José Aja

José Aja
Personal information
Full name José Manuel Aja Livchich
Date of birth (1993-05-10) 10 May 1993
Place of birthMontevideo, Uruguay
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
PositionDefender
Team information
Current team
Unión Española
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2014–2017Nacional 10 (0)
2015–2016 → Racing Montevideo (loan) 12 (2)
2016 → Orlando City (loan) 10 (0)
2017Orlando City 15 (0)
2018Vancouver Whitecaps 17 (1)
2019Unión Española 21 (0)
2020Minnesota United 13 (1)
2021–2022Santiago Wanderers 20 (2)
2022River Plate Montevideo 11 (1)
2022–2023Santa Fe 46 (3)
2024Independiente Medellín 15 (0)
2025Juventud Las Piedras 15 (1)
2026–Unión Española 0 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 26 January 2026

José Manuel Aja Livchich (born 10 May 1993) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Chilean club Unión Española in the Primera B de Chile.

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]

In January 2026, Aja returned to Unión Española after his stint in 2019.[11]

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.
  11. ^Morales, Italo (26 January 2026). "Unión Española hace oficial uno de sus fichajes más destacados: MLS, Uruguay, Colombia..."Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 January 2026.

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