Emiliano Amor

Sporting Kansas City acquired defender Emiliano Amor on a one-year loan from Argentine club Velez Sarsfield in January 2018. Amor’s loan comes with an option for Sporting KC to buy the player on a permanent transfer at the end of 2018.

2018: MLS regular season: Has started three of five appearances and contributed to two shutouts (332 minutes played). Made his Sporting KC debut with a start in a historic 6-0 hammering of Vancouver Whitecaps FC on April 20. Open Cup: Started and played 90 minutes in a 2-0 fourth-round win over Real Salt Lake on June 6, helping in the lead-up to both goals with incisive passes into the attacking third. Started and played 90 minutes in a 3-2 victory over FC Dallas in the Round of 16 on June 16. Started and played 90 minutes in a 4-2 quarterfinal loss at the Houston Dynamo on July 18.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER

Amor, a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, has spent his first five professional seasons with hometown club Velez Sarsfield, a 10-time champion of the top-flight Argentine Primera Division. The center back has logged more than 50 first-team appearances since emerging from Velez Sarsfield’s youth system.

Amor made his Primera Division debut in November 2014 at age 19, featuring in a 2-0 win over Defensa Y Justicia. He became a regular starter the following year, recording three goals in 25 Primera Division matches for El Fortin. He also helped Velez Sarsfield reach the quarterfinals of the 2014-15 Copa Argentina, starting in three clean-sheet victories and scoring in a Round of 32 triumph against Acassuso.

In 2016, Amor helped propel Velez Sarsfield to a sixth-place finish in Zone 1 of the Primera Division. He then guided the team to another Copa Argentina quarterfinal appearance last fall, anchoring a pair of shutout efforts in the 2016-17 edition of the tournament.

Amor has played eight games during the 2017-18 Primera Division campaign under the guidance of first-year manager Gabriel Heinze, a World Cup veteran and longtime defender for the Argentina Men’s National Team.