Joining the Real Salt Lake family in 2011, Martin Vasquez has brought an undeniable impact to the Utah club as a part of one of the most impressive developmental pyramids in American Soccer. His incredible ability to develop, coach and train players shows through his years not only at the RSL Academy, but with his illustrious career within MLS and abroad and now Real Monarchs SLC.
After retiring from field play in 1999, Vasquez began his coaching career, taking on the challenge of assistant coach for various clubs throughout the United States as well as abroad. Vasquez started at the collegiate level, assisting for California State Poly Pomona and San Diego Spirit before taking on the assistant coaching role for LA Galaxy under the late Sigi Schmid. After his time with the Galaxy, Vasquez moved on to assist both Bob Bradley and Preki for three years at the now-defunct Chivas USA before moving abroad to assist German great Jurgen Klinsmann at Bundesliga’s Bayern Munich.
In 2010, Vasquez accepted an offer to return to Chivas USA as the head coach for a season before opting to step away from finding another coaching position in MLS, instead choosing to coach and develop players at the youth level before once again assisting Klinsmann in coaching, this time on the international stage with the U.S. Men’s National Team.
“We feel as though Martín earned the opportunity to become the Monarchs’ head coach,” RSL Executive VP of Soccer Operations Rob Zarkos said. “If you look at his pedigree and what he’s done at the Academy and the professional ranks, he’s reached the zenith of the Academy. He’s achieved everything that you’d want him to achieve.”
Starting in 2011, Vasquez took the helm at the RSL Academy, bringing with him everything he had learned from the coaches he found mentors in through his years coaching. Since then, he has helped usher the development of an extensive list of talented players that have gone on to find success with their professional careers in both domestic and foreign leagues. Currently, Real Salt Lake features 11 players on its roster that Vasquez has helped develop through the RSL Academy to the professional level, including the 2018 MLS Rookie of the Year Corey Baird, Justen Glad, Aaron Herrera, and Sebastian Saucedo – all of which have spent time with Real Monarchs.
The extent of Vasquez’s development reaches beyond the league level and into the spotlight of international teams. In recent years, many players including Baird, Glad, Herrera, as well as Brooks Lennon have all received calls to represent the Stars-and-Stripes, at various levels of the USMNT. The Mexican National Team has also seen the benefit of Vasquez’s developmental coaching through a promising young centerback with Carlos Salcedo.
Vasquez continues to be a vital component in the development of the talented young players through the RSL Academy as RSL looks towards the future. In recent months, RSL has taken advantage of Vasquez’s ability to develop players by signing a series of RSL Academy players including Julian Vasquez, Luis Arriaga, David Ochoa, Erik Holt and Tate Schmitt. All of which came through the RSL Academy under Vasquez’s tenure, solidifying his place as one of the finest player development coaches in the American game.
