Alejandro Romero Gamarra


Alejandro Sebastián Romero Gamarra , nicknamed Kaku, is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for New York Red Bulls in MLS. Born and raised in Argentina, he is the son of Paraguayan parents and represents Paraguay at the international level.

Club career

Huracán

Born in Ciudadela, Romero Gamarra began his career in the youth ranks of Huracán. In 2013, Romero Gamarra made his professional debut for Huracán in the Primera B Nacional. He scored his first goal for the club on 12 October 2013 in a 4–1 victory over Aldosivi. On 14 December 2014, Romero Gamarra helped Huracán return to the top flight after three seasons in the Primera B Nacional, scoring the decisive second goal in a 4–1 victory over Atlético Tucumán. With the promotion to the top flight, Huracán concluded a very successful season, having won the 2013–14 Copa Argentina a few weeks prior in a penalty shoot-out over Rosario Central with Romero Gamarra appearing as a second-half substitute. This was the club's first official title in 41 years.
On 3 February 2015, he scored his first goal in the Copa Libertadores against Peruvian club Alianza Lima in a 4–0 victory. On 1 March 2016, Romero Gamarra led Huracán to a historic victory in the Copa Libertadores over Peñarol at the Estadio Centenario, scoring the lone goal in the 1–0 triumph. A few weeks later, on 24 March Romero Gamarra scored his first goal in the Argentine Primera División in a 2–0 victory over Aldosivi. On 18 July 2016 he helped Huracán advance in the Copa Argentina scoring the opening goal in a 2–1 victory over Central Córdoba.
On 27 May 2017, he scored an injury time equalizer from the penalty spot in a 1–1 draw with Boca Juniors.
On 1 June 2017, Romero Gamarra scored another important goal for his club, this time an injury time goal in a 4–0 victory over Deportivo Anzoátegui in the 2017 Copa Sudamericana. The goal helped Huracán advance to the next round by a 4–3 aggregate score after having lost the first leg by three goals. On 16 June 2017, he scored the lone goal in a 1–0 victory over Unión de Santa Fe, helping his club to a crucial three points which helped Huracán avoid relegation. On 28 October 2017, Romero Gamarra scored his club's second goal in a 4–0 victory over Lanús and celebrated the goal dedicating it to his recently deceased mother.

New York Red Bulls

On 23 December 2017, it was announced by Huracán that they had agreed a deal to transfer Romero Gamarra to New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer for a fee of $6.25 million. After resolving various issues that held up the transfer, on 16 February 2018, it was announced that he had signed with New York. Red Bulls also sent $50,000 of General Allocation Money to Atlanta United, who owned his discovery rights. On 1 March 2018, Romero Gamarra made his debut for New York in a 2–0 victory over Olimpia in the CONCACAF Champions League. On 10 March 2018, he assisted Ben Mines on the opening goal of the match on his Red Bulls league debut in a 4–0 victory over Portland Timbers. On 13 March 2018, Romero Gamarra scored his first goal for New York in a 3–1 victory over Club Tijuana in the CONCACAF Champions League, helping the club advance to semifinals of the Champions League for the first time. On 14 April 2018, Romero Gamarra scored his first league goal for New York in a 3–1 victory over the Montreal Impact.
On 28 April 2018, Romero Gamarra helped New York to a 3–2 victory over LA Galaxy, assisting on two goals and scoring the game winner with an 84th-minute penalty-kick goal. The following week, 5 May 2018, Romero Gamarra opened the scoring for New York in a 4–0 derby victory over New York City FC, he also assisted on two other goals. On December 6, 2018, Romero Gamarra was named the New York Red Bulls Newcomer of the Year for 2018 after leading the team in assists throughout the season.

International career

Romero Gamarra was born in Argentina to Paraguayan parents. Romero Gamarra was selected by Argentina's U-20 manager, Humberto Grondona to participate in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand. On 16 May 2018, Romero Gamarra announced his desire to file a one-time switch request with FIFA to play for Paraguay. The move was approved by FIFA on 23 May 2018, and he was immediately called up to the Paraguay national team for a friendly against Japan. He made his competitive debut with Paraguay on 12 June as a substitute in the second half of the friendly match against Japan.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.10 September 2019Amman International Stadium, Amman, Jordan4–24–2Friendly
2.13 October 2019Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia1–11–1Friendly

Honors

Club

Huracán
New York Red Bulls