Matías Raúl Villarreal (born 16 January 1992) is an Argentine professional
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 a
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 ...
for CLUB DEPORTIVO MAIPÚ.
Club career
Villarreal initially played in the youth system of
Luján de Cuyo
Luján de Cuyo is the district capital of the Luján de Cuyo Department located in the west of the Mendoza Province of Argentina. It forms part of the Greater Mendoza metropolitan area.
Wine
It was the first delineated appellation for the purpos ...
, prior to spending two years in the ranks of
Deportivo Guaymallén.
2006 saw Villarreal head to
Independiente Rivadavia, appearing exclusively for their youth sides up until 2011.
His senior debut arrived in
Primera B Nacional
Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 team ...
on 7 May 2011 against
CAI, with the central midfielder starting an eventual goalless home draw; though would be substituted off at the interval.
He had previously been on the bench versus
San Martín a month prior.
Ten appearances later, Villarreal scored in a win over
All Boys
Club Atlético All Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Floresta, Buenos Aires. The institution is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second division of the Arge ...
on 15 November 2014; a ninetieth minute winner.
After sixty-nine matches for Independiente Rivadavia, Villarreal switched Primera B Nacional for
Primera B Metropolitana after agreeing a move to
Estudiantes in August 2017.
His first appearance came in a scoreless draw with
UAI Urquiza on 3 September, while his opening goal came almost two years later against
Sacachispas on 18 May 2019; in a campaign that concluded with promotion to the
second tier.
Two further goals followed, in a victory over
Mitre
The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...
in February 2020, across twenty-three games in
2019–20.
July 2020 saw Villarreal join
Primera División side
Aldosivi under manager
Guillermo Hoyos.
Villarreal's top-flight debut occurred on 31 October 2020 in the
Copa de la Liga Profesional against
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...
's
Estudiantes; in a match that finished without any goals, just like his previous two club debuts did.
To gain some more playing time, Villarreal was loaned out to
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 '' ...
in July 2021 for the rest of 2022. However, the spell was cut short and he returned at the end of 2021.
In January 2022, Villarreal moved to
Gimnasia Mendoza. A year later, in January 2023, he signed with Paraguayan side
Resistencia. Six months later, he returned to Argentina, joining
Deportivo Madryn.
Deportivo Madryn ya tiene sus cuatro refuerzos
diariojornada.com.ar, 8 June 2023
International career
In February 2008, Villarreal received a call-up to train with the Argentina U17s.
Career statistics
.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villarreal, Matías
1992 births
Living people
Argentine men's footballers
Argentine expatriate men's footballers
Footballers from Mendoza Province
Men's association football midfielders
Primera Nacional players
Primera B Metropolitana players
Argentine Primera División players
Independiente Rivadavia footballers
Estudiantes de Buenos Aires footballers
Club Atlético Aldosivi footballers
Quilmes Atlético Club footballers
Gimnasia y Esgrima de Mendoza footballers
Resistencia S.C. footballers
Deportivo Madryn players
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay
Expatriate men's footballers in Paraguay
21st-century Argentine sportsmen