Alejandro Zendejas Saavedra (born 7 February 1998) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga MX club América.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alejandro Zendejas Saavedra | ||
| Date of birth | (1998-02-07) 7 February 1998 (age 24) | ||
| Place of birth | Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico[1] | ||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | América | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2014 | FC Dallas | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2016 | FC Dallas | 8 | (0) |
| 2016–2020 | Guadalajara | 8 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | → Zacatepec (loan) | 32 | (4) |
| 2020–2021 | Necaxa | 50 | (11) |
| 2022– | América | 37 | (12) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2013 | United States U15 | 10 | (2) |
| 2013–2015 | United States U17 | 27 | (4) |
| 2017 | Mexico U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2021 | Mexico U23 | 3 | (1) |
| 2021– | Mexico | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 April 2022 | |||
Zendejas was born in Ciudad Juárez in Mexico before moving to El Paso in the United States at a young age. The MLS, U.S. Soccer and FC Dallas websites all listed him as being born in El Paso, Texas. FC Dallas later confirmed that Zendejas had been born in Mexico.[1]
On October 1, 2014, Zendejas signed a homegrown player contract with FC Dallas, making him the 13th homegrown signing in club history. However, he was not eligible to play for the first team until the 2015 season.[2] He made his professional debut on May 1, 2015, in a 4–1 victory over Houston Dynamo.[3]
On June 23, 2016, Zendejas signed with Liga MX C.D. Guadalajara. In order to meet with the club's tradition of only using Mexican players,[4][5] Zendejas agreed to reject future U.S. national team call-ups and accept Mexico national team call-ups if they ever occur.[6] Zendejas was registered with the first team and was given the number 29 jersey, the same kit he had at Dallas. Zendejas made his Liga MX debut on August 6, in a match against Querétaro.[7]
In a press conference, Chivas coach Matías Almeyda confirmed some youth players would be sent out on loan to sister club Zacatepec to get playing time. On June 8, 2017, Zacatepec announced they had signed Zendejas on loan. Zendejas scored his first professional goal in a Copa MX match against Cruz Azul. He scored his first Ascenso MX goal on August 12, 2017, against Murciélagos F.C. Zacatepec would go on to win 1-0 with his goal.[7]
On June 29, 2020, Zendejas joined Club Necaxa on a free transfer.[8]
Zendejas was a member the United States under-17 squad that competed at the 2015 CONCACAF U-17 Championship playing alongside future USMNT stars Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams. Overall, he gained 27 caps and scored four goals for the U-17 national team.[9] After joining Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara, Zendejas agreed to reject future U.S. national team call-ups and accept Mexico national team call-ups if they occur.
In August 2017, Zendejas was called up to the Mexico under-21 squad for games in China and Qatar, the start of preparation for the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.[10]
Zendejas received his first call-up to the senior national team by Gerardo Martino, and made his debut on 27 October 2021 in a friendly match against Ecuador, coming in as a substitute in the 65th minute for Uriel Antuna.[11]
In late August 2022, FIFA issues an investigation probe on the Mexican Football Federation regarding Zendejas' call-ups to friendly matches in October 2021 and April 2022, against Ecuador and Guatemala respectively, the matches themselves were non-FIFA regulated matches but nevertheless, Zendejas' national team allegiance was still under the 'legal' jurisdiction of the United States Soccer Federation, meaning that Zendejas (illegally) took part of call-ups to friendly matches without consulting or filing a one-time switch to FIFA in order to switch national team allegiances, a violation of FIFA regulations.[12]
On November 9, 2022, Zendejas’ attorneys reveal to media that the player is considering a one-time switch transfer to the United States, other details include that USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter would consider lining-up Zendejas in the USMNT at some point after their participation in the 2022 World Cup.[13]
| Club | Season | League | Cup[lower-alpha 1] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| FC Dallas | 2015 | MLS | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 0 | ||
| Guadalajara | 2016–17 | Liga MX | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | – | – | 10 | 1 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 8 | 0 | 15 | 1 | — | — | 23 | 1 | ||||
| Zacatepec (loan) | 2017–18 | Ascenso MX | 32 | 4 | 8 | 1 | — | — | 40 | 5 | ||
| Necaxa | 2020–21 | Liga MX | 32 | 5 | — | – | – | 32 | 5 | |||
| 2021–22 | 18 | 6 | – | – | – | 18 | 6 | |||||
| Total | 50 | 11 | — | — | — | 50 | 11 | |||||
| América | 2021–22 | Liga MX | 18 | 5 | — | – | – | 18 | 5 | |||
| 2022–23 | 19 | 7 | – | – | – | 19 | 7 | |||||
| Total | 37 | 12 | — | — | — | 37 | 12 | |||||
| Career total | 135 | 27 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 160 | 29 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
Guadalajara
Club América – current squad | |
|---|---|