1xBet Монголоос clients can talk about who is the best player in the history of Mexico for a very long time. Some will name the legendary goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal, who played in 5 World Cups. Others will choose Hugo Sanchez, the 5-time Spanish champion. Someone will immediately remember Cuauhtémoc Blanco, who was recognized as the best player in the Liga MX 4 times and invented his own trick, The Cuauhtemiña.

Awards and titles

However, legendary defender Rafael Marquez stands out among these outstanding masters. Like Carbajal, he played in 5 World Cups, but unlike his great predecessor, he made it to the playoffs with the team every time. Like Pentapichichi, Rafa won the European leagues five times, adding four more with Barça to his first title with Monaco, but managed to conquer the Champions League, which Hugo failed to achieve. Finally, Marquez played less in his homeland than Blanco but managed to win 2 championship titles, while Cuauh only had 1 victory. And although Rafael does not have a personal trick, he does have an incredibly stylish nickname, El Kaiser de Michoacán, received for its resemblance to the playing style of the unrivaled Franz “Kaiser” Beckenbauer, who left us earlier this year.

First steps and moving to Europe

Rafa Marquez began his career long before the advent of social networks: in 1996, a 17-year-old boy debuted at the Atlas club. There, he quickly got used to it, and soon, people started talking not only in Mexico but also in Europe about the young and precocious defense line player who loves to join attacks. Marquez played in his first team for three seasons, after which he was transferred to Monaco for $6 million.

Invitation to the national team

By that time, Marquez had already established himself in the Mexican national team, and there is a funny story connected with his first call-up to El Tricolor. Then, 17-year-old Marquez still received a rather unexpected invitation and, flattered, went to the national team’s location. There, it turned out that he received the invitation by mistake: the coaches of the first team wanted to call his teammate Cesar Marquez. However, Rafa soon proved that he was worthy of a place on the national team. Although our hero did not make it into the final squad for the 1998 World Cup, a year later, the 20-year-old defender was part of the team that won the Confederations Cup.

Great journey with Blaugranas

In 4 years, Marquez won the French championship, acquired the status of one of the best central defenders in Ligue 1, and his name appeared on the short list of Barcelona – the official partner of 1xBet.

In 2003, Catalan coach Frank Rijkaard convinced the bosses to give 5 million euros for Marquez, and Rafa quickly became one of the leaders in the new team. Over 7 years at Blaugranas under the leadership of Rijkaard and Guardiola, the footballer played 242 matches, scoring 13 goals. There could have been even more games, but the defender often missed matches due to injuries. But that didn’t stop Rafa from earning his status as a legend at the club, where he won 12 prestigious trophies and played with superstars like Ronaldinho, Xavi, Henry, Iniesta, and Messi.

Coaching career

In 2010, El Kaiser de Michoacán went to North America, where he defended the colors of the New York Red Bulls for two seasons, and then played in his homeland in Leon and his first club, Atlas, managing to go to Italy during the break and play a season for Verona.

After finishing his playing career, Rafa was looking for an opportunity to stay in football and, in 2022, received an offer from Barcelona, with whom he maintained good relations all the years after the termination of his contract. Rafa was invited to coach the youth team of the Barcelona Athletic club. After Xavi’s announcement that he would leave the club at the end of the season, Marquez began to be called one of the potential candidates for the position of head coach. He has unique experience, leadership qualities and knows the team’s inner workings very well.