'Julio Andrés Arca - Drag Backs, Sublime Free Kicks And One Samsung D500'

It's September 5th 2000. The venue is the Stadium of Light, Sunderland. A diminutive little Argentine is making his home debut. He glances home a Kevin Kilbane cross and instantly endears himself to the watching faithful. That day, a new hero was born on Wearside.

Julio Arca holds a special place in the hearts of the folks in the North East, particularly at Sunderland AFC. He is fondly remembered by fans of Middlesbrough too, spending seven seasons there after his departure from Sunderland at the end of the ill-fated 2005/06 Premier League campaign. Talk of a switch to Espanyol never materialized, the move to Boro became a welcome one given that 'Hoolio' was firmly settled in the area. So much so that he's remained to this day, as he plies his trade in The Northern League with South Shields, after turning out for Willow Pond in the Sunderland Sunday League; what a man eh? So it is here that I will begin my reminiscing of the great man that once ran games single-handedly from left back; sang 'Stand Up If You Hate The Mags' in a town centre takeaway, and almost made the drag-back his own.

It has been in the back of my mind for some time to take in a game at Mariners Park, South Shields. I've contemplated it for a while. The truth is, as ridiculous as it sounds, I haven't been able to pluck up the courage to do so. Why? Well it's simple really. I'm scared. Scared stiff of the fact that my brilliant memories of Julio will be somewhat tainted if I go along and watch a game there. I know deep down that they won't be, because it will be a privilege to see him play once again. The socks rolled down, the wand of a left foot, the seemingly nonchalant piss-taking of opponents; not nastily in any way, just inevitably. It'll all still be there. It must be. I have a genuine fear that can be attributed to say, seeing a band again and they sounding absolutely terrible. Or an old flame that 'got away', only to bump into her years later to find that she wasn't all you thought she was when you were 17. As I write, South Shields are regularly pulling in big crowds of 2000-2500. That won't be wholly down to Julio Arca, but his signing and presence on the pitch will have had a massive impact. The club has some significant financial backing behind them too. From the outside looking in, there is certainly massive potential for the club, and Arca is certainly a big part of that. Who knows? He could be the first of many higher profile players to buy into the ethos of the club. I will eventually get myself along to see a game, and it'll have to be sharpish because at the age of 36 (sorry Julio) his playing days sadly won't last forever. 

One of my favourite memories of Julio actually came away from the pitch. It wasn't the singing in the takeaway; no, that was a close second. It was at the beginning of the 2006/07 season after he'd left to join Middlesbrough. He walked into a popular Sunderland bar with a few friends, and of course, I spotted him. After a bit of Dutch Courage, I informed my missus of who stood just feet away from me, and meandered on over to ask for a photo, which he duly obliged in giving. I handed my phone over to my better half, and she snapped the now treasured picture. The thing being, she naturally had the flash on the camera, which attracted some attention. Others in the bar took only a matter of seconds to fathom out who it was posing for photos with an starstruck fan. In minutes Julio was bundled out of the place and my opportunity to chew the fat with one of my all time favourite Sunderland players was gone, seemingly forever. It was a mixture of pure elation, and sadness as he left. I'll admit it, I loved him, even when he scored against us for Boro, and still love him. I still have that picture, and the phone. I can't and won't part with it. Which reminds me, if anyone knows how to retrieve photos from and old credit-less Samsung D500, then please drop me a line. I've struggled and struggled, searching the internet to no avail, and it's annoyed me for years. That aside, it's a happy memory that one.

Peter Reid spotted Julio Arca playing for Argentina U21s against England side at Fulham's Craven Cottage in February of 2000. Five months later, and the little magician had swapped Argentinos Juniors for chilly Wearside, signing for Sunderland in a deal worth £3.5m. Arca's impact was immediate, that debut goal against West Ham cementing a place in supporters' hearts for all eternity. Little did we know it, but Julio would become one of the club's most popular players of modern times, much in the way Kevin Phillips, Niall Quinn and Jermain Defoe are revered today. Arca had the ball on a shoestring. He could make it sing, dance; and he was composing each melody. The drag backs were stuff I'll tell my Grand-kids about. Most of the time the opposition couldn't get near him. When he first joined Sunderland, Reid played him as a left-sided midfield player, and later on deployed him equally as effective at left-back. I can honestly say I've never seen a player in a Sunderland shirt run a game from that position before or since. He was that good. I remember a great free-kick at home to Ipswich; if there had been two opposition keepers in goal that day, they still wouldn't have been able to keep it out. The mazy run and lob at Bradford, and the sublime free-kick away at Boro were my personal highlights of his time at Sunderland. Big Emerson Thome took Arca under his wing and helped him settle at the club, having someone around who's experienced the Premier League and can speak the language would have been a big plus. Julio's influence on the pitch grew as he gained more experience. The supporters took to him, and he took to them. That bond remains unbroken.

