Lionard Fernando Pajoy Ortiz (born June 7, 1981) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a striker for

Alianza Universidad Club Social Deportivo y Cultural Alianza Universidad de Huánuco, popularly known as Alianza Universidad or Alianza Huanuco, is a football in Peru, Peruvian professional football club, based in the city of Huánuco. The club was founded in 1939 un ...

Career

Early career in Colombia

Pajoy began his career with Cortulua debuting with the first team during the 2004 season. In 2005, he joined

Atlético Huila Atlético Huila is a professional Colombian association football, football team based in Neiva, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. The club was founded in 1990, making it one of the youngest professional football clubs in Colombia. ...

and remained at the club for one year. The following season, he joined

Boyacá Chicó Boyacá is the name of a region in Colombia. It may refer to other connections to Colombia: * Battle of Boyacá * Boyacá Department (Gran Colombia) * Boyacá Department ** Boyacá, Boyacá, a municipality * Boyacá State, a former state * Puerto ...

and had his finest season scoring 12 goals in 35 matches. As a result of his play with Boyacá Chicó, Pajoy was signed by the 2006 Colombian 1st division Champion

Cúcuta Deportivo Cúcuta Deportivo Fútbol Club S. A. (Spanish ), commonly referred to as Cúcuta Deportivo, is a professional Colombian football club from the city of Cúcuta. Founded on 10 September 1924, it is one of the oldest active football clubs in the co ...

and helped Cúcuta to the semi-finals of the

Copa Libertadores 2007 The 2007 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2007 Copa Toyota Libertadores de América for sponsorship reasons) was the 48th edition of the Copa Libertadores. It started on January 24, 2007, and finished on June 20, 2007. It was won by ...

. He scored his club's 2nd goal in the away match against

Nacional de Montevideo Club Nacional de Football (, ''National Football Club'') is a Uruguayan professional sports club based in La Blanqueada, La Blanqueada, Montevideo. The club was founded on 14 May 1899 as a result of the merger between ''Uruguay Athletic Club'' an ...

which ended in a 2–2 draw and sealed Cúcuta's semifinal spot. After three years with Cúcuta he joined

Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful football t ...

during January 2010. However, he was released from the club at the end of may due to poor play. He joined

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club, known simply as Millonarios, is a Colombian professional football club based in Bogotá, that competes in the Categoría Primera A, top flight of football in Colombia. It is one of the most successful and iconic clubs i ...

for the remainder of the 2010 season but only scored 1 goal in 15 matches. In early 2011 he was sent on loan to newly promoted

Itagüí Ditaires Itagüí () is a city and municipality of Colombia, located in the south of the Aburrá Valley in the Antioquia Department. It is part of the Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley. Demographics The population was estimated to be 289,994 in 2020 ...

. While with Itagüí he recovered the form that made him a respected scorer in Colombia. On October 1, 2011, Pajoy scored Itagüí's three goals in a 3–1 victory over

Real Cartagena Real Cartagena is a professional Colombian football team based in Cartagena, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. They play their home games at the Jaime Morón León stadium. History The origins of Real Cartagena date back to 197 ...

. In his one year at the club Pajoy helped lead the club to a 9th place overall finish and a second-place finish in Torneo Finalización, in which he was one of the top scorers with 10 goals in 17 matches.

Major League Soccer

Pajoy signed with

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

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 ...

on February 8, 2012. On August 16, 2012, Pajoy was traded with an international roster spot to D.C. United in exchange for

Danny Cruz Daniel Arthur Quimby Cruz (born January 3, 1990) is an American soccer coach and former player who is currently the head coach of USL Championship club Louisville City FC. Career Youth and college Cruz was born in Petersburg, Virginia. He at ...

. He scored his first goal for United in a 4–2 win against

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

one week later. On September 20, Pajoy's half-volley proved the difference in a 1–0 win at his old club.

Return to Colombia

At the end of the 2013 season, Pajoy left DC after they declined the option on his contract. He would return to Colombian football for the 2014 season, signing with top flight side

La Equidad Club Deportivo La Equidad, also known as La Equidad, is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Metropolitano de Techo stadium. History La Equid ...

on a one-year contract. Unable to find consistent playing time with the Bogotá-based club, he finished the season with just one goal from 20 league appearances.

