The Most Famous Mexican Soccer Players

Mexican soccer was always known for producing quality players and it's actually quite surprising that their best national team record is reaching the quarter-finals of a World Cup (on two occasions, 1970 and 1986, both of these World Cups being organized by Mexico). However, the Mexican national side has always been a constant presence in final tournaments and it's regarded as a tough nut to crack, despite their lack of silverware. Let's take a short look at some of the players that made Mexico the strong soccer power that it is today.

Antonio Carbajal

Nicknamed "El Cinco Copas", or "Five Cups", Antonio Carbajal was the first player to ever participate in 5 World Cups with his national team and has only been equaled in 1998, by German legend Lothar Matthaus. Carbajal played for Mexico in all the 5 World Cups that took place between 1950 and 1966.

Hugo Sanchez

Hugo Sanchez was one of the first Mexico soccer players to play in Europe at the highest level. He was an iconic player for Real Madrid between 1985 and 1992; 7 years in which he scored no less than 253 goals in 283 matches, a goal/match ratio that can hardly be rivaled.

He also played for the Mexico national team on 60 occasions, scoring 29 goals and being an important player in the 1986 World Cup held by Mexico, in which his team managed to equal the quarter-final performance obtained initially in 1970. Hugo Sanchez is currently the manager and coach of the Mexican national squad.

Jared Borgetti

Borgetti was of Italian and Mexican descent and as a striker, he combined the flair and power of Italian soccer with the passion and inventively of Mexican soccer. Although he is still an active soccer player at age 34, he spent most of his time playing in the Mexican league, with 7 years for Santos Laguna, a period of time in which he managed to score close to 200 goals in 300 matches.

But Borgetti's goalscoring run doesn't stop here, as he has also managed to come on top of the Mexican national side's all time score sheet, with 43 goals in 87 matches. Currently, Borgetti is playing for Cruz Azul and although he decided to retire from the Mexican national side for the upcoming World Cup, he stated that he would love to play for his country one last time, during the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament.

Claudio Suarez

Unlike many other Mexican soccer players that get to celebrate New Years with a completely new club on their payroll, Claudio Suarez has only gone through 4 teams throughout his entire career: UNAM Pumas (1989-1996), Chivas de Guadalajara (1996-1999), UANL Tigres (1999-2005) and Chivas USA (2006). He made a strong impression for all of these clubs and many consider him one of the best Mexican defenders to have played for his country.

Although an extraordinary defender is currently contesting this title away from Claudio Suarez, namely Rafael Marquez of Barcelona, there's one title that will hardly be touched by anyone for a long time: Claudio Suarez currently holds the record for international caps with the Mexican national team, with an amazing 178 appearances.

Rafael Marquez

Rafael Marquez is probably the best-known Mexican soccer player of today, being one of the most important members of Spanish side FC Barcelona. Marquez' ability to play as a central or right defender as well as a defensive midfielder earned him the aura of a "handyman", being able to play wherever his coach would need him the most.

However, Marquez has recently steadied down as a central defender, playing on this position for the Mexican national side as well as for FC Barcelona in the last years. Age 28, Rafael Marquez is the captain of the Mexican national squad and is already being considered one of the best players in the country's history, next to legendary names such as Hugo Sanchez or Claudio Suarez.

Barcelona's Rivalry with Real Madrid

As long as there have been sport teams, there have been rivalries. Whether it's the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox or the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns, the two rival teams inevitably end up meeting again and again, forming an ongoing heated rivalry that delights fans of the sport. One such rivalry is between Spanish football teams FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.

FC Barcelona (also known as Barça by its fans) and Real Madrid are two of the earliest Spanish football teams, both forming in the 1890s. From the start, the two teams were seen as representatives of two rival regions of Spain, the ancient kingdoms of Castile and Catalonia. Both teams were part of La Liga, a Spanish football league and a rivalry that went far beyond football quickly took root.

It was during and after the Spanish Civil War that the rivalry took on more political overtones. Dictator Francisco Franco banned all peripheral languages, such as Catalan, the language of Barcelona. Catalonia had long been associated with more progressive fashions and political ideas, such as democracy--which was the diametric opposite of Franco's dictatorial regime. FC Barcelona suffered as a result of being a part of the Catalonian culture. Real Madrid, on the other hand, was seen by many Spaniards (and Catalonians in particular) as the "establishment" club. Though Franco seemed to favor Real Madrid, members of both teams suffered under his regime.

Real Madrid 4 - Barcelona 1 - 7th may 2008

The fierce rivalry continued into the 1950s when both clubs sought to sign Alfredo Di Stefano to play for them. Real Madrid eventually won out and Alfredo Di Stefano went on to lead them to many wins. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid went head-to-head twice at the European Cup in the 1960s, with Real Madrid winning one and FC Barcelona winning the other. The two teams clashed once again over a player in 2000 when Luis Figo left FC Barcelona and signed with Real Madrid. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid competed against each other again in the UEFA Champions League semi-final in 2002, with Real Madrid getting the win. The Spanish media dubbed the match "The Match of the Century".

Ronaldinho's 3rd amazing goal (Real madrid-Barcelona) 2005/06

In the mid-2000s, the rivalry ascended to further heights when it acquired its own name, El Clasico. The term El Clasico was traditionally assigned to any South American football rivalry, but the growth of football in the Americas coupled with these two great teams' rivalry led to the coining of the term as applied to FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. This was mostly a marketing scheme communicated via GolTV, an all-football satellite channel, but the term has been embraced by fans worldwide.

