Rogelio Funes Mori, the Argentine who chose to play for Mexico and can condemn the national team that trained him

There are three Argentine footballers in the Qatar World Cup who are not part of the campus Selection from Lionel Scaloni. Only one of them could confront her and complicate her plans in Doha this Saturday when Argentina battle with Mexico at the Lusail stadium, the same home of the captained team Lionel Messi fell surprisingly with Saudi Arabia. It concerns Rogelio Gabriele Funes Mori.

“I will give my life for Mexico, because it’s giving me a very important opportunity to continue growing. I think Mexico has given me everything in my football career, the best thing that happened to me is here. Being able to represent Mexico for me is an opportunity to give back something of what this country has given me.” He had no minutes in his debut against Poland.

Despite his huge career in Monterrey, where he is the club’s all-time top scorer with 139 goals, and his recent citizenship -obtained a year and a half ago-, his call to the Mexican cast was very rejected, because the fans remembered his passage for Argentina national teams a decade ago.

Furthermore, his presence has been criticized because in the last season the man from Mendoza had little activity on the pitch MX championship due to injuries. This resulted in criticism of his compatriot as well Gerard Martinothe coach of El Tri, for including him in the list of 26 and excluding him Santiago Gimenezalso born in Argentina but more current in feyenoord from the Netherlands.

The bank, of course, found it in his family, especially his twin i will ramwho was one step away from participating in the World Cup in Russia with Argentina but was excluded at the last moment by Jorge Sampaoli’s call-up and now sees how he becomes his brother the third Argentine to play in a World Cup for Mexicotogether with Guillermo Franco -called up for 2006 and 2010- and Gabriel Caballero, who played in the 2002 World Cup.

“A lot has been said, but he deserves to be in the Mexico national team. He is Monterrey’s all-time top scorer, he has shown what he is in all these years that he has been here in the Mexican league” the defender said in the last few hours. And he added, with a divided heart: “I have so many feelings together , for my brother and for the Argentina national team. I hope it goes well for him, and for my brother too.”

Illegal immigrant to the United States and winner of a reality show

Rogelio Funes Mori was born in Mendoza on March 5, 1991. But at the age of ten his family – like many others in Argentina in the midst of the economic and social crisis of 2001 – made the decision to look for another direction in a new country and chose the United States. , a place they arrived as illegal immigrants.

The first to move was his father, Miguel, who had lost his job at YPF and settled in Atlanta, where he had secured a job before his wife and children left. The first attempt, however, did not go as expected: when they tried to enter as tourists, they were deported. Six months later they chose Miami as their destination and the local authorities believed that story and allowed them inside.

Without a visa or residency, the Funes Mori lived illegally in the United States. His father first cleaned the offices and then set up a mechanical workshop, while his mother, Silvana, worked in a fast food restaurant. Twins Ramiro and Rogelio just wanted to play football and a reality show gave them the opportunity.

The program was broadcast on Univisionthe most important Latin chain in the United States, and had summoned more than five thousand young people eager to become soccer players of the FC Dallas.

The two were among the five finalists and they won the prize of being in the first team but once they got to the club they found out that this was not the case, that they had only gotten a place in the reserve team and that this was far from turning them into professional players in an MLS in full swing.

From River’s dream to songs against and the descent into B

At one of those training sessions in Dallas, Chilean talent scout Jorge Alvial saw the Funes Mori twins and had them try out for Chelsea in England. But then a dilemma arose: if they went to London, they could not return to the United States with their parents because they had been illegal immigrants for several years. So, they gave up that option and took the option to go back to Argentina where one day they had an opportunity Riverthe club that finally welcomed them and where they made their debut.

Installed in the Núñez pension, the first to stand out in the lower ranks was the striker. Rogelio played his first match against Vélez in the Apertura 2009. But the football moment that River was going through did not help him to progress gradually and the criticisms calmed down when he went 14 games without scoring a goal and accompanied him until he left the club.

