Vega began his professional career in with local
Grasshopper Club Zürich in 1989, being a defensive mainstay from
his second season onwards. He was essential in two of the three
leagues he actually conquered, playing in 67 games combined and scoring seven goals. In the 1996 summer Vega moved to
Italy with
Cagliari Calcio, in the
Serie A. However, after only seven months, he signed with
England's
Tottenham Hotspur, for a transfer fee of
£3.75 million. He was used mostly as a backup with his new side, helping it win the
Football League Cup in
1999; in
the final, a 1–0 win over
Leicester City, he broke his
ankle, and could never regain his previous form with Spurs.– where he played a significant part in the winning of three trophies, in a short six-month spell. In his debut, on the 17th, he netted twice in the home demolition of
Aberdeen (6–0); he also scored a brace against
Dunfermline in the
Scottish Cup. Released by Tottenham in June 2001, after also having refused the
Scottish club's offer of an additional year, Vega moved back to England with
Watford, penning a three-year deal with the
Championship outfit. One of the side's best-paid players under manager
Gianluca Vialli, he was released after just
one season, as the club underachieved for a final 14th position; for the Hornets he netted three times, once in the league against
Norwich City and twice in the League Cup, against
Bristol City and
Bradford City. Vega retired in 2004 aged 33, after one season with lowly
US Créteil-Lusitanos in
France. ==International career==