Luís Roberto Alves dos Santos Gavranić (born 23 May 1967) is a Mexican former 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 le ...
who played as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
.
He is best known in Mexico as Zague, in honor to his
father
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
who was called the same and also played as a forward for
Club América
Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...
. Zague is the all-time top scorer for Club América.
Career
Born in Mexico, his father
José Alves dos Santos was a Brazilian forward who played for
Club América
Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...
and his mother was a
Croatian housewife. Zague spent his childhood in Brazil beginning his youth football career with
Corinthians
The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...
. He returned to Mexico in 1985 and made his debut with the Mexican
Club América
Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...
a year later.
On 2 October 2003, his
testimonial game was celebrated at the
Estadio Azteca
Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of above sea level. Wit ...
where America would defeat
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded ...
2-0.
He was a physically strong and fast striker who was regarded as the best in his prime years for both
América and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. He was
Hugo Sánchez
Hugo Sánchez Márquez (born 11 July 1958) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager, who played as a forward. A prolific goalscorer known for his spectacular strikes and volleys, he is widely regarded as the greatest Mexican fo ...
`s strike partner in the Mexican side who finished as runner-up in
Copa América 1993
Copa or COPA may refer to:
COPA
COPA may refer to:
* Computer Operator Programming Assistant. trade of ITI
* Child Online Protection Act, a former U.S. law to protect minors from certain material on the internet
* Canadian Owners and Pilots Asso ...
, where he finished up as Mexico's top goalscorer of the tournament.
He was part of the
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
squad for the
1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the second edition of the Gold Cup, the soccer championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF).
The format of the tournament stayed the same as in 1991: eight teams were broken up into ...
in which Mexico won the trophy and was the tournament top scorer with 11 goals which is still a CONCACAF record. Seven of those goals were scored 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 ...
.
He scored 30 goals in 84 caps for his country.
In the
Primera División de México
The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional Association football, football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year.
The league is considered the strongest in North America, and amo ...
he is the 7th highest goalscorer with 209 goals.
Since 2018, Zague is an analyst for
TV Azteca
TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as some local operators. It owns two national ...
, alongside
Luis García and
Jorge Campos
Jorge Campos Navarrete (born 15 October 1966) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
A notable player of Mexico in the 1990s and early 2000s, Campos was an eccentric player, known for his constant play outside ...
.
Honours
América
*
Mexican Primera División
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 al ...
:
1987–88,
1988–89
*
Campeón de Campeones
''Campeón de Campeones'' ( es, Champion of Champions) is an annual Mexican football competition established in 1942. In its current form, the winner of the Apertura season faces the winner of the Clausura season, for both Liga MX and Liga MX Feme ...
:
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
,
1989
*
CONCACAF Champions' Cup
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 ...
:
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
,
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
,
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
*
Copa Interamericana
The Copa Interamericana ( en, Interamerican Cup) was an annual club football competition contested between a representative from North America (CONCACAF) and South America (CONMEBOL). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACA ...
:
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
Mexico
*
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 ...
:
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
Individual
*
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 ...
top scorer:
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
*
Club América
Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...
All Time Leading Goalscorer
Career statistics
International goals
Luis Roberto Alves "Zague" - Goals in International Matches
/ref>
References
External links
at RSSSF
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around the ...
.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alves, Luis
1967 births
Living people
Mexican people of Brazilian descent
North American sportspeople of Brazilian descent
Mexican people of Croatian descent
Footballers from Mexico City
Association football forwards
Mexican footballers
Mexico international footballers
Club América footballers
Atlante F.C. footballers
Club Necaxa footballers
Liga MX players
1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
1993 Copa América players
1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
1994 FIFA World Cup players
1995 King Fahd Cup players
1995 Copa América players
CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players