Alejandro Zendejas

Alejandro "Alex" Zendejas Saavedra (born February 7, 1998) is a Mexican-American footballer who currently plays as a winger for Club Necaxa of the Liga MX. He also holds U.S. citizenship having grown up in Texas and appeared for U.S. youth squads before signing with Guadalajara.

Alejandro Zendejas
Personal information
Full name Alejandro Zendejas Saavedra
Date of birth (1998-02-07) February 7, 1998
Place of birth Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico[1]
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Playing position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Necaxa
Youth career
2012–2014 FC Dallas
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 FC Dallas 8 (0)
2016– Guadalajara 8 (0)
2017–2018 → Atlético Zacatepec (loan) 28 (4)
2020– → Necaxa (loan) 0 (0)
National team‡
2013 United States U15 10 (2)
2013–2015 United States U17 27 (4)
2017 Mexico U21 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June 29, 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of January 17, 2018
This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Zendejas and the second or maternal family name is Saavedra.

Early life

Zendejas was born in Ciudad Juárez in Mexico before moving to El Paso in the United States at a young age. The MLS, U.S. Soccer and FC Dallas websites all listed him as being born in El Paso, Texas. FC Dallas later confirmed that Zendejas had been born in Mexico.[1]

Club career

FC Dallas

On October 1, 2014, Zendejas signed a homegrown player contract with FC Dallas, making him the 13th homegrown signing in club history. However, he was not eligible to play for the first team until the 2015 season.[2] He made his professional debut on May 1, 2015, in a 4–1 victory over Houston Dynamo.[3]

C.D. Guadalajara

On June 23, 2016, Zendejas signed with Liga MX C.D. Guadalajara. In order to meet with the club's tradition of only using Mexican players,[4][5] Zendejas agreed to reject future U.S. national team call-ups and accept Mexico national team call-ups if they ever occur.[6] Zendejas was registered with the first team and was given the number 29 jersey, the same kit he had at Dallas. Zendejas made his Liga MX debut on August 6, in a match against Querétaro.[7]

Loan at Zacatepec

In a press conference, Chivas coach Matias Almeyda confirmed some youth players would be sent out on loan to sister club Zacatepec to get playing time. On June 8, 2017, Zacatepec announced they had signed Zendejas on loan. Zendejas scored his first professional goal in a Copa MX match against Cruz Azul. He scored his first Ascenso MX goal on August 12, 2017, against Murciélagos F.C. Zacatepec would go on to win 1-0 with his goal.[7]

Necaxa

On June 29, 2020, Zendejas joined Club Necaxa on a free transfer. [8]

International career

Zendejas was a member the United States under-17 squad that competed at the 2015 CONCACAF U-17 Championship. Overall, he gained 27 caps and scored four goals for the U-17 national team.[9] After joining Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara, Zendejas agreed to reject future U.S. national team call-ups and accept Mexico national team call-ups if they occur.

In August 2017, Zendejas was called up to the Mexican under-21 national team for games in China and Qatar, the start of preparation for the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.[10]

Honours

Club
Guadalajara

References
  1. "Tom Marshall on Twitter".
  2. "FC Dallas signs 13th Homegrown player Alejandro Zendejas". FCDallas.com. FC Dallas Media Services. October 1, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  3. Lovell, Darrell (May 1, 2015). "Match Recap: FC Dallas 4, Houston Dynamo 1". FCDallas.com. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  4. C.V., Chivas de Corazon S.A. de. "Nueva incorporación para el Rebaño".
  5. "FC Dallas winger Alex Zendejas set to join Chivas - sources".
  6. "Sources: FC Dallas homegrown Zendejas set for Chivas move". goal.com. Ives Galarcep and Jon Arnold. June 23, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  7. MX, LIGA MX / ASCENSO. "LIGA MX - Página Oficial de la Liga del Fútbol Profesional en México .: Bienvenido". www.ligamx.net.
  8. https://www.mediotiempo.com/futbol/liga-mx/necaxa-alejandro-zendejas-deja-chivas-viste-rayo
  9. "2015 statistics". USsoccer.com. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  10. a.esteban (August 25, 2017). "Sorpresas en Sub 21".
  11. "Regresó el Gigante". chivasdecorazon.com.mx. May 28, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  12. "¡Chivas Campeón de la SuperCopa MX!". chivasdecorazon.com.mx. July 10, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
  13. "Hace historia en la Copa". chivasdecorazon.com.mx. April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
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