On 11 June at Mexico City Stadium, 23-year-old striker Armando Gonzalez and 22-year-old defender Mateo Chavez lived out a childhood dream: they reached the FIFA World Cup™. The cameras caught them arm in arm during the anthem, eyes welling, sharing a moment they had chased since they were boys.
“We cried more in the tunnel than out on the pitch,” Chávez said when FIFA interviewed the pair. They have plenty in common, not least that both are sons of former professionals, inheritors of a shared footballing lineage.
It was through those family ties that Gonzalez and Chavez first crossed paths. Photos of the pair as children have resurfaced since El Tricolor’s opener against South Africa, a 2-0 victory.
“We met at Necaxa, when my dad [Armando Gonzalez Bejarano] was coaching and his was playing,” Gonzalez said. “We were always at the club. During training, we’d knock about in the gym or on the pitches.” As it often does, football took them in different directions for a time, before bringing them back together at Chivas, where both began their professional careers.
Against South Africa, Guadalajara’s leading scorer made his World Cup debut with 14 minutes remaining. “I went on with a smile,” Gonzalez said. “We used to dream about this when we were kids; it’s all we ever wanted. I was only thinking about giving everything.”
Chavez, meanwhile, is one of four players yet to feature from the 26-man squad. With Mexico’s final group-stage match to come, he may well get his opportunity on the flank usually occupied by Jesus Gallardo, a regular in Javier Aguirre’s side throughout the campaign.
His father, Paulo Cesar Chavez – known as El Tilón – was part of El Tricolor’s squad for France 1998 but was cut just days before the tournament began, with the team already in camp. The former midfielder has spoken of his pride at seeing his son make the squad and has been watching from the stands.
Reflecting on his father’s experience, the younger Chavez said: “It really stayed with him. Now he gets to live the tournament in a different way, through me. I’ve told my family to enjoy it and not worry about what might come. We’ve already taken the first step. Now I can’t wait for them to see me play.”
Before breaking into the senior side, Gonzalez and Chavez had already played alongside each other at youth level and have tracked each other’s progress ever since. It was there, too, that Chavez first saw his team-mate’s now-familiar celebrations take shape – a nod to his fondness for Japanese anime.
Both have fond memories of South Africa 2010, one of their earliest glimpses of the tournament. They even swapped stickers for their albums. “I loved Chicharito’s goal against Argentina,” Gonzalez said, recalling one of his standout moments as a fan. He would later meet Javier Hernandez at Chivas, where the striker took him under his wing. And last month La Hormiga inherited the No14 shirt for Mexico, the number Hernandez wore when he became the country’s all-time leading scorer.
“I’m incredibly proud and grateful that God has brought me here,” Gonzalez said of the opportunity to play at the tournament. Chavez echoed that sentiment: “I’m trying to enjoy every day, and I hope to wear this shirt for a long time to come.”
Sources: FIFA Official
