Armando León NK Osijek Marco Fabián Mexico national team, Digi Mart USA News: One of the most surprising names on the list Rafael Márquez released for the Concacaf Nations League matches against Jamaica was Armando León, a forward who plays for NK Osijek in Croatia. In that competition he has five goals and three assists, which earned him the chance to represent his country.
Anyone who knows León well is Marco Fabián, a former player for Chivas, Cruz Azul and the Mexican national team, who now owns Rangers de Andorra. León played for Rangers when he found no place in Mexican football, after earlier spells with Pachuca and León in Liga MX and Alebrijes in Liga de Expansión.
“Armando’s case is unusual. For me it is a story of life and motivation for everyone, which is never giving up and always giving your best with what is in your hands.
He is a great human being, a hard worker, with a full mentality of always wanting to be better. When he realized he could change his life, he did it when he accepted a second chance,” Fabián said.
He recalled that León started in Pachuca’s youth system and made his first-division Copa debut with León, but received few minutes there and then faded from view. That is when Fabián became involved.
Fabián said León’s qualities can be compared, with all due proportions, to those of Raúl Jiménez. “Keeping proportions in mind.
Raúl is one of the best strikers Mexico has produced. I see a small similarity in that type of player.
Raúl likes to drop deep, receive the ball in midfield, look for support, is strong, covers the ball very well and is good in the air. Obviously there is no comparison, but so people can picture it, it is something along those lines.”
León scored 44 goals in three seasons with Rangers de Andorra, according to the article. His name then emerged in the orbit of Croatian football with NK Osijek, a club accustomed to competing for European places in that country.
Fabián said he felt the league was becoming too small for León, who kept scoring and performing well. “I told him, ‘don’t despair, it will come to you.’ I began to move on my own, and above all in the market I know.
I spoke, without naming names, with some clubs in Mexico about Armando, but there was never a possibility.”
Fabián said that when the chance to go to Croatia arose, León told him he wanted to leave, and he did. “A week later he was already training with them.
I knew that with this step his career was on the rise, and that is what fills me with joy.”
