Roldan family lives, breathes soccer

**Cristian, Cesar and Alex Roldan at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson when the Seattle Sounders played the L.A. Galaxy. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)**

PICO RIVERA – Since March of this year, when the pandemic surged, many family members haven’t been able to all gather.

Christmas Day 2020 will be special to a lot of people.

One family in particular, the soccer-playing Roldan brothers, Cesar, Jr., Cristian and Alex and their parents, Cesar and Ana, all of Pico Rivera will be one of those families.

The three brothers, all raised in Pico by their parents, played organized soccer since they were very young, went to El Rancho High School and are now all in the professional ranks.

Cesar, the oldest, is the head athletic trainer for the L.A. Galaxy and both Cristian and Alex play for the Seattle Sounders of the MLS.

The first time the two teams played, it was a game Cesar, Sr. and wife, Ana will never forget.

“It was very exciting,” said Cesar, Sr., of seeing all three on the field as professionals at the same time. “Every family is always thinking about taking the kids to a different level, as far as sports go. It was a dream come true. To be honest with you, she (Ana) cried and I got goose bumps when that happened. It’s been non-stop since then.”

The Sounders have won two MLS Cups (2016, 2019) and have been in the championship game four out of the last five years.

Ana comes from a soccer family from El Salvador and had a nephew play for the national team and her dad was a legend in his neighborhood. She recently showed some of the awards the boys have earned, including their various championship rings. They had a case with seven title rings, which included two MLS Cups, two CIF and one CIF State championship and conference titles in the Pac 12 for Cristian and the WAC for Alex.

“These championships were really exciting and emotional for us,” Ana added.

**Ana Roldan shows some of the championship rings in her family’s collection. Photo by Keith Durflinger**

Cristian explained how important those rings were for his parents.

“Without them, we wouldn’t be able to get these,” Cristian said. “I felt they would cherish them a little bit more than I would.”

Cristian, who signed with Seattle in 2015 and is a midfielder, has been on the team for all of those appearances. Alex, a defender/midfielder, who was drafted by the Sounders in 2018, has been in the last two championship games.

Seattle played the Galaxy twice this year, which were the two times the three brothers were on the field at the same time. Mom and dad couldn’t watch in person, since no fans were allowed in Dignity Health Sports Park this season.

El Rancho, which was a soccer power during the era when the Roldans played there and won two CIF Southern Section Championships in 2011 and ’13 and a National title, were coached by Dominic Picon.

The first CIF title came in 2003 for El Rancho.

“This is one of the greatest families that I’ve ever been associated with in my 22 years of being in education,” said Picon, who currently is Assistant Principal at Schurr High. “Each of the kids are so unique and I still remember Cesar, who we know as Dewey.

“He started out as a goalie and in his senior year he played forward. He was also a three-sport athlete and scored one of the most important goals in El Rancho history. Salesian was nationally ranked and was undefeated for five years at home and his goal and that victory catapulted the program into where the kids believed they could beat the best.”

**Seattle Sounders' Alex Roldan (16) kicks the ball with his brother, Cristian, in the background as they play the L.A. Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)**

At the time, Cristian was in eighth grade when Cesar was a senior.

“From the get-go in his sophomore year (he was injured his freshman year) he was putting up big numbers,” Picon said of Cristian. “He was playing at a very high level.”

Picon was coach for the Dons for two stints from 2001-04 and after two years in law school he came back to coach through 2013.

The Dons, at one stretch, went undefeated at home for six or seven years. The field wasn’t one of the better ones around but turned out to be a killer for most visitors as Cristian explained.

“To be honest, I think we had a huge advantage when we were on that field,” Cristian said. “They cut it nice and short when we had big games and the crowds on the sidelines were intimidating to a lot of people.

“It benefited us quite a bit.”

Cristian won CIF Player of the Year in his sophomore year when the Dons won the CIF title. Cristian would go on to the University of Washington and helped the Huskies to a Pac 12 Conference title.

Cristian, who became a big scorer as he progressed in high school, had some extra incentive to score those goals.

“Grandpa (Ana’s dad Estevan) used to bribe me per goal,” he said. “He would give me money when I was younger and it was a way for me to make a quick buck and also be dangerous in front of the goal.

“My dad would also say, ‘I’ll give you five dollars if you can score a header.‘ It was more difficult than scoring a normal goal. Honestly, I attribute a lot of that to me being good and scoring a lot of goals in the air. I knew that five dollars was on the line.”

Cesar, who later was attending Cal State Long Beach working on his Kinesiology degree, would occasionally come back to El Rancho to help out with the program.

“As for Alex, he was going to go to a junior college in Arizona, but a late opening at Seattle University led him to a four-year college career,” Picon added.

Alex, who is currently in a graduate program at Southern New Hampshire University, was proud to have a family like no other.

“It’s a life unlike any other,” Alex Roldan said. “We’re blessed, we’re privileged and we have everything that was given to us not taking for granted.

“My brothers and parents, so far, have lived a great life. They came here and gave us the tools for success and good values. All the things that we got from a parent, we got them as kids. The only way that we can repay them is to be successful and do the things that they wish upon us.

“As far as the storyline about family, we are very lucky to have the family that we have and this storyline has been great for us.

“(As for Christmas), it’s going to be special. As for the moment, we’re going to take it in and it has been a long time since we were all together.”

Cesar, Sr. said of his boys when they were kids: “When they were younger, they would destroy my garage door. They never struggled to go to practice and they were always ready.

“One day I remember this man said to me at a game when they were little, ‘I hope I’m still alive to see these kids play professional.’”

That man should see these kids now.

Cesar, who emigrated from Guatemala, ended by saying how important their mother was when they were all growing up and even now when it comes to eating.

“They have been traveling all around and they miss momma’s food,” Cesar, Sr. said. “They Face Time her before they came here and requested certain dishes for them for her to cook.”

And so it goes. It all comes down to momma’s food now and all the years growing up in Pico Rivera.