Auro Jr.

Auro Alvaro da Cruz Junior (born 23 January 1996), simply known as Auro Jr.,[1] is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right back for the Toronto FC.

Auro Jr.
Personal information
Full name Auro Alvaro da Cruz Junior
Date of birth (1996-01-23) 23 January 1996
Place of birth Jaú, São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Right back
Club information
Current team
 Toronto FC
Number 96
Youth career
2010–2016 São Paulo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2018 São Paulo 35 (0)
2016 → Linense (loan) 1 (0)
2017 → América Mineiro (loan) 11 (0)
2018 → Toronto FC (loan) 18 (0)
2019– Toronto FC 41 (0)
National team
2013 Brazil U17 14 (0)
2015 Brazil U20 3 (0)
2014 Brazil U21 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 November 2020

Club career

Brazil

Auro Jr. began his club career with São Paulo in 2010 with the youth side.[2] In 2014, he made his senior debut, earning a starting role with the club as a teenager under coach Muricy Ramalho, but his standing fell after Ramalho's departure in 2015, relegating him to the bench.[3]

After struggling to make appearances with the first team, he went on a series of loans.[4] In 2016, he signed on loan with Clube Atlético Linense.[5] Later in the same season, he was set to join Sport Club do Recife on loan (including being introduced by the club as a new signing), however, he was prevented from joining the club due to a Brazilian rule that prevents a player from representing three clubs during the same year, as he had already made appearances for License and São Paulo in 2016.[6] Instead, he returned to São Paulo, where he mainly featured with the U-20 team, winning two U-20 titles that season.[3] The following year, in 2017, he joined América Mineiro on loan,[3] making a total of 16 appearances between Brazil's Primeira Liga, Mineiro 1, and Copa do Brasil. He started off well with Minero, but suffered a knee injury, requiring him to miss time due to an operation.[7] He subsequently returned to São Paulo in 2018, after his loan spell had ended.[8]

Toronto FC

On 13 February 2018, it was announced that Auro Jr. had been signed on loan by Major League Soccer club Toronto FC with an option to buy.[9] He made the decision to come to Toronto after speaking to his São Paulo teammate and former Toronto FC striker Gilberto, turning down opportunities to play in South America, Portugal and Spain (including with La Liga club CD Leganés) in favour of joining Toronto.[10][11] He made his club debut on 20 February 2018, in a 2–0 away win against the Colorado Rapids in the first leg of their round of 16 CONCACAF Champions League tie.[12] In his debut season with the club, Auro made 28 appearances across all competitions, registering five assists.[13]

On 17 December 2018, Toronto opted to purchase Auro Jr. permanently from São Paulo.[13] In 2019, he was determined to be the best right-back in the league according to Opta advanced statistics.[14]

International career

At international level, Auro Jr. has represented Brazil at U-17, U-20, and U-21 level.[1] He earned his first callup to play in the 2013 South American U-17 Championship, playing in all nine of his team's matches, en route to a third place finish.[15] At the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, in the quarter-finals against Mexico, he scored his team's tenth penalty kick during the shootout which they lost 11–10, after the game ended 1–1 after extra time.[16] He was called up for the U-21 squad at the 2014 Toulon Tournament, where he was part of the championship winning team.[17] He was called up to the U-20 team for the 2015 South American U-20 Championship, playing in three matches.[18]

Style of play

A versatile defender, Auro Jr. is usually deployed as a right-back, but is capable of playing on either flank.[9] Regarding Auro Jr.'s playing style, Tim Bezbatchenko – Toronto FC's senior vice-president of soccer operations and general manager – said in 2018 that he is "...a very capable two-way player and an important part of our team. Auro Jr. is an attacking threat on the wing who also puts in solid defensive work."[19]