El Clasico shows no signs of slowing. To this very day, the two teams inevitably seek each other out on the field to find out who is the best team in Spain. Sometimes FC Barcelona wins and sometimes Real Madrid wins, but ultimately football fans worldwide are the ones who win whenever these two giants meet on the field.

Ten of the Best from 2004/05

Here are ten absolute belters from the 2004/05 competition:

The Top 10 Goals from 2006/07

Here are ten of the absolute best from the 2006/07 tournament:

1979 Nottingham Forest 1-0 Malmo

As luck would have it, Nottingham Forest’s first opponents in the European Cup turned out to be their fellow English club and reigning European champions Liverpool F.C.. Despite having finished seven points clear of Liverpool in winning the League Championship, Forest were still heavy underdogs, but they were to take their doubters by surprise in the first leg of the first round match at their City Ground stadium. Liverpool knew little about young Garry Birtles who started up front for Forest, but it was he who tapped home a Woodcock pass to give his side the lead after 26 minutes, and it was Birtles again who pounced on a mistake in the Liverpool defence during the final minutes of the game and crossed the ball to Woodcock who knocked the ball down to the onrushing Barrett to volley the ball home for a crucial 2-0 lead. Still Liverpool were favourites to go through, but the tie was now set up perfectly for Forest. With the defence keeping things tight at the back and with the midfield closing down Liverpool's creative players, the European Cup holders could find no way through in the return game. The match finished 0-0 and Liverpool, after having beaten all comers in Europe for two seasons, found themselves knocked out by a fellow English team.



The tournament was won by English champions Nottingham Forest F.C. in the final against Malmö FF.

2000 Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia

The 1999-2000 season of the UEFA Champions League was won by Real Madrid, who had clinched an historic 8th title win, against fellow La Liga side, Valencia. This was the 45th Edition of the competition. The final was hosted in the historic Stade de France, in Paris where the original roots of the competition had began.

Morientes:



McManaman:



Raul:



This season was dominated by the Spanish La Liga, with them having three of the four semi-finalists in winners Real Madrid, losing finalists Valencia and the other team in the semi-final was Barcelona. This also culminated in an all Spanish final, where history was made with the first ever all-country European Cup/Champions League final.

Ronaldo and Rooney finish off Roma in Rome

AS Roma were left in limbo last night, as they went down 0-2 to Manchester United during the home leg of their Champions League clash. Hopes were high, but realistically - based on their current form - it was going to take a miracle to come away from the game in Rome's Olympic stadium as winners. In recent games in Serie A the team have struggeld to beat last-placed Empoli, and last week drew 1-1 with a Cagliari squad that failed to score (an own-goal from defender Matteo Ferrari gifted the Sardinian team a draw). Add to that the fact that team captain and talisman Francesco Totti was ruled out of last night's game with a knee injury, and only those blind to reason could have expected Roma to do much more than stave off defeat.

In the run up to the match the Italian media focussed on Totti's replacement, the Montenegrin striker Mirko Vucinic, who in the course of this season has done some remarkable work for Roma - literally changing the course of games - particularly in the Champions League games. Last night he was on form in various areas of the pitch, causing problems to United's defence on a number of important occasions. He was not, though, in finishing form, and fluffed a number of great chances.

Manchester United approached the game with caution, content to sit back and wait for their chance rather than risk opening up the game. An approach that, with players like Ronaldo and Rooney pays dividends. It was, in fact, towards the end of the first half that United had their best chance of a goal, and they took it brilliantly. Rooney got the ball to Scholes who crossed in a ball that seemed to float for ever into the Roma box. Roma midfielder Marco Cassetti prepared himself to head it clear, without reckoning for Cristian Ronaldo who appeared, at speed, as if from nowhere, to slam the ball past Doni with a brilliant and decisive header.

Going into half-time Roma may have felt somewhat cheated by the scoreline (Vucinic missed another good chance just minutes after Ronaldo's goal), but all was not lost - in theory. The second half started with renewed vigour for the home team, with ex-Empoli midfielder Max Tonnetto having two good chances early on - one which he missed, and the other saved by Van der Saar. Also missing chances was Cristian Panucci, captain of the team in the absence of Totti. Panucci saved the day two weeks ago against Empoli, scoring a briliant header that won the game, but last night it was not to be. In his defence, though, he was resolute in defence, stealing the ball early on from surprise United inclusion Park Ji-Sung.

While Roma continued to push, hoping for an equaliser, United had a number of chances themselves - including a break from Ronaldo that was, unjustifiably, halted for offside. Twenty minutes into the second half came the coup de grace. Park headed a ball into the Roma box, and Doni and Panucci clashed confusedly to clear it, leaving it at the feet of a grateful Wayne Rooney. Pretty it wasn't, but United fans won't be complaining as it effectively closed off the game for a dispirited Roma - and leaves it a gargantuan struggle for Spalletti's team heading to Anfield.

The last remaining Italian team in this season's Champions League don't look likely to progress further than next week's return leg. It's a huge dissapointment for a talented team that seems to lack that crucial ability to confront the really big games. Vucinic, Mancini, and Giuly have all wowed fans at various stages during the season - but when it counts, either against minnows like Cagliari, or the big fish like United, they just don't have the finishing power it would seem. From the start of the season they seemed contenders, both in the Champions League and Serie A. As the season draws to a close the only honour they look likely to take is that of second place in Serie A. Hopefully they can prove us wrong - unlikely, though...