They call him “the nomad of football”, but the difficulties for him do not stop at the sudden change of city. For Johan Vásquez, the goal scored yesterday afternoon on his debut has rather the stigmata of a liberation: the problems faced in his career, the auditions not passed, an annoying mastitis that happened to him years ago and, last but not least, the linguistic obstacles that seemed to postpone his debut indefinitely, net of the adaptation to Italian football.
Everything – or a lot, at least – relieved by a precise, settled head shot at 90 ‘split on Sunday 17 October 2021, on a corner kick painted by Nicolò Rovella. Six Mexicans in Serie A have seen six and, with the exception of the Neapolitan Lozano, none had managed to score: Johan, a professional defender like the other four predecessors (Miguel Layún, Héctor Moreno, Carlos Salcedo and Rafa Marquez), waited the last regulation minute of the first match played from the start. Longed for, judging by the popular furor that has accompanied him on social media since he arrived in Genoa, between the Mexican flags and Methane Johan desired by compatriots. An obligation, almost, more than a request to Ballardini. All fulfilled. Vásquez starter against Sassuolo and goals aside, a match of substance: 94.6% of passes successful, 30% of aerial duels won, 3 interceptions and 4 tackles.
Pumas, Monterrey, Tigres, Cruz Azul, Cimarrones (not in order), but now Genoa. A journey that starts from a promise made by Johan to his father, Rigoberto, interviewed by ESPN. And if Johan was born on October 22, 1998 in Navojoa, a municipality of about 170,000 inhabitants in the state of Sonora (northern Mexico), at 9 he moved to the center of the country, in the state of Hidalgo, to break into the world of football: after twelve months, however, he suffered from mastitis which forced his mother to take him home. Having recovered, Vásquez left his family again, this time in the direction of Mexico City. An observer had brought him here, Mr. Jorge Valtonrá: “The following year, however, Valtonrá was fired and the club decided that all players who were not originally from Mexico City should leave, because the club would not have paid accommodation to footballers from outside, ”Rigoberto Vásquez told ESPN. Johan included.
Also in the capital, together with his brother, Vásquez auditioned for Cruz Azul: «Normally the skinny boys did not pass the medical tests“. So, if his brother passed that audition, 16-year-old Johan returned to Navojoa. But without putting aside his dream. And the following year he signed a contract with Cimarrones, as a free agent. “This is a semi-annual contract as a professional,” he always tells a ESPN the director of Cimarrones, Alan Rivera, who remembers having also said to him: “Jugando en Liga de Ascenso [Serie B messicana, n.d.a.], en dos años debutarás en Primera División ». And his coach Mario García had no doubts even then: «Johan has a willpower that no one can beat. Johan is like that, he’s not afraid of anything».
Hence Vásquez’s career continued at Monterrey: debut on 6 October 2018, two years at Striped, then 2020/21 for the Pumas and on 16 August 2021 Genoa, not before the bronze obtained with his national team at the Tokyo Olympics. The rossoblùs, Europe, an important leap. Decisive. So much so that Rivera always said today: «The steps that Johan took served him, he strengthened himself in each of them. Genoa is an ideal club for him, gives young people the opportunity to play and then sell them to more important clubs ».
