Federico Viñas: América's newest star quit football four years ago | OneFootball

Federico Viñas got the applause in his first appearance with the Eagles over the weekend, as the 21-year-old changed the face of the Clásico Capitalino.

Just 24 seconds after entering the pitch for his debut, as a substitute for Henry Martin, he scored the game’s opening goal.

Though the match would end 1-1, the relatively unknown striker earned the plaudits and left us with a lot to salivate over.

“This is a dream, I don’t believe it. Coming from Uruguay to a stadium like this: huge, I really don’t believe it. I was anxious, being with América and scoring against such a tough opponent as Pumas is awesome,” he told TUDN.

It hasn’t been an easy road for Viñas. In 2015, at age 17, he was rejected from Liverpool (Uruguay) and shortly thereafter, found himself out of football altogether.

However, in 2017, he joined Juventud de las Piedras and helped take them to the first-division after scoring six goals.

“I left football and started to work as a meat dealer. In 2017, I returned to Uruguay and we jumped to the first division the next year.

“I really regretted leaving the game, but luckily football crossed my path again.”

After scoring five goals in 20 top-flight matches, Viñas caught the eye of Miguel Herrera and company and is now on loan with the Mexican giants until June 2020.

América have an option to buy the player at the end of the loan.