Mario Méndez (Mexican footballer)

Mario Méndez
Personal information
Full name	Mario Méndez Olagüe
Date of birth	June 1, 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth	Guadalajara, Mexico
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Right Back
Senior career*
Years	Team
1998–2003	Atlas
2004–2005	Toluca
2006	Monterrey
2006	Tigres UANL
2007–2008	Vélez Sársfield
2008–2012	Toluca
2009–2010	Atlas (Loan)
2011–2012	Irapuato (loan)
2013	San Luis
International career‡
2000–2008	Mexico
Medal record
Representing Mexico
CONCACAF Gold Cup
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 October 2012; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 June 2011

Mario Méndez Olagüe (born June 1, 1979) is a Mexican former professional footballer, who last played as a right-back.

Career

Mario Méndez started his career with Club Atlas in the year 1998, in the golden age that included many (at the time, promising) players like Rafael Márquez, Daniel Osorno, Juan Pablo Rodriguez and Miguel Zepeda. With Atlas he got a sub-championship in the year of 1999 having been a vital part in the defense. He stayed with this club until 2004. In 2004 Mario Mendéz was bought by Deportivo Toluca F.C., where he was an important player in the squad playing 49 games and scoring one goal.

Later on Méndez was sent to Monterrey to play for the Rayados of Monterrey. Unfortunately he did not have much time on the field as he was on the Mexico national team (Spanish: Selección de fútbol de México) in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup. Later that year he was transferred to Tigres on 29 May 2006. He previously played for Tigres arch-rival Rayados of Monterrey, but was playing there only on loan, and was signed with Club Toluca who negotiated the transference with Tigres.

He was called up to the Mexico national team to participate in the 2006 World Cup. He started for Mexico's first two games against Iran, Angola and later, in the Elimination Round of 16 against Argentina. In the game against Iran he made an assist in the goal of Zihna. Although he has been criticized for his occasional careless plays and teamwork abilities on the national team, he continues to be one of Mexico's important talented players.

During the Winter Transfer period, Ricardo Lavolpe, head coach of the Argentinen Vélez Sársfield, called on the talents of Mario Méndez for Vélez Sársfield

After Lavolpe's resignation as coach Mendez returned to Mexico, joining Club Toluca.

During the Hugo Sanchez era, Mendez was not called up for Mexico. Méndez returned to the team under the new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. He appeared in the September 2008 friendly match against Chile (a 1-0 defeat), coming on as a substitute for Jaime Correa Córdoba. He now plays for CD Irapuato as of 12 June 2011 after being transferred from Club Toluca.

Honours

Club

Toluca

Primera División de México: Apertura 2008

International

CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2003

Career Statistics

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	January 19, 2000	Estadio Tecnológico, Monterrey, Mexico	Romania	2–1	3–1	Friendly

External links

Mario Méndez at Esmas.com (in Spanish)
Football Database.com provides Mario Méndez's profile and stats
Mario Méndez – Liga MX stats at MedioTiempo.com (archived) (in Spanish)