Lima Alliance He hasn’t lacked his lead for several seasons. The arrival of Hernán Barcos in 2021 and the performances of Jefferson Farfán were enough to win the national title and the “Pirata” continued to score goals in the double championship the following year. In 2023, the “9” position is more than secured with the signing of Pablo Sabbag and the Argentine. But in front of them all was a Uruguayan who fans didn’t want to see leave at the time: Maurice Afonso.
Mauricio Affonso failed to win the title with Alianza Lima but it was the team’s best contract of 2018. The Pablo Bengoechea-led team had a compliant Janio Pósito but Gabriel Leyes didn’t respond with goals and left the team after the first few dates from the aperture. It was therefore necessary to find good foreign reinforcements for the “9” position and Affonso exceeded expectations.
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Mauricio Affonso and his success at Alianza Lima
Mauricio Affonso was announced as the new signing from Alianza Lima on July 5, 2018. The Uruguayan striker was 26 at the time and came from Atlético Tucumán. With the Argentina team, he served mainly as a substitute and barely managed to score in 16 games in the 2017/18 season. But as soon as he put on the blue and white, everything was very different.
Affonso made his official debut with Alianza in a 1-1 draw with Cantolao on Day 10 of Apertura on August 2. He would score his first title and goal against San Martín the following day. A week later, fans began to get used to celebrating the performances of their new “9” thanks to the great goal they scored against “U” in the Clásico. The Uruguayan was self-sufficient, had a good passing game and scored well from long-range.
Mauricio Affonso scored for Universitario in the two Clásicos he played in 2018. Photo: GLR archives
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In this way he ended the year with 1,663 minutes played in 22 games in which he scored 10 goals. In 2019 he started again as a starter, was able to play in the Copa Libertadores and left few chances to Adrián Ugarriza and Gonzalo Sánchez. Due to the good performance of Mauricio Affonso, who scored 7 goals in 12 games in the 1st division, Alianza did not sign another foreign “9” at the beginning of the season.
What happened to Mauricio Affonso?
Mauricio Affonso’s good performances at Alianza Lima caught the attention of an important team from far away South Africa. The Uruguayan left La Victoria in July 2019 and in the same year became national champions with Mamelodi Sundowns, the club with the most cup wins in the country. Affonso didn’t play much in the league, but he was key to winning the cup, scoring twice in the 2-1 final against Maritzburg United.
Mauricio Affonso won three titles with the Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa. Photo: SNL24
Pitso Mosimane, the team’s brand new DT, revealed at the time that the Uruguayan was highly valued there for his biotype and size. Unfortunately, his time in South Africa was marred by multiple injuries that saw him miss most games until he left the team in mid-2021. It should be remembered that he originally signed for five seasons.
After his adventure in South Africa, Mauricio Affonso returned to his country to play for River Plate. He was still part of the club until 30 June 2023 but has not played a game since 26 June 2022. That day he came on in the 61st minute of a 1-0 defeat by Boston River and suffered a cruciate ligament tear in his left knee in a collision with Argentinian Pedro Silva Torrejón.
Mauricio Affonso has not played professionally since his injury at River Plate in June 2022. Photo: Tenfield