César Jasib Montes Castro (born 24 February 1997), also known as El Cachorro, 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 ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

club

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

and the

Mexico national team The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (). It competes as a member of CONCACAF. Mexico has qualified to seventeen World Cups and has qualified conse ...

Club career

Monterrey

During a youth league playoff match with Pob. Miguel Alemán against

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

, he caught the attention of the opposing team. He was eventually brought onto Monterrey's youth team and on 2 August 2015, Montes played his first match with Monterrey against Portuguese team Benfica on the inauguration of the

Estadio BBVA Bancomer The Estadio BBVA, nicknamed "El Gigante de Acero" (Spanish for "The Steel Giant"), formerly known as the Estadio BBVA Bancomer, is a stadium developed by FEMSA and C.F. Monterrey in Guadalupe, Greater Monterrey. The stadium replaced the Estadio ...

. Montes came in as a substitute for the second half, and at the 48th minute he scored the first ever-goal in the Estadio BBVA Bancomer. Monterrey defeated Benfica 3–0. Montes made his official debut for Monterrey on 29 July 2015, against

Correcaminos UAT Club de Fútbol Correcaminos de la Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, simply known as Correcaminos UAT, is a Mexican professional football club based in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas. It currently plays in the Liga de Expansión MX. The team wa ...

in an

Apertura 2015 Copa MX The Apertura 2015 Copa MX was the 74th staging of the Copa MX, the 47th staging in the professional era and is the seventh tournament played since the 1996–97 Copa Mexico, 1996–97 edition. This tournament began on July 28, 2015 and ended Nove ...

group stage match, where Monterrey defeated Correcaminos 3–1. At the end of the 2016 Clausura, he was listed in the Best XI. At the end of December 2019, he would win the 2019 Apertura finals against América. With Monterrey's victory of the 2019–20 Copa MX, they had obtained the

continental treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A ''continental treble'' involves winning the club's national league competition, main national cup competition, and main continental trophy. A ...

. Clásico Regiomontano

Clásico Regiomontano Clásico Regiomontano, Clásico Regio, Clásico del Norte or Clásico Norteño is a football derby in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, between crosstown rival teams Monterrey and Tigres. Since the first Clásico in 1974, the two teams have competed over 1 ...

matches against crosstown rivals

Tigres UANL Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Foun ...

have proven to be significant for Montes, scoring three goals against them to date. He would make his league debut on 19 September 2015 against Tigres UANL, contributing a 40-meter long ball assist to

Rogelio Funes Mori Rogelio Gabriel Funes Mori (born 5 March 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga MX club Monterrey. Born in Argentina, he represents the Mexico national team. He began his career at River Plate before transferring ...

to score the only goal for Monterrey where they lost Monterrey lost 3–1. On 14 May 2016, he would score Monterrey's only goal of the second leg of the Clausura 2016 championship quarter-final against Tigres UANL, losing 2–1, but with an aggregate score of 4–3 in favor of Monterrey to allow them move onto the semi-final against América. On 29 October 2016, he would tie the game against Tigres UANL, 1–1. On 21 April 2017, Montes scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Tigres UANL.

Espanyol

On 27 December 2022, Montes moved abroad and joined

side

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...

, with a contract until 2028.

International career

Youth

Montes was part of the roster that participated in the 2018 Toulon Tournament. He would go on to appear in all group stage matches including the semi-final, except for the final where Mexico would go to lose 1–2 against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

since he picked up an injury in the previous match against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. He would go on to be included in the Best XI team of the tournament. On 7 July 2016, Montes was named in Mexico's 21-man squad that would participate in the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil. He would appear in all of Mexico's group stage matches but Mexico would finish third in their group and were thus eliminated from the competition. Ruled out for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship as it was not a FIFA-sanctioned tournament, Montes was called up to participate in the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. He 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 receive ...

with the Olympic team.

Senior

Montes was called up by the senior national team to participate in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He would make his debut on 13 July 2017 during a group stage match against

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, coming in as a substitute for

Rodolfo Pizarro Rodolfo Gilbert Pizarro Thomas (born 15 February 1994) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. Pizarro broke into the senior Pachuca team in 2012, remaining there unti ...

at half-time, finishing the game at 0–0. On 6 June 2019, Montes was called up by coach

Gerardo Martino Gerardo Daniel "Tata" Martino (born 20 November 1962) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. Martino played mostly for Newell's Old Boys in his native Rosario. He holds the record of appearances with the team playing a ...

to participate in the

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

. He appeared as a substitute in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...

match against

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and as a starter in the final group stage match against

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

as Mexico went on to win the tournament. In October 2022, Montes was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...

for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

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

Style of play

A ball-playing defender that has shown maturity despite at a young age, Montes has a great range of passing, and has shown on a few occasions that he’s able to pick out long-range passes, can execute a well-timed, and accurate, slide tackle, has shown he is capable of contributing goals in set-pieces, and is good in the air and able to deal with high balls into the box.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

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

Honours

Monterrey *

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

: Apertura 2019 *

Copa MX The Copa MX (formerly called Copa Tower Monterrey, Copa Eliminatoria, Copa México and Copa Corona MX (for sponsorship reasons)) was a Mexican football cup competition that was established in 1907. After a lengthy hiatus that began in 1997, it wa ...

: Apertura 2017, 2019–20 *

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

: 2019,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Mexico U23 * Olympic Bronze Medal:

2020 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 events, COVID- ...

Mexico *

: 2019 Individual *

Best XI: Clausura 2016 *

Best Rookie: 2015–16 *

All-Star:

Toulon Tournament The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...

Best XI: 2018

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Montes, Cesar 1997 births Living people Mexican footballers Mexico international footballers Footballers from Sonora Sportspeople from Hermosillo Association football defenders C.F. Monterrey players RCD Espanyol footballers Liga MX players Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Mexico 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players Olympic medalists in football Olympic bronze medalists for Mexico Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics 2022 FIFA World Cup players Mexican expatriate footballers Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Spain