Jon Arnold - @ArnoldcommaJon
FRISCO, Texas — Watch Paul Arriola chat with reporters after a win in the locker room. He’s smiling, answering questions in English, then in Spanish, then back to English. You see a shining example of a professional comfortable with who he is, where he’s from and what he wants to be.
It hasn’t always been like this.
While aware he had Mexican roots thanks to his paternal grandfather, Arriola rarely thought about his heritage when he was growing up in Southern California. Now an FC Dallas winger with 50 caps for the U.S senior men’s national team, Arriola got his Mexican documents as a teenager so he could join Club Tijuana as a domestic player rather than fill one of the team’s foreign player slots.
Then, it seemed like just paperwork, but, with Xolos, he went on a journey of self-discovery that led to improving his rudimentary Spanish, educating himself on Mexico’s history and customs, and embracing his status as a dual-national.
“It really took me a couple of years to really understand and embrace the Mexican culture, the Mexican heritage.” Arriola told LeaguesCup.com. “I didn’t grow up feeling as if I was a ‘true Mexican’, so to speak, but I definitely grew into it. I submerged myself in the culture and loved it, loved playing in Tijuana.”
“In the offseason, I often go to Tijuana and go eat. It’s who I am, and I’ve embraced it and love it. I’m definitely proud to be Mexican-American.”
Since leaving Xolos for D.C. United in 2017, Arriola has spent most of his career in MLS. It’s not for a lack of LIGA MX teams trying to bring him back. Links have popped up at various times during his career, including with Club América targeting the Chula Vista native before the 2022 season when he ultimately landed with FC Dallas.
Arriola said this week he’d never close the door on a return to LIGA MX but for now is focused on FC Dallas and, more specifically, on Leagues Cup play.
“I think it’s another test. I think it’s an amazing opportunity for us, for them, for both leagues. Oftentimes the Mexican teams come to the United States to play friendlies, but when there’s something on the line at all, it obviously means more to the players,” he said.
It certainly means something extra for players like Arriola and his FCD teammates midfielder Edwin Cerrillo and right back Marco Farfan, who grew up watching LIGA MX and supporting some of the teams they’ll now be playing against.
“I think for all the players who have these roots, Paul, Edwin and Marco, these are always special because the whole family is watching it, following it. It has a different feeling,” FC Dallas manager Nico Estévez said at a news conference.
Estévez hopes to get good contributions from Arriola throughout the tournament, with the winger returning from injury and a setback during recovery to take part in FCD’s 3-0 victory over Necaxa on Tuesday that clinched a place in the Round of 32.
Injuries often have bit Arriola at frustrating moments during his career, including just two matches into a loan to Swansea City that cut short his opportunity abroad. After returning, Arriola has his sights set on success in the tournament in which he’ll face teams familiar to him from the start of his career in Baja California.
“It’s something that definitely can get you in a tough mood. Unfortunately and fortunately, I’ve been through it enough and understand what it takes,” Arriola said. “Muscles and anything in the body takes time to heal".
“The situation is we’re being extra cautious to make sure I’m feeling 100% and able to step on the field completely ready. I’m really looking forward to it, especially against a Mexican side.”
No matter how many minutes Arriola is able to see during the course of the tournament, he’s excited about the potential of Leagues Cup to form more cross-cultural connections like the ones he made early in his career. After a tough adaptation, he eventually found himself relating with teammates from not just Mexico but all over the world in Tijuana and in future stops at his career as well.
“One thing that (Leagues Cup) obviously does is bring competition, but I also think it can bring a lot of relationships,” Arriola said.
“It’s soccer. We’re here to compete, but at the end of the day we’re all human beings. We all respect one another as humans, and hopefully it goes even further above us into the business part of it for both leagues.”
Arriola will be leading the way, eager to find success on the soccer field once again, but after the game he’ll be ready to flash that smile and offer a few words of support in English or in Spanish, confident in his identity and his abilities.
