Cristian Espinoza

Cristian Omar Espinoza (born 3 April 1995) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes.

Cristian Espinoza
Personal information
Full name Cristian Omar Espinoza
Date of birth (1995-04-03) 3 April 1995
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 San Jose Earthquakes
Number 10
Youth career
Huracán
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2016 Huracán 90 (9)
2016–2020 Villarreal 0 (0)
2016 → Alavés (loan) 6 (0)
2017 → Valladolid (loan) 10 (0)
2017–2018 → Boca Juniors (loan) 15 (2)
2019 → San Jose Earthquakes (loan) 30 (2)
2020– San Jose Earthquakes 122 (25)
International career‡
2015 Argentina U20 11 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 8 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 July 2015

Club career

Huracán

Born in Buenos Aires, Espinoza graduated from Huracán's youth setup. He made his first team debut on 24 March 2013, coming on as a second half substitute in a 2–2 home draw against Instituto for the Primera B Nacional championship.[1]

Espinoza scored his first professional goal on 26 May, netting his side's last in a 3–1 home win against Crucero del Norte.[2] He subsequently established himself as a regular starter, scoring two goals in 2014 and helping his side promote to Primera División.

Espinoza made his debut in the main category of Argentine football on 3 May 2015, in a 1–1 away draw against Rosario Central. His first goals in the category came on 2 August, netting a brace in a 3–3 draw at Crucero del Norte.

Villarreal

On 4 August 2016, Espinoza signed a five-year contract with La Liga side Villarreal CF.[3] Fifteen days later, he was loaned to fellow league team Deportivo Alavés until the end of the season.[4]

Espinoza made his debut in the main category of Spanish football on 28 August 2016, replacing Ibai Gómez in a 0–0 home draw against Sporting de Gijón.[5] After being rarely used, he left the club the following 30 January.[6]

On 31 January 2017, Espinoza was loaned to Segunda División side Real Valladolid until June.[7]

San Jose Earthquakes

On 2 January 2019, Espinoza was loaned to Major League Soccer side San Jose Earthquakes on a season-long loan.[8] On 11 December, it was announced that he had joined San Jose on a permanent deal for a club-record transfer fee.[9]

International career

On 11 December 2014 Espinoza was included in Argentina under-20's 32-man list for the 2015 South American Youth Football Championship, held in Uruguay.[10] He was included in the final call-up,[11] and made his debut in the competition on 14 January, starting and assisting Tomás Martínez in the third of a 5–2 routing over Ecuador.

Honours

Individaual

References
  1. "Huracán igualó con Instituto en Parque Patricios" [Huracán drew with Instituto in Parque Patricios] (in Spanish). Diario Popular. 24 March 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  2. "Huracán se recuperó y hundió a Crucero del Norte" [Huracán recovered themselves and sunk Crucero del Norte] (in Spanish). Clarín. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  3. "Villarreal CF sign Cristian Espinoza". Villarreal CF. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  4. "Cristian Espinoza, velocidad y desborde para la delantera albiazul" [Cristian Espinoza, speed and skill for the white-and-blue attack] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  5. "Alavés y Sporting siguen sumando buenas sensaciones" [Alavés and Sporting keep on adding good feelings] (in Spanish). Marca. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  6. "El Deportivo Alavés y Cristian Espinoza acuerdan su salida del conjunto albiazul" [Deportivo Alavés and Cristian Espinoza agree his departure from the blue-and-white outfit] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  7. "El Pucela incorpora a Cristian Espinoza" [Pucela sign Cristian Espinoza] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  8. "NEWS: Earthquakes Acquire Argentine Forward Cristian Espinoza on Loan". San Jose Earthquakes. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  9. "NEWS: Earthquakes Acquire Cristian Espinoza on Permanent Transfer". San Jose Earthquakes. 11 December 2019.
  10. "La Sub 20 tiene su preselección para el Sudamericano de Uruguay" [The under-20's has their pre-squad for the South American in Uruguay] (in Spanish). TyC Sports. 11 December 2014. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  11. "Humberto Grondona dio la lista de 23 convocados para el Sudamericano" [Humberto Grondona revealed the list of 23 called-up for the South American] (in Spanish). Argentine Football Association. 10 January 2015. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  12. "2023 MLS All-Star Team Roster". Major League Soccer. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  13. "San Jose Earthquakes forward Cristian Espinoza named MLS Player of the Month". Major League Soccer. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.


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