Former Union prospect David Vazquez has made San Diego home. Now he dreams of making the U.S. Olympic team.

The success stories of the Union’s academy make it easy to forget that things don’t always go as planned.

One example of this returned about a month ago when the Union visited San Diego FC. The biggest headline was understandably Milan Iloski’s return to his former club. It was also former Union prospect David Vazquez’s first time facing the team that made a big investment to bring him over from California, then sold the attacking midfielder back west before he could crack the first team.

Vazquez knows better than most people that fate can have strange ways of working out. Back when the Union were scouting him in his native Los Angeles, he and his father were set to visit Mexican power Chivas Guadalajara, too. But they misplaced their passports in their luggage, so they had to cancel the trip. A few months later, they decided on the Union.

A year and a half after Vazquez turned pro in Chester, his path to first-team playing time as an attacking midfielder had a lot of people in front of him. So the club tried to shoehorn him into other positions, even outside back at one point.

As necessary as it may have felt, everyone knew it was a silly idea. So after a while, the decision was made to let him seek his fortune elsewhere. San Diego felt ideal: It was close enough to Vazquez’s hometown, and sporting director Tyler Heaps believes in strong youth development just like the Union does.

But the decision in Chester was not unanimous. Some club staff felt there was enough room to keep Vazquez and give him a shot in the attacking midfield rotation.

» READ MORE: Cavan Sullivan’s stunning first USMNT goal was part of an incredible game against Mexico

Two months after Vazquez departed, that case got a further justification that no one saw coming. When Quinn Sullivan tore his ACL, the Union needed another attacking midfielder, and couldn’t sign one since the transfer window was closed.

It was as easy to use hindsight back then as it is to say the Union are fine now because of Cavan Sullivan’s arrival. Both of those views are also equally unfair, since they don’t show the whole picture.

One of the missing elements is Vazquez’s own perspective. Now it can be added, as he recently spoke at length with The Inquirer about his journey.

“The memories I had there were some good positives and some good takeaways,” he said. “But I think just being in the academy has helped me develop to the player I am now. So I give all the thanks to them for helping me and improving my capabilities.”

» READ MORE: What sparked Mark McKenzie’s return to the Union? Being closer to ‘family,’ on and off the field

He saluted many friends and mentors, from Alejandro Bedoya to academy contemporaries Cavan Sullivan, Neil Pierre, and Frankie Westfield. They helped him on and off the field.

“All the mentors that helped me along the way, to get my homegrown contract over there, Bedoya and all them have helped me throughout the process,” Vazquez said. “I’m grateful for everything that I learned out there in Philly, because it was tough. I moved there when I was 15, and they helped me grow [to] an adult now.”

There was also special praise for Ryan Richter, who was the reserve team coach at the time and now leads the senior squad, and assistant Fred da Silva.

“I feel like they treated me with nothing but respect, and they really pushed me to be the best version of myself,” Vazquez said. “Even though I wasn’t getting that opportunity, they were really pushing for me to get a spot on that team. … I feel like Richter played a huge role in my development, but also the mental side of soccer. He’s been a player, he gets the players.”

» READ MORE: Before Ryan Richter became the Union’s interim manager, he was a hooper from Bucks County with Iverson-like swag

He added that he “couldn’t be more happy for Richter, for being able to get his hands on that first team head coach spot.”

Nor has Richter forgotten about Vazquez.

“When I worked with him here, I would say consistently he was the player in the league at the MLS Next Pro level, and he was consistently the best player in almost every single game for the 15- to 20-game stretch when I was coaching him,” he said. “He looks like a good player at this level, which we all knew that he could be. It’s just that the timing of it wasn’t right when he was ready to take that step [with the Union] — that’s the reality, and it goes like that sometimes.”

As a result, Richter said, “the club worked with him to find a place that he could take that step [at] and he could be successful.”