The promotion-winning campaign of 2004/05 under Mick McCarthy was for me, a great season, and not because it was the the season that I first met the missus! (Apologies if you're reading love). Before that however, came McCarthy's first full campaign at the club. After the disastrous 19 point season, the squad needed massive surgery in the summer of 2003. Out went Kevin Phillips and in came Tommy Smith, that is the type of business the club were conducting simply to field eleven players come the start of the season. Luckily Julio stayed at the club and would be a key figure under the resurgence of Sunderland over the coming two seasons. Big Mick tried to mould a side that he believed could compete at Championship level. As well as Smith, in came Alan Quinn on loan, Gary Breen and a young man named Stewart Downing; a player who would make a huge impact in his short time at the club. He linked up superbly well with Julio down the left hand side. Oh if only we could have made his signing permanent. Nevertheless, Sunderland still had McAteer, Poom, Wright, Williams, Stewart, Babb, Bjorklund and McCartney at the club, meaning the bones of the side would make a decent fist of it in the second tier. It would prove to be a roller-coaster ride of a season, Sunderland working superbly to pursue the ultimate dream by going for FA Cup glory, only to fall to Millwall in the semi-final. Oh how that hurt. Sunderland lost dramatically and somewhat controversially on penalties to Crystal Palace in the playoffs to kick us all in the nuts for a second time in the space of a few weeks. After 56 games, the players had simply ran out of steam. To be brutally honest, the team overachieved, but the experience and influence of older heads meant Sunderland went one better the following year as they clinched the Championship title ahead of Wigan with 94 points. Arca was hugely influential that season, bagging 9 goals. He and Marcus Stewart were crucial in getting the club up that year, and it remains one of my favourite campaigns following the club. Stephen Elliott and Julio's goals away at West Ham to clinch the title still make me well up to this day!

As with all things SAFC related, especially recently, the good times never seem to last. Julio's first campaign here saw the club finish 7th for the second successive season. During the period from 1997-2001, Wearside saw its best spell of football since the war. I think without realizing it at the time, we all took it for granted. Those times have been few and far between for a club of our size and the area it is located in. Julio will have certainly learned in his time at Sunderland, Boro and even South Shields, that this area is indeed a hot bed of soccer. The region is synonymous with football. There is a great sense of underachievement here. Newcastle haven't won a domestic cup since 1955, Sunderland 1973; and Middlesbrough's 2004 League Cup triumph is their solitary major honour. It's staggering really when you think about it. Julio has seen the good times since coming to these shores to entertain us all. He's scored memorable goals, ran himself into the ground for the enjoyment of the public; something that he's still doing now at the grand old football age of 36. The little man has also seen the bad times, being relegated twice with Sunderland and once with the Boro. I think it's fantastic that he's still here in the North East, now his home away from home, entertaining people by turning out every week for South Shields, enjoying himself in the process. I know he's working within Sunderland's academy set up these days too, which is something that more ex-players should be doing I feel. Those are the sort of roles clubs should look to fill with people like Julio Arca. He is and will always remain one of the good guys, one of the most popular players to come and play for Sunderland. Being from the other side of the world makes him all the more remarkable. Maybe in the not too distant future I will indeed grow a pair and get myself down to Mariners Park to take in a game and watch the little wizard one final time before he hangs up his boots for good. In fact, it'd be a crying shame if I didn't.

Julio Andres Arca
1998-2000, Argentinos Juniors 36 Apps, 0 gls.
2000-2006, Sunderland AFC 177 Apps, 23 gls.
2006-2013, Middlesbrough FC 181 Apps, 9 gls.
2015-Present, South Shields FC 63 Apps, 21 gls.