Cristian Roldan (born June 3, 1995) is an American professional

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 plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

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

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

. Roldan was the 2013 Gatorade National Player of the Year while playing for

El Rancho High School El Rancho High School is a public high school located in the city of Pico Rivera, California, United States. It is a part of the El Rancho Unified School District. History El Rancho High School opened its doors in September 1952. Whittier Hig ...

Pico Rivera, California Pico Rivera is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. The city is situated approximately southeast of downtown Los Angeles, on the eastern edge of the Los Angeles basin, and on the southern edge of the area known as the ...

, and played collegiate soccer for the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

. He was picked by the Sounders in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft and developed into a regular starting player for the club, with over 300 total appearances .

Club career

College and amateur

Roldan was named the 2013 Gatorade National Player of the Year in soccer while attending

. He declined invitations from the

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

and

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

to join their academy teams and led the El Rancho Dons to an undefeated season with 26 wins. In his junior year, he had 21 goals and 21 assists for El Rancho and also played for youth club Union Independiente. During the 2012–13 season, he scored 54 goals and 30 assists and led El Rancho to a regional high school championship. Roldan was scouted by the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

at a tournament in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and spent his college career with the

. In his two seasons of college soccer, Roldan made a total of 41 appearances and tallied 10 goals and seven assists as he helped lead the team to a Pac-12 title in 2013. Roldan was named the 2013 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, beating future Sounders teammate Jordan Morris from the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

. During the college offseason, Roldan played in 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 ...

for the Washington Crossfire. He joined the team in 2013 as part of preparations to join the Huskies. Roldan also played for the

Portland Timbers U23s Capital FC is an American soccer team based in Salem, Oregon, United States. Although founded in 2008 as part of the development system for the Portland Timbers USSF D2 organization, beginning in 2011 they were part of the development system fo ...

in the 2014 MLS Homegrown Game.

Professional

On January 8, 2015, it was announced that Roldan had left college early to sign a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

contract with

. He was expected to be selected early in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, but was chosen late in the first round with the 16th overall pick by

. The Sounders traded with

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

for the draft pick and had scouted Roldan during his offseason training sessions with the team. After making two substitute appearances the first two weeks of the season against the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

and the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

, Roldan made a substitute appearance for

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

affiliate club

Seattle Sounders FC 2 The Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the Puget Sound region in Tukwila, Washington, United States. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, a league in the third ...

on March 21 and scored an 89th-minute goal in a 4–2 victory over defending USL champion

Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that competes in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, t ...

. Due to injuries and international call-ups, he made his first MLS start the following week in a goalless draw away to

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

Roldan developed into a deep-lying midfielder and earned a regular place in the starting lineup under head coach

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German soccer coach. Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his family when he was a child. He played college soccer from 1972 to 1975 at the U ...

following his performances as an "impact substitute". He was compared to captain and defensive midfielder

Osvaldo Alonso Osvaldo Alonso Moreno (born November 11, 1985) is a Cuban former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He defected from Cuba in 2007 and became a U.S. citizen in 2012. During his decade-long career with Seattle Sounders ...

, who Roldan regarded as a mentor and ultimately replaced. Roldan scored his first career Major League Soccer goal on July 13, 2016, during a 5–0 win over FC Dallas. He formed a partnership and personal friendship with fellow rookie Jordan Morris—previously a collegiate rival—that was dubbed "Jorstian Mordan". On November 10, 2019, Roldan featured for Seattle in a 3–1 home win over

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 ...

MLS Cup 2019 MLS Cup 2019 was the 24th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), and took place on November 10, 2019, at Lumen Field, CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington, United States. The association football, soc ...

; he was involved in the build-up to his team's opening goal, after colliding with

Jonathan Osorio Jonathan Osorio (born June 12, 1992) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, which he captains, and the Canada national team. Osorio holds the Toronto FC club record for mo ...

, who lost the ball, while Seattle went on to score with Kelvin Leerdam. He also played all eight matches in Seattle's run to the

2022 CONCACAF Champions League The 2022 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2022 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League) was the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Champions Cup under its former name, and overall the 57th edition of the premier Association football, football club ...

title, providing one goal and five assists, and was named to the Team of the Tournament. Roldan underwent groin surgery in August 2022 to treat a sports hernia, his first major injury during his professional career. He returned to the team for their final three matches of the regular season as the Sounders failed to qualify for the playoffs. He signed a five-year contract extension with the Sounders in January 2023 alongside Morris. Roldan suffered a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

during a regular season match against

St. Louis City SC St. Louis City Soccer Club (stylized as St. Louis CITY SC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in St. Louis. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Con ...

in April and missed several matches while undergoing treatment; he resumed training in late May. Roldan had a second concussion during a

Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual soccer competition between clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), the main soccer league in the United States, and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico. It is hosted in Canada and the United States. It began in ...

match in July and underwent more treatment, including sleep monitoring, at a facility in Detroit. He returned to play against

on September 16.

International career

Roldan represented the United States at under-20 level. He was also eligible to represent either

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

through his parents, and mentioned in an interview that he had been offered senior callups from both nations. On July 12, 2017, he was cap-tied to the United States national team by starting their

2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF, and 24th CONCACAF regional championship ove ...

group stage match against

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. Roldan and Sounders teammate Jordan Morris were called up to the final roster for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. Roldan had played limited minutes during the preceding World Cup qualifying campaign, but was chosen by Gregg Berhalter for his leadership in training and ability to play in several roles.

Personal life

Roldan was featured in an

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

commercial as a nine-year-old, selected for his soccer ball juggling skills from 110 kids who tried out for the commercial. Roldan is of Salvadoran and Guatemalan descent, and has an older brother named Cesar Jr., who works as a trainer for the

, and a younger brother

Alex Alex is a given name. Similar names are Alexander, Alexandra, Alexey or Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Cook (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Forsyth (disambiguation), multiple people * Al ...

who has also played for the Sounders since 2019. He married physician assistant Ciana Baron on December 31, 2022.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

Seattle Sounders FC *

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

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, ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

United States *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Individual *

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially ado ...

Best XI:

References

External links

*
Sounders FC player profileWashington Huskies biographyAdidas commercial featuring 10-year-old Roldan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roldan, Cristian 1995 births Living people People from Pico Rivera, California Soccer players from Los Angeles County, California American people of Guatemalan descent Sportspeople of Guatemalan descent American men's soccer players American sportspeople of Salvadoran descent Men's association football midfielders Washington Huskies men's soccer players USL League Two players Crossfire Redmond players Major League Soccer players Seattle Sounders FC draft picks Seattle Sounders FC players USL Championship players Tacoma Defiance players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players 21st-century American sportsmen