Alejandro Zendejas has just finished a training session at Club América's facility in Mexico City. After a meal and some banter with his teammates, he heads to his apartment in the upscale neighborhood of Jardines de Pedregal.
It's just after 2 p.m., and the notoriously congested Mexico City streets await him. Even though he lives close to the team facility, a normal commute home can take up to an hour. Zendejas, 27, knows the shortcuts, though, and he has become an expert in the city's traffic patterns. To hear him rattle off the number of side streets he takes or explain why a carefully planned U-turn can save him 25 minutes in such detail, reminds one of Charlie Day's Pepe Silvia conspiracy rant from the hit comedy series, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Clearly, getting home every day is a mission of sorts for Zendejas.
"Once you turn right on a certain street, if you see traffic, you're like, 'Oh, it's going to be like 40 minutes to an hour,'" he told The Athletic. "But then if you turn on the same street and you don't see any cars piled up, you're like, 'Oh, OK, it's going to be a good ride.' Like 25 minutes max, you know? And then it all depends on traffic hours which are probably from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m."
In a way, Zendajas' complicated drive home mirrors a choppy journey that has led him back onto the U.S. national team. He has missed a turn or two along the way, and he has needed to reroute his career to get here. But today, Zendejas is not only in frame to make Mauricio Pochettino's 26-man World Cup squad, he's also loving life in one of the most populated cities in the world, playing a featured role for that city's main attraction.
After he arrives home, Zendejas grabs his tablet and headphones and walks to a local coffee shop. When traffic is light, he'll drive to Panadería Rosita for an afternoon pastry. If he needs to "carb up," he'll head to Milk Pizzeria. He disconnects from his life as a footballer by scrolling through YouTube or watching a movie among the bustling residents of his neighborhood.
When he goes out, though, Zendejas wears a cap tightly over his eyes to hide his identity, despite having become one of Club América's most beloved players. He prefers to remain as anonymous as possible because a player's stardom in Mexico can feel temporary.
"I'm not used to it," he said about getting recognized by fans. "I have to wear a hat when I go out and somehow they still recognize me. It's fine. It's all part of it and I understand it. I'm happy right now. It's a proud moment for me."
Plenty of accomplished Americans have played in Mexico, but none has achieved success in Liga MX quite like Zendejas. He's a four-time league champion and was an integral part of América's historic three-peat in which the club won the 2023 Apertura title and the 2024 Apertura and Clausura tournaments. His form over the past three seasons and his Mexican-American heritage have also made him a polarizing figure. Yet, Zendejas hasn't shied away from the spotlight - at least on the field. In 13 games this season, Zendejas has scored five goals and added three assists. In 10 starts, Zendejas has performed like a seasoned professional whose confidence is at an all-time high.
He buzzes throughout the pitch for América, popping up in both wide channels and around the opponent's penalty area. When one watches Zendejas play, his hustle is noticed immediately. And typically when Zendejas assists or scores, he makes his presence known in emphatic fashion. His two-goal performance against Pumas on Sept. 27 included an audacious chip over veteran Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
"That's probably the best one in my career for sure," Zendejas said.
His celebration after that goal typified a player in sublime form. With a cunning smile on his face, Zendejas gestured with his hand as if he was in awe of his own feat. It's that type of self-assurance that led Zendejas to make a big decision before the start of the current Apertura tourament. When Chilean midfielder Diego Valdés left América over the summer, Zendejas requested the No. 10 shirt that Valdés, a close friend, had worn for three seasons. Zendejas had previously worn No. 17 - which he still wears with the USMNT - and is held in high regard after former Mexico and América striker Zague made it iconic in the 1980s and 1990s.
The No. 10 shirt, of course, is associated with many clubs' best players. Zendejas joined an elite list of former América No. 10s that include Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Luis García and Salvador Cabañas, among others. Zendejas relished the opportunity to become part of the club's 109-year lore in Mexican football.
"I needed something different. I needed something new," Zendejas said. "I feel like (the No. 10) would give me a new challenge. To not relax and not be complacent, to give me something extra. I knew I was going to be criticized, and I've already been criticized for it this tournament. (The fans) did not waste time, but that's fuel that keeps me going."
Zendejas' time in Mexico began with a humbling spell at América's rival Chivas a decade ago. The former FC Dallas academy player won a domestic cup and a league title with Chivas as a reserve winger before the club loaned him to Zacatepec FC, where improved performances caught the eye of first-division side Necaxa in 2020. It was at the Aguascalientes-based club that Zendejas had his first breakthrough.
A move to América followed, and since then, Zendejas has not only settled in Mexico, but he has developed thicker skin as a member of the region's biggest club. The pressure to win and the daily media frenzy that surrounds América are part of the its mythology.
