The “Mexican Iniesta”

Pedro Arce returns to the Greek First Division following his time at Club América.

“Fast, skilled and creative”. This is how the Mexican press described Pedro Arce Latapi, who, in 2017 signed for América, the most prestigious club of the North American country. The creamy-blue side welcomed back the midfielder from Saltillo, who, over the last few seasons had stood out in the Greek Superleague, after having recieved formation for two years in Marcet’s High Performance Academy.

“Although he’s not a goalscorer, his skill in midfielder cemented him constant places in the squads of each Greek team he played in”, as written in the newspaper Récord in reference to Anagennisi Giannitsa FC, AO Kavala and, above all, Veria FC, where Arce played 1505 minutes and bagged 5 goals.

“I spent five marvellous years in Greece, where I matured a lot, and for the next stage of my career I couldn’t picture a better option than signing for Club América”, confirmed the attacking midfielder in an interview for ‘Fútbol Total’. However, Pedro did not manage to find a space for himself in the starting eleven of América and so decided to return to the Superleague during the 2018-19 season, in which he became a permanent fixture for Panionios.

The ‘Mexican Iniesta’ left his country at a very young age. He was part of Puebla’s U-20s squad when he opted to leave Mexico for Europe to join Fundación Marcet’s Professional Program. The memory Arce has of Barcelona will stay with him for the rest of his sporting career. “Fundación Marcet is like a second home to me. I’ve got really nice memories and, above all, great friendships to show from my time there. I’m forever grateful to José Ignacio Marcet for this. Without his support I don’t think I would have ever been able to achieve what I have until now”.

“He’s made it in the end, he deserves all of the credit, because he has shown a lot of modesty to realise what he had to work on”, said José Ignacio Marcet to ESPN Mexico, in a telephonic interview from the other side of the Atlantic after Arce signed for Veria. “We only guided his progression. What he’s achieved can only be credited to him”.

According to the president of Fundación Marcet, “Pedro Arce is an example of a Mexican player that been able to adapt perfectly to the European game. In the beginning he had to realise that he didn’t have the necessary skills. As soon as he realised this, he started to learn and progress, and started a method that has led him to success”.

Now the midfielder will have to continue demonstrating all he has to offer with Panionios, just as he did with other Greek teams, before his short return to Mexico.

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