Rafa Márquez

Rafael Márquez is a Mexican former professional footballer. He played as a central defender, sweeper, or defensive midfielder. Márquez is regarded as the best defender in Mexico's history and one of the best Mexican players of all time. Márquez began his career with Atlas in 1996, playing in over 70 games with the club before moving to France in 1999 with A.S. Monaco F.C., where he won the Ligue 1 title. In 2003, Márquez transferred to FC Barcelona, becoming the first ever Mexican to represent the club. He would go on to play in over 200 games during seven seasons with Barcelona, and win numerous championships. In 2006, he became the first Mexican player to win the UEFA Champions League when FC Barcelona defeated Arsenal F.C. in the final. In 2010 Márquez joined the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer. After being released from the club in 2012, he moved back to Mexico, this time to play for Club León. After captaining the team to two back-to-back league titles in 2013 and 2014, Márquez transferred to Hellas Verona of the Italian Serie A. He returned to boyhood club Atlas in 2015, and announced his retirement from football in April 2018. A Mexican international since 1997, Márquez has been capped 146 times for the national team, having won the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup (1999), and the 2003 and 2011 editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. In 2018, he became only the third player to play for his national team in five consecutive editions of the FIFA World Cup, in the 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 editions of the tournament. Márquez is the Mexican player with the most World Cup matches played with 19.