Alexander Roldán León (born July 28, 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC. Born in the United States, he played for the El Salvador national team.
 Roldán with Seattle Sounders FC in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Roldán León[1] | ||
| Date of birth | July 28, 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Artesia, California, United States | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Seattle Sounders FC | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2017 | Seattle Redhawks | 82 | (18) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016 | Washington Crossfire | 13 | (0) |
| 2017 | OSA FC | ||
| 2018– | Seattle Sounders FC | 164 | (4) |
| 2018–2020 | → Tacoma Defiance | 15 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021–2023 | El Salvador | 25 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 03:46, October 20, 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of September 10, 2023 | |||
Club career
editCollege and amateur
editRoldan attended El Rancho High School in Pico Rivera, California. He played soccer for The Dons helping them to the playoffs all four years and winning a state championship. With his time with The Dons, he earned first-team all-league three times, and was named league MVP in after his senior season.[3]
Roldan spent his college career at the Seattle University, the cross-town rivals of the University of Washington, where his brother Cristian played.[4] In his four seasons with the Redhawks, Roldan made a total of 82 appearances and tallied 18 goals and 17 assists.[3][5]
Roldan also played in the National Premier Soccer League for OSA FC.[6]
Professional
editOn January 19, 2018, Roldan was selected 22nd overall in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft by Seattle Sounders FC.[7] He signed with the club in February 2018.[8] Alex assisted his brother Cristian in his first-ever MLS career start against Sporting Kansas City; they became the fifth set of brothers in MLS history to earn a goal/assist together. They also became the seventh pair of brothers in MLS history, including the first for the Sounders, to start together in a league match.[9]
Roldan was primarily a reserve midfielder for two seasons;[4] Seattle did not renew his contract at the end of the 2019 season.[10] He was re-signed by the Sounders on February 17, 2020, following a switch to right-back.[11] Roldan played three matches during the shortened regular season and replaced Kelvin Leerdam during the MLS Cup Playoffs as the Sounders made it to a second consecutive MLS Cup final.[4]
Roldan had a breakout run at the beginning of the 2021 MLS season, where he became starting right-back for the Sounders.[4] Throughout the first six matches of the regular season, Roldan recorded two assists and played every minute.[4] During a MLS match against San Jose Earthquakes, goalkeeper Stefan Frei left the match due to injury after the Sounders had used their available substitution windows; a field player was required to step into the goalkeeper position. Roldan appeared in goal for the remaining five minutes of stoppage time, an occasion that has only occurred twelve times in MLS history, and recorded a shutout.[12]
International career
editEligible for the United States, Guatemala and El Salvador, it was reported in May 2021 that Roldan had turned down an approach from Guatemala.[13] In June 2021 El Salvador head coach Hugo Pérez confirmed that Roldan had agreed to represent El Salvador.[14] On June 18, he was named to El Salvador's provisional squad for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[15] On July 1, he was named to the final squad.[16] On July 11 he made his international debut as a substitute in El Salvador's first group stage match against Guatemala, where he also got his first goal, scoring the first in a 2–0 victory.[17]
Personal life
editRoldan was born to an immigrant father from Guatemala and mother from El Salvador, Cesar and Ana respectively, and has two older brothers, Cesar Jr., who works as a trainer for the LA Galaxy, and Cristian, a midfielder for the Seattle Sounders FC.[3][18][19]
He married Stacy Marquez in December 2023.[20]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played November 30, 2024[21]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Seattle Sounders FC 2 | 2018 | USL | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Tacoma Defiance | 2019 | USL | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| 2020 | USL | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 2 | ||
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2018 | MLS | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | |
| 2019 | MLS | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | MLS | 18 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | MLS | 29 | 1 | — | — | 4[c] | 0 | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2022 | MLS | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8[a] | 0 | — | 40 | 1 | ||
| 2023 | MLS | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 7[d] | 0 | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2024 | MLS | 29 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 9[e] | 1 | 42 | 3 | ||
| Total | 164 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 204 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 179 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 219 | 8 | ||
- ^ a b c Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
- ^ Appearances in MLS Cup playoffs
- ^ Three appearances in Leagues Cup, one appearance in MLS Cup playoffs
- ^ One appearance in FIFA Club World Cup, two appearances in Leagues Cup, four appearances in MLS Cup playoffs
- ^ Five appearances and one goal in Leagues Cup, four appearances in MLS Cup playoffs
International
edit- As of match played September 10, 2023[22]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Salvador | 2021 | 12 | 2 |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 1 | |
| Total | 25 | 3 | |
- As of match played June 20, 2023. El Salvador score listed first, score column indicates score after each Roldán goal.[22]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 11, 2021 | Toyota Stadium, Frisco, United States | 1 |  Guatemala
|
1–0 | 2–0 | 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 2 | November 12, 2021 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador | 11 |  Jamaica
|
1–1 | 1–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | June 20, 2023 | Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon, South Korea | 20 |  South Korea
|
1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
Honours
editSeattle Sounders FC
Individual
References
edit- ^ "Group A, 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup: El Salvador" (PDF). CONCACAF. p. 2. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ "FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2022™: List of Players: Seattle Sounders FC" (PDF). FIFA. February 7, 2023. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Alex Roldan". GoSeattleU.com. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Boehm, Charles (May 21, 2021). "How Alex Roldan finally caught up to his big brother Cristian in Seattle". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ "Alex Roldan". mlsSoccer.com. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "On the same team: OSA FC roster connects players from local universities". goalwashington.wordpress.com. May 3, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Krasnoo, Ryan (January 19, 2018). "MLS SuperDraft 2018: Seattle Sounders select Alex Roldan with the 22nd pick". SoundersFC.com. Sounders FC Public Relations. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ "Sounders FC signs Alex Roldan and Jordan McCrary". Seattle Sounders FC. February 13, 2018.
- ^ "Alex Roldan records assist to Cristian Roldan in first career MLS start". Seattle Sounders FC. April 15, 2018.
- ^ "Sounders FC announces roster decisions to conclude 2019 season". Seattle Sounders FC. November 20, 2019.
- ^ "Sounders FC re-signs defender Alex Roldan". Seattle Sounders FC. February 18, 2020.
- ^ Oshan, Jeremiah (May 13, 2021). "Postgame Pontifications: Alex Roldan just turned into a genuine folk hero". Sounder At Heart. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
- ^ Olsen, Jeremiah (May 21, 2021). "Alex Roldan turned down a call-up to Guatemala, report says".
- ^ Olsen, Jeremiah (June 17, 2021). "Alex Roldan will represent El Salvador internationally, report says".
- ^ Creditor, Avi (June 18, 2021). "Early Takeaways From Concacaf's Preliminary Gold Cup Squads".
- ^ Salvadoran Football Federation [@LaSelecta_SLV] (July 1, 2021). "Convocatoria Oficial de nuestra #SelectaMayor para la @goldcup" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved July 1, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "El Salvador blanks Guatemala in Gold Cup". National Post. Reuters. July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
- ^ Baker, Geoff (January 19, 2018). "Sounders select Alex Roldan, younger brother of Cristian Roldan, in first round of MLS SuperDraft". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Baker, Geoff (August 1, 2017). "Sounders' Cristian Roldan remembers the sacrifices his parents made in Pico Rivera". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
- ^ Evans, Jayda (December 14, 2023). "Alex Roldan doing a 'two-for-one celebration' with new Sounders deal and wedding in the same week". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ^ Alex Roldán at Soccerway
- ^ a b "Alex Roldán". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved March 22, 2023.