◐ Shell
reader mode source ↗
Jump to content
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Argentine footballer (born 1995)

Cristian Espinoza
Personal information
Full name Cristian Omar Espinoza
Date of birth (1995-04-03) 3 April 1995 (age 31)
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position Winger
Team information
Current team
 Nashville SC
Number 7
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)
2020–2025 San Jose Earthquakes 188 (34)
2026– Nashville SC 5 (2)
International career‡
2015 Argentina U20 11 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 6 April 2024
‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 July 2015

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

Club career

[edit]

Huracán

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

Espinoza thrived in San Jose as a creative playmaker, becoming the club’s all-time assist leader with 51 on July 12, 2023 before eventually extending the record to 83,[10] in addition to adding two assists in two playoff appearances.[11] He also holds the club record for appearances in consecutive matches at 122.[10] He earned MLS All-Star selections in 2023 and 2025.[12]

Nashville SC

[edit]

On 7 January 2026, Espinoza signed a contract with Major League Soccer side Nashville SC as a designated player.[13]

International career

[edit]

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.[14] He was included in the final call-up,[15] 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.

Career statistics

[edit]
As of match played 24 March 2026[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Huracán 2012–13 Primera B Nacional 10100——101
2013–14 Primera B Nacional 282———282
2014 Primera B Nacional 21240——252
2015 Argentine Primera División 1721010[b]41[c]0296
2016 Argentine Primera División 142—6[d]11[e]0213
Total 909501652011314
Alavés (loan) 2016–17 La Liga 6020——80
Valladolid (loan) 2016–17 Segunda División 100———100
Boca Juniors (loan) 2017–18 Argentine Primera División 110102[d]03[e]0170
2018–19 Argentine Primera División 4210——52
Total 152202030222
San Jose Earthquakes (loan) 2019 MLS 30221——323
San Jose Earthquakes 2020 MLS 233———264
2021 MLS 323———323
2022 MLS 34720——367
2023 MLS 341310—2[f]03813
2024 MLS 34411—4[f]0395
2025 MLS 31420——334
Total 2183661—6023636
Nashville SC 2026 MLS 52—3[g]10072
Career total 3444917221611039657

Honours

[edit]

Huracán

Boca Juniors

Argentina Youth

Individual

References

[edit]
  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. 1 2 sjearthquakes. "San Jose Earthquakes". sjearthquakes. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  11. ↑ mlssoccer. "Cristian Espinoza | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  12. ↑ SC, Nashville. "Nashville Soccer Club Signs Free Agent MLS All-Star Cristian Espinoza to Designated Player Contract". Nashville SC. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  13. ↑ "Report: Nashville SC sign winger Cristian Espinoza". Field Level Media - Professional sports content solutions | FLM. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
  14. ↑ "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.
  15. ↑ "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.
  16. ↑ Cristian Espinoza at Soccerway. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  17. ↑ "2023 MLS All-Star Team Roster". Major League Soccer. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  18. ↑ "San Jose Earthquakes forward Cristian Espinoza named MLS Player of the Month". Major League Soccer. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cristian_Espinoza&oldid=1354128984"