Cristian Arrieta

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Cristian Arrieta
Cristian-Arrieta.jpg
Arrieta with the Puerto Rico Islanders in 2009
Personal information
Full name Cristian Arrieta
Date of birth (1979-09-18) September 18, 1979 (age 46)
Place of birth Orlando, Florida, United States
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Position Defender
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1997–1998 Gravellona 23 (1)
1998–2002 Mestre 79 (5)
2002–2003 Genoa 0 (0)
2003 Alessandria 9 (2)
2003–2004 Ivrea 25 (1)
2004–2005 Cervia 33 (3)
2005–2006 Lecco 26 (1)
2006–2007 Lecce 7 (0)
2008–2009 Puerto Rico Islanders 54 (17)
2010 Philadelphia Union 16 (0)
2011 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 14 (1)
2012–2014 Juventus Domo ? (?)
2014–2015 Briga ? (?)
2015–2016 F.A. Euro 5 (1)
International career
2010–2018 Puerto Rico 22 (5)
Managerial career
2014–2015 LIAC New York (U19)
2015 F.A. Euro (U14)
2016 Athletic Union (assistant)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Cristian Arrieta (born September 18, 1979) is a former professional footballer who was born in the United States. He played club football as a defender in Italy and Puerto Rico. Arrieta also made 22 appearances for the Puerto Rican national team. [1]

Contents

Born in Orlando, Florida, Arrieta has Spanish and Italian heritage. Arrieta began playing football in Italy at various clubs in the lower divisions. In 2008, he returned to North America to sign with the Puerto Rico Islanders of the USL First Division, where he made frequent appearances under head coach Colin Clarke. During the 2008 season, the Islanders finished first in the regular-season standings, and reached the league final. Arrieta received USL First Division end-of-season awards, including Defender of the Year, and was selected to the All-League First Team. [2] [3]

In February 2010, he ranked 14th in the USL First Division Top 25 of the Decade list. [4] That same year he gained his first cap for the Puerto Rico national team. He made a total of 22 appearances until his retirement as a player in 2018. [1]

Club career

Europe

Born in Florida to a Basque-Spanish father and a Portuguese mother from Salento, [5] Arrieta grew up in Bilbao, Spain and Borgomanero in Italy. He spent much of his early career playing in the Italian lower divisions, with over 120 appearances for clubs such as Varese, Mestre, Ivrea and Alessandria in Serie C2. He also took part in the Italian reality show Campioni, il sogno (Champions, the dream), centered around the football club Cervia. [6]

In 2005, he signed with Lecco in Serie C1, and then with Lecce in Serie B in 2006, which was the highest level of football he attained in his homeland. [7] He made 7 appearances for Lecce. [8]

North America

Arrieta went abroad to Puerto Rico in 2008 and signed with the Puerto Rico Islanders in the USL First Division. On September 19, the club won its first Commissioners Cup by finishing first in their league's regular season standings. Arrieta finished the season with seven goals and two assists. Arrieta remained with the Islanders during the 2008 season, during which they secured the regular-season title and reached the league final. He was named Defender of the Year and selected to the USL First Division All-League First Team. [9] In the club's playoff run, the Islanders reached the USL First Division final, where they were defeated by the Vancouver Whitecaps by a score of 2–1. The Islanders also participated in the knockout stages of the CONCACAF Champions League.

During the 2009 season, Arrieta concluded the season with 10 goals and five assists, which placed him fourth in goals. He and the Islanders returned to the playoffs with a third-place finish. For the second consecutive year, Arrieta earned an All-League selection. [10] On October 15, 2009, Arrieta was awarded the Defender of the Year and Most Valuable award, making him the third player in USL history to win it twice in a row. On the same night, he earned the Most Valuable Player award, becoming only the second defender to earn the honor, with Marcelo Balboa being the first in 1988. [11]

Arrieta signed with Major League Soccer club Philadelphia Union on April 5, 2010. [12] Philadelphia waived him on February 8, 2011. [13] He signed with Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League on March 31, 2011. [14] Arrieta was released by the club at the end of the season.

International career

Arrieta was called up to the Puerto Rico national team in September 2010. [15] As a United States citizen, Arrieta became eligible to represent Puerto Rico after meeting residency requirements while playing for the Puerto Rico Islanders. [16] He earned his first cap in a 2010 Caribbean Cup qualification stage match against Anguilla on October 2, 2010, and scored his first goal in the same competition against Saint Martin two days later. [17] [18]

Coaching career

Between 2013 and 2015, Arrieta held youth coaching roles in New York, including positions with Massapequa Soccer Club, LIAC New York, and Oceanside United. In April 2015, he joined the coaching staff of the Italian Soccer Training Exchange Program (ISTEP). [19]

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 side Inter Milan. [20]

International goals

Scores and results list Puerto Rico's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.October 4, 2010 Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel, Bayamón, Puerto RicoFlag of France.svg  Saint Martin 2–02–0 2010 Caribbean Cup qualification
2.November 12, 2011 Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint LuciaFlag of Saint Lucia.svg  Saint Lucia 1-04-0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.February 26, 2012, Managua, NicaraguaFlag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua 1-01-4 Friendly
4.June 2, 2012 Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel, Bayamón, Puerto RicoFlag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua 1-03-1Friendly
5.September 9, 2012 Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, HaitiFlag of France.svg  Saint Martin 4-09-0 2012 Caribbean Cup qualification

Honors

Club

Puerto Rico Islanders

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 "Cristian Arrieta". globalsportsarchive.com. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  2. ↑ mlssoccer. "Cristian Arrieta | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Top USL-1 honors announced | FutbolBoricua.net" (in Spanish). October 15, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  4. ↑ "USL-1 Top 25 of the Decade". USLsoccer.com. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  5. ↑ Di Naso, Luca (May 28, 2015). "Dalla polvere di stelle di "Campioni – il Sogno" al sogno made " Stars and Stripes"". radiolab.it. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Campioni - Archivio News - La Rosa" (in Italian). Mediaset.it. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Cristian Arrieta team profile". Puerto Rico Islanders. Archived from the original on July 16, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Cristian Arrieta. Domestic League Stats, Goals, Records". fbref.com. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  9. ↑ "USL-1 All-League Teams announced". USLsoccer.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  10. ↑ "USL-1 All-League Teams announced". USLsoccer.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Top USL-1 honors announced". USLsoccer.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Philadelphia Union Sign Cristian Arrieta | Philadelphia Union". Archived from the original on December 16, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Union Waive Defender Cristian Arrieta | Philadelphia Union". Archived from the original on February 10, 2011.
  14. ↑ "North American Soccer League". Archived from the original on April 23, 2011. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Arrieta Called Up to Puerto Rican National Team". Philadelphia Union. September 23, 2010. Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Llega ayuda en la defensa de la Selección Nacional". Primerahora.com. September 20, 2010. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Group A, Match 2: Puerto Rico 3 Anguilla 1". Digicel Football. October 3, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Digicel Caribbean Cup Game 4: Puerto Rico 2 – Saint Martin 0". Digicel Football. October 5, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  19. ↑ Cristian Arrieta at Linkedin, linkedin.com
  20. ↑ "Che fine ha fatto? 'Campioni, il sogno' - 1" (in Italian). www.calciomercato.com. October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
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