Braulio Vázquez returns to Valencia: his first stint and key signings

Braulio Vázquez has started a new spell at Valencia, as MARCA reports, after the club reached out in a “last resort” moment amid a crisis of sporting identity. The Galician returns with 13 more years of experience following his first period at Mestalla, which lasted 1,897 days between 2008 and 2013.

From 2008 to Nov 2013

His first arrival dates back to 25 August 2008, when Fernando Gómez—in charge of the club’s sporting side—called Vázquez to join the technical secretariat. According to the piece, Vázquez quickly became a key right-hand man inside a structure that had limited money.

The turning point came when president Manuel Llorente removed Fernando Gómez on 2 June 2010 “for financial reasons”, presenting Vázquez with the role of sporting director. MARCA describes a particularly tough financial stage, where Valencia had to sell key stars year after year to survive debts, including Villa, Silva and Mata.

Signings and a revolving bench

In that context, the article lists major names signed under Vázquez: Soldado, Aduriz, Tino Costa, Topal, Ricardo Costa and the “surprising” Jonas Gonçalves, described as a deal completed through persistence from Brazil for just €1.25m from Gremio. It also highlights Guardado, Joao Pereira, Jonathan Viera, Nelson Valdés, Aly Cissokho, Fernando Gago, plus later additions under tighter constraints like Michel Herrero, Dorlan Pabón, Postiga and Oriol Romeu.

End of the spell

On the coaching front, MARCA recalls Unai Emery until June 2012, then a short spell from Pellegrino until his dismissal in November 2012. Valverde arrived next and, as the piece explains, the move proved hard to prevent before he left in June 2013. Vázquez also brought in Djukic, but MARCA says Vázquez left about a month before the Serbian coach was ultimately sacked.

With Amadeo Salvo taking over, Vázquez’s influence faded. One of his final operations was signing Rubén Vezo, while the article adds that Salvo handed the sporting-director duties to Rufete. MARCA concludes that Vázquez was dismissed as sporting director on 4 November 2013. Now he returns—this time to tackle the club’s new challenge—with similar responsibilities, though “details are still missing” about how the new stage will be structured.