Andres Arango (born April 23, 1983) is a former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who played in the Canadian Professional Soccer League,

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

, and the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. Arango is currently a coach with Florida Premier FC in the

United Premier Soccer League The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American for-profit soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The leagu ...

. Born in Colombia, he represented Canada at youth level as a player.

Club career

Youth and College

Arango moved from his native Colombia to Canada with his parents as a young child. He played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, rebranded as Humber Polytechnic since 2024, is a public Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has three mai ...

where he won the Provincial and National Championship and was voted MVP of the national tournament.

Early career

Arango began his career in 2002 with the

York Region Shooters York Region Shooters is a Canadian association football, soccer team, that plays in the Canadian Soccer League. The Shooters played their home games at the St. Joan of Arc Turf Field in the City of Vaughan, Ontario. The team's colours were blue ...

in the Canadian Professional Soccer League. In 2003, he signed with the Montreal Impact of the

. After failing to break into the starting lineup he was traded in the off-season to league rivals the

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes D ...

in exchange for veteran defender

Mauricio Vincello Mauricio Vincello (born August 19, 1977, in Salto, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentina, Argentine former Football (soccer), football defender. Playing career Vincello began his career in his native country in Argentina with the youth teams ...

. The trade to Toronto provided Arango with more playing time opportunities as he played in 22 games throughout the season. He recorded his first goal for Toronto on July 18, 2004, versus Calgary Mustangs. He re-signed with Toronto for the 2005 season. At the conclusion of the season, he was named the club's Defensive Player of the Year. In 2006, he returned to Toronto for the third and final season with the club. During the 2006 season, he was named Toronto Lynx Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. He also played in the 2006 Open Canada Cup final where Toronto finished as runners up to

Ottawa St. Anthony Italia The Ottawa St. Anthony Italia is an amateur soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club was founded in 1952 as the St. Anthony men's soccer team and played in a local league. In 1959, the team consolidated with another local team known as "I ...

Montreal Impact

After the relegation of Toronto to the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

in 2007, he returned to his former club the Montreal Impact on a two-year deal. Originally

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

of the

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

expressed interest in Arango but instead chose Montreal as his final decision. In the initial stages of the season, he assisted Montreal in achieving an eight-game undefeated streak. Throughout the season he aided Montreal in successfully winning the 2007 Voyageurs Cup.

United States

In 2008, he played abroad in the United States as league rivals

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional association football, soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. T ...

signed him along with former Impact teammate

Frederico Moojen Frederico Augusto Pieruccini "Freddy" Moojen (born February 25, 1983) is a former soccer forward. Born in Brazil, he represented Canada at the international level in futsal. He shared the 2005 and 2006 Premier Development League goals lead. He ...

. He re-signed with Minnesota for the 2009 season. In 2010, the Minnesota Thunder folded and was succeeded by

NSC Minnesota Stars NSC may refer to: Banking and investment * National Sort Code, an Irish bank code * Nomura Securities Co, an investment bank Computing * National Software Centre, an Irish organization * National Supercomputer Centre in Sweden * NetShow Cha ...

where he was granted a contract on February 25, 2010. In his debut season with Minnesota, he served as the team captain. After a single season with Minnesota Stars, he had his contract terminated in early 2011. Arango signed a two-year contract with FC Tampa Bay of the

in 2011. He made his debut for Tampa on April 23, 2011, against former club Montreal Impact. In 2012, he assisted Tampa Bay in winning the NASL Championship after defeating Minnesota Stars in a two-game series. He re-signed with Tampa Bay for the 2013 season. Following the 2013 NASL season, Arango announced his retirement on March 1, 2014.

International career

Arango also featured for the Canadian U20 team that made it to the quarter-finals in the

2003 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 14th FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in United Arab Emirates between 27 November and 19 December 2003. Brazil claimed their fourth title, becoming the first country to simultaneously ho ...

. He played in the quarterfinal match where

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

eliminated Canada from the tournament.

Managerial career

In January 2020, Arango was announced as the head coach for the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

U23

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

side. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

the season was canceled and the team was replaced by Tampa Bay United SC.

Honours

;Tampa Bay Rowdies * NASL Championship **Winners: 2012

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arango, Andres Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian men's soccer players Colombian emigrants to Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Colombian expatriate men's footballers Colombian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Tampa Bay Rowdies players Humber College alumni Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players Minnesota Thunder players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Naturalized citizens of Canada North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Soccer players from Toronto Toronto Lynx players USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players 1983 births Living people Canada men's youth international soccer players Canada men's under-23 international soccer players A-League (1995–2004) players York Region Shooters players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Footballers from Medellín USL League Two coaches United Premier Soccer League coaches 21st-century Canadian sportsmen University and college men's soccer players in Canada 21st-century Colombian sportsmen