Nicolás Mezquida

Gabriel Nicolás Mezquida Sero (born January 21, 1992) is a Uruguayan footballer who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Colorado Rapids.

Nicolás Mezquida
Personal information
Full name Gabriel Nicolás Mezquida Sero
Date of birth (1992-01-21) January 21, 1992
Place of birth Paysandú, Uruguay
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Colorado Rapids
Number 20
Youth career
2005–2008 Peñarol
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2012 Peñarol 3 (1)
2011 → Brann (loan) 3 (0)
2011 → Lillestrøm (loan) 1 (0)
2012–2014 Fénix 14 (1)
2013 → Rampla Juniors (loan) 24 (7)
2014 Boston River 0 (0)
2014–2018 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 101 (12)
2015 → Whitecaps FC 2 (loan) 1 (0)
2019– Colorado Rapids 49 (5)
National team
2008–2009 Uruguay U17 5 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 8, 2020

Club career

Mezquida began his career in the youth academy of C.A. Peñarol in 2006,[1] before being promoted to the first team in the 2008 season.[2] On January 22, 2009, at the age of 17, he signed a pre-contract with Schalke 04 worth a reported €2 million with the intent of joining the club at the end of the year.[3][4] However, he changed his mind and decided to remain with C.A. Peñarol in South America.[5] During his time with Peñarol, he had two loan spells with Norwegian clubs Brann and Lillestrøm. He joined Fénix in 2012, scoring one goal in 14 matches for the club. He was loaned out to Rampla Juniors in 2013 and scored seven goals in 24 matches for the club.[1]

In September 2013, after leaving Fenix,[6] Mezquida went on trial with Celtic of the Scottish Premiership but was ultimately not signed,[5] potentially because of work permit eligibility issues, since he had not featured for the senior national side of Uruguay.[7]

On February 5, 2014 Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer announced that they had signed Mezquida along with fellow Uruguayan Sebastián Fernández[8] on a transfer from Boston River of the Uruguayan Segunda División where he had been playing since leaving Fenix.[9] Mezquida went on to play five seasons for Vancouver, making 103 regular and postseason appearances, scoring 14 goals and adding four assists.[10]

On December 9, 2018, Mezquida was traded along with $100,000 in TAM to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for Zac MacMath.[11] In 2019, Mezquida made 32 MLS appearances while adding four goals and six assists - all career highs. In 2020, Mezquida made 17 appearances, 16 of them as a substitute, including in Colorado's first-round playoff loss at Minnesota United FC. Mezquida made his 150th career MLS regular season appearance on Nov. 8 at Houston Dynamo.[12]

International career

Mezquida excelled whilst playing for Uruguay at U-15 level, scoring ten goals in 12 appearances, and was the top goal scorer at the 2007 South American Under-15 Football Championship, helping them finish as runners-up. He also played for the U-17 team at the international level.[13]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played November 23, 2020[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Playoffs National Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Brann (loan) 2011 Eliteserien 10—00—10
Lillestrøm (loan) 2011 30———30
Fénix 2011–12 Primera División 80———80
2012–13 61———61
Total 141000000141
Rampla Juniors (loan) 2013–14 Segunda División 102———102
Vancouver Whitecaps 2014 MLS 142—20—162
2015 181002020221
2016 284—3240356
2017 2022221—245
2018 213—30—243
Total 10112221236012117
Colorado Rapids 2019 MLS 324—11—335
2020 17110——181
Total 495101100516
Career total 17820321346020026

References
  1. "Whitecaps Profile". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  2. Nicolás Mezquida at noticiasmanyas.com Archived April 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Walker-Roberts, James. "Schalke Sign Striker Nicolás Mezquida". goal.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2014.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. Schalke Sign Striker Nicolás Mezquida
  5. Gunn, David. "Celtic take striker Nicolas Mezquida on trial". scotsman.com. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  6. O'Rourke, Pete. "Scottish football: Celtic have taken Uruguayan striker Nicolas Mezquida on trial". Sky Sports. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  7. Grahame, Ewing. "Teemu Pukki shows Celtic the way forward". The Telegraph. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  8. "Vancouver Whitecaps FC add Uruguayans Sebastián Fernández and Nicolás Mezquida". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  9. Tucker, Cam. "Whitecaps acquire pair of players from Uruguay". metronews.ca. Metro News. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  10. "Nicolas Mezquida".
  11. "Whitecaps FC acquire goalkeeper Zac MacMath from Colorado Rapids". whitecapsfc.com. Vancouver Whitecaps FC. December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  12. "Nicolas Mezquida Instagram".
  13. "Schalke 04 verpflichtet zwei Talente" [Schalke 04 commits two talents]. goal.com (in German). Goal. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  14. Nicolás Mezquida at Soccerway. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
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