“El Chino” or Lucas Zelarayán. Having conquered Mexico and the U.S., he went to Europe wearing the jersey of the Armenian national team

Armenia always had footballers from abroad as a part of its national team. At different times, the Armenian Football Federation was meticulously searching all over the world to find footballers of Armenian descent to involve them in the games of the national team. In the history of newly independent Armenia, there are a lot of footballers like this. Éric Assadourian was shining in the national team jersey in 90s, in 2000s Andrey Movsesyan stood out with his excellent games, and in the previous decade, the one who stole hearts of Armenian fans was Aras Ozbilis.

In 2016, the Armenian media regularly paid attention to footballers who made their names abroad but never wore the jersey of the Armenian national team. In particular, we were looking for the forward line leader, since Yura Movsisyan was in the twilight of his career. Surely, Lucas Zelarayán from the Mexican Tigres was considered an ideal option. His fantastic goals, assists and brilliant passes have been regularly discussed on the Internet, however, it was impossible to come to an agreement with him. Finally, October 2021 marked with his long-waited debut.

What path did Lucas Zelarayán go through before he reached the Armenian national team?

Lucas Zelarayán was born in Córdoba, Argentina. For those who do not know, Córdoba is the second largest city of Argentina, with the population of approximately 1.5 million people. Since the end of the 19th century, Córdoba was considered to be the city of refugees. In the beginning of the 20th century, the majority of population consisted of immigrants from different countries. Those who were coming to Córdoba to try their fortune were Italians and Spaniards. However, it is impossible to go to a city, even in Argentina, and not to find a single Armenian. On June 20, 1992, the cry of a new Armenian was heard in the family of Carlos and Silva Zelarayán. Lucas was born.

It is almost impossible to be born in Argentina and not be interested in football (almost the same as being born in Italy and not liking pizza or pasta). Already at the age of 3, it was impossible to take the ball away from Lucas even when sleeping, and at the age of 4, Carlos Zelarayán brought him to the local Belgrano club, where Lucas took his first steps in football.

“When I was little, everybody in the yard imagined themselves as Maradonna or Batistuta, however I imagined myself playing in the Belgrano club. I really wanted to become a part of the starting team of this club one day. My favorite footballer was Paolo Frangipane (the Argentinian footballer, who was playing in Belgrano that time – ed.)”, Zelarayán said in one of his interviews years before.

Surely, any footballer dreams of having a great career, but few can believe that this career will be so significant that one day fans will decorate the walls of their hometown with their pictures. Lucas’ fans have painted one of the walls in Córdoba with beautiful graffiti. Thus, as a kid, Zelarayán was once dreaming of playing in Belgrano, and now, children of the city wake up every day, hoping to follow Lucas’ path.

“I am unconditionally proud to be an inspiration for children. I understand them well. I love Córdoba and Belgrano so much, but in order to succeed in my career I needed to take a step forward and move to another club”, Lucas said.

Zelarayán was right. Belgrano has never had stars, and never managed to keep stars of this scale in its team. And it was really hard to keep Lucas. Since his debut, he became the leader of the senior team, scoring 10 goals and 6 assists in 77 games. It is strange but, being an Armenian born in Argentina, he got the nickname “El Chino” (they probably did not hear about tolerance in Córdoba that time), probably for his appearance. Thus, “El Chino”, conquering hearts of local fans first, entered the international arena, becoming the transfer target of foreign teams.

The most persistent of them was the Mexican Tigres, which paid 4.5 million euro to the modest Belgrano in winter 2015. It was undeniable that Lucas would shine in the homeland of the Aztecs. Lucas became the Mexican champion in the very first competition season.

In general, within 4 years, Zelarayán won gold medals two more times, as well as held the so-called “Champion of Champions” trophy. In 4 years, Lucas has made tremendous progress. Having worn the Tigres jersey 140 times, “El Chino” scored 23 times with 14 effective passes.

It may seem that the efficiency for the midfielder’s attacking style is not something impressive, but Lucas’ secret of success is the teamwork and the exceptional gut feeling at finding the right teammate in the field at the right time. Having taken all this into account, Columbus Crew, the representative of the American Football League, made a record offer of 7 million euro, which the Tigres could not refuse. Lucas received his number 10 jersey and a special salary privilege, being the only one in the team who earned more than the league’s benchmark salary. There is no need to mention how justified this transfer was.

During the first competition season, Lucas became the league’s most valuable footballer and the best newcomer. In 2020, he won the MLS Cup and got the right to participate in the league’s all-star game. Moreover, Lucas Zelarayán has been playing this game for three years in a row. And by what right should another player participate in this game? Who else can score these magnificent goals?

Born in Argentina, Lucas dreamed of wearing this team’s jersey one day, but he never forgot about his roots. It is hard to say what choice “El Chino” would make if he received the invitation from La Albiceleste.

Lucas said that he did not think long after the invitation from the Armenian national team.

“When I was told that the Armenian national team wanted to invite me, I immediately called my parents, and they started crying from happiness. I also got excited and accepted the offer. I could not wait to join the team and meet other guys. I have never regretted my choice. Armenia has always been in my heart”, Lucas Zelarayán said.

Despite excellent performances in the club, effective action in the national team were not recorded in any way. Fans had to wait more than one year before Zelarayán revealed his abilities. In the qualifying match for Euro 2024 in Wales, Zelarayán scored 2 goals and 1 assist, being recognized as the best player of the day.

At one time, Lucas impressed everyone in Argentina, then he made people from Mexico and the U.S. admire him. Now it is Saudi Arabia’s turn. The transfer “hurricane” in 2023 brought together the world football legends like Karim Benzema, Marcelo Brozovic, N’Golo Kante as well as our Lucas Zelarayán to the world’s biggest peninsula. Al Fateh fans can hope for the championship, and the opposing team goalkeepers will now think long before leaving their goalposts even for a few inches.