The McAllister Dynasty: From Diego Maradona to Lionel Messi – Exclusive chat with Argentina’s World Cup star Alexis | Jobs Vox

Alexis McAllister is part of an Argentine football dynasty and on Sunday the 23-year-old will look to further the McAllister legend by winning the World Cup final.

The 23-year-old is set to start in Sunday’s World Cup final against France as Argentina aim to win their third World Cup and first since 1986.

It has been quite a journey for the player who started his career with Argentinos Juniors before making a surprise move to Brighton & Hove Albion in 2019.

McAllister may not have been a household name when he arrived in the Premier League, but he is part of a footballing dynasty.

Both his brothers are footballers. Francis plays for Rosario Central while Kevin plays for Argentinos Juniors. They are sons of Carlos McAllister and nephews of Patricio McAllister.

Carlos has featured prominently for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Racing Club and Ferro Carril Oeste and has also represented Argentina. He played alongside some of the greats of the Argentine game.

“I played with some great players,” Carlos said The world at their feet.

“You like it [Diego] maradona [Claudio] canigia [Fernando] redondo, [Gabriel] Batistuta and [Oscar] Ruger – Important players in the history of Argentine football.

His son, Alexis McAllister, was born in Santa Rosa, La Pampa, but grew up in Buenos Aires. And he and his three brothers followed in the footsteps of their father, Carlos and Maradona, and turned out for Argentina’s juniors.

“Argentino Juniors is like the ‘Argentine Opportunity Club,'” added Carlos.

“This is a club where if a boy plays well, they will always let him play in the first division.”

Along with Maradona, the club also brought in Juan Roman Riquelme and Esteban Cambiasso, and on 25 November 2017 against San Lorenzo, the brothers appeared together for their boyhood club, with Kevin and Alexis starting and Francis on the pitch. substitute. It was a “wonderful” moment that “the whole family enjoyed immensely,” Alexis said.

Just a year later, Alexis moved to Brighton in the Premier League. He signed a four-year contract and was then loaned back to Argentina’s Primera Division, first with former club Argentino Juniors and then Boca Juniors.

“The first year was very difficult for me,” McAllister said.

“I think it was a year of many changes to be able to fulfill my dream and move to a Premier League team [but] It was not as easy as I imagined. When I came here, I realized, physically, I probably wasn’t at the level that the league needed and that the team needed.

“Sometimes I suffered and cried, I missed my family and my friends, but I never gave up and I knew I could play here.”

After those early struggles, McAllister established himself in Brighton’s first team – making 21 Premier League appearances in the 2020-21 season and earning a place in Argentina’s Olympic squad.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play for Argentina,” McAllister added. “When I got the opportunity to participate in the Olympics, I first talked to the club. At first they weren’t going to run in the Olympics, but I pressed on.

“I hated it because I felt that it was very important for me to represent Argentina at the Olympics. This chance doesn’t come every day.”

Argentina finished third in a group that included Spain and Egypt. However, he began the process by which McAllister was recalled to the Argentina team. He returned to the team in January 2022 – two and a half years after making his first two appearances for the senior team. He added 11 more matches.

A 14th cap could see him win his first honor as a professional footballer: the World Cup.

In doing so, McAllister would help Messi follow in Maradona’s footsteps and continue the legend of the McAllister football dynasty.