José Aja

José Aja
Personal information
Full name José Manuel Aja Livchich
Date of birth (1993-05-10) 10 May 1993
Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Independiente Medellin
Number 3
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Nacional 10 (0)
2015–2016 → Racing Club (loan) 12 (2)
2016 → Orlando City (loan) 10 (0)
2017 Orlando City 15 (0)
2018 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 17 (1)
2019 Unión Española 21 (0)
2020 Minnesota United 13 (1)
2021-2022 Santiago Wanderers 20 (2)
2022 River Plate 11 (1)
2022–2023 Independiente Santa Fe 46 (3)
2024– Independiente Medellin 11 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 9 November 2020

José Manuel Aja Livchich (born 10 May 1993) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Independiente Medellin.

Club career

Aja began his career with Nacional in 2014, also spending time on loan with Racing Club during the 2015–16 season.[1] He went on loan to Major League Soccer side Orlando City on 21 July 2016.[2]

On 24 February 2018, Aja was traded to Vancouver Whitecaps FC in exchange for $125,000 of Targeted Allocation Money and a conditional second-round pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft.[3] Aja was released by Vancouver at the end of their 2018 season.[4]

On 14 February 2020, Aja was signed by Minnesota United FC.[5] He made his debut for Minnesota United on 12 July 2020 against Sporting Kansas City in the MLS is Back Tournament. When the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States forced play to resume play with the MLS is Back Tournament tournament, Aja took on a major role in defence with the absence of other players,[6] but his contract option was not exercised at the end of the season.[7]

Aja moved to Santiago Wanderers[8] in the Primera Division de Chile, spending a short time there before moving to River Plate of the Uruguayan Primera División,[9] where he made nine appearances. He was then transferred to Independiente Santa Fe.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Racing Club de Montevideo » José Aja". racingclub.com.uy. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Orlando City Acquires Uruguayan Defender José Aja on Loan | Orlando City Soccer Club". orlandocitysc.com. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Whitecaps FC acquire centre back José Aja from Orlando City SC". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Whitecaps FC announce first roster moves ahead of 2019, exercise seven contract options". Whitecaps.com. 26 November 2018.
  5. ^ "MNUFC Signs Jose Aja". Minnesota United FC. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  6. ^ "'Gentle giant' Jose Aja stands tall in absence of Loons' Ike Opara". Star Tribune.
  7. ^ "MLS contract options: Who's staying and who's going entering 2021 offseason | MLSSoccer.com".
  8. ^ "Santiago Wanderers de Valparaíso". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  9. ^ "Defensor de Santiago Wanderers partió de Valparaíso y reforzó al River Plate de Uruguay". En Cancha (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Santa Fe sigue reforzando la defensa: José Aja, nuevo jugador". Diario AS (in Spanish). 25 June 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2023.