Arianna Jeanette Romero Téllez (born 29 July 1992) is an American-born Mexican

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or a fullback for Danish club

HB Køge HB Køge () is a professional Danish football club based primarily in the town of Herfølge, and secondly in the town of Køge, both in the Køge Municipality, part of 'Region of Zealand', in the eastern part of Zealand, south of Copenhagen. It w ...

and for the

Mexico national team The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in international football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation (). It competes as a member of CONCACAF. Mexico has qualified to seventeen World Cups and has qualified conse ...

Youth and collegiate career

Youth

Romero did not participate in high school soccer at her alma mater,

Willow Canyon High School Willow Canyon High School is a high school in Surprise, Arizona, U.S., under the jurisdiction of the Dysart Unified School District. Signature programs TV / Media Production This program is designed to provide students with the experience and s ...

. Instead, she played club soccer in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

for Sereno SC under Coach Dave Simeone. As a midfielder/defender, she helped the Sereno 92 Golden Eagles to eight state championships and three Region IV semifinal appearances. Additionally, her squad won 13 tournament titles and was a finalist at the Disney College Showcase. Individually, Romero was on the 2009 Arizona Olympic Development Program team that advanced to the semifinals of the Region IV Championship.

College

Romero attended the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

where she played as a defender for the

Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

. As a freshman, she started all 21 games and helped the team record five shutouts. She scored one goal and served three assists. Romero scored the first goal of her career in a match against

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

in October 2010. The game-winning goal helped the Cornhuskers win in overtime. During her sophomore season, Romero started every game, scored one goal, and served two assists from the defensive line. On 2 September 2011, she scored her second career goal, served two assists and produced a career-high four points during the team's 6–0 defeat of the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

. As a junior, Romero missed the first five games of the 2012 season while playing for the Mexico National Under-20 Football Team at the

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament, organized by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), for national teams of women under the age of 20. The tournament is held in even-numbere ...

in Japan. After her return from the tournament, she started the final 15 games of the season and was part of a defensive unit that posted three shutouts during the season. During her final year with the Huskers in 2013, Romero led the defensive line as a center back and helped the team record eight shutouts. She was named Second-Team NSCAA All-America, became the 12th Husker All-American, and was awarded Nebraska's NSCAA All-America award. The NSCAA All-Region First Team honoree and Big Ten Defender of the Year finished her career having started in all 77 of her career matches.

Club career

In January 2014, Romero joined

Seattle Reign FC OL Reign is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...

as part of the 2014 NWSL Player Allocation. Later the same month, she was selected by expansion team,

Houston Dash The Houston Dash is a professional women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 season, and is affiliated with the MLS team Houston Dynamo FC. History Establishment On November ...

during the 2014 NWSL Expansion Draft. On 2 December 2014, Romero was traded by Houston to the

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and cont ...

. In March 2016, she was acquired by

. In October 2016, she joined

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...

as an international player. Romero spent 2018 with

Valur Valur may refer to: People * Birkir Valur Jónsson (born 1998), Icelandic football player * Björn Valur Gíslason (born 1959), Icelandic politician * Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson (born 1979), Icelandic handball player * Guðni Valur Guðnason (born ...

in the Úrvalsdeild kvenna in Iceland, she made 17 appearances with the team. On 4 March 2019, Romero signed with the

, returning to the team she had played with in 2014. On 17 June 2020, Romero was waived. On 9 September 2020, Romero signed a short-term contract with the

North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage is a professional women's soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acquired National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchise rights from the Western New York F ...

International career

After taking part in a training camp with the Mexico Under-20 National Team in July 2011, Romero was selected to be part of the Mexico National Team that competed at the

CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament The CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament was an international football (soccer) event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, and was the qualification tournament for the Olympic Games. Women's football tourname ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, in January 2012. She was also on the Mexico U-20 team that competed at the CONCACAF Championships in Panama City, Panama, in February 2012. Romero started all four of Mexico's games at the tournament, playing 360 minutes. She helped Mexico reach the quarterfinals for the second time at the 16-team tournament. In the spring of 2013, Romero played in the

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...

with the Mexico National team in Portugal. Mexico was one of 12 countries invited to the tournament and started in group play with Hungary, Wales and Portugal. Romero played in three of Mexico's four games, including a start against Wales during group play. Mexico won their group with a pair of wins over Hungary (1–0) and Portugal (3–0), which placed them in the seventh-place game at the tournament but lost to Denmark 3–0. Mexico played in the tournament for just the third time in tournament history and the first time since 2006. Romero was one of four collegians to be called up for Mexico's women's nationally televised international friendly against the United States of America in Washington, D.C. at RFK Stadium on Tuesday, 3 Sept.. Romero started and played the entire match on a young back line for Mexico.

Personal life

Romero is the daughter of José Romero and Carmen Téllez and has one brother, Cristian.

References

External links

* *
Profile
at

Mexican Football Federation The Mexican Football Federation (; abbreviated as Femexfut or FMF) is the governing body of association football in Mexico. It adm the Mexico national team, the Liga MX and all affiliated amateur sectors, and controls promoting, organizing, direc ...

*
Houston Dash player profile

Nebraska Cornhuskers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Arianna 1992 births Living people Citizens of Mexico through descent Mexican women's footballers Women's association football central defenders Women's association football fullbacks Mexico women's international footballers 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Pan American Games bronze medalists for Mexico Pan American Games medalists in football Footballers at the 2015 Pan American Games Footballers at the 2019 Pan American Games Arianna Romero Arianna Romero Arianna Romero A-League Women players Perth Glory FC (A-League Women) players Toppserien players Arianna Romero Mexican expatriate women's footballers Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Iceland Expatriate women's footballers in Iceland Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate women's soccer players in Australia Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate women's footballers in Norway American women's soccer players Soccer players from Arizona Sportspeople from Glendale, Arizona American sportspeople of Mexican descent Nebraska Cornhuskers women's soccer players National Women's Soccer League players Houston Dash players North Carolina Courage players American expatriate women's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Iceland American expatriate sportspeople in Australia American expatriate sportspeople in Norway Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games HB Køge (women) players American expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate women's footballers in Denmark