Leandro Velázquez

Leandro Sebastián Velázquez (born 10 May 1989) is an Argentine professional footballer who last played as an attacking midfielder for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim in 2023.

Club career

Vélez Sársfield

Leandro made his league debut for Vélez Sársfield in the week before his 19th birthday. He played in a 1–1 draw with Racing on 4 April 2008. He scored his first goal against Estudiantes de La Plata in the Torneo Apertura 2008 and was part of the winning team in the Torneo Clausura 2009. Leandro entered the field during the last game against Huracán when Vélez needed a victory to become champion, and was replaced by Leandro Coronel immediately after the team scored the winning goal.

Loan to Newell's Old Boys Leandro was loaned for the 2009–10 season to Newell's Old Boys.

Johor Darul Ta'zim In October 2015, Leandro was called up in the starting eleven in the 2015 AFC Cup Final squad for Johor Darul Ta'zim, where he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory against Istiklol.

Deportivo Pasto On 17 January 2016, Leandro left Johor Darul Ta'zim and joined Deportivo Pasto with free transfer fee.

Return to Johor Darul Ta;zim On 21 February 2019, Johor Darul Ta'zim confirm the return signing of Velazquez in the Johor Darul Ta'zim squad. On 30 April 2022, during the last fixture of the 2022 AFC Champions League group stage, he scored a free kick against 2021 K League 1 runners-up, Ulsan Hyundai which ended up with Johor progressing as group winners to the Round of 16.

International career In January 2009, Leandro was selected to join the Argentina U20 squad for the 2009 South American Youth Championship in Venezuela. However, His team failed to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Having played in Malaysia since 2019, there is a possibility of Velázquez being naturalized as a Malaysian citizen in the future, thus enabling him to play for the Malaysia national team.

Honours

Club Vélez Sársfield Argentine Primera División: 2009 Clausura

Johor Darul Ta'zim AFC Cup: 2015 Malaysia Super League: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 Malaysia Cup: 2019, 2022, 2023 Piala Sumbangsih: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 Malaysia FA Cup: 2022, 2023