This afternoon, three days after his 27th birthday, Julio Arca will lead out Middlesbrough against Newcastle United in a northeast derby. Among the capacity crowd at St James' Park will be his mum, dad and kid brother whose allegiance to their son and sibling will be expressed with an Argentine flag and even though the occasion will have that touch of hostility that comes with the meeting of neighbours, the Arcas will be welcomed.
Their boy left home in Quilmes, a city 11 miles south of Buenos Aires, when he was 19 for a football club in some northern corner of England. They had never heard of Sunderland, Julio didn't speak a word of English and nobody knew what to expect. Pablo, his young brother, was five at the time, and they hardly knew what to tell him. "You will be able to visit Julio, and he will come back to visit us," they said.
Raul Arca wasn't sure if it was the right thing but he had once wanted to be a footballer until the premature death of his father forced him to choose life as a banker. If his eldest son wanted to make his football career in England, it was his right to decide. In August 2000, Arca flew from Buenos Aires to Paris, from there to Newcastle and a week later played for Sunderland in the Premier League.
Almost eight years have passed and he sits now before his locker in the changing room at Middlesbrough's training ground at Rockliffe Park. The locker alongside belongs to the Brazilian, Fabio Rochemback, just down to the left is the German's Robert Huth, next to him, the Austrian Emanuel Pogatetz. The unmarked one will be taken by the Brazilian, Afonso Alves. And, in this Premier League, Middlesbrough has more English players than most.
Our interview happens later than scheduled because Arca had been at a local funeral. As a measure of how well an overseas footballer has integrated into his new community, attendance at a local funeral is up there. Six seasons at Sunderland, now in his second at Middlesbrough, the northeast has been his football life and if he sees out his contract, he will spend another three years at Boro. That he has been embraced by the locals was clear from his most recent appearance in a northeast derby. Playing for Middlesbrough against his old club Sunderland, he scored a goal and later left the field injured. As he was taken off, both sets of fans cheered him. Such generosity is not common and Arca, in a quiet and understated way, stands as an example of a foreign player who does his job well and has won the hearts of those who pay his wages.
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How daunting the challenge had once seemed. "When the offer first came from Sunderland, I was scared. I wanted to take it but being Argentine, I knew people remembered the war over the Malvinas and even though I was one year old when it happened, I worried it would make my new life difficult. But no one has ever brought it up, not in a bad way. From the moment I arrived in the northeast, people just wanted to help me. I stayed in a hotel for the first two months and got letters from strangers offering to help me with this and that. Eight seasons now, and I've enjoyed every minute because the people have been good to me."
His eyes sweep around the impressive changing room at Middlesbrough's training centre; the floor space so generous there is a ping pong table, a medical table and table football. The CD player exposes them to Pogatetz's dreadful taste in music but nothing is ever perfect in life. He came to professional football with a philosophy and it has helped him survive.
"First thing I understand is that you don't fly high," and as he says this he spreads his arms, makes flapping motions and nods his head disapprovingly, "because if you fly high, you can come down at any moment. So it is better to keep your feet on the ground. We get a lot of money for doing what we do but money doesn't make you happy. I don't show off and I appreciate what football has given me."
Words mean something, actions count for more. When Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2002-03 season, 15 of their players left or were sold. Arca was the best player to stay and for two seasons, he played in the lower division before helping the club regain its place in the top league. "I liked working with Mick McCarthy, he would always tell you the truth and we got on well because of that." When Sunderland were relegated in 2006, McCarthy was sacked and Arca was now keen to stay in the Premier League. Gareth Southgate had just been appointed manager of Middlesbrough and wanted Arca to be his first signing. "When I spoke to him," says Arca, "I could tell he was a good guy. I have this thing when I meet someone, I either take to them or I don't. I saw he was a good man, very honest and he made me feel comfortable."
Sunderland's fans understood he was entitled to stay in the Premier League. "They appreciated that I had stayed three years before and that I always did my best when I played for the team. I still live in Sunderland and when I go out to a restaurant or something like that, they show me the same respect they did when I was a player there."
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His integration into the northeast didn't happen easily because it took him a couple of years to master the language. "Sunderland had a Brazilian, Emerson Thome, a really nice guy who translated everything for me, brought me to the bank to open an account, helped me find a house, and with Emerson helping me, I didn't need to learn English properly. Then he left and I took English classes and began to learn the language."
At first his Argentine girlfriend came with him, the relationship lasted 2½ years, but they were not ready for the commitment involved in a long-term relationship. "Maybe if we had met later, it would have worked out differently but we were trying to take on responsibilities that people of our age should not have to take on."
Sometimes he yearns to be back in Quilmes, inviting his friends round for a barbecue, but thoughts of home subside and are replaced by an appreciation of what he has. "My first flat in the northeast overlooked the sea, was five minutes from the training ground and life here is peaceful, there's no rushing around and security is very different to where I've come from. Bad things hardly ever happen here. It is a place I can relax."
The appreciation is reciprocal. Gareth Southgate soon moved the left-sided Arca to the centre of his midfield and more recently made him team captain. This afternoon, he will lead Middlesbrough's resistance at St James' Park. During his Sunderland years, he lived for four years on the Quayside in Newcastle and loved the life and vibrancy of city life. That shall not stop him striving to bring a bleak quietness to his old haunting ground this afternoon.
Newcastle v Middlesbrough, today, Sky Sports 1, 1pm, kick-off 1.30pm