Rubio Rubin has quickly become the hope of the goal of the National Team Guatemalan that now has before him the possibility of qualifying for the first time in his history to a World Cup.
Born and raised soccer in the United States, Rubín started his football training with the box of bars and stars from the U-17 to Sub-23 categories, although he could not make the permanent leap to the major selection, where he played some games under the process of Juergen Klinsmann.
But when his dream of being absolute with the United States vanished, the possibility of playing with Guatemala that contacted him upon learning that his mother is Guatemalan.
Although the decision was not easy or immediate, Rubin not only became one of the leaders of Luis Fernando Tena’s process but also helped to convince other players such as the left side Aaron Herrera to join the project.
‘I want to make my own story with Guatemala without seeing other legends. If we manage to qualify the World Cup for the first time we will be historical, ‘Rubin confesses in Charleston, South Carolina, where he plays for the USL Battery.
‘The team technician and the president told me about the project and I liked it. We want to win everything you can. This is a very pretty city. I had not lived on the east coast, I grew up in Oregon, ‘Rubin said in the Patriots Point training field.
Rubin began at the Club level in the Netherlands with the Ultrecht and has spent most of the time between the MLS and the MX League, where he was directed by Diego Armando Maradona in his time as Dorados de Sinaloa.
The anecdote that unites him to ‘Pelusa’ always tells, who one day said, ‘It does not matter if you are in a good or bad mood, you do not have to get caught with the ball.’
At Club level, Rubin wants to take Battery to his first title in history. At the selection level, on September 4, Guatemala began the final round of the World Cup tie in a shared group with Panama, El Salvador and Surinam. The first rival will be the select in a key where the first of the table classifies the World Cup and second place means a potential placed in repechage.
“El Salvador is the team closest to ours, he always wants to beat Guatemala. I visited Panama the first time from a young age for a tournament and in Surinam I have some colleagues that I met in the Netherlands. They will be a great rival,” says Méndez.
The Guatemalan striker was even highlighted on the official FIFA website where their entire route stands out and what it means to the Chapina fans, known as one of Concacaf.
With 13 goals in four years he begins to write his name on the list of scorers of the Chapina team headed by Carlos ‘The fish’ Ruiz who added 68 goals in five qualifiers.
‘Fish’ is a legend and I respect the legends a lot. I am Rubio Rubin and I want to leave my own record, ‘said the scorer.
One of the most recurring themes in this process has been the lack of quality courts in Guatemala, which for many affect the good performance of the local team.
‘It is no coincidence that we play better in the Gold Cup. It is incredible that we only have a court in Guatemala. If you watch here (in the USA) you don’t have to worry about the ball boat for example. You have to work to leave the youngest a legacy because of course other qualifiers and other tournaments will come and must have good playgrounds, ‘said the scorer.
