I trained. Whatever starting XI the coach puts out, that’s his decision, and it’s out of my control. So I would just show up and train my ass off. I would stay extra time and just do everything I could to go the extra mile. But I’m not gonna lie, there were moments when it felt like all my hard work was for nothing because I was still not getting many minutes. It felt like nothing was going my way, so it was a lot of ups and downs during those first two years.”
Through it all, though, Brandon stayed persistent, always remembering that patience would eventually win out.
“Your opportunity might not be where you are at right now. Your opportunity might be six months down the road at your next team, or there’s an injury, and you get your chance right now. A good quote that kept me going was, ‘success is where opportunity meets preparation.’ You never know when your opportunity will come, but you always have to be prepared. That was my mentality.”
After two years of biding his time, Brandon finally got the opportunity he had so coveted in 2022.
After Chris Albright stepped in as GM at the end of 2021 and Tyrone Marshall took the reins of the squad as interim coach, both wanted to see Brandon play up top with Brenner. His first game up top with Brenner resulted in a fantastic goal that acted to lift Brandon’s spirits. He’d end the year on a three-game scoring streak that would serve as a glimpse of what was to come.
“Since I finished the year off really strongly in 2021, the new coaching staff gave me the opportunity again this year. I was prepared, and I started scoring again. I picked up where I left off, and it’s been such a great season so far. I just have to keep it going.”
One of Brandon’s most impressive performances this year came against Inter Miami, scoring a brace for the second consecutive week at the time. It was only a glimpse of what the 23-year-old would offer this season, and it also sparked a lighthearted meme amongst the FC Cincinnati faithful.
“I had just scored two goals, and they asked me what I’d had for breakfast that morning. I said pancakes, and that was it. Now I’m Mr. Pancake guy,” he laughs.
“And it’s funny because I don’t even like pancakes that much,” he confesses. “Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and I can probably list so many breakfast foods that I like more than pancakes. I love French toast, waffles, and chilaquiles. That’s probably my top three.”
Still, the pancake memes stuck, and Brandon has been scoring ever since, with little signs of slowing down.
While such a quick rise to being one of the top goal scorers in MLS can easily go to someone’s head, Brandon has been able to stay grounded.
“I just try to have the same routine and follow the same hobbies I’ve always had,” he says. No matter what goes on on the field, Brandon still takes time to play video games and even expand his enormous sneaker collection.
“I started collecting Vans at first when I was in middle school. Then, when I turned 14, I started getting into Jordans, heavily. At 16, I got my first Nike contract, and I blew through my allotment of store credit that they gave me. I must have twenty Jordans at this point and at least 100 shoes in my closet. I like to rotate them, so a lot of times, I will go a month without wearing a certain silhouette. I’m obsessed, but it’s just something that I love to collect and focus on outside of soccer.”
It’s clear that those longtime hobbies have played an important role in keeping Brandon at ease these past few months, but while he continues to bang in goals every weekend, he’s also picked up a new talent: playing the piano.
“I started getting weekly lessons a couple of months ago. I have a lot of free time since part of my job is to rest and recover, so I wanted to take advantage of that time by learning an instrument. Whenever I’d hear anyone playing piano, I would just be in awe. It’s such a classy instrument. I knew it was gonna be hard going into it, but if I just stick to it and stay dedicated, I can probably get pretty good.”
With that same outlook of persistence and dedication, Brandon understands that finishing out the year strong will be key for his soccer career too.
“I try to continue with the same mentality I had when I was still trying to break into the starting lineup,” he says. “Hard work beats talent, so I just continue to go in early and leave late. I feel like I still haven’t proven anything. It’s only been half a season, so there’s so much more for me to accomplish and prove.”
“I almost got called into these most recent USMNT games. I feel like if I keep grinding, there might be big things ahead at the club level and at the international level.”
With Brandon being eligible to play for both Mexico and the United States, it wouldn’t be a surprise if both national teams make a push to lock him down, especially if he continues his fantastic run of form.
When it comes to that next chapter of his story, though, Brandon remains coy. “I’ve had to think about that a lot recently,” he admits. “But that decision will have to wait.”
Photography by Peter Bonilla.
