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 São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing 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 29 (0)
2016 → Linense (loan) 1 (0)
2017 → América Mineiro (loan) 0 (0)
2018 → Toronto FC (loan) 18 (0)
2019– Toronto FC 25 (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 March 7, 2020

Club career

Auro Jr. began his club career with São Paulo in 2014, where he made a combined 34 appearances in Brazil's Serie A and the Campeonato Paulista over three seasons. He later spent time on loan at Clube Atlético Linense in 2016, and with América Mineiro in 2017,[2] making a total of 14 appearances between Brazil's Serie B, Primeira Liga and Mineiro 1 competitions with the latter side. He subsequently returned to São Paulo in 2018, after his loan spell had ended.[1]

On 13 February 2018, it was announced that Auro Jr. had been signed on loan by MLS side Toronto FC with an option to buy.[3] 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.[4][5] 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.[6] In his debut season with the club, Auro made 28 appearances across all competitions, registering five assists.[7]

On 17 December 2018, Toronto opted to purchase Auro Jr. permanently from São Paulo.[7] In 2019, he was determined to be the best right-back in the league according to Opta advanced statistics.[8]

International career

At international level, Auro Jr. has represented Brazil at U-17 and U-20 level.[1] At the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, in the quarter-finals against Mexico, he scored his teams tenth penalty kick during the shootout which they lost 11–10, after the game ended 1–1 after extra time.[9]

Style of play

A versatile defender, Auro Jr. is usually deployed as a right-back, but is capable of playing on either flank.[3] 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."[10]

Career statistics
As of match played on 10 November 2019.
ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
São Paulo2014Série A120002[lower-alpha 1]000140
2015Série A11000006[lower-alpha 2]0170
2016Série A6000000060
Totals290002060370
Linense (loan)2016Série D1010—8[lower-alpha 2]0100
América Mineiro (loan)2017Série B0020—14[lower-alpha 3]0160
Totals1030—220260
Toronto FC (loan)2018MLS180108[lower-alpha 4]01[lower-alpha 5]0280
Toronto FC2019MLS230102[lower-alpha 4]04[lower-alpha 6]0300
Totals4102010050580
Career totals710501203301210
Reference:[11][12]
  1. Appearances in Copa Sudamericana.
  2. Appearances in Paulista A1.
  3. Appearances in Mineiro A1 and Primeira Liga.
  4. Appearances in the CONCACAF Champions League.
  5. Appearances in Campeones Cup.
  6. Appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs.

Honours
Toronto FC[11]

References
  1. "Auro Jr". Toronto FC. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  2. 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.
  3. "Toronto FC sign defender Auro". Toronto FC. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Grossi, James (24 February 2018). "Newcomer Auro earns rave reviews following standout debut in Colorado". Toronto FC. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  7. "Toronto FC exercise option to buy Auro Jr". Toronto FC. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  8. 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.
  9. Leach, Alex (3 November 2013). "Champions Mexico oust Brazil in U-17 World Cup". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  10. Armstrong, Laura (17 December 2018). "Toronto FC exercises its contract option on Auro". Toronto Star. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  11. Auro Jr. at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  12. "Auro » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
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