Peru

Following the expiry of his contract with La Equidad, Pajoy moved to Peru to sign for

Unión Comercio Club Deportivo Unión Comercio, simply known as Unión Comercio, is a Peruvian professional football club based in the city of Nueva Cajamarca, San Martín, Peru. The club plays in the Liga 2, the second tier of Peruvian football, after being ...

. Rediscovering his goalscoring form, Pajoy would finish the first phase of the 2015 season – the

Torneo del Inca The Torneo del Inca was a football competition in Peru played by the football clubs of the Primera División. It was founded in 2011 under the name Torneo Intermedio and was played as a domestic football cup competition between clubs of the first ...

– with 7 goals from just 8 games, including 4 on his debut in a 4–2 win over

Sport Loreto Sport Loreto is a local football institution located in Pucallpa, Peru. It was founded in 1939, and it will start playing in the first professional division in 2015. After the championship in Copa Peru 2014. Football is the most played sport, altho ...

. However, he was unable to prevent the Nueva Cajamarca club from getting knocked out at the group stage. Continuing this form into the 2015 Apertura campaign, the Colombian scored another 8 goals to propel him to the top of the league goalscoring charts. Pajoy would remain among the league's top goalscorers for the rest of the

2015 Torneo Descentralizado The 2015 Torneo Descentralizado de Fútbol Profesional (known as the 2015 Copa Movistar for sponsorship reasons) is the 99th season of the highest division of Peruvian football. A total of 17 teams have been confirmed to compete in the season afte ...

, with 10 goals in 15 Clausura appearances. A hat-trick (in a 5–2 win) against bottom club

in the final round of fixtures would confirm his position as the league's top goalscorer with 25 goals in 39 games (scoring at a rate of once every 137 minutes), though his team would fail to qualify for the Playoff Phase. Following his form in the 2015 season, Pajoy opted not to re-sign with Unión Comercio and instead signed a one-year deal with

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 ...

, historically one of the most successful and popular clubs in Peru, with the ambition of helping them secure their first Peruvian championship since 2006. Just as he had with his previous club, Pajoy scored on his Alianza debut, netting a 21st-minute winner in a 2–1 win over

Alianza Atlético Club Alianza Atlético de Sullana, shorted to Alianza Atlético, is a Peru, Peruvian professional association football, football club, located in the city of Sullana. The club was founded in 1920 and promoted to the Primera División Peruana, Peruv ...

. He remained in the headlines in the next round, being sent off in the club's 2–1 win over

Deportivo Municipal Club Centro Deportivo Municipal, commonly known as Deportivo Municipal, is a Peruvian Association football, football club based in Lima, Peru. They are among Peru's most recognizable clubs and enjoy considerable popularity. The bulk of their succ ...

. Having been suspended for round 3, he returned to action the next week against

Sporting Cristal Club Sporting Cristal S.A., shortened to Sporting Cristal, is a Peruvian sports club located in the city of Lima, best known for its association football, soccer team. It was founded on 13 December 1955 in the Rímac District, Rímac district by e ...

where he scored both his side's goals in a 4–2 loss.

Career statistics

Honors

Alianza Lima *

Peruvian Primera División The Peru First Division (; known simply as ''First Division'', and Liga 1 Te Apuesto for sponsorship reasons), officially known as Liga 1, is the top flight of association football in Peru. It has been referred to as Torneo Descentralizado since ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

D.C. United *

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Cúcuta *

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 ...

semi-finalist:

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pajoy, Lionard 1981 births Living people Colombian men's footballers Colombian expatriate men's footballers Cortuluá footballers Atlético Huila footballers Boyacá Chicó F.C. footballers 21st-century Colombian sportsmen Cúcuta Deportivo footballers Deportivo Cali footballers Millonarios F.C. players Águilas Doradas players Philadelphia Union players D.C. United players La Equidad footballers Unión Comercio footballers Club Alianza Lima footballers Categoría Primera A players Major League Soccer players Peruvian Primera División players Men's association football forwards Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Peru Colombian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Peru Footballers from Norte de Santander Department