Rafael Marquez plays his last game for the Mexico National Team

It wasn’t the finale most had hoped for, but with Brazil’s 2-0 win over Mexico, Rafael Marquez has played his last official game for the Mexico National team.

Marquez had announced earlier this year that this World Cup would be his fifth and last World Cup. His five tournaments are a record high in the competition, a record he shares with fellow Mexican Antonio ‘La Tota’ Carbajal and German midfielder Lothar Matthäus.

Marquez won a number of accolades throughout his career and will no doubt go down as one of the greatest Mexican players of all time. He rose to fame as a 17-year-old for Atlas before joining AS Monaco in Ligue 1. He then joined Barcelona, where he became the first ever Mexican player to win the UEFA Champions League. After a brief stint in Major League Soccer, he went on to win two league titles for Club Leon before eventually returning to his boyhood club Atlas and retiring there.

“El Kaiser” has always been known to be a natural born leader, and all signs seem to indicate this won’t be the last we see of him. Whether it is on the administrative side or coaching part of the game, there will always be a place for Rafael Marquez in Mexican fútbol. Hasta luego, Capi.