Rafael Márquez

Rafael Márquez
R marquez.jpg
Personal information
Full name Rafael Márquez Álvarez
Date of birth 13 February 1979 (1979-02-13) (age 32)
Place of birth Zamora, Mexico
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Defender / Midfielder
Club information
Current club New York Red Bulls
Number 4
Youth career
Atlas
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1996–1999 Atlas 77 (6)
1999–2003 Monaco 87 (5)
2003–2010 Barcelona 163 (9)
2010– New York Red Bulls 4 (1)
National team‡
1999 Mexico U20 4 (2[1])
1997– Mexico 95 (11)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 August 2010.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 July 2010

Rafael Márquez Álvarez (born 13 February 1979 in Zamora, Michoacán) is a Mexican footballer, who currently plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer. He plays as a centre back or defensive midfielder.

Contents

Club career

Atlas

Márquez began his career at Atlas, for whom he debuted in 1996 at the age of 17. Márquez rose to prominence while with Atlas, making 77 appearances for the team and being runner-up in the league losing the final against Deportivo Toluca in penalties.

Monaco

In 1999, Monaco purchased him for €6 million. Monaco scouts had gone to see Pablo Contreras on a Copa América match against Mexico, but they were impressed with Márquez's performance, so they signed the two defenders. Marquez was an immediate success with Monaco, helping lead the team to the French title in his first season with the club. Despite pressures from larger clubs, he would remain with the Monegasque club until 2003, when Barcelona signed him for €5 million to revitalize their back line. In doing so, he became only the second Mexican to play for Barcelona, after Horacio Casarín.

Barcelona

In his first season with Barcelona, Márquez appeared 21 times, helping the team to a second place finish in La Liga. During his second season, he was moved from his natural position as a center back to a defensive midfield role, due to injuries to players Thiago Motta, Edmílson and Gerard López. He completed a great season, being one of the main players that helped Barcelona win its 17th league title on 14 May 2005 after a 1–1 tie with Levante. After an injury in his left knee, he returned after a month to play against Milan in the first leg of the 2006 UEFA Champions League semi-final. Barcelona, playing away at the San Siro, won 1–0.

Márquez playing for Barcelona.

Márquez was present in the Champions League final on 17 May 2006 for Barcelona, in which they won the tournament over Arsenal. This achievement made him the first Mexican football player to ever win this competition, something Hugo Sánchez was not able to do during his time in La Liga with Real Madrid. After the 2006 World Cup, Barcelona extended his contract for the following 4 years to €38.5 million which will see his contract end in June 2010. Despite sustaining injuries, he was rumored to be up for sale at the end of the 2006–07 season. His future at Barça was up in the air until the 2007 Copa América, where Márquez regained his best form and was one of the best players of the competition, helping Mexico to an acceptable 3rd place.

In the 2007–08 season, Márquez got off to an excellent start, as he managed to form a solid partnership with new signing Gabriel Milito while captain Carles Puyol was out injured. However, constant injuries threw off his form. Márquez's success declined with the rest of the season leading Barcelona to end up in 3rd place after a miserable second half where injuries lead to his contribution being negligible. Even so, new coach Josep Guardiola continued to rely on his contributions; with the departure of Ronaldinho, Márquez has become the last original signing of the Rijkaard era to remain on the team. He was Guardiola's first choice at center back along with captain Puyol for the 2008–09 season. On 13 December 2008, Márquez played his 200th match for Barcelona in the clash against Real Madrid, which they won 2–0. He got injured on 28 April 2009, in a match against Chelsea in the semi-final. Márquez was told he needed surgery on his left knee, forcing him to miss the rest of the season.[2] Barcelona would go on to win a historic treble after winning the 2008–09 Champions League, in which Márquez was present but was sidelined. Márquez also received an offer from Fiorentina.[3] However, Márquez said he would like to end his career at Barcelona.[4] Márquez signed a new contract with Barca in November 2009 that would keep him at the club until 2012.[5] On 20 February 2010, he scored his first goal since his return against Racing Santander. On 31 July 2010 Rafael was released from Barcelona on a free transfer.

New York Red Bulls

Márquez warming up with Red Bulls teammate Thierry Henry.

