It is not uncommon for a kid born and bred in Catalunya, home to Spanish giants FC Barcelona and La Liga up-and-comers Girona, to dream of a future in the game. It is uncommon for that dream to come true – and for that future to pass through Jackson, Tennessee and Rock Hill, South Carolina with a stop in Statesboro, Georgia before settling, eventually, in Virginia’s River City of Richmond.
“I was 17 years-old and I felt like I was at a point where I didn’t really know what to do with my playing and with my studies,” said Nil Vinyals, who grew up playing with FC Barcelona’s futsal club and a series of academies around the Catalan capital. “The U.S. was perfect for me because I could combine playing at a high level in college and studying.”
What he calls his “crazy journey” (now in its tenth year) took Vinyals first to tiny Union University, where he could study sports management, which was “not a thing” one could do where he grew up. Next came a full scholarship and a move to Winthrop University, a “much better” division-one NCAA program. From there, he played summers with South Georgia Tormenta’s USL League Two side before signing on with the Tormenta USL League One first team in its inaugural year.
“I’ve been all over the place here in the States,” Vinyals said. “And I’m just glad to be able to wake up every morning and play the sport I love.”
At Home in Virginia
Vinyals is a cultured midfielder with both creative vision and defensive acumen. An assist-master, he’s approaching 150 League One appearances and is regarded as one of its top all-time players. He now, at 27-year-old, calls Richmond, Virginia home. “You blink and ten years have gone by,” he said of his decade on a tour of the U.S. southern states, hunting a chance to keep making his living in the game.
With the Kickers, he’s found a club with a long history – at least by U.S. standards. Vinyals is coaching young teens in the youth academy, too, and helping lead the USL League One side on a run in this year’s U.S. Open Cup.
“We won this tournament in 1995,” he said about the Open Cup – a point of pride for all players who find themselves at the City Stadium. “There’s a lot of excitement in the city when it comes time to play in the Open Cup.”
