Daniel Alberto "Keko" Villalva Barrios (born 6 July 1992) is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Ferro Carril Oeste Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or familiarly, Ferro, is an Argentine sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its assoc ...

. In 2009, he became the youngest player ever to play for River Plate.

Career

Early years

Daniel Alberto Villalva, named after River Plate legend Daniel Alberto Passarella, was born on 6 July 1992 in

Caá Catí Caá Catí or Nuestra Señora del Rosario de Caá Catí is a town in Corrientes Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the General Paz Department. The town was founded in 1707. From 1912 until 1927 Caá Catí had a railway station on the Fe ...

, in the province of

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragui, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It has ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. At the age of 10, he joined the

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 ...

youth system after a trial, but he suffered an accident on his left foot and was released. Months later, he recovered and began to play football again in his native province of Corrientes, and after several trials in teams including

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

and

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...

, all of them showing interest in keeping him, he finally joined River Plate in 2005 as a personal wish, since he has always supported ''Los Millonarios''.

River Plate

On 8 February 2009, he made his debut against Colón replacing

Mauro Rosales Mauro Damián Rosales (born 24 February 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Best known for his pace and crossing ability, he won a gold medal with Argentina at the 2004 Summer Olympics. ...

in the 71st minute and becoming the youngest River Plate player to feature in a league match at the age of 16 years, 7 months and 2 days. He scored his first senior goal in a 4–3 victory against

Chacarita Juniors Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors (usually known simply as Chacarita) is an Argentine association football, football club headquartered in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, while the stadium is located in Villa Maipú, General San Martín Partido of Gre ...

on 30 August 2009. Subsequently, he went to play a more important role in the team, but prior to the 2010–11 season, he suffered a vertebral injury that kept him away from playing until River Plate's relegation. Afterwards, during River Plate's campaign in the second tier, he started to play again after recovering from his injury, which put his career on the line again.

Veracruz

In the summer of 2014, Villalva moved from River to Mexico for

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. He agreed a three-year contract to the

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

outfit on 22 June 2014.

International career

Daniel Villalva played for Argentina for the first time in the

South American Under-15 Football Championship The South American U-15 Championship (; ), branded as CONMEBOL Sub 15, is a South American association football competition held every two years contested by male players under the age of 15 and is organized by CONMEBOL, the governing body for foot ...

held in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in 2007. He then was called up by the under-17 national team and took part in the 2009 South American Championship, where he scored 3 goals in 5 appearances, and the 2009 World Cup.

Honours

;River Plate *

Argentine Primera Division Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

: Torneo Final 2014 *

Copa Campeonato The Copa Campeonato Primera División (familiarly known as Superfinal) was an official Argentine football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association. It was played in a single match format between the Torneo Inicial and Torne ...

: Copa Campeonato 2014 ;Veracruz *

Copa MX Copa MX, also known as Copa Corona MX for sponsorship reasons, was an association football competition in Mexico and the domestic cup tournament for clubs at the highest and second levels of Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Copa ...

: Clausura 2016

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Villalva, Daniel Alberto 1992 births Living people Argentine men's footballers Argentine expatriate men's footballers People from Caá Catí Argentina men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards Footballers from Corrientes Province Argentine Primera División players Liga MX players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Paraguayan Primera División players Primera Nacional players Club Atlético River Plate footballers Argentinos Juniors footballers C.D. Veracruz footballers Querétaro F.C. footballers Goiás Esporte Clube players Club Guaraní players Ferro Carril Oeste footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Paraguay 21st-century Argentine sportsmen