Rafael Márquez Lugo

Rafael Márquez Lugo (born November 2, 1981 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a retired football striker and current analyst for Fox Sports Mexico. He is known as Márquez Lugo in order to differentiate from another football player, Rafael Márquez Álvarez.

Club Universidad Nacional

Márquez Lugo joined the Pumas UNAM youth academy when he was six years old. He made his debut in the Primera División on 10 September 2000 against Monterrey. Márquez Lugo played infrequently over the next two years, often as a substitute, making 38 appearances and scoring 9 goals.

Chiapas

On 23 November 2003 Jaguares de Chiapas announced they had signed Márquez to a three-year contract. Márquez only managed to score three goals in 28 appearances.

Morelia

In search of more playing time, he signed a three-year deal with Morelia in 2003. In the 2003 Clausura season he scored seven goals in 13 appearances, and followed that with a team-leading 11 goals in 16 games during the Apertura 2004 season. In the Clausura 2005 season he scored 6 goals. Márquez's contract expired in 2007 and the club chose not to renew him despite his 34 goals in 96 appearances.

Pachuca

Márquez was transferred to Pachuca in 2007. Coach Enrique Meza chose to place him on the loan list after his poor season with the team, where he only managed to net 3 times.

Loan to UAG Tecos

On January 11, 2008 he was loaned to UAG Tecos for six months. After his stint at Tecos, Márquez was loaned to América.

Loan to Club América

Márquez Lugo was loaned to América for six months. He scored 2 goals in 9 appearances

Atlante

Atlante F.C. announced they had signed Márquez Lugo for the Clausura 2009 season. Márquez Lugo scored 14 goals during his time with "Los Potros".

Return to Monarcas

In 2010, Márquez Lugo returned to Morelia. In his first season he scored two goals with the club. His return debut goal was scored in a 6-0 victory against Querétaro. His second goal of the season came in a 1-0 home win against Club Necaxa.

In the 2011 Clausura season Marquez Lugo was a regular starter for Morelia. His first goal of the season against C.D. Guadalajara. It was the equalizer in the 1-1 tie. His second goal came in the very next match against Querétaro. The game ended in a 3-0 away victory. His third goal of the season came against América in the 2-1 away victory. On the 6 of March 2011 he scored a hat-trick for the first time in his career. It came in the 6-1 away victory against Toluca. With this hat-trick he reached 6 goals. On 19 March 2011 he made his seventh goal of the tournament against Santos Laguna in a 1-0 away win for Morelia. His eighth goal of the tournament came on the 9 of April against Cruz Azul. He scored the 1-1 draw for Morelia in an eventual 3-2 away win. On April 12 against Jaguares he scored his ninth goal. He scored the equalizer and eventually Monarcas Morelia won 2-1. He scored the first goal of the Clausura 2012 against Club Tijuana. His performances earned him a call-up to the Selección de fútbol de México (Mexico national team). After playing the best football of his career with Morelia, C.D. Guadalajara announced that they had reached an agreement to sign him.

C.D. Guadalajara

On June 6, 2012 it was announced that C.D. Guadalajara purchased him as their second signing of the transfer window. On July 22, 2012, he made his first official appearance with Guadalajara during an away game against Club Toluca. He netted his first goal during his first appearance in a 2-1 loss. On September 14, 2012, on a visit to Club León, he scored a goal, giving Guadalajara their second win of the season. He led Guadalajara with seven goals in the 2012 Apertura season. In November 2012, the club announced Márquez Lugo was going to have surgery on his left knee after suffering an injury and he was ruled out of action for 3 months. After his return from injury, Márquez Lugo once again led the club's scoring sheet by scoring 14 more goals in all of 2013. In March 2014, Guadalajara had announced that Márquez Lugo had injured the same left knee. He was successfully operated on April 1 and was expected to return in 3-4 months. During physical therapy Márquez Lugo complained that the pain would not alleviate and after further examination from the club doctor, Dr. Rafael Ortega, it was announced that he needed to have a cartilage transplant. Surgery was performed on 19 August 2014 and Dr. Ortega informed the public that Márquez Lugo would be ruled out of action for approximately 6 months. Márquez Lugo's recovery was taking longer than the doctor expected, and his knee was not improving.

On April 22, 2015 during a news interview with TDN Deportes, Márquez Lugo annnouced his retirement from play after three surgeries and a year-long battle he had failed to win against his knee injury. Márquez Lugo is the second player to retire while with the club after various leg issues, the first being Sergio Ávila in 2011.

Márquez Lugo made numerous appearances for Mexican youth national teams, including the U-20 and U-23 levels. He appeared in the 2004 Summer Olympics with the Under-23 squad. He has also was called up by Ricardo Lavolpe to play for the Mexico national football team, which included call-ups to the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Márquez Lugo was announced as one of the 3 over-aged players named to the U-22 team that represented Mexico in the 2011 Copa América. Márquez Lugo appeared in all three of Mexico's matches before they were eliminated.

Club

Pachuca

• North American SuperLiga: 2007

Atlante

• CONCACAF Champions League: 2008-2009

Morelia

• North American SuperLiga: 2010

Individual

• Best Striker of the tournament: Clausura 2011