Alejandro Alfaro · Biography

Alejandro Alfaro Ligero was born on 23 November 1986 in La Palma del Condado, in the province of Huelva, and came through the youth system at Sevilla FC. He joined the club from Siempre Alegres, his hometown team, where he played until he was 16. He was a winger, mostly on the right, and could also play as a second striker. He spent most of his career in the Spanish first and second divisions, with Sevilla, CD Tenerife, RCD Mallorca, Real Valladolid and Córdoba CF.

Sevilla academy and La Liga debut

Alfaro became a regular for Sevilla Atlético from 2005. Over three seasons he made 100 league appearances and scored 25 goals. In 2006-07 he helped the reserve side win promotion to the Spanish second division, and in 2007-08 he scored seven goals in 34 matches at that level. By then he had already made his first-team debut. On 30 April 2006 he played eight minutes of a 2-1 away win at Real Sociedad under Juande Ramos. His first La Liga goal came on 28 January 2007, when he started a 4-2 win at Levante. That season he played four matches in the UEFA Cup run that Sevilla went on to win, and he was part of the squad that lifted the Copa del Rey. That gave him his first two trophies in 2007. In the same year he won four caps for Spain at under-21 level.

Promotion with Tenerife

Jesús Navas was a fixture on the right wing for the first team, so Sevilla loaned Alfaro to CD Tenerife in the summer of 2008. He was presented on the island on 14 July and had the best scoring season of his career: 20 goals in the 2008-09 Spanish second division, the fourth-highest total in the league. Tenerife returned to La Liga that year after seven seasons away. The loan was extended for another year. In 2009-10 he was the team's main attacking threat and scored seven goals, but Tenerife were relegated. Over his two seasons at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López he made 78 league appearances and scored 27 goals.

Return to Sevilla

Alfaro returned to Sevilla for the 2010-11 season and got more playing time while Navas was injured. He scored in a league win over Málaga. He also scored twice against Karpaty Lviv in the Europa League group stage and found the net in the Copa del Rey tie against Real Unión. He left the first team with 33 league appearances and three goals.

Three seasons at Mallorca

In August 2011 RCD Mallorca signed him for a reported €700,000 on a five-year contract. He started his first competitive match, a 1-0 win over Espanyol. He was part of the side relegated to the second division in 2013. In 2013-14, back in the second tier, he scored nine goals in 38 matches. He left the Balearic club with 94 league appearances and 17 goals. On 18 August 2014 he terminated his contract and agreed a move to Greek club Panathinaikos, but the deal fell through two days later.

Valladolid and Córdoba

In late August 2014 he signed a two-year contract with Real Valladolid in the second division. An ankle injury that needed further surgery limited his time there: he made 18 league appearances without scoring. On 1 July 2016 he joined Córdoba CF, also in the second tier, and in June 2017 he extended his contract by two more seasons. Over three seasons at El Arcángel he made 79 appearances and scored 13 goals. He left after Córdoba were relegated to Segunda División B in 2019.

Final years and retirement

On 23 July 2019 he signed a two-year contract with Hércules CF of Segunda División B. He joined the club together with his brother Jesús, also a footballer. He played 13 matches without scoring and left during the 2019-20 winter transfer window. He then played for CF Intercity, scoring three goals in eight matches. He retired in 2020 with 423 league appearances and 88 goals as a professional. In September 2020 he joined CA Osasuna as a scout, recommended by sporting directors Braulio Vázquez and Cata Prieto, who knew him from his time at Valladolid.