Before that moment, which happened in August 2013 when he was transferred to Benfica, Rogelio Funes Mori played in the first leg of promotion against Belgrano, faced relegation in 2011 and stayed with the club to play in B and promote to First a year later. Although he scored a goal against Boca Unidos in the final stretch and assisted David Trezeguet twice in the match against Almirante Brown, his low goal percentage (22 in 106 games) caused the end of the relationship with the fan.

Even before his farewell to River, Grupo Fiesta created the song “Hymn to Funes Mori”, which in the chorus said “suddenly the ball arrives without warning, he is positioned to shoot, all the fans are screaming for the goal… and Funes Mori misses it“.

in dialogue with The Millionaire’s Pagethe man from Mendoza acknowledged: “I would change the time when I had to play. At that moment I felt that I was playing well, but that I couldn’t score goals. Now I feel that, with the experience I’ve gained, I’m scoring goals. I’m more mature, I’ve improved in some aspects. I was young at the time and wanted to play. For a young person, these pressures are felt. I would like to take revenge on River.”

Globetrotter until he found a home in Mexico

Although he stayed at the club to watch it grow, Ramón Díaz decided to separate him from the team when he took charge of the team then led by Matías Almeyda. Rogelio was transferred to Benfica from Portugalwhere he immediately dropped to Benfica B.

After one season there, he was loaned out to Eskisherispor from Turkeywhere he achieved the continuity that attracted the Argentine coach Antonio Mohamed, then DT of Monterrey in Mexico.

It was in Los Rayados, where he arrived in July 2015, where he was able to demonstrate his potential and reach his best version, with more than 100 goals to become the top scorer in the club’s history by dethroning Chilean Humberto Suazo (121 points).

But neither his individual performance nor the titles won there – two Mexican Cups, a First Division championship and two Champions Leagues – won him the favor of public opinion, which he did not want Rogelio Funes Mori to play for the Mexico national teamdespite the fact that he himself had expressed his desire before Gerardo Martino called him up in 2021 and had now decided to include him in the squad for the World Cup in Qatar.

“I would like to play for the Mexican national team. I am grateful to this country and its people, who treat me with such affection. I’ve been here in Mexico for almost four years, I play and if they call me I lose my mind“, the attacker anticipated in January 2019.

Two years later, when she received her Mexican nationality certificate, she wrote on her social media: “I want to share with great pride that I am already Mexican. I feel love, respect and appreciation for this great country and its people. I’m very happy!” Shortly after, FIFA approved his change of federation.

“He’s not Mexican”: criticism of his past in the Argentine national team

On July 3, 2021, in a 4-0 win against Nigeria, Rogelio Funes Mori scored a goal and also sang the anthem for an unforgettable debut with the Mexico team. But a decade earlier, the Mendoza striker had nurtured a career in the Argentina national team, mostly in the youth divisions.

In the Major he had played a friendly match in 2012, when the coach was Alejandro Sabella. It was against Brazil and Rogelio only played 14 minutes. But the problem with FIFA was not in that duel but in the six who had played the Sub 20s in South American Peru a year earlierwhich counted as an official Conmebol competition and in which he had scored two goals.

So to effect the change, the goalscorer had to resign from the Argentine Football Federation, send the request to the Mexican Football Federation and seek approval from the FIFA Player Status Commissionarrived on June 16, 2021. “The FIFA Players’ Status Committee has today approved the following change of association. Rogelio Gabriel Funes Mori can represent Mexico with immediate effect,” they reported from the world’s top entity.

Tata Martino was thus able to summon him to the friendly match against Nigeria and, subsequently, insert him on the bona fide roster for the Gold CupMendoza’s first official tournament with the Mexican team.

“A dream for me to be able to debut with the Mexican national team. We have to look ahead because we’ve worked well and this has been reflected on the pitch. There was a lot of nervousness, a little bit of anxiety about everything, but with this type of player, with the boys, with the people who treat me very well, everything has become easier” Funes Mori told TUDN talking about that 4-0 in Nigeria where it took just three minutes and 35 seconds to score his goal, the second for Mexico.

A year and a half later, he participates in his first World Cup and could make his debut against the national team in which he was formed.