Julio Andrés Arca (born 31 January 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer, who played as a left-back or central midfielder. He is currently manager of South Shields.
Arca spent the majority of his career in the North East of England, firstly for Sunderland from 2000 to 2006, and then for Middlesbrough from 2006 to 2013. He retired from professional football following his release from Middlesbrough, and subsequently played Sunday League football for Willow Pond for the 2014–15 season. He later signed for South Shields, in addition to his return to Sunderland as part of the club's youth coaching staff.
During his professional career, he was seen as an attack-minded player, with his key attributes including good long and short passing, as well as being a hard worker. Throughout his career at Sunderland and Middlesbrough, Arca has gained a cult following among supporters at Sunderland, Middlesbrough and South Shields.
Club career
Argentinos Juniors
Born in Quilmes, Argentina, Arca began playing football when he was eleven and joined Argentinos Juniors when he was fourteen. He went on to progress at the Argentinos Juniors’ academy and made his debut three years later at age seventeen; which saw his side lose 7–1 loss against Independiente. Arca made thirty–six appearances during his time there, having broken into the first team at age eighteen. He said playing in Argentina was tough, but acknowledged that it gave him a “great education”.
Sunderland
Sunderland's manager Peter Reid signed Arca in 2000 from Argentinos Juniors with a £3.5 million five-year deal, while holding off competition from Newcastle United and Leeds United. It came after Peter Reid spotted him in a U21 match playing against England at Craven Cottage and tracked him until completing the signing in July 2000. Upon joining the club, Arca was Reid's most expensive signing of that summer and was then second only behind Stefan Schwarz as the club's record buy. The youngster was tipped for the brightest of futures and full international honours.
Having missed the first three league matches, due to receiving his Italian passport, he was an immediate success, scoring on his debut at the Stadium of Light against West Ham United. Arca then helped the side keep four consecutive clean sheets throughout October. The following month, he only played three matches, including scoring against Manchester United, due to his international commitment with Argentina U20. Arca's third goal of the season came on 1 January 2001, in a 4–1 win over Ipswich Town. However, he missed five matches throughout January because of his continuous international commitment with Argentina U20. It wasn't until on 10 February 2001 when Arca made his return to the first team, in a 1–1 draw against Liverpool. Arca played for his previous club and national team at left-back but was successfully converted to left midfield by Reid. Arca scored three times in thirty appearances for the Black Cats in his first season in the Premiership. For his performance, he won the club's Young Player of the Year award. Arca also became a fan favourite among Sunderland supporters.
At the start of the 2001–02 season, Arca suffered a setback when he suffered a knee injury that saw him miss two matches. He made his return from injury, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 win over Blackburn Rovers on 8 September 2001. Following this, he regained his first-team place, playing in the midfield position. In a 1–1 draw against Arsenal, Arca scored a header from two minutes into injury time but referee Mike Riley for offside. Riley's decision to disallow Arca's goal was criticised by then-club captain Michael Gray and Manager Peter Reid. But Arca managed to score his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 win over Leeds United on 18 November 2001. He did not manage to rediscover his form of the previous season and was out of action from February. Because of his trouble with a series of niggling injuries, Arca's 2001–02 campaign was disappointing like so many other of Sunderland's players.