Javier Alessandro Jacutin Mariona (born 17 October 2004) is a professional footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for USL League 1 club Central Valley Fuego and the Philippines national team. Born in the United States and of Salvadoran and Filipino descent, he is a former youth international for El Salvador.
| Personal information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Javier Mariona | |||
| Birth name | Javier Alessandro Jacutin Mariona | |||
| Date of birth | 17 October 2004 | |||
| Place of birth | Los Altos, California, U.S. | |||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | |||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder, forward | |||
| Team information | ||||
Current team | Central Valley Fuego | |||
| Number | 32 | |||
| Youth career | ||||
| MVLA Soccer Club | ||||
| Red Star Soccer Academy | ||||
| San Jose Earthquakes | ||||
| 2017–2018 | De Anza Force | |||
| 2018–2021 | Silicon Valley Soccer Academy | |||
| 2021–2023 | De Anza Force | |||
| Senior career* | ||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |
| 2021–2022 | → Oakland Roots (loan) | 2 | (0) | |
| 2021–2022 | → Project 51O (loan) | 16 | (8) | |
| 2023–2024 | Laredo Heat | 0 | (0) | |
| 2024 | Des Moines Menace | 0 | (0) | |
| 2024– | Central Valley Fuego | 14 | (3) | |
| International career‡ | ||||
| 2022 | El Salvador U20 | 8 | (5) | |
| 2024– | Philippines | 4 | (0) | |
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:50; 13 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:25; 21 December 2024 (UTC) | ||||
Early and personal life
editMariona was born in Los Altos, California to a Salvadoran father, Rodrigo Mariona (son of Salvadoran football legend Salvador Mariona), and a Filipino mother, former tennis player Marisue Jacutin (daughter of Dicky and Suzette Jacutin).[5] He has one sister, 5-star tennis recruit Bella Jacutin-Mariona.[7] As a child, he enjoyed food, watching extreme sports (he is a fan of Travis Pastrana), and playing football, tennis, taekwondo, skateboarding and golf.[5] At age six, he played for a 7 to 8-year-old football team because of his "superior talent".[5] According to his mother, "Javier loves sinigang, nilagang baka, adobo, pancit and he’s a big rice fan! Javier completely understands Spanish and some Visayan, but answers back in English since it is the language commonly spoken at home."[5] When asked what he would do if not a footballer, she said "Javier the Monster Truck Driver".[5] At just twelve years old, he was already receiving offers from European clubs.[6]
Club career
editMariona was signed as a USL Academy player by Oakland Roots on 24 July 2021.[1] He made his debut as a late substitute in a 3–1 win against Tacoma Defiance on 29 August. He made his UPSL debut for Project 51O the next day, wearing the number 10 shirt and scoring the only goal for his side in a 1–1 draw against MCSC Jaguars.[8][9]
References
edit- ^ a b "Roots Sign Two Players to Academy Contracts". Oakland Roots.
- ^ "Javier Mariona". TopDrawerSoccer.
- ^ "Javier Mariona". Tribuna.
- ^ "Javier Mariona". SofaScore.
- ^ a b c d e f JAVIER JACUTIN MARIONA: BORN FOR GREAT THINGS
- ^ a b Fil-Am prodigy gets offers from Euro clubs
- ^ Player Overview - Bella Jacutin-Mariona | Tennis Recruiting Network
- ^ PROJECT 51O vs. MCSC Jaguars on YouTube
- ^ UPSL on Twitter