Mexican Edson Álvarez is an example of perseverance and discipline

Mexican Edson Álvarez is a case of effort and tenacity, as his discipline and consistent hard work led him to one of the best leagues in the world.

The current addition to West Ham, Mexican Edson Álvarez, for the 2023-2024 season, grew in the world of sports far from the glamour of a professional footballer.

He was never accustomed to luxuries, let alone sports “godfathers”; he made it on his own merit.

At the age of 19, he began to forge his own story in a football world that has less and less room for Mexicans, regardless of whether they play for the most successful teams or for youth national teams.

Álvarez was born in Tlalnepantla de Baz, a municipality north of Mexico City, to Adriana Velázquez and Evaristo Álvarez.

In the midst of a humble family background, Álvarez decided to try out for the youth team of Club América and eventually made it to the team after a three-month trial.

But it wasn’t easy; he would commute for three to four hours daily from his home in Tlalnepantla to the club’s training ground in Coapa.

According to Álvarez, that daily cost, in addition to the physical toll, meant he spent nearly 70 percent of his monthly salary on transportation.

“As a child, you dream of playing in a packed stadium, with people cheering and supporting you,” the footballer stated in an interview with ESPN in 2016.

Mexican Edson Álvarez: Millionaire

This summer, Edson Álvarez completed his transfer from Ajax in the Netherlands to the Hammers for $42 million.

This figure makes Mexican Edson Álvarez the second most expensive sale in the history of a Mexican football player.

The zeros in the numbers fade away when Edson remembers his early days in football.

At just 14 years old, the young midfielder was cut from Pachuca’s youth academy after a two-year process due to his height.

“The hardest blow I’ve ever had was when I was let go from Pachuca because I knew it was the dream of the entire family. I said, ‘I’m not going to play football anymore,’ I was very disappointed,” he recalled.

“I was on the ground, defeated, in the Fourth Division, but I told myself, ‘Come on, son. Let’s go, let’s go!’ You’re working, so you have to produce something from what you’re doing,” his father, Evaristo Álvarez, remembers.

Two years later, at the age of 16, Edson Álvarez convinced himself to try out for América and was accepted after three months of trials.

But the young man grew, literally, and today Edson stands at 1.87 meters, and in 2016, he was the only youth player from América’s academy to start for the team under the management of Ricardo La Volpe.

The central defender, adapted by La Volpe as a right-back due to a high number of injuries that affected América, spent between three and four hours daily commuting and spent over 70 percent of his salary on transportation for the approximately 40-kilometer journey from his home in Tlalnepantla to the club and back.

He showed his first moment of character in the Copa MX Semifinal in October 2016, against Chivas. While some of the more experienced players on the team refused to take a penalty kick, Edson requested the ball.

His father and brother were players in the Third and Second Division. They are always there to remind Edson that with effort, hard work, and sacrifice, any dream is possible.

Also read: Total Mastery by the Mexican: Canelo Álvarez vs. Jermell Charlo Fight.