On 2 August, 2010, it was announced that Márquez had signed with New York Red Bulls on a 3½ year contract.[6]. He was declared as third Designated Player and was unveiled to the media at Red Bull Arena on August 3rd. He wears the number 4 jersey in the squad. He joined former Barcelona teammate Thierry Henry at the club. On August 8th, Márquez made his MLS debut against the Chicago Fire in a scoreless draw. On August 21st Márquez scored his first goal for the Red Bulls in a 4–1 win at Toronto FC.

International career

Since making his international debut on 5 February 1997 against Ecuador, Márquez has been one of the Mexican national football team's most important players, but he was not chosen for the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad. Márquez has played various tournament's with the Mexican team, winning the 1999 Confederations Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Márquez started all four of Mexico's games during the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan, where he was given the Captain's Armband by then coach Javier Aguirre despite his young age of 23. Despite a strong performance during the group stage of the tournament, he received a red card during Mexico's second round 2–0 loss to the United States for a deliberate midair head butt on Cobi Jones in the final minutes of the match. Márquez was an integral part of Mexico's subsequent World Cup qualification campaign and was selected by Ricardo Lavolpe for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

During the 2006 World Cup, Márquez played in all of three of Mexico's opening round matches, and scored the lone Mexican goal in a 2–1 loss to Argentina in the second round off a Pável Pardo free kick which was headed to the far post by Mario Méndez, allowing an unmarked Márquez to strike the ball into the back of the net. The winner was scored by Maxi Rodriguez in extra time after Hernán Crespo had equalised for Argentina. Since Mexico's second round exit, he has spoken out about the need to encourage future Mexican football players to play in Europe to increase the competitiveness of the team.

Former Mexican coach Hugo Sánchez asked Márquez to participate in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2007 Copa América. Rafael joined up with the team Mexico for the Gold Cup's championship game against the United States after the conclusion of 2006–07 La Liga; Rafa started the match, a game that Mexico lost 2–1.

Marquez captained the Mexico national football team at the 2010 World Cup. Marquez scored Mexico's first goal against South Africa in the 79th minute against the hosts tieing the game one a piece. In Mexico's 2-0 win against France, Marquez played a tremendous ball to Javier Hernández which put them up 1-0 in the game.

Personal life

He was married to Mexican actress Adriana Lavat, the couple married in December 2001 and had 2 children, Santiago Rafael and Rafaela, before separating in early 2007[7]. He is now dating Jaydy Michel.[8][9]

Honours

Monaco
2000
2000
2003
Barcelona
2005, 2006, 2009, 2010
2009
2005, 2006, 2009
2006, 2009
2009
2009
International
1999
2003
Individual
2000
2005
2006
2008

Career statistics

As of 25 April 2010[10]
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Mexico League Cup North America Total
1996–97 Atlas Primera División 24 2 — — 24 2
1997–98 20 1 — — 20 1
1998–99 33 3 — — 33 3
France League Coupe de France Europe Total
1999–2000 Monaco Ligue 1 23 3 2 0 6 0 31 3
2000–01 15 1 0 0 4 0 19 1
2001–02 19 0 3 0 — 22 0
2002–03 30 1 0 0 — 30 1
Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total
2003–04 Barcelona La Liga 22 1 6 0 3 0 31 1
2004–05 34 3 1 0 6 0 41 3
2005–06 25 0 4 1 8 0 37 1
2006–07 21 1 7 0 7 0 35 1
2007–08 23 2 5 0 8 0 36 2
2008–09 23 1 4 1 10 1 37 3
2009–10 15 1 3 0 5 0 23 1
USA League Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup North America Total
2010 New York Red Bulls MLS 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 1
Total Mexico 77 6 — — 77 6
France 87 5 5 0 10 0 102 5
Spain 163 9 30 2 47 1 240 12
USA 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 1
Career total 330 21 35 2 57 1 422 24

