LIGA MX
Federico Viñas revelling in León rebirth
The Uruguayan is experiencing an upturn in his career since he joined León. He has earned the trust of national team coach Marcelo Bielsa.
Federico Viñas is in a good moment. The former América striker is a completely different player since his move to León - a club with less prestige but where he has been able to stand out - to such a degree that it the doors of his national team, Uruguay, have reopened for him. However, his journey has not been without difficulties.
Trajectory stunted
He signed for América from Juventud in 2019 on the express wishes of coach Miguel Herrera. The centre-forward was just beginning to make his mark when the Liga MX along with the rest of world sport was placed on hold for the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
That interruption affected his form and when the tournament resumed, he struggled to regain the level he’d shown prior to lockdown. During his time at América, the Uruguayan striker scored 24 goals in 122 games.
Last summer, he decided to changed direction and headed towards the largest city in Guanajuato. Viñas joined León on a four-year deal for $4 million in June. In his first tournament, Viñas contributed six goals and one assist - figures he has already improved on in this year’s campaign.
In the current tournament he is one of the top scorers in the division along with Salomón Rondón and Luis Amarilla (all with 7 goals) having found the net in the games against Santos Laguna (2), Mazatlán, Atlas, Tijuana and Chivas. That has earned him a call-up with Uruguay.
He made his senior debut in the 0-2 win over Argentina in November and was back in Marcelo Bielsa’s squad for last month’s friendlies, scoring the team’s only goal in the 2-1 defeat to African champions, the Ivory Coast. He is expected to be one of the coach’s key players for this summer’s Copa América, along with club team mate Sebastián Cáceres. At 25 years old, his dream of playing in Europe could come true sooner rather than later.