NortEast United FC sign Argentine striker Nicolas Velez for ISL-2
Indian Super League side NortEast United FC have confirmed the signing of Argentine striker Nicolas Velez for the second edition of the league. The player currently plays in the Singaporean professional league with Warriors FC.
The 25-year-old Argentine started his career at the legendary River Plate Acadamy which boasts of names such as Alfredo di Stefano, Hernan Crespo and Pablo Aimar. At the age of 20, he joined Argentine team Huracan but was not able to make a notable impact. As he was struggling to find playing time Velez moved to Spain to join Atletico Sanluqueno but again was not happy at the club and again he set off to find a new club.
The club he found were Warriors FC in the Singaporean league. In his very first season with the club, Velez scored an impressive 21 goals in the 26 games he played in the S-League to guide them team to their first title since 2009. He was named the Best young player in the league and scored the only goal in the 2015 Singapore Charity Shield to win his second title in less than a year.
In this season, he has already scored seven goals in just 10 games as Warriors FC lie second in the table two points behind Albirex Niigata S having played two games less. He has played against European giants Juventus and Arsenal during their tour of Asia.
Valez honoured to play alongside Simao
On signing for NEUFC Valez told the club’s in-house media team, “It is a challenge and a great opportunity for me to play in a League with a lot of great players and legends of the game. It is also an honour to have an exceptional player like Simao as a team-mate and I hope I will learn a great deal from him and that things will go our way.”
“I am looking forward to arriving to India, get to know a new culture and above all to fight with North East United FC to be at the top of the new ISL 2015 season. We will work very hard to achieve this goal. I cannot wait to start.” he added.
NorthEast United head coach Cesar Farias seemed pleased with his new signing stating, “I am very happy to add this piece to the puzzle because he is very fast and has a great technique with the ball while attacking. He possesses characteristics similar to players such as Alexis Sanchez. He has improved remarkably over the past year and we all know that he can score.”