One Of The Best Players In MLS Gets Some Support At San Jose Earthquakes For 2025 | OneFootball

By James Nalton.

Cristian Espinoza is one of the best players in Major League Soccer, but last season his San Jose Earthquakes team were the worst. What a pickle.

The Earthquakes finished bottom of the Western Conference and bottom of the overall MLS standings in 2024, nine points behind the next worst team, Chicago Fire. They lost 25 of 34 matches during the regular season, winning just six, and conceded more goals than any other team (78).

Meanwhile, Espinoza, somehow, still managed to stand out statistically alongside some of the best players in MLS.

Since joining the league, the 29-year-old has regularly been among its most impressive players despite San Jose’s yearly performances ranging from bad to worst.

Espinoza Stats

Since moving to San Jose Earthquakes in 2019, Espinoza has:

Last year the Argentine was joint fifth in the league for assists with 13, just behind MVP candidates such as Evander and Acosta, and ahead of the likes of Riqui Puig and Ryan Gauld.

His 23 “big chances” created were only bettered by Mukhtar’s 24. He led the league for xAG with 11.8, and made 94 key passes with only Wagner (101) and Acosta (108) ahead of him during the regular season.

Sometimes this statistical output isn’t so obvious through on-field performances, perhaps because there has been little support for him during this time, but Espinoza is often a level above everyone else on the field. If his team start producing results more regularly in 2025, it will be much more noticeable.

Support Required: Support Arrives

As mentioned in a recent article on New York City, teams need more than one high-end, high-output attacker if they’re to achieve any kind of success in MLS.

San Jose’s historic rival LA Galaxy proved as much as it went from near the bottom of the Western Conference to the top and won the MLS Cup in 2024. All the Galaxy had to do was add some additional quality in attack to complement Puig and Dejan Joveljić.

Early signs suggest the Earthquakes are looking to turn things around in 2025, with reinforcements already on board and a new head coach, Bruce Arena. They have begun to address this with the signings of two players who have at various points been prolific goalscorers in MLS.

Cristian Arango has already made the move West from Real Salt Lake and is one of the big transfers within MLS this offseason.

The Colombian was on course to challenge for the Golden Boot in 2024 before dropping off towards the end of the campaign but still finished the season with 17 goals, just two behind Cucho Hernandez and three behind Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez.

If Arena can get Arango anywhere near this level of output in 2025, then the Earthquakes will certainly not be bottom of the table at the end of the season.

Josef Martínez has also joined and would be an ideal alternative to Arango off the bench or even alongside him in certain systems.

Though the Venezuelan is not at the level of his Atlanta United heyday, he still managed 11 goals for Montréal Impact last season despite starting just 13 games.

Between them, they should get the goals and offer a great option at the end of moves for Espinoza to find. The 24-year-old Argentine attacking midfielder Hernán López could also benefit from these arrivals.

The Earthquakes will also need to improve at the other end of the field. Central defender Dave Romney arrived from Arena’s former side New England Revolution, while they’ll be hoping to get the 2023 version of Brazilian goalkeeper Daniel rather than the 2024 one.

The Earthquakes will be hoping Arena can arrange them defensively while these attacking talents work their magic.

Already having one of the best players in the league at their disposal should certainly help, and with this additional support, Espinoza could be set for one of his best seasons yet.

Stats from FBref, Opta, and FotMob.