César Huerta #21

Profile

Huerta’s career has never followed a straight line. A product of the Chivas academy, he was unable to establish himself at Mexico's biggest club and spent years searching for an opportunity through loans at Atlético Morelia and Mazatlán. For many players, those detours become dead ends. For Huerta, they became motivation. Everything changed at Pumas, where his fearless dribbling, energy and personality turned him into one of Liga MX's most exciting attackers. His performances eventually earned him a dream move to Europe. Injuries have made his first season with Anderlecht in Belgium frustrating, sidelining him for much of the campaign, but Huerta has refused to let adversity define him. “You have to keep believing even when nobody else does,” he said in the Claro Sports documentary series La Selección en Tus Manos. Direct, unpredictable and full of confidence, “Chino” arrives at a (largely) home World Cup as proof that perseverance can sometimes be the greatest talent of all.

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