"Before I got here, the team had gone years without a trophy. They were carrying that weight," Zendejas said. "It got even tougher because once I got here, we were always one of the last four teams in the league and in the playoffs, but for some reason we just couldn't take that extra step to become champions. That was really stressful. América has to win. We have to win trophies."
During América's most recent trophy drought, Zendejas remembers having negative interactions with fans in public. He admitted that if América loses, he'll stay in his apartment and avoid the crowds. Fans won't forget that bad touch in the 67th minute or that errant pass in a game that América lost. And in spite of his attempts to avoid the rhetoric on social media, Zendejas admits that it's nearly impossible to ignore.
"You're going to read those comments," he said. "It doesn't matter what you do to prevent it, you'll end up reading it. I'll usually only post (online) when it's positive because when (times are) bad, you know what's coming."
That public criticism quickly turned to adoration when América won their 14th, 15th, and 16th Liga MX titles.
"Those were probably one of the craziest, probably the best years for sure of my career," Zendejas said. "Not just because of the trophies, but it was all the love we were getting. The feelings we had here at the club. It was just all super positive."
But the next season started and the stress returned. América is currently second in the Liga MX table, just one point behind reigning league champion Toluca. A spate of injuries to several starters and one loss in five matches is considered a near crisis for the club.
"We're in a tough spot right now and feel like people forget about (the last trophy) too easily," he continued. "(The fans) want the next one and the next one, then the next one. It's normal and we get it, but we can't forget what it took from us to win all three of those trophies."
When Zendejas decided once and for all to represent the U.S. at the senior international level, it ended a saga that included accusations of extortion from former Mexico head coach Tata Martino. The Argentine accused Zendejas of attempting to secure a place on Mexico's 2022 World Cup squad in exchange for his international loyalty.
Before that World Cup, Zendejas, who was born in Juárez, Mexico, had played for several U.S. youth sides - including at a U-17 World Cup 10 years ago where he teamed with Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams - but then played for Martino in a pair of Mexico friendlies. He had not signed the one-time switch document that FIFA required in order to play for Mexico, though, resulting in forfeited results and a fine for the Mexican federation. He put an end to any border tug of war in March of 2023 when he publicly committed to the U.S. and then denied having given Martino an ultimatum.
"There were things that were said that I didn't say, like that comment about extortion," Zendejas told reporters at the time. "I know that you can't make those demands to a coach or to an institution. I don't know why (Martino) came out and said that if he had said before that he never talked to me. But that's all in the past."
Now less than a year from the 2026 World Cup, one that will be co-hosted by Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, Zendejas is still noticeably uncomfortable about the topic, but he's come to terms with the fallout, which he referred to as "a crazy time." Zendejas, who was raised in El Paso, Texas, is proud of both his Mexican and American cultures. "I love them both," he said. But when his Mexican nationality and U.S. youth international allegiance became a hot debate while with Chivas, it set the stage for an ugly divorce.
"I'm at peace with it, I think, for sure, after talking with my family," Zendejas said. "It was a hard choice, I'm not gonna lie, because obviously we're Mexican. My family is here. I just don't feel like I'm more one side than the other. I grew up in the States. I know most of the (U.S. national team) guys. I honestly didn't expect to leave the U.S. national team mix with a situation like what happened when I got to Mexico, when I got to (Chivas), which is like another conversation. But everything happens for a reason and everything is put in its place at its own time."
Zendejas is certainly back in the fold under Pochettino. The diminutive winger played nearly 20 minutes as a substitute in a 2-0 loss to South Korea, then started and scored a well-taken goal against Japan. The latter performance had Pochettino uttering the words any ambitious player would yearn to hear.
"I think we are so pleased," the U.S. manager said in his postgame remarks. "With this type of performance, he's in the race for the roster for the World Cup."
He was called up again during the October FIFA window for friendlies against Ecuador and Australia, but an injury that Zendejas described as "weird" kept him from appearing in either game. He was later diagnosed, per his own admission, with semimembranosus discomfort in his left hamstring. That injury has limited his participation with América in recent matches against Cruz Azul - a loss in the Mexico City derby - and a win over Puebla. Still, Zendejas was grateful that Pochettino and his staff allowed him to stay in U.S. camp in Austin to nurse that knock. Zendejas was able to see his sister, who is expecting her first child soon.
"That was the last time that I was going to see my sister with a big belly," Zendejas said, visibly excited to become an uncle for the first time. "I'm going to spoil that baby so much."
Zendejas has his own potentially life-altering moment to look forward to. When asked if he envisions himself on the U.S. squad at next summer's World Cup, Zendejas took a deep breath and tried to describe his emotions.
"I was out of the national team for like six years. Now I'm back. It's crazy to think about," he said. "God does put things in their place, because I never thought I was going to be back with the national team. Some stuff happened over here in Mexico, but luckily ... I'm here and I have the opportunity to make the (final) list. That's really what I'm focused on. It would be a dream, honestly."