Ricardo Julio Villa (; born 18 August 1952), more commonly known as Ricky Villa, is an Argentine

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former professional

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He was famous for his time playing football from 1970 to 1989.

Career

Villa was born in Roque Pérez,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. In the 1970s he played successively for

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

, Atlético de Tucumán and Racing Club. At the

1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It wa ...

, he was a member of the Argentine team that won the tournament and made two appearances as a substitute in the second round. Afterwards, he was snapped up by

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

's Keith Burkinshaw together with

Ossie Ardiles Osvaldo César Ardiles (born 3 August 1952), more commonly known as Ossie Ardiles, is an Argentine football manager, pundit and former player. A competitive and skilled midfielder, Ardiles became a cult hero in England, along with Glenn Hoddl ...

. Arriving to a ticker tape welcome at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

, Villa scored against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

on his debut at the

City Ground The City Ground is a association football, football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,455. ...

. Villa scored a total of 25 goals in 179 Spurs appearances, including his winning goal against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in the 1981 FA Cup Final replay – for which he won the

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

goal of the century award in 2001. He had also opened the scoring in the 8th minute of that final replay. He was withdrawn from the 1982 FA Cup Final Tottenham team, due to the outbreak of the Falklands Conflict. Villa played on in Argentina, Colombia and the United States before ending his career in the lower leagues of Argentine football with Defensa y Justicia. Villa also represented Argentina in the

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

edition of the

World Cup of Masters The World Cup of Masters, also known as the Pelé World Cup and Mundial de Seniors, was an event that ran every two years from 1987 until 1995. The tournament was for senior (35+) players and it was under the rules of the IMFA (International Mast ...

, scoring in the opening round against England. He dedicated himself to politics during the 1990s, but since July 2005 has been the technical secretary of

Talleres de Córdoba Club Atlético Talleres (; ), mostly known simply as Talleres ( in Rioplatense Spanish, Rioplatense accent and or in Cordobés Spanish, Cordobés accent; ), is an Football in Argentina, Argentine professional sports club based in the city of C ...

. He resides in

Villa Carlos Paz Villa Carlos Paz () is a city in the center-north of the provinces of Argentina, province of Córdoba Province (Argentina), Córdoba, Argentina, in the south of the Punilla Valley, lying on the western slope of the Sierras Chicas. It has a populati ...

with his wife and four children. As of November 2007, it was announced by FIFA that all members of winning World Cup squads prior to 1982 would receive World Cup winners medals and this includes Villa as part of the 1978 World Cup winning squad. On 7 February 2008, Villa along with his compatriot Ossie Ardiles were inducted into the Tottenham Hotspur Hall of Fame.

Honours

Atlético Tucumán * Torneo Regional Federación Tucumana: 1975 Tottenham Hotspur *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

: 1980–81, 1981–82 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

(shared) *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

runner-up: 1981–82 Argentina *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

Individual *

Hall of fame

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Villa, Ricardo 1952 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Province Argentine men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Argentina men's international footballers 1978 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players Argentine Primera División players English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Quilmes Atlético Club footballers Atlético Tucumán footballers San Martín de Tucumán footballers Racing Club de Avellaneda footballers Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players Deportivo Cali footballers Defensa y Justicia footballers Defensa y Justicia managers Argentine football managers Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Argentine expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Atlético Tucumán managers 20th-century Argentine sportsmen