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Rafael Márquez

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This article is about Mexican footballer who currently plays for FC Barcelona. For the Mexican boxer, see Rafael Márquez (boxer). For another Mexican footballer, see Rafael Márquez Lugo.
Rafael Márquez
Personal information
Full name Rafael Márquez Álvarez
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 FC Barcelona
Number 4
Youth career
Atlas
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1999 Atlas
1999–2003 Monaco
2003– FC Barcelona
International career‡
1999 Mexico U20
1997– Mexico
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 April 2009
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 August 2008

Rafael Márquez Álvarez (born 13 February 1979 in Zamora, Michoacán) is a Mexican football centre back and defensive midfielder, who is currently playing for FC Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga and the Mexico national football team, where he is currently the captain. He once stated that he would like to retire in his former team, F.C. Atlas.[citation needed]

Club career

F.C. Atlas

Márquez began his career at Mexican club F.C. Atlas, for whom he debuted in 1996 at only 17 years old. 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. In 1999, French club AS Monaco purchased him for €6 million. Márquez 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 FC 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 Spanish League on 14 May 2005 after a 1-1 tie with Levante UD. After an injury in his left knee, he returned after a month to play against A.C. Milan in the first leg of the 2006 UEFA Champions League Semifinal. Barcelona, playing away at the San Siro, won 1-0.

File:Rafael Marquez 15abr2007.jpg
Márquez in 2007.

Márquez was present in the UEFA Champions Leaguefinal on 17 May 2006 for Barcelona, in which they won the tournament over Arsenal. This achievement made him the first ever Mexican football player ever to ever win this competition, something the legendary Hugo Sánchez was not able to do during his time in La Liga with Real Madrid. After the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Rafael Márquez renovated his contract to €38.5 million for the following 4 years at Barcelona 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 America, 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, it appears new coach Josep Guardiola will continue 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 appears to be 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. On 29 April 2009, Márquez got injured in a match against Chelsea in the Champions League Semi Final match. Márquez was told he will need surgery on his left knee, which means he will miss the rest of the season.[3]

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. Márquez has played various tournament's with the Mexican team, winning the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Márquez started all four of Mexico's games during the 2002 FIFA 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 Argentine coach Ricardo Lavolpe for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Márquez played in all of four 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. 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 America. Rafael joined up with the team Mexico for the Gold Cup's championship game against the United States after the conclusion of La Liga 2006-07; Rafa started the match, a game that Mexico lost 2-1.

Playing style

One of Márquez's strengths is his versatility which allows him to play in many positions such as right-back, centre-back or defensive midfield. However, it is clear that his best position is in the center of defense. Rafa relies on his ability to read the game and vision. This gives the impression that he's always a step ahead of the forwards. He is also known for his distinct ability at playing the long cross field pass. This is a very useful asset for all his team as it allows him to switch the attack from one side of the field to another as well as changing the focal point of the attack.

Honours

International:

Mexico Mexico

Club:

Monaco Monaco


Spain FC Barcelona


Individual:

Statistics

Career stats

As of April 28, 2009[4] Template:Football player statistics 1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1996-97||rowspan="3"|Atlas||rowspan="3"|Primera División||24||2||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||24||2 |- |1997-98||20||1||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||20||1 |- |1998-99||33||3||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||33||3 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1999-00||rowspan="4"|Monaco||rowspan="4"|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||colspan="2"|-||22||0 |- |2002-03||30||1||0||0||colspan="2"|-||30||1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |2003-04||rowspan="6"|FC Barcelona||rowspan="6"|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||25||2||5||0||8||0||38||2 |- |2008-09||23||1||4||1||9||1||36||3 Template:Football player statistics 377||6||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||77||6 Template:Football player statistics 487||5||5||0||10||0||102||5 Template:Football player statistics 4150||8||27||2||41||1||218||11 Template:Football player statistics 5313||19||32||2||50||1||395||22 |}

National team stats

As of February 08, 2008[5]
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 14 1200 5 1
2002 7 557 1 1
2003 4 299 1 1
2004 8 676 1 3
2005 10 802 1 3 1
2006 6 554 1 2
2007 9 810 1 2
2008 6 540 1 2
2009 6 540 1 2 1
Career totals 88 7546 10 21 4

International goals

Rafael Márquez: International goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. February 5, 1999 Hong Kong  Egypt 3–0 Win 1999 Carlsberg Cup
2. February 13, 2000 San Diego, USA  Trinidad and Tobago 4–0 Win 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup
3. September 3, 2000 Mexico City, Mexico  Panama 7–1 Win 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
4. May 12, 2002 Mexico City, Mexico  Colombia 2–1 Win Friendly
5. July 24, 2003 Mexico City, Mexico  Costa Rica 2–0 Win 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup
6. June 19, 2004 San Antonio, USA  Dominica 10–0 Win 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
7. September 7, 2005 Mexico City, Mexico  Panama 5–0 Win 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
8. June 24, 2006 Leipzig, Germany  Argentina 1–2 Loss 2006 FIFA World Cup
9. March 28, 2007 Oakland, USA  Ecuador 4–2 Win Friendly
10. September 10, 2008 Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico  Canada 2–1 Win 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

References

  1. ^ FCBarcelona.cat
  2. ^ Fifa.com
  3. ^ Injury rules Marques out for rest of season Retrieved on 29 April 2009
  4. ^ Soccernet player statistics
  5. ^ FMF player statistics
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