Rogelio Funes Mori is CF Monterrey’s all-time top goalscorer, and he’ll be looking to take center stage again this Tuesday in the Leagues Cup 2023 semi-final against Nashville SC. His career started when he won a reality TV show that earned him a spot in the FC Dallas youth academy. Since then, his career has had ups and downs, from the lows of relegation to the highs of title wins. Here’s a look at the forward’s career so far.
Although he was born in Mendoza, on March 5, 1991, the forward has opted to represent Mexico, where he has been playing since 2015. When he was ten, his family decided to settle in the United States. The first to make the move was his father Miguel, who after losing his job moved to Atlanta, where he found employment again before his wife and children joined him.
The twins, Ramiro and Rogelio Funes Mori, had their hearts set on playing football, and they were given that opportunity in a reality TV show, Sueño MLS. The show brought together more than five thousand young players, all dreaming of joining FC Dallas.
The two were among the five finalists and were awarded a spot at the club. Upon arrival, they discovered that they had earned a place in the reserve team and that they were still a long way from becoming professional players in MLS.
In one of his training sessions with FC Dallas, Rogelio began to speak with agents and showed his willingness to make it as a professional. On returning to Argentina, both Rogelio and his brother end up joining River Plate.
When both joined the Buenos Aires-based club, it was the striker who first made an impression in the youth teams. Rogelio then made his first-team debut against Vélez Sarsfield in the Apertura 2009 campaign, but the club’s poor form hindered his development. He was then the subject of criticism when he went 14 games without scoring, which carried on until he eventually left the club.
Before leaving for Benfica in 2013, Funes Mori was involved in the relegation play-off against Belgrano in 2011 that saw the team relegated, and stayed at the club the following year as they earned promotion back to the top flight of Argentinian soccer.
After a season in Portugal, he was loaned to Eskişehirspor in Turkey, where his consistency caught the eye of Argentinian coach Antonio Mohamed, then-manager of CF Monterrey. It was at Rayados, where he arrived in July 2015, that he was able to realize his potential, scoring over a century of goals to become the club's all-time top scorer, eventually dethroning the Chilean Humberto Suazo (121 goals).
During this summer’s Leagues Cup 2023, the forward has shown that he still has an eye for goal in the crucial moments, having scored a late winner in the 3-2 win over **Los Angeles FC** to send his team to the semi-finals. Having already made history with his club in Mexico, Rogelio Funes Mori will look to be the difference-maker once again as Leagues Cup enters its final stages.
