Mexico National Team

Twenty one years ago, Rafael Márquez made his professional debut playing for Atlas. “El Káiser de Michoacán” is one of the most emblematic players ever to have played for Mexico. He is no doubt among the most successful players to have played internationally.

The story started a long way back, on October 19th 1996, when he was only 17 years old. On that day, Rafa Márquez made his professional debut as Club Atlas faced Pumas UNAM. 

From 1996 to 1999, Márquez was a Club Atlas player, even reaching the league final in 1998 and losing it to Toluca.

Less than three weeks after a devastating earthquake rocked the country, Mexico hosted Trinidad and Tobago in a World Cup qualifier on Friday. The match took a back seat to the healing that took place with the nation rallying around El Tri and an emotional national anthem and moment of silence before the match.

Perhaps more than any other weekend every four years, this upcoming (extended) weekend from Thursday to Tuesday defines a nation’s success on the world football stage. Playoffs aside, this is the final week of World Cup qualifiers, and it’s going to be absolutely bonkers.

There is so much at stake for so many countries from traditional powers (Argentina, Netherlands) to the incredible underdogs (Syria, Iceland) and everyone in between. Only a handful of teams have already qualified and an incredible amount are still in the running. 

The Los Angeles Galaxy’s abysmal season took another turn for the worse with Giovani dos Santos publicly turning on his teammates following a heavy defeat to Atlanta United on Wednesday. Like the rest of the Galaxy, Dos Santos has seen his numbers fall dramatically this season. After scoring 14 goals in 2016, Dos Santos has only registered six this campaign and the Mexican international knows where the blame lies.