Arrarte calls it a day after illustrious career

Marconi Stallions captain Nahuel Arrarte has no regrets in his football career after he was forced to retire from the game last week.
The cornerstone of the Marconi side over several years aggravated a knee injury in Marconi’s 2-1 loss to Sydney United in round 21 of the IGA National Premier League NSW Men’s 1 competition.
The industrial midfielder said it was time to end his career and spend time with his young family.
“I’ve been playing with grade four arthritis for the last couple of years and last week against Sydney United I caused further damage to my knee joint,’’ Arrarte said.
“Basically I’ve torn cartilage and  have loose fragments inside the knee joint so there are a couple of little things that have happened that have aggravated the injury that I’ve been carrying for the last couple of years.
“I’ve got a young family and I didn’t want to have a knee replacement in the next 5 to 10 years so I had to make the hard decision to call it a day.’’
Starting his professional career at Sydney United in the old National Soccer League going on to play on to play seven seasons including a stint with the Wollongong Wolves.
At the completion of NSL he returned to the IGA National Premier League NSW Men’s competition with the Bankstown City Lions in 2004 before joining the Marconi Stallions where he won the title last season.
The Argentinian also spent time in Malaysia as well as Fiji representing Lautoka FC.
“I’ve got no complaints or regrets,’’ he said.
“I’ve got to travel the world and met a lot of people.
“I played in the old national league for seven years and played overseas in Malaysia which is something only football can give you.
“I’ve been very fortunate to start my football when I came to Australia at Marconi and it wasn’t the way it was meant to be but I ended up finishing it with the club that I basically grew up watching.
“A bit of an interesting fact is that I started my national league career at Sydney United and that’s where I got hurt.
“It all happens for a reason but I cannot complain there are no regrets. I would have loved to play in Europe but sometimes that’s the way it goes.
“Something I tell all the young guys is that I played every game like it was my last and wore every jersey proud and gave it 100% so there are no regrets, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it is now time to be involved with the game at a very different level.’’
That level is coaching, and Arrarte is confident he can pass on his on-field experience to several players in the coming years.
“In the next couple of weeks I will sit down with the club and see what we are going to do,’’ he said.
“I have spoken to a few people about being involved but at the moment I just want to get my knee right and then we will start that process after including doing my coaching license and so forth.
“It is something I definitely want to be involved with in the coaching aspect. To what extent I am not sure yet.’’
For now, Arrarte is eager to spend some time with his family and thanked them all for their support.
“My wife has been extremely supportive of me,’’ he said.
“We have been together since I was 18 so she has been through all the ups and downs of my career and I cannot thank her enough.
“I’d like to also thank my parents who took me everywhere for football as a youngster and their support was immense for what I have done.
“My family and friends all know what I had to do on a weekly basis to continue playing due to my knee so now I will rest and enjoy my young family.’’
Arrarte went under the knife this morning. We wish him a speedy recovery and cannot wait to see him grace the football sidelines in the coming years.
-By Chris Georges