In Colonia del Sacramento, where Plaza Colonia are preparing for another campaign in Uruguay’s second tier, the club have turned to a Mexican forward seeking the next chapter of a career that has crossed Central America, Europe and his homeland. Joao Maleck has joined Plaza Colonia as a free agent after leaving Guadalupe FC in Costa Rica.
A fresh start on the Río de la Plata
The 27-year-old arrives after a season with Guadalupe, where he found more regular playing time and made more than 30 appearances. His departure coincided with the Costa Rican side’s relegation after one season.
- Maleck has signed for Plaza Colonia, a club competing in Uruguay’s Segunda División.
- He was available following the end of his contract with Guadalupe FC.
- The move gives the striker a new opportunity in South American football after his spell in Costa Rica.
For Plaza Colonia, the signing brings an experienced traveller into a squad operating outside Uruguay’s top flight. For Maleck, it is another move away from Mexico after a career shaped by both early promise and a difficult interruption.
From Santos Laguna prospect to an international career
Maleck came through the youth system at Santos Laguna and was once viewed as one of Mexico’s more promising young attacking players. His development also included time abroad, first in Porto’s youth ranks in Portugal and later with Sevilla Atlético in Spain.
His route back into senior football in Mexico took in a number of stops after his loan move to Deportivo Cafessa, a Jalisco-based Liga Premier side. He subsequently played for Coras de Tepic, Tepatitlán, Correcaminos and Atlético Morelia before heading to Costa Rica.
- Santos Laguna youth system
- Porto youth categories in Portugal
- Sevilla Atlético in Spain
- Deportivo Cafessa, Coras de Tepic, Tepatitlán, Correcaminos and Atlético Morelia in Mexico
- Guadalupe FC in Costa Rica
The 2019 case and return to football
Maleck’s career changed sharply after a road accident in Zapopan, Jalisco, on 23 June 2019. A newly married couple died in the collision, and the footballer later received a sentence of three years, eight months and 15 days for aggravated negligent homicide.
He spent around a year and a half in custody before being released after serving part of the sentence and paying three million Mexican pesos in compensation for damages. He remained a Santos Laguna player at that point, but legal requirements in Jalisco meant he could not immediately return to Torreón.
His playing return came through Deportivo Cafessa on loan, beginning the sequence of Mexican clubs that eventually led him to Guadalupe and now to Plaza Colonia. The Uruguayan move offers Maleck another restart, this time in a city on the estuary and in a division where Plaza Colonia will look to use his experience in pursuit of progress.