» READ MORE: In his rightful spot as the Union’s main striker, Milan Iloski is doing more than scoring goals

Vazquez admitted that when San Diego offered to acquire him, “it was an easy decision,” and his family was a big reason why.

“My family wasn’t always able to come to my games in Philly — the travel, it’s so far,” he said. “So I feel like when San Diego came with the offer, it made sense for me, and it made sense for my family, to be able to support me from so close. So for me, it was just, like, an automatic yes.”

Now they come to every game. Unfortunately, Vazquez’s minutes have dropped this year, but he hopes to earn his way back onto the field and help San Diego in the playoff race. With a busy October schedule coming, the opportunity could be there.

If it comes, it could open a door toward an even bigger opportunity. Vazquez very much wants to get a shot at making the U.S. Olympic team in 2028. The 20-year-old played for the U.S. under-17 and under-20 teams, including at both age groups’ Concacaf championships and the 2023 under-17 World Cup. The Olympics are an under-23 age group tournament on the men’s side, which means he’s right in the target range.

» READ MORE: A Bridesburg basement and three older brothers helped Cavan Sullivan become the future of U.S. Soccer

“That would be the goal,” he said. “But I’m always open to try new things, and especially with being Mexican American, there’s also open doors for Mexico. Like I said before, my goal is to make that Olympic team, and if it’s with the U.S., great, because they treated me perfect, and with the utmost respect.”

His mentioning Mexico was not a threat. It was a statement of fact. Mexican American players have faced the choice for decades, from José Francisco Torres in 2010 to Jonathan González in 2018 and many more.

This year alone, four such players made World Cup squads on either side of the Rio Grande: Ricardo Pepi and Alejandro Zendejas for the United States, and Brian Gutiérrez and Obed Vargas for Mexico.

The depth of emotion might not fully register for people who don’t feel it personally, but for those who do, it’s a huge deal. So it mattered a lot that Pepi made this year’s U.S. squad after missing out in 2022, and that Zendejas earned his way in after not being on Mauricio Pochettino’s rosters from September 2025 until this summer.

» READ MORE: For all the hype, Cavan Sullivan has genuinely earned his moment on the USMNT’s biggest stage

And it matters in turn that the U.S. program understands better than ever now just what it means to Mexican American players for this national team to want them.

“I feel like us Mexican Americans, there’s something about us. Obviously, the soccer culture in Mexico is huge out there. But I think us representing the U.S. and having also that Mexican culture in us is just willing to go out and fight.”

The way he said all that, it was impossible to avoid asking a tough but inevitable question. Deep down, isn’t the U.S. team what he wants?

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve built so many connections with the U.S., so I feel like I’m leaning right now towards them,” he said. “Just with the coaching staffs, the connections I’ve built, and also teammates, just being around the whole cycle. So, yeah, I could say as of right now, yeah, I’m leaning towards the U.S.”

» READ MORE: Union alum Auston Trusty embraces being a USMNT role model for Cavan Sullivan and Neil Pierre

It wasn’t just his words. It was the way he said them, the way he thought about them, the way his eyes hinted at something.

This Southern Californian with a taste of Philly in him can see a path beyond the mountains that soar above San Diego FC’s training facility. And if he can reach it, he knows how far he could go.

The Olympics’ group stage and quarterfinals will be in the eastern half of the country: New York, Columbus, Nashville, and St. Louis. San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium will host one of the semifinals and the bronze medal game, and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena will host the other semi and the gold medal game.

If Vazquez makes the Olympic team and helps the Americans make a run, he could play on his true home turf in the biggest games of his life.

“I feel like for me, every time I go with the U.S., I feel I have that passion to just go out there and do my best, especially with the crest on my chest,” he said. “I feel like playing for your country where you were born is huge, and it’s great for players like me that are Mexican American to go out and show what we can do. I’m just grateful, and hopefully I get that opportunity.”

» READ MORE: Follow the Inquirer's complete coverage of Union soccer right here!