Cristian Esnal

Cristian Eduardo Esnal Fernández (born May 2, 1986) is a Salvadoran footballer of Uruguayan descent, who last played professionally for Club Atlético River Plate (Uruguay). Esnal is the son of assassinated Uruguayan footballer Raúl Esnal and Cousin of Alexis Rolín.

Cristian Esnal

Personal information
Full name	Cristian Eduardo Esnal Fernández
Date of birth	(1986-05-02) May 2, 1986 (age 39)
Place of birth	San Salvador, El Salvador
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position	Defender
Youth career
1997–2004	Rentistas
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004	Rentistas
2004—2007	Chalatenago	16	(1)
2007—2008	Águila	13	(0)
2008—2009	Atlético Balboa	13	(2)
2009—2010	Dragón	2	(1)
2010	Montevideo Wanderers	5	(0)
2011—2013	Juventud Independiente	68	(9)
2013	UES	11	(1)
2014–2015	River Plate	3	(0)
International career‡
2006	El Salvador U-21		(1)
2007	El Salvador U-23	2	(0)
2011	El Salvador	1	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of April 23, 2011 ‡ National team caps and goals as of August 7, 2011

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Esnal and the second or maternal family name is Fernández.

Career

He began his career playing for C.D. Chalatenango. After that season he caught the attention of C.D. Águila. He participated in the 2007 pre-Olympic qualifiers but failed to see any playing time. In October 2009, Esnal left Águila to join second division side Dragón.^[1]

On July 27, 2010, Esnal signed to Uruguayan first division club Montevideo Wanderers.^[2][3]

He was called up by Ruben Israel for the El Salvador friendly against Venezuela. On August 7, 2011, Esnal started the match but was subbed-out at the 67th minute for a more offensive technique.

Cristian abruptly canceled his contract with UES and left El Salvador in 2013 and moved to his father's birth country of Uruguay because his family was threatened by extortionists.^[4] He signed a contract with River Plate in 2014.

As of April 2017, he resides in Los Angeles, California, and is a free agent.

He played during the 2017 Spring Season with Ozzy's Laguna FC (United Premier Soccer League) and Santa Clarita Storm (UPSL), and was selected once as UPSL National Player Of The Week (March 3, 2017) and also received All-UPSL Team honors for the 2017 Spring Season.

International caps and goals

El Salvador's goal tally first.

International appearances and goals
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition	Goals	Minutes played	Extras
1	7 August 2011	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.	Venezuela	2–1	Friendly	0	67	67'