Leonardo Enrique Villalba (born 29 November 1994) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a winger for Tristán Suárez.[3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leonardo Enrique Villalba | ||
| Date of birth | 29 November 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | El Colorado, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger[2] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Tristán Suárez | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2013 | Vélez Sarsfield | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2017 | Vélez Sarsfield | 18 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | → Panionios (loan) | 17 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | → Douglas Haig (loan) | 30 | (7) |
| 2017–2018 | Flandria | 12 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Defensa y Justicia | 0 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Sarmiento (loan) | 28 | (4) |
| 2019 | Central Córdoba | 6 | (0) |
| 2020 | Lamia | 12 | (1) |
| 2021 | UTC Cajamarca | 22 | (1) |
| 2022– | Tristán Suárez | 9 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2011 | Argentina U17 | 6 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:37, 4 August 2022 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editVélez Sarsfield signed Villalba in 2009.[4] His first appearance in the Primera División arrived on 11 May 2013 against Arsenal de Sarandí, with Ricardo Gareca substituting him on for the final six minutes of a 2–2 draw.[1][3] He was selected a further twenty-one times in the next three seasons in all competitions, with Villalba also netting his opening goal versus La Emilia in the Copa Argentina in April 2015.[3] In the following July, Villalba was loaned to Super League Greece side Panionios.[3] He remained for the entirety of 2015–16, making his debut in a victory over Panathinaikos in September before scoring against Panetolikos in October.[3]
After twenty-six matches in Greek football, Villalba returned to his homeland with Primera B Nacional's Douglas Haig, on loan, in July 2016.[3] Seven goals, which included a brace of Santamarina, occurred despite the club suffering relegation.[3] Ahead of 2017–18, Villalba switched Vélez Sarsfield for Flandria.[3] He made his bow in a fixture with Juventud Unida on 17 September 2017.[3] Eleven months later, in mid-2018, Villalba moved to the Primera División's Defensa y Justicia.[5][6] However, he was immediately loaned down to the second tier with Sarmiento.[3] He scored three goals in his first fifteen games for the Junín team.[3]
In July 2019, Villalba penned terms with newly promoted Primera División outfit Central Córdoba.[7] Six appearances followed, though just one was as a starter as he left five months after joining.[3] January 2020 saw Villalba complete a return to Greece with Super League team Lamia.[8] He netted once in the league, which occurred on 8 June during a fixture with Panetolikos; the same opponents of his only goal for Panionios in 2015–16.[3] He also scored in a Greek Cup quarter-final defeat to Olympiacos in February.[3] Villalba mutually terminated his Lamia contract on 14 December 2020.[9]
On 4 January 2021, Villalba headed to Peru with UT Cajamarca; managed by Ricardo Gareca, who gave the winger his debut in senior football back in May 2013.[10] He left the club at the end of 2021. In January 2022, Villalba returned to his homeland and joined Tristán Suárez.[11]
International career
editIn 2011, Villalba won six caps for Argentina at the South American U-17 Championship in Ecuador; as his nation finished third.[3][12]
Career statistics
edit- As of 6 January 2021.[3]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Vélez Sarsfield | 2012–13 | Argentine Primera División | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 2015 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 10 | 1 | ||||
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 1 | |||
| Panionios (loan) | 2015–16 | Super League | 17 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 4[c] | 0 | 26 | 1 | ||
| Douglas Haig (loan) | 2016–17 | Primera B Nacional | 30 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 31 | 7 | ||
| Flandria | 2017–18 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |||
| Defensa y Justicia | 2018–19 | Argentine Primera División | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sarmiento (loan) | 2018–19 | Primera B Nacional | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 28 | 4 | ||
| Central Córdoba | 2019–20 | Argentine Primera División | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Lamia | 2019–20 | Super League | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | ||||
| UT Cajamarca | 2021 | Peruvian Primera División | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Career total | 123 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 139 | 16 | ||
- ^ Appearance(s) in the Copa Libertadores
- ^ Appearance(s) in the Argentine Primera División play-offs
- ^ Appearance(s) in the Super League play-offs
References
edit- ^ a b "Ficha Estadistica de LEONARDO VILLALBA". BDFA. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "Leonardo Villalba". World Football. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Argentina - L. Villalba". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "La cantera sigue aportando". Vélez Sarsfield. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "Leonardo Villalba se sumó a Sarmiento". Junin Digital. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "Leonardo Villalba: "En el fútbol argentino si no corrés no sirve nada"". La Verdad. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "Leonardo Villalba, el nuevo refuerzo de Central Córdoba". Diario Panorama. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "Λαμία: Ανακοίνωσε τον Βιγιάλμπα". Sport24. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "Βιγιάλμπα τέλος για Λαμία". athlitiko. 14 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "UTC fichajes 2021 volante argentino Leonardo Villalba que fue pupilo de Ricardo Gareca en Vélez Sarsfield". Líbero. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
- ^ Llegó el quinto al Lechero, bnpartidos.com.ar, 18 January 2022
- ^ "Leo Villalba, un coloradense en la Selección Argentina Sub 17". El Comercial. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
External links
edit- Leonardo Villalba at Soccerway