[1][2][3][4][5] Born in Marseille on 19 March 1895, Vanco began his football career in 1909, aged 14, in the youth ranks of his hometown club Stade Helvétique de Marseille,[3] a team made up of Swiss and English immigrants, reaching the first team in 1912, and on 27 April 1913, the 18-year-old Vanco was one of only two French players who started in the final of the USFSA national championship, providing an assist to Mouren for the only goal of the match in a 1–0 victory over FC Rouen.

[6] After the match, the journalists of L'Auto (the forerunner of L'Équipe) stated that "Vanco, in the center, contributed very intelligently with his interiors, but at no time did he place a trully dangerous shot".

[6] In 1914, Stade Helvétique had to close its doors due to a lack of opponents, since all of them had been mobilized on the front during the outbreak of the First World War, with the club eventually ceasing all activity in 1916.

[7] Their biggest rivals, Olympique Marseille, took advantage of its dissolution to incorporate several of the club's most prominent players, such as Vanco and three of the Scheibenstock brothers.

[11] Vanco stayed loyal to the club for five years, from 1918 to 1923, when he decided to move to RC Roubaix, where he retired in 1928, aged 33,[3] as one of the oldest players in Marseille football at the time.