MEXICO CITY – If it’s a miracle to survive a near-fatal skull fracture, then what do you think of an athlete who is somehow still playing, and not just playing, but playing at the highest level, representing his country at the World Cup?
On paper, Raul Jimenez should not have started the tournament in Mexico on June 11.
Nearly six years before he stepped onto the familiar pitch of Estadio Azteca, the Mexico international suffered a shocking blow to the head, leading not only to questions about the future of his career, but also about his own life. During Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Premier League match against Arsenal in November 2020, his teammates and coaching staff remember literally hearing the striker collide heads with opposition defender David Luiz, leaving Jimenez unconscious and lifeless on the pitch.
“There are things you can erase from your memories, but that moment will remain forever and then (that) noise will stay with me,” former coach Nuno Espirito Santo said in the Wolves documentary. “And then you start hearing, ‘Code red, code red.’
“Is he alive? What’s the red code?
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Jimenez knows he’s lucky he didn’t die after being rushed to the hospital.
“They told me it was like a miracle,” he told The Guardian a year after the event. “A skull fracture, a broken bone, there was some bleeding inside the brain. It was pushing my brain inward.”
Football has obviously taken a backseat. When, after 10 days in the hospital, it is difficult to eat due to subtle movements of the jaw or even just walk, you don’t think about scoring goals. Those thoughts had to be put on the back burner for more than six months when he miraculously returned to the game in the summer of 2021, this time with a padded headband that he will have to wear for the rest of his career.
He returned, but knew he needed to be patient. He knew things wouldn’t be easy.
Jimenez knew that eventually he would get his chance again on the sport’s biggest stage.
The scar is easy to see up close.
When Jimenez spoke to reporters before the World Cup, a line running from his right temple to his ear became a prominent part of his appearance. It’s part of the 35-year-old who doesn’t feel the need to hide it, who has no reason to believe his World Cup ambitions have been stopped.
“I imagined a lot of things: starting the match, scoring a goal and lifting the trophy,” he said. “I think this is something we first have to imagine, think about, dream about. And then go into every match with the intention of making it happen.”
Jimenez has a special connection with the historic Estadio Azteca. It was there that the forward began his career with Club America, the giants of Mexico’s top league, Liga MX. While playing for América at Azteca, Jimenez scored his first professional goal and also won his first Liga MX championship.
Raul Jimenez scored in Mexico’s victory over South Africa to open the World Cup earlier this month. Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
And with Mexico co-hosting this year’s World Cup, another dream emerged: scoring a goal in the stadium. It’s not just another goal on his old turf, but the first World Cup goal for the striker, who has featured in four separate major tournaments for his national team.
“That’s what I’m really excited about. This is what I’m working on. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while,” Jimenez said before the tournament.
Since he was first called up to the World Cup 12 years ago, the Mexican has not been the young twenty-year-old who was about to sign for Atlético Madrid. It’s been a long time coming for the humble video game-loving lad from the small town of Tepeji, who went on to play for Benfica, Wolves and Fulham. After the World Cup he will return to Wolverhampton, signing a two-year contract with the option of a third.
Younger than the mere 40-year-old goalkeeping legend Guillermo Ochoa, Jimenez is now among the elder statesmen of Mexico’s World Cup squad, a role he has embraced.
“I like to lead by example, to show my teammates that it is possible, that we can do it with one more push, that it is always important to never give up and fight for every ball as if it were the last,” Jimenez said. “Giving that extra effort when the team needs it most is when you really need to step up and prove yourself.”
And as much as he would love to score his first World Cup goal, you only have to watch any minute of his time for club or country to understand that he is not just a poacher looking for shots a few yards from goal. Seasoned by years in the Premier League, Jimenez battles for possession, dropping back when necessary and regularly challenging for the ball before quickly playing a quick pass into space to an oncoming runner. This is not a striker who has made a name for himself solely through his ability to put the ball in the net, he is also someone who is hungry to create chances and do a lot of the dirty work.
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“I will never shy away,” he said. “No matter the moment, no matter how important it is, no matter if the game is decided, I will always raise my hand to be on the field to help the team move forward and do whatever it takes to take that extra step.”
Part of this means supporting the next generation of strikers. For a man who is just six goals behind the team’s next all-time leader, Jimenez is pushing to build the strikers who will eventually replace him, testing names such as Chivas’ Armando Gonzalez and Milan’s Santiago Jimenez.
They will have their chances, but this summer is clearly Jimenez’s time to shine. Nearly six years after the horrific injury, he deserves a career highlight that was almost taken away from him.
When Mexico faced South Africa in the opening match of the World Cup, it was the experienced striker who led the line as a keen striker. Taking the lead through a goal from striker Julián Quiñones, Jimenez was the man to seal the 2-0 win over Azteca.
One day, having looked understandably cautious for months, if not a couple of years, whenever a lofted ball was thrown his way, Jimenez headed the ball perfectly and promptly burst into tears. Pointing to the sky and crying, Jimenez experienced a moment of glory at home.
“I haven’t scored a goal this year, so what better time to score than the World Cup,” he said before the game.
The dream doesn’t end there. With Jiménez as their lead striker, Mexico went three out of three in the group stage, thereby qualifying for the World Cup knockout stages. They return to the Azteca on Tuesday for a round of 16 match against Ecuador, and if they win that they will return to Mexico City on July 5. Regardless of whether he scores again in this tournament, Jimenez is simply happy to continue playing, to be part of the national team.
“Let’s hope it’s a great World Cup for the whole squad, not just for me but for the whole team,” he said. “We can make history together.”