The Globalization Of El Tri: Mexicans Abroad

Rafael Márquez was 20 years old.

He was barely 20 years old, and yet the Zamora, Michoacán native already commanded respect among his teammates at FC Atlas - Mexican soccer's version of the Chicago Cubs (their last league championship was recorded in 1951) - had come up frustratingly short yet again, losing out to CD Toluca in the championship series after a heartbreaking penalty shootout.

And yet, there he was. Awash in praise, media around the country set abuzz over the young defender's performance in the playoffs and his subsequent call-up to the Mexican National Team for the 1999 Confederations Cup, held in Rafael's home country. A handful of games later, Mexico had its first win in a tournament organized by FIFA, and Márquez had emerged as one of the country's top talents in decades. The international community had gained notice, too. Before the summer was over, Rafael Márquez was part of an AS Monaco club that would eventually win the league, the cup and the league cup before making a move to a football giant: FC Barcelona.

Back in Mexico, journalists and fans looked for the next Rafa, the next player worthy of hopping across the pond and competing in a top league. The proverbial floodgates were open, with outsiders and players alike expecting a dramatic increase of Aztec footballers in the Old World. However, not too many eyebrows were raised when the reality was more of a trickle than a flood. Mexico's labor agreement (or lack of one) between owners and players has long made it a hurdle for European clubs to negotiate for top talent. After Marquez left in 1999, only Cuauhtémoc Blanco (currently in the MLS, playing for the Chicago Fire) and Francisco Palencia tried their luck in Europe, promptly returning before the 2002 World Cup. After the World Cup, Carlos Ochoa and Manuel Vidrio would join Mexican manager Javier Aguirre at Osasuna... and come back before the season was over.

Despite European knowledge of talent in Mexico and strong appearances by the Mexican National Team in international tournaments, the status quo appeared to stay in tact, all but dooming future generations of Mexican players to stay put and keep their dreams as such. In the meantime, Jesús Ramírez, a former player turned manager - with those same dreams quashed during his playing career - worked with a group of teenagers that would prove to be the defining gateway for Mexico's talent to emerge and populate Europe with their brand of skills. Once again, it would take youth and an international title for Mexico to attract attention from top clubs around the world.

Giovanni dos Santos had already attracted them, in all fairness. Son of Brazilian international Zizinho but born in Mexico, at the age of 13 his father contacted FC Barcelona with videos of the child scoring goals and dribbling around opponents as if they weren't even there. It was enough for a tryout - and eventually - a contract. On the Mexican Under-17 squad, he was joined by other teens with diverse backgrounds. Ever Guzmán, who had already debuted in top flight football at the tender age of 16, Carlos Vela, whose older brother Alejandro was a top prospect for Chivas de Guadalajara, one of the country's top teams. Then there were players like Juan Carlos Silva, Héctor Moreno and Javier Hernández, who had bounced around organizations. Ramírez, their coach, had spent years scouring the country for talent with the ultimate goal of winning the 2005 U-17 World Cup, in Peru. The coach had attracted skepticism at best and ridicule at worst when, before boarding the plane to Peru, stated that his group of boys would come back World Champions. When they did, in October of 2005, the country buzzed with excitement and joy at their Niños Héroes and their coach. Mexico had done the unthinkable: win a major championship, and do it beating powers like the Netherlands and Brazil along the way.

This time, when the floodgates were opened, the water rushed out, furious and contained for generations. The U-17 champs went first, with players like Javier Hernández and Efrain Juárez coming back months later, but players like Carlos Vela (the U-17 World Cup's Golden Boot winner) inking a deal with England giants FC Arsenal; later , Héctor Moreno would follow suit and go to AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands. Others soon followed. Andrés Guardado, from the very same club that spawned Rafael Márquez, landed in Spain for Deportivo. Jared Borgetti, a striker who had terrorized defenses in Mexico for more than a decade, found himself playing in England for Bolton. Guillermo Franco, an Argentine native who had filed naturalization papers for Mexico, made the jump to Spain's Villareal. Francisco Fonseca, Carlos Salcido, Francisco Rodríguez, Pável Pardo, Ricardo Osorio, Antonio de Nigris, Nery Castillo, Omar Bravo and Aarón Galindo have all the made the leap with varying degrees of success but mostly supplying their teams with solid performances and perpetuating the notion that cutting through the red tape in Mexico is worth it. Javier Aguirre has recently put his Atlético de Madrid squad in the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1997. And, if there's still any lingering doubts about this being temporary, an ever growing number of Mexican footballers populate European transfer rumors every transfer session. Names like Guillermo Ochoa, César Villaluz, Sergio Avila and Pablo Barrera are sure to make the leap eventually.

Rafael Márquez, now closer to 30 than 20, is entering his 10th full season in European football, his sixth in Barcelona. A consumate example of Sí se puede, it's no surprise that more than half of Mexico's exports are destined to compete for spots in teams' back lines.

A quiet, but always a classy ambassador, he is revered today in his country as the ultimate example for footballers and other athletes alike: The idea that Mexico's finest can play anywhere successfully even if their name isn't Hugo Sánchez.