Mexican striker Oribe Peralta is hanging up his cleats after nearly 2 decades of professional soccer.
The 38 year old took to Twitter to announce his retirement, expressing his gratitude to the fans who have shown support throughout his dream career.
"19 years of wearing the professional coat, plus a lifetime of dedication and devotion. This is my way of saying goodbye and above all of thanking you, my hobby, and each of the people who made this dream possible. You are all worth Gold!" said Peralta in a Tweet on Wednesday.
Peralta has been widely-recognized as being the break-through player during one of the most crucial time periods in Mexican soccer.
2012 London Olympics: Mexico arrived to London for the 2012 Olympic tournament without being regarded as one of the favorites to win the whole competition in this particular sport. The Mexican national team caught everyone by surprise with the momentum the team caught throughout the tourney, defeating teams in a thrilling fashion and reaching deeper and deeper until reaching the final match.
On August 11, 2012, the Mexican national team faced off against the eternal powerhouse that is Brazil in the final stage of the tournament at Wembley Stadium.
The Brazilian team, led by world-class soccer stars like Neymar, Marcelo, and other players from European big clubs, came into this game as heavy favorites over the Mexican national team.
Just 29 seconds into the game, Mexico's Oribe Peralta scored the first goal of the game with a strike low into the back of the net. The quick game led to Mexico taking full control of the match entering the second half, before Peralta scored a second goal with a header to take a commanding 2-0 lead over the South Americans.
In the late stages of that Olympic final, the Brazilians were able to score a goal with just minutes away from the game coming to an end, but the Mexicans were able to hold onto a 2-1 final scoreboard to take home the Gold medal.
That victory almost ten years ago became the first time in Mexico's national soccer team history where they conquered the Gold medal. However, this accomplishment wouldn't have been achieved without the breakthrough Oribe Peralta was having in his career during that period of time, quickly becoming into Mexico's best goal scorer during that era. Peralta was starting to become one of Mexico's favorite players.
This breakthrough in his career came at a crucial time period for the Mexican national team, as Javier "Chicharrito" Hernandez was having a rough patch in his goal scoring career overseas.
As the 2014 FIFA World Cup was getting closer and closer, the Mexican soccer federation found itself in a dilemma of having Chicharrito, who at the time was a striker for Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in Europe during that period, and then Oribe Peralta on the other side of the planet, who was still playing for Santos Laguna in Mexico.
Considering their individual form during that time frame, Mexico's national team decided to go with Peralta over Hernandez as the main striker, as the team was approaching the 2014 World Cup hosted in Brazil.
With two must-win games left before officially qualifying for the upcoming World Cup, Oribe Peralta scored 5 of Mexico's 9 goals within those two crucial matches.
Peralta went on to have a very good individual World Cup campaign, and now he has wrapped up a brilliant Mexican soccer career. He goes down as one of the top 20 goalscorers in Mexican soccer league history with 167 goals. Peralta finishes his career with 4 LigaMX titles and is will forever be known as of the best strikers in Mexico's modern era of soccer.
