Cristian Arrieta (born September 18, 1979, in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

) is an American retired

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

er and active coach. Born in the United States and of Spanish and Italian heritage, Arrieta initially began playing soccer in Italy with various clubs in the lower divisions. In 2008, he returned to North America to sign with the

Puerto Rico Islanders The Puerto Rico Islanders were a professional association football team based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. They played in several different leagues from 2004 to 2012, when they suspended operations. In their last two seasons they played in the Nort ...

of the

USL First Division 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 ...

. Under the guidance of Colin Clarke, Arrieta rose to prominence as one of the league's most consistent

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: * Defense (military) * Defense (sports) ** Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film, television, and theatre Film * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The D ...

. He was a pivotal factor in bringing the Islanders to a higher level of prestige among the league. He assisted the club by claiming their first regular-season championship, as well as reaching the playoff finals. His performances in the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

provided Puerto Rico with stunning results over regional powerhouses, and helped the club reach the semi-finals of the tournament. In February 2010 he was ranked 14th in the

Top 25 of the Decade, which announced a list of the best and most influential players of the previous decade. That same year he gained his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for the Puerto Rico national team, and gained a total of 22 up to his retirement as a player in 2015.

Club career

Europe

Born in Florida to a Basque-Spanish father and an Italian mother from

Salento Salento (; Salentino dialect, Salentino: ''Salentu''; Griko language, Salento Griko: ) is a Cultural area, cultural, List of historical states of Italy, historical, and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apuli ...

, Arrieta grew up in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

, Spain and

Borgomanero Borgomanero (; ) is a (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin, about northwest of Novara and about 60 km northwest of Milan. Borgomanero borders the following municipalities ...

in Italy. He spent much of his early career playing in the Italian lower divisions, and has over 120 appearances for clubs such as

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

Mestre Mestre () is a borough of the comune of Venice on the mainland opposite the historical island city in the region of Veneto, Italy. Administratively, Mestre forms (together with the nearby Carpenedo) the Municipalità di Mestre-Carpenedo, one ...

Ivrea Ivrea (; ; ; ) is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Situated on the road leading to the Aosta Valley (part of the medieval Via Francigena), it straddles the Dora Baltea and is ...

and

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

Serie C2 Serie C2 was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Serie C. The league menaging t ...

, also taking part to the Italian reality show ''Campioni, il sogno'' (Champions, the dream), centered around the football club

Cervia Cervia () is a seaside resort town in the province of Ravenna, located in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Cervia is a major seaside resort in Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Its population was 28,983 at the 2023 census. It is mainly ...

. In 2005, he signed with

Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 inhabitants in Lombardy, Northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). The Bergamasqu ...

Serie C1 Serie C1 was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions. History Before the 1978–79 season, there were only three professional football leagues in Italy, the third being Se ...

, and then for

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

in 2006, the highest level of soccer he attained in his homeland. Then he made 7 appearances for Lecce.

North America

Arrieta went abroad to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in 2008, and signed with the

in the

. Arrieta would prove to become a valuable asset to the club, by guiding the Islanders to a string of success. One notable match he appeared in was against the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

, where the game concluded to a score of 4–0 in favor of the Islanders. It was a memorable match due to the fact it placed the club at the top of the standings for the first time in club history. Arrieta managed to assist the club in remaining at the top of the standings and on September 19, won the club's first Commissioners Cup which clinched first place in the league's regular season standings. He contributed by establishing a solid backline that would post the best defensive performance in the league. Arrieta also managed an astonishing offensive record for a defender with seven goals and two assists, ranking him ninth in goals. On October 11, 2008, he received the ''Defender of the Year award'' and as well was selected into the USL First Division All-League First Team. In the club's playoff run, he led the Islanders to the USL 1 Division final only to be defeated by the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

by a score of 2–1. He also led the Islanders to the knockout stages of the

. During the 2009 season, Arrieta enjoyed another career high season. He concluded the season with 10 goals and five assists, which placed him in fourth in goals. He helped lead the club back to the playoffs with a third-place finish, and for the second consecutive year he earned an All-League selection. On October 15, 2009, Arrieta was once again awarded the Defender of the Year award, becoming the third player in USL history to win the award twice in a row. On the same night he earned the ''Most Valuable Player award'', thus becoming only the second defender to earn the honor, with

Marcelo Balboa Marcelo Balboa (born August 8, 1967) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender in the 1990s for the United States national team, becoming its captain. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. After r ...

being the first in 1988. Arrieta signed with

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 ...

club

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

on April 5, 2010. He was waived by Philadelphia on February 8, 2011. He signed with

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

of 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 ...

on March 31, 2011. Arrieta was let go by the club at the end of the season.

International career

Arrieta was called up to the Puerto Rico national team in September 2010. As a United States citizen he is eligible to the team after residing in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

for two years while playing with the

. He got his first cap in a

2010 Caribbean Championship The 2010 Caribbean Cup (also known as Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010 for sponsorship reasons) was the 2010 edition of the Caribbean Cup, Caribbean Championship, an international association football, football championship for national teams affiliat ...

qualification stage match against

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

on October 2, 2010, and scored his first goal in the same competition against

Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to: People * Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France * Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal) * Pope Martin I (c. 595–655), bishop of R ...

two days later.

Coaching career

Between August 2013 and June 2014, Arrieta worked as a trainer for Massapequa Soccer Club in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

.Cristian Arrieta at Linkedin
linkedin.com In the following season, he was the head coach of LIAC New York's U19s and also as a trainer at Oceanside United. In April 2015, Arrietta was added to the coaching staff of ISTEP (Italian Soccer Training Exchange Program).

Personal life

Arrieta was the winner of the Italian football reality show ''Campioni, il Sogno'', after which he was granted a trial with

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

side

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list Puerto Rico's goal tally first.''

Honors

Club

Puerto Rico Islanders * USL First Division Championship runners-up:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

* Commissioner's Cup:

CFU Club Championship The Caribbean Club Championship, also known as the CFU Club Championship or CFU Club Champions' Cup, was an annual international football competition held amongst association football clubs that are members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). ...

runner-up:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Individual

MVP:

* USL First Division Defender of the Year:

References

External links

Puerto Rico Islanders bioLecce bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrieta, Cristian 1979 births Living people American men's soccer players Puerto Rican men's footballers Italian men's footballers People of Campanian descent American people of Italian descent American people of Basque descent Puerto Rican people of Basque descent Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Puerto Rican people of Italian descent Puerto Rico men's international footballers USL First Division players Puerto Rico Islanders players Philadelphia Union players ASD Calcio Ivrea players Calcio Lecco 1912 players US Lecce players Fort Lauderdale Strikers players Serie B players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players F.A. Euro players USL League Two players Soccer players from Orlando, Florida Men's association football defenders