Alejandro Sebastián Romero Gamarra (born 11 January 1995), nicknamed Kaku, is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or winger for

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

club

Al Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is Oman–United Arab Emirates border, bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al A ...

and the Paraguay national team.

Club career

Huracán

Born in Ciudadela, Kaku began his career in the youth ranks of

Huracán Huracán (; ; , "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused th ...

. In 2013, Kaku made his professional debut for

in the

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 team ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 12 October 2013 in a 4–1 victory over Aldosivi. On 14 December 2014, Kaku 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 Club Atlético Tucumán (mostly known as Atlético Tucumán) is an Argentine football club based in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán of Tucumán Province. Although several sports are practised at the club, Atlético is mostly known for its footba ...

. With the promotion to the top flight, Huracán concluded a very successful season, having won the

2013–14 Copa Argentina The 2013–14 Copa Argentina was the fifth edition of the Copa Argentina, and the third since the relaunch of the tournament in 2011. The competition began on October 29, 2013. Arsenal was the defending champion, but were eliminated by Instituto ...

a few weeks prior in a penalty shoot-out over

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...

with Kaku 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 The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

against Peruvian club

Alianza Lima Club Alianza Lima, more commonly known as simply Alianza Lima, is a Peru, Peruvian professional sports club based in La Victoria District, Lima, La Victoria District of Lima, Peru. The club was founded under the name of Sport Alianza on February ...

in a 4–0 victory. On 1 March 2016, Kaku led Huracán to a historic victory in the

over

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

at the

Estadio Centenario Centenario Stadium (, ; , named after the Constitution of Uruguay of 1830, centenary of Constitution of Uruguay, Uruguay's Constitution) is an association football stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay. Located in the Parque Batlle, Parque Battle neig ...

, scoring the lone goal in the 1–0 triumph. A few weeks later, on 24 March Kaku scored his first goal in the

Argentine Primera División The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

in a 2–0 victory over Aldosivi. On 18 July 2016 he helped Huracán advance in the

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The first editions ...

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 Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

. On 1 June 2017, Kaku scored another important goal for his club, this time an injury time goal in a 4–0 victory over

Deportivo Anzoátegui ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable), an aerial lift station in Ecatepec, Mexico * Deport ...

in the

2017 Copa Sudamericana The 2017 Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana was the 16th edition of the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (also referred to as the ''Copa Sudamericana'', or ), South America's secondary club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. Argentinian club Independiente ...

. 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 Club Atlético Unión (; mostly known as Unión de Santa Fe ) is a sports club from Santa Fe, Argentina, Santa Fe, the capital city of the Santa Fe Province, in Argentina. The club was founded on 15 April 1907. Unión is mostly known for its asso ...

, helping his club to a crucial three points which helped Huracán avoid relegation. On 28 October 2017, Kaku scored his club's second goal in a 4–0 victory over

Lanús Lanús () is the capital of Lanús Partido, Buenos Aires Province in Argentina. It lies just south of the capital city Buenos Aires, in the Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, metropolitan area. The List of cities in Argentina, city has a populati ...

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 Kaku to

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

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 Atlanta United FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won o ...

, who owned his discovery rights. On 1 March 2018, Kaku made his debut for New York in a 2–0 victory over Olimpia in the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

. 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 The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

. On 13 March 2018, Kaku scored his first goal for New York in a 3–1 victory over

Club Tijuana Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente, simply known as Tijuana or Xolos, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Tijuana, Baja California, that competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. The club ...

in the

, helping the club advance to semifinals of the Champions League for the first time. On 14 April 2018, Kaku scored his first league goal for New York in a 3–1 victory over the Montreal Impact. On 28 April 2018, Kaku helped New York to a 3–2 victory over

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

, assisting on two goals and scoring the game winner with an 84th-minute penalty-kick goal. The following week, 5 May 2018, Kaku opened the scoring for New York in a 4–0 derby victory over

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he also assisted on two other goals. On 6 December 2018, Kaku was named the New York Red Bulls Newcomer of the Year for 2018 after leading the team in assists throughout the season.

Al-Taawoun

On 1 February 2021, it was announced by Al-Taawoun of the

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

that they had agreed to a transfer for Kaku. On 17 February 2021, Romero Gamarra's former club New York Red Bulls and Major League Soccer sought arbitration against Kaku and the

MLS Players Association The MLS Players Association (MLSPA) is the trade union, union of professional Major League Soccer players. The MLS Players Association serves as the exclusive collective bargaining agreements representative for all current players in MLS. His ...

for breach of contract. In April 2021 arbiter Shyam Das ruled against the MLSPA and Kaku and found that New York Red Bulls and Major League Soccer had exercised their unilateral contract option on Kaku prior to 31 December 2020. On 12 May 2021, Major League Soccer and New York Red Bulls filed a petition in United States federal court seeking to have the arbitration decision enforced. On 22 July 2021, MLS and New York Red Bulls filed suit in United States federal court against Kaku's agent Scott Pearson and Pearson's company Argentine Futbol Tours LLC, alleging "

tortious interference Tortious interference, also known as intentional interference with contractual relations, in the common law of torts, occurs when one person intentionally damages someone else's contractual or business relationships with a third party, causing ...

" in Kaku's move to Al-Taawoun and seeking in excess of $6 million in damages. On 16 September 2021, MLS and New York Red Bulls voluntarily dismissed their suit against Pearson.

International career

Kaku was born in Argentina to Paraguayan parents. He was selected by Argentina's U-20 manager, Humberto Grondona to participate in the

2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the twentieth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. The competition took place for the first time in New Zealand, the third time on Oceanian soil after ...

in New Zealand. On 16 May 2018, Kaku announced his desire to file a one-time switch request with FIFA to play for

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. 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 for Paraguay on 12 June, as a substitute in the second half of the friendly match against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Paraguay's goal tally first.''

Honours

Huracán *

: 2013–14 *

Supercopa Argentina The Supercopa Argentina (English: Argentine Super Cup) is an official national association football cup of Argentina organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The annual football match was played for the first time in 2012, being con ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

New York Red Bulls *

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Al Ain *

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

: 2023–24 Individual *

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

top assist provider:

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

*Saudi Pro League Player of the Month: December 2022

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaku 1995 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Paraguayan men's footballers Paraguayan expatriate men's footballers Paraguay men's international footballers Argentine men's footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentina men's under-20 international footballers Argentine sportspeople of Paraguayan descent Men's association football midfielders Club Atlético Huracán footballers New York Red Bulls players Al Taawoun FC players Al Ain FC players Argentine Primera División players Primera Nacional players Designated Players (MLS) Major League Soccer players Saudi Pro League players UAE Pro League players 2021 Copa América players Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United States Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in the United States Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Paraguayan expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates AFC Champions League Elite–winning players 2024 Copa América players 21st-century Argentine sportsmen 21st-century Paraguayan sportsmen