SAN JOSE, Calif. — Daniel Vega was on the brink of never playing for the San Jose Earthquakes.
A “massive” deal for the Argentine goalkeeper to play overseas in Japan was on the table following a brief season with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. And as the days went by, the time for him and his family to make up their minds was quickly running out.
Then, the phone call came. It was from an old friend, teammate and coach he hadn’t heard from in a long time, Matias Almeyda.
“[He told me], ‘would you like to be a part of a new project I’m starting?'”, Vega recalls. “He was very confident about it and said it [involved] very good players. He wanted to trust in me.”
In that specific moment, Vega admits he didn’t think twice about ‘El Pelado’s’ proposal. After all, he was familiar with his philosophy and knew that the “capacity” of the coaching staff was of high standards. It was an easy-breezy “yes.”
Precognition, however, could have saved him from what was to happen shortly after his arrival.
Just four games into his new adventure, Vega — along with his team — were hobbling: four-straight losses and 14 goals conceded. To make matters worse, during that same time span, ‘El Indio’ experienced every goalkeeper’s worst nightmare:
It was then that anyone — reputable critics, pundits or not — could have easily picked on the low-hanging fruit: Vega was in the NASL and USL the past three seasons for a reason; Vega was, simply, not good enough for MLS; 34-year-old Vega was signed only because of his past with Almeyda; Vega was not the same player that once defended River Plate between the sticks; this is the goalkeeper they signed?
“I know that I was looked at askance,” said the once River Plate champion and starting goalkeeper. “I wasn’t very known in MLS.”
Hailing out of rural Cutral-Co and having had an entire career filled with trials and tribulations as well as hard-earned success behind him, Vega was never going to squander to external doubts or on-field adversity. Never.
That howler that led to a third of Carlos Vela’s hat-trick, in that ineradicable 5-0 blowout, didn’t come close to getting under the Argentine’s skin. “Before I committed that error, I had blocked a ball that came from a one-on-one,” the 34-year-old told Quakes Epicenter. “That error, in particular, did not affect me. I know that they are errors that don’t happen often in soccer. It was a disgrace, like I said about it when it happened. It was a play that I had anticipated. But in reality, that error didn’t bother me.”
In many ways, that is Vega. A fighter, a leader and a believer that picks himself — and those around him — up from where he left off. A lot like the typical arcade-game character that reappears when the center circular button is pressed.
“I think you guys saw it,” Quakes defender Harold Cummings said about Vega’s fingertip save against Cincinnati. “Daniel Vega responds [to adversity] on the field.”
“He’s a person of quality — always talking, always attentive, always trying to correct the teammates from a good place,” the Panamanian added about his teammate, who now leads the league in saves with 39. “He’s always positive, optimistic. He’s always supporting and encouraging us teammates. If one commits an error, he’ll approach you and support you. He wakes you up. So, as a person, he’s quality.”
Surely, that was Almeyda’s plan all along: to bring a familiar face with experience, unteachable skills on and off the field, the ability to speak Spanish and English, and raw leadership. Not even their lack of communication was enough to clog Almeyda’s valves of memory.
“I always try to make sure that the team is unified, strong as a team, that there aren’t any individualism, and that there’s a wonderful harmony in the locker room, which can get one out of difficult moments,” Vega made clear.
Perhaps on the field Vega will, again, be exposed to susceptibility. Perhaps he will reappear center stage and let his once NASL golden-glove winning hands do the talking. Vega knows of the cloud of doubt that loomed over him, and the volatility of onlookers. But yet, that can remain unchanged for all he’s concerned because he knows what he brings forward as a professional.
“I know that a lot of people [doubted] me knowing that I came from an inferior league,” Vega said. “But I’m confident of what I could provide (for the team). I never doubted myself; I knew I could do things right in this league and continue to do so.
“That’s also an example to all the people and the world of soccer: before judging a player based on where they come from, wait on the process and see how the player adapts. For instance, Pity Martinez of Atlanta arrived as one of Argentina’s star players, but he has yet to adapt. So, one can’t assume who is good and who is bad without giving the player time and watching the player play.
“There have been a lot of cases in which an unknown player becomes a star,” he added. “That said, there have also been cases in which stars end up leaving rather quickly. It’s all about sacrifice and hard work. I’ve always said that no one ever gifted me anything; I always had to fight for it.”
As the weeks continue to drift by, Vega is internalizing his decision to remain in America. He knows he made the right decision. He, his wife and two kids are assimilating well to life in the Bay Area. Truly, he doesn’t want it any other way.
Now soon-to-be 35, ‘El Indio’s’ way of being won’t change. He’s been doing it the same for far too long, whether it’d be in Cyprus or at Argentine giants River Plate. He hopes that that same approach and way of life will, ironically, end the phone calls.
“I always fight to make it in the history of a club…,” Vega, who admits he’s in the best physical shape of his life, said about what he hopes to leave behind in San Jose. “That the clubs remember you for accomplishing something [is something beautiful]. That clubs remember you for, first, being a good person and then for accomplishing something.
“My top objective in this league is that: to be able to leave my name within this club. Leaving my name means winning a title with this club; it’s a new process. We are very confident that these things can happen if we stick together. Nothing is impossible, nothing.
“It would be very beautiful to retire at this club,” he added. “I never go to clubs with the thought of, ‘I want to play a good season and be sold.’ I always arrive to teams with the hope of staying. When one wins the love of the people, it’s unlike anything else. It’s something one needs to take care of. That’s my wish: to win the confidence of the people, my teammates, the club, and to stay with the team. Honestly, I’m enjoying it a lot. Whether good things or bad things come forward, I’m always going to be ready to fight through them.”
