https://www.a-love-supreme.com/post/born-on-this-day-julio-arca On this day in 2000, Argentine full back Julio Arca was signed from Argentinos Juniors for a fee of £3.5 million. As many fans may remember, Arca wasted no time in proving his worth to Sunderland. Having missed the three opening games of the season due to an awaited Italian passport, his first game at the SoL was against West Ham United, wherein he netted for the first time. A left-back by trade, Reid converted Julio into a left-sided midfielder, which proved successful in the long run. Arca scored three times in thirty appearances for the Lads in his first season and picked up the clubs Young Player of The Year award. Arca’s performances for Sunderland are remembered fondly, but his time on Wearside was plagued by injury. A broken foot against Blackburn Rovers, a broken toe in training and incessant muscle injuries left Arca needing to earn back his place in the starting XI. However, the midfielder always bounced back and had no issues in regaining his place in the squad. Controversy surrounded Julio with each transfer window, with many expecting him to leave Sunderland for pastures new. Despite growing speculation, Arca stayed loyal to the Lads, stating that he had no intention of leaving the club. Over a six-year period, Arca totted up 177 appearances and 23 goals for Sunderland, and was included in the all-time Solid Gold XI (2011) on the clubs’ website. In 2006, amidst the increasingly likely relegation of SAFC to the championship, Arca accepted an offer from north east rivals Middlesbrough. Julio didn’t want to spend another season in the Championship, and with the opportunity to play in the Premier League again, it would have been foolish not to accept the bid. From 2006-13, Arca made 185 appearances for Boro, scoring nine goals in total. Arca has praised the people of the north, having spent so much of his time on Wearside and Teesside during his playing career. When his active contract with Middlesbrough expired in 2013, Julio announced his retirement from professional football. He worked closely with the youth teams within Sunderland for several years, coaching the academies U14 team for a short while. Julio’s retirement didn’t last long. One last stint with Northern League Division Two side South Shields saw Arca once again become a fan’s-favourite with the home crowd. He netted in a 1-1 draw against Stokesley Sports Club at Mariners Park on his debut. Inspired by the experience and ability of Julio, in three years, South Shields won three cups and achieved three promotions. In 2018, Arca brought his wonderful career to an appropriate end. He departed from South Shields, and in 2019, returned to his homeland, Argentina, with his family. He has since established a new business over there, Premier Sports Division, which helps sportspeople in relocating around the world when joining new clubs. In April 2023, Arca returned to South Shields to become their new manager just after the club had been promoted to the National League North. He helped them to a pretty good start for a newly promoted side and had them inside the play-off places for most of his time at the helm. Unfortuantely a run of six games without a win, that culiminated in a 3-1 defeat to local rivals Blyth Spartans, resulted in his (what I feel) rather harsh sacking with the club sitting in 8th place in the sixth tier in December 2023.
Loved him. Still not sure i can forgive him for signing for Boro though. It broke my heart that back in the day
Yeah, I didn’t enjoy seeing Arca playing for Boro. Pleased he did alright there though, because he was a great lad as well as a cracking player. Kind of Mowbray in reverse with how they started at a rival then became very well liked by both sets of fans.
Sold him a TV just after he signed. Came into the shop with Emerson Thome hardly spoke a word of English! Brought it back the following day cause it was damaged, needless to say the replacement was fully tested before it left my sight.
Loved this bloke, probably my favourite player possibly tied with O'Nien. Great character and gave us a bit of South American flair which I don't think we had much of at the time.
