Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

In telling the story of Christian Gutierrez, one might aptly begin with the visual imagery. The inspiration behind the artful tattoos that adorn each of his arms, as well as the reasoning behind his UC Irvine men’s soccer jersey number, are as telling as they are poignant.

And, of course, there is the redshirt junior’s ever-present and inviting smile.

Drilling below the aesthetics, however, one will uncover elements of discipline and determination, perseverance and pain, family devotion and love.

“I am a family boy,” said Gutierrez, whose reverence for his parents and four siblings prompted the attacking midfielder to select jersey No. 7. “There are seven of us. I carry my family on my back.”

The bond with his father, Cristobal, is particularly profound. Cristobal, who chose martial arts over soccer while growing up in Chalapa, Jalisco, Mexico, has long-nurtured Christian’s passion for Tae Kwon Do, and eventually soccer.

Cristobal, a third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, helped Christian excel in the art of self-defense that originated in Korea. Christian is a first-degree black belt and, until coming to America, excelled in competitive fighting tournaments.

But Christian, a sturdily-built 5-foot-5, 170-pounder who moved with his family from Chalapa to Southern California in the late 1990s, eventually discovered and pursued a greater passion on the pitch. His dad, despite never having played the sport, helped nurture his son’s newfound futbol fanaticism.

“He is all about me helping me with my dreams,” Christian said of his father, who began overseeing a daily training regimen that followed the younger Gutierrez from Bell, Calif. to Irvine. “He didn’t know the game, but he picked up things from watching professionals. And he worked with me to find things that work with my game.”

Watching Christian at UCI has included ups and downs. After playing in 14 matches as a freshman in 2016, he required surgical repair after tearing the ACL and damaging meniscus in his left knee in the spring of 2017.

After redshirting in 2017, he worked his way back into the rotation last season. He scored three goals in just five shots in 20 matches, including a start against Stanford in the NCAA Tournament.

But another meniscus tear required a second surgery and a subsequent impingement in the knee joint prompted an arthroscopic procedure that allowed him to resume full range of motion.

“He has dealt with a lot of adversity,” said Raz, who noted that the arduous rehabilitation process that continues has compromised Christian’s pursuit of a starting spot.

Heading into the final non-conference matchup, Christian has played in all 10 matches and contributed a goal in the team's win at Utah Valley helping UCI to a 3-4-3 record to this point.

“He is on the edge of the starting lineup, but is still a very big contributor for us,” Raz said. “He is very talented around the box, he is dangerous in the air and he is always a threat to turn and shoot.”

Raz said Christian’s contributions go far beyond the stat sheet.