| Leonardo Villalba | |
| Fullname: | Leonardo Enrique Villalba |
| Birth Date: | 29 November 1994 |
| Birth Place: | El Colorado, Argentina |
| Height: | 1.75 m |
| Position: | Winger[1] |
| Currentclub: | Tristán Suárez |
| Youthyears1: | 2009–2013 |
| Youthclubs1: | Vélez Sarsfield |
| Years1: | 2013–2017 |
| Clubs1: | Vélez Sarsfield |
| Caps1: | 18 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2015–2016 |
| Clubs2: | → Panionios (loan) |
| Caps2: | 17 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Years3: | 2016–2017 |
| Clubs3: | → Douglas Haig (loan) |
| Caps3: | 30 |
| Goals3: | 7 |
| Years4: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs4: | Flandria |
| Caps4: | 12 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs5: | Defensa y Justicia |
| Caps5: | 0 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2018–2019 |
| Clubs6: | → Sarmiento (loan) |
| Caps6: | 28 |
| Goals6: | 4 |
| Years7: | 2019 |
| Clubs7: | Central Córdoba |
| Caps7: | 6 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Years8: | 2020 |
| Clubs8: | Lamia |
| Caps8: | 12 |
| Goals8: | 1 |
| Years9: | 2021 |
| Clubs9: | UTC Cajamarca |
| Caps9: | 22 |
| Goals9: | 1 |
| Years10: | 2022– |
| Clubs10: | Tristán Suárez |
| Caps10: | 9 |
| Goals10: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2011 |
| Nationalteam1: | Argentina U17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 6 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 18:37, 4 August 2022 (UTC) |
Leonardo Enrique Villalba (born 29 November 1994) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a winger for Tristán Suárez.[2]
Vélez Sarsfield signed Villalba in 2009.[3] 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.[4] [2] 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.[2] In the following July, Villalba was loaned to Super League Greece side Panionios.[2] He remained for the entirety of 2015–16, making his debut in a victory over Panathinaikos in September before scoring against Panetolikos in October.[2]
After twenty-six matches in Greek football, Villalba returned to his homeland with Primera B Nacional's Douglas Haig, on loan, in July 2016.[2] Seven goals, which included a brace of Santamarina, occurred despite the club suffering relegation.[2] Ahead of 2017–18, Villalba switched Vélez Sarsfield for Flandria.[2] He made his bow in a fixture with Juventud Unida on 17 September 2017.[2] 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.[2] He scored three goals in his first fifteen games for the Junín team.[2]
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.[2] 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.[2] He also scored in a Greek Cup quarter-final defeat to Olympiacos in February.[2] 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]
In 2011, Villalba won six caps for Argentina at the South American U-17 Championship in Ecuador; as his nation finished third.[2] [12]
.[2]
| 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[13] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||||
| 2014 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||||
| 2015 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 1[14] | 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 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 4[15] | 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 | |||