Roberto Carlos Alvarado Hernández (born 7 September 1998) is a Mexican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a winger for

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

club

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and the Mexico national team. Alvarado made his professional debut with Celaya at the age of 15, the youngest player to play in

Ascenso MX Ascenso MX, also known as Ascenso BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, was a professional association football league in Mexico and the second level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Primera División A de México (1994–2009 ...

. After a short spell with Pachuca, he moved to Necaxa in the summer of 2017. The following year, he was transferred to

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

, where he won a league title, putting an end to a 24-year drought for the club. He joined

in December 2021. Alvarado participated with the Mexico U-21 side that received second place at the 2018 Toulon Tournament. Following his international and club performances, he would earn his first senior international appearance with Mexico on 7 September 2018 in a

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against

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Club career

Celaya

Alvarado made his professional debut on 25 September 2013 in the Apertura 2013 Copa MX group stage match against Estudiantes Tecos, coming on as a substitute for Guillermo Clemens on the 59th minute in a 1–0 win. Three days later, he made his league debut, also against Estudiantes Tecos, in a 0–0 draw, coming on as a substitute for René García on the 86th minute. He was 15 years, 21 days of age. Alvarado scored his first professional goal in the 27th minute of a 1–0 win in a Clausura 2014 Copa MX group stage match against

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on 18 February 2014. He had unsuccessful trials with English clubs

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and

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in November 2014, and Leicester City in January 2015. It was not until the Apertura 2016 season that Alvarado truly broke out, scoring six goals in 14 games, and catching the attention of Mexican top-flight teams.

Pachuca

Pachuca acquired Alvarado from Celaya for the Clausura 2017 season. He would go on to score his first goal with the team on 3 March 2017 while trailing from behind 1–0 in a 3–2 victory over

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

. Although he only played 9 league games in his lone season with Pachuca, he did make two appearances during their

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winning campaign in 2016–17.

Necaxa

Necaxa acquired Alvarado in a deal that involved trading away Edson Puch to Pachuca for the Apertura 2017. On 26 August 2017, he would score his first goal with Necaxa, granting the team a 2–1 win over Atlas. On 14 April 2018, he would score the only goal in Necaxa's 1–0 victory over Lobos BUAP. He became a starter during the Clausura 2018 season. In April, he would attain the Clausura 2018 Copa MX against

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

Cruz Azul

On 21 May 2018, Alvarado joined

. On 21 July, he debuted in a 3–0 league victory against

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

, playing 84 minutes, eventually being substituted out for Misael Domínguez. On 4 August, Alvarado scored his first goal for Cruz Azul in a 1–0 victory against

Tigres UANL Club Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, abbreviated as Tigres UANL and simply known as Tigres or internationally as Tigres de México, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in the Monterrey metropo ...

. Two weeks later, on 18 August, Alvarado notched three assists in a 3–0 victory against León, causing

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to run a story calling Alvarado "a leading light for Cruz Azul" despite his young age. By now he had become a sensation, with the Spanish publication '' Marca'' calling the teenager a "Heaven-sent jewel" later that week. Midway through the tournament, Alvarado was considered by the press to be one of the best midfielders in the league. In November, he would help Cruz Azul attain the Apertura 2018 Copa MX against

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, his second in a row.

Guadalajara

On 26 December 2021, Alvarado joined

in an exchange that saw Uriel Antuna and Alejandro Mayorga join Cruz Azul. On 12 February 2022, he scored his first goal with ''Chivas'' against Tigres UANL in a 1–3 defeat.

International career

Youth

Alvarado was part of the roster that participated at the 2018 Toulon Tournament, where he was the second highest scorer in the tournament with 3 goals, scoring once in the group stage matches against

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and

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and in the final against

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where Mexico lost 2–1. He was called up yet again ahead of the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, but Cruz Azul refused to release him for the tournament. Alvarado participated at the 2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship, appearing in all five matches, where Mexico won the competition. He was subsequently called up to participate in the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. Alvarado won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

with the Olympic team.

Senior

On 29 August 2018, Alvarado received his first call-up to the senior national team for the friendly matches against

and the

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. He made his debut on 7 September, coming on as a second-half substitute for Alan Pulido in their 4–1 loss to Uruguay in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. In May 2019, Alvarado was included in Tata Martino's preliminary roster for the

2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was p ...

. The following month, on 5 June 2019, Alvarado scored his first international goal in a 3–1 friendly victory against

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. The following day, he was included in the final list for Gold Cup tournament. He would go on to appear in all matches of the tournament, helping Mexico win the

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against rivals the

. In October 2022, Alvarado was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man

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for the

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, and in November, he was ultimately included in the final 26-man roster.

Style of play

A gifted playmaker whose versatility is his strongest suit, Alvarado is predominantly a central

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, capable of playing on either flank as well as a second striker. Technically proficient with both feet, playing on the right allowed the opportunity to cut or drift inside onto his favoured left. He has shown an ability to finish from in and around the box, but comparing his shots on target to shots off target suggests that shooting isn't his strongest attribute. Instead, he focuses on creating opportunities. During his time with Necaxa, Alvarado was beating defenders on their left and right sides with a variety of methods. The change of pace is Alvarado's favoured technique, and he excels when there's space behind an opponent to race into, but he can also deceive defenders with close control and, at times, thrilling skill. He is excellent at pulling away from defenders to make himself available for a pass and has a remarkable ability to accurately place floated crosses and through balls. Alvarado plays for his teammates, presses effectively when not in possession and seems to be a balanced character off the field. He has often been compared to fellow national teammate Diego Lainez, although Alvarado has insisted they both have differing playing styles. Cruz Azul manager Pedro Caixinha has compared Alvarado to João Moutinho.

Personal life

Alvarado is named after the Brazilian footballer Roberto Carlos and the Brazilian singer of the same name. Alvarado is nicknamed ''El Piojo'' (The Louse) because of his idol, Argentine former footballer Claudio "''El Piojo''" López.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.''

Honours

Pachuca *

: 2016–17 Necaxa * Copa MX: Clausura 2018 Cruz Azul *

: Guardianes 2021 * Copa MX: Apertura 2018 * Supercopa MX:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual soccer competition between clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), the main soccer league in the United States, and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico. It is hosted in Canada and the United States. It began in ...

Mexico U23 * CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

* Olympic Bronze Medal:

Mexico * CONCACAF Gold Cup:

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CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

: 2024–25 Individual *

Player of the Month: April 2024 *

All-Star:

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/liga-mx-roster-for-2024-mls-all-star-game

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarado, Roberto 1998 births Living people Footballers from Guanajuato Sportspeople from Irapuato Men's association football midfielders Mexican men's footballers Mexico men's international footballers Mexico men's youth international footballers Celaya F.C. footballers C.F. Pachuca players Club Necaxa footballers Cruz Azul footballers C.D. Guadalajara footballers Liga MX players Ascenso MX players Liga Premier de México players Tercera División de México players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Mexico Olympic medalists in football Olympic bronze medalists for Mexico Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2024 Copa América players 21st-century Mexican sportsmen 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players