Gabriela Álvarez travelled to her first World Cup to score goals.
She was 16 and part of the Mexico squad that competed at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan. The squad announcement published at the time divided the 21 players by position and listed her among the team’s six forwards.
Fourteen years later, Álvarez is a centre-back.
She also played in midfield between those two positions. What she never lost was the ball-striking ability that had once placed her closer to the opposition’s goal.
Gabriela Rocío Álvarez Huerta was born in Tepic on 21 February 1996.
Mexico were eliminated in the group stage, but the tournament placed Álvarez on an international stage five years before Liga MX Femenil was launched.
Six years between the World Cup and her professional debut
Her professional debut did not come until 22 July 2018.
Álvarez was 22 when she came on in the 80th minute of Monterrey’s 4-0 victory over Necaxa. Alicia Cervantes also made her Rayadas debut that day. They were two of the club’s seven new arrivals ahead of the 2018 Apertura.
Monterrey initially presented Gabriela as a midfielder. She made 18 appearances across her two tournaments with the club and was part of the squad that reached the 2019 Clausura final.
She then began a journey that would take her to six Liga MX clubs.
Álvarez joined Pumas in 2019 and found greater continuity there. She played 34 matches before moving to Juárez at the beginning of 2021.
It was with Las Bravas that she became established as a defender and produced one of the most recognisable moments of her career.
The strike that reached FIFA
Juárez were leading Querétaro 1-0 when they were awarded a free kick a long way from goal in added time.
Álvarez could have sent the ball into the penalty area and run down the final few seconds. She chose to shoot.
Her strike beat the goalkeeper and flew into the top corner to complete a 2-0 victory. It was her second direct free-kick goal of the tournament, and FIFA shared the effort through its official Women’s World Cup account.
It was not an isolated incident.
On 16 August 2024, now playing for Mazatlán, Álvarez stood over another dead ball near the centre circle. Their match against Necaxa was level with half an hour remaining.
She decided to shoot directly from halfway. The ball again found the top corner and gave Mazatlán a 1-2 victory, their first of that Apertura.
At the time, it was only the fourth goal of her Liga MX career. Two of them had come from positions from which most players would not even have attempted a shot.
More than 150 appearances for six clubs
After Monterrey, Pumas and Juárez, Álvarez also represented Cruz Azul, Mazatlán and Querétaro.
She has made more than 150 Liga MX appearances in several very different roles. Álvarez did not play half of the available minutes in either of her tournaments with Rayadas, but completed 93% in her first campaign with Pumas. She later wore the captain’s armband at Juárez and continued to add experience with Cruz Azul, Mazatlán and Querétaro.
At 1.64 metres, she does not fit the mould of a centre-back who relies on height. Her most recognisable quality in possession is the power and range of her right-footed striking, both from set pieces and through long-range efforts.
Her career began in a completely different position.
Mexico selected her for the U-17 World Cup as a forward. Monterrey signed her as a midfielder. She ultimately established herself as a defender in the professional game.
Her position changed, but she never stopped looking towards goal.