Career statistics
As of match played on 24 November 2020.
ClubSeasonLeagueState LeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
São Paulo2014Série A12000002[lower-alpha 1]0—140
2015Série A1106[lower-alpha 2]00000—170
2016Série A60000000—60
Totals290600020—370
Linense (loan)2016Paulista A1—1[lower-alpha 2]010——20
América Mineiro (loan)2017Mineiro A1—11[lower-alpha 3]020—3[lower-alpha 4]0160
Toronto FC (loan)2018MLS180—108[lower-alpha 5]01[lower-alpha 6]0280
Toronto FC2019MLS230—102[lower-alpha 5]04[lower-alpha 7]0300
2020MLS18[lower-alpha 8]0—00—2[lower-alpha 9]0200
Totals590—2010070780
Career totals880180501201001330
Reference:[20][21]
  1. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana.
  2. Appearances in Paulista A1.
  3. Appearances in Mineiro A1.
  4. Appearances in Primeira Liga.
  5. Appearances in the CONCACAF Champions League.
  6. Appearances in Campeones Cup.
  7. Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs.
  8. Includes three appearances in the MLS is Back Tournament group stage.
  9. One appearance in the MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage, one appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Honours
Toronto FC[20]
Atlético Mineiro
São Paulo
Brazil U-21

References
  1. "Auro Jr". Toronto FC. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  2. Nascimento, Pedro (30 April 2020). "Auro relembra sonho realizado pelo São Paulo e lamenta trocas de treinadores" [Auro recalls dream fulfilled by São Paulo and regrets changes in coaches]. Gazeta Esportiva (in Portuguese).
  3. Grossi, Bruno (14 January 2017). "São Paulo acerta empréstimo de Auro para o América-MG por um ano" [São Paulo arranges Auro loan for América-MG for one year]. Lance! (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  4. Contiero, Wesley (13 March 2016). "Auro concede entrevista exclusiva ao Esportes Mais" [Auro gives an exclusive interview to Esportes Mais]. Esportes Mais (in Portuguese).
  5. "Paulistão 2016: Lateral Direito Auro é Apresentando Oficialmente" [Paulistão 2016: Right Back Auro is Officially Introduced]. Clube Atlético Linense (in Portuguese). 29 February 2016.
  6. "Sem poder defender o Sport, lateral Auro volta ao São Paulo" [Without being able to defend Sport, Auro defender returns to São Paulo]. Lance! (in Portuguese). 1 July 2016.
  7. Leite, Felipe (22 May 2019). "Emprestado três vezes pelo São Paulo, Auro entende opção do clube" [Loaned three times by São Paulo, Auro understands the club's option]. Gazeta Esportiva (in Portuguese).
  8. Buffery, Steve (March 12, 2020). "TFC right back Auro Jr. is often overlooked, but his play speaks volumes". Toronto Sun.
  9. "Toronto FC sign defender Auro". Toronto FC. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  10. Larson, Kurt (19 February 2018). "'He only had good things to say': Ex-Toronto FC striker Gilberto convinced Auro to join Reds". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  11. Quillen, Ian (21 February 2018). "Before arriving at Toronto FC, Auro almost wound up going to La Liga". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  12. Grossi, James (24 February 2018). "Newcomer Auro earns rave reviews following standout debut in Colorado". Toronto FC. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  13. "Toronto FC exercise option to buy Auro Jr". Toronto FC. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  14. Sigal, Jonathan (9 October 2019). "Opta MLS Best XI 2019: Do you agree with what the stats say?". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  15. "Auro's time has come". FIFA. 26 October 2013.
  16. Leach, Alex (3 November 2013). "Champions Mexico oust Brazil in U-17 World Cup". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  17. Nalton, James (3 June 2014). "The Future Brazil Stars Who Triumphed in Toulon 2014". The Botafogo Star.
  18. "Brazil squad announced for 2015 South American Youth Football Championship". Sambafoot. 7 January 2015.
  19. Armstrong, Laura (17 December 2018). "Toronto FC exercises its contract option on Auro". Toronto Star. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  20. Auro Jr. at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  21. "Auro » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
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