National team

As of 8 February 2008[11]
All-Time National Performance
Nationality Year Games Played Minutes Played Goals Scored Yellow Card Red Card
Mexico 1997 1 29 — — —
1999 13 1177 1 2 —
2000 10 902 2 1 —
2001 12 1020 — 5 1
2002 7 557 1 — 1
2003 7 299 1 1 —
2004 8 676 1 3 —
2005 11 710 1 3 1
2006 6 554 1 2 —
2007 10 810 1 2 —
2008 6 540 1 2 —
2009 2 155 — 2 1
2010 6 496 1 — —
Career totals 93 7925 11 23 4

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 5 February 1999 Hong Kong Stadium, Wan Chai, Hong Kong  Egypt 1 – 0 3 – 0 1999 Carlsberg Cup
2. 13 February 2000 Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States  Trinidad and Tobago 1 – 0 4 – 0 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup
3. 3 September 2000 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico  Panama 5 – 1 7 – 1 2002 World Cup qualifier
4. 12 May 2002 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico  Colombia 2 – 1 2 – 1 Friendly
5. 24 July 2003 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico  Costa Rica 1 – 0 2 – 0 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
6. 19 June 2004 Alamodome, San Antonio, United States  Dominica 0 – 3 0 – 10 2006 World Cup qualifier
7. 7 September 2005 Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico  Panama 2 – 0 5 – 0 2006 World Cup qualifier
8. 24 June 2006 Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany  Argentina 0 – 1 2 – 1 (a.e.t.) 2006 FIFA World Cup
9. 28 March 2007 McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, United States  Ecuador 2 – 2 4 – 2 Friendly
10. 10 September 2008 Estadio Víctor Manuel Reyna, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico  Canada 2 – 0 2 – 1 2010 World Cup qualifier
11. 11 June 2010 Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa  South Africa 1 – 1 1 – 1 2010 FIFA World Cup

References

  1. ↑ Fifa.com
  2. ↑ Crawford, Stephen (28 April 2009). "Barcelona Defender Rafael Marquez Out For The Season". Goal.com. https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/88/spain/2009/04/28/1235575/barcelona-defender-rafael-marquez-out-for-the-season. Retrieved 27 July 2009. "Barcelona centre-back Rafael Marquez has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in Tuesday night's Champions League clash with Chelsea." 
  3. ↑ "Bueno, bonito y barato [Good, pretty and cheap]" (in Spanish). Fox Sports en Español. 14 June 2009. http://msn.foxsports.com/fse/historia/futbol/usa/mls/9682070/Bueno,-bonito-y-barato?MSNLATINOHPHMA. Retrieved 27 July 2009. "Florentina ha mostrado su interés formal en el mexicano Rafael Márquez..." ["Florentina have formally demonstrated their interest in the Mexican Rafael Márquez...]" 
  4. ↑ "Marquez nears Barça return". FIFA. FIFA. 26 July 2009. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1084304.html#marquez+nears+barca+return. Retrieved 27 July 2009. "It would be my wish to retire at Barca. I'm very calm with regards the contract renewal. I know that we will arrive at an agreement, so it's only a question of time." 
  5. ↑ "Marquez signs new Barca deal". Ontheminute.com. 1 December 2009. http://www.ontheminute.com/news/news.php?news=19528. Retrieved 1 December 2009. 
  6. ↑ http://worldsoccerreader.com/2010/08/new-york-red-bulls-sign-rafael-marquez/
  7. ↑ Adriana Lavat y Rafa Márquez firman divorcio por separado/
  8. ↑ Jaydy Michel, blaugrana de corazón
  9. ↑ Rafael Márquez y su novia, reafirman su amor,
  10. ↑ Soccernet player statistics
  11. ↑ FMF player statistics

External links

New York Red Bulls – current squad

2 Talley · 3 Albright · 4 Márquez · 5 Ream · 7 Miller · 8 Ubiparipović · 10 Ballouchy · 11 Borman · 13 da Luz · 14 Henry · 18 Coundoul · 19 Richards · 20 Lindpere · 21 Nielsen · 22 Chirgadze · 23 Tchani · 24 Sutton · 25 Chinn · 27 Boyens · 29 Salou · 32 Sassano · 33 Robinson · 39 Agudelo · 44 Mendes · 99 Garcia ·

Head Coach: Backe Assistant Coach: McAleenan Assistant Coach: Williams Assistant Coach: Aral General Manager: Solér