Héctor Villalba
Argentine-born Paraguayan footballer (born 1994)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Héctor Daniel "Tito" Villalba (born 26 July 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Ecuadorian Serie A team Barcelona S.C. Born in Argentina, he represents Paraguay internationally.
|
Tito Villalba after signing the Golden Spike for Atlanta United on 10 September 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Héctor Daniel Villalba[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 26 July 1994 | ||
| Place of birth | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Peñarol | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2012 | San Lorenzo | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2016 | San Lorenzo | 89 | (15) |
| 2016–2020 | Atlanta United | 82 | (21) |
| 2016 | → Tijuana (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2020–2025 | Libertad | 98 | (26) |
| 2025 | Peñarol | 18 | (3) |
| 2026– | Barcelona SC | 1 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018– | Paraguay | 2 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 06 July 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 May 2019 | |||
Club career
Villalba was born on 26 July 1994 and lived almost to maturity in the Villa 1–11–14. He arrived in San Lorenzo when he was 10, and was chosen after a test in which 500 boys were selected to start a path to professionalism. He confessed to being a fan of San Lorenzo, and went through all the lower levels at the club.
On 18 August 2012, he made his debut in the Primera Division Argentina, against Estudiantes de La Plata, when he entered in the 37th minute of the second half replacing Luis Aguiar, with Ricardo Caruso Lombardi as team manager.
On 22 July 2016, Villaba signed as a young Designated Player with Major League Soccer side Atlanta United.[3] He joined Liga MX side Tijuana on loan on 28 July 2016, but struggled to make many appearances for the club due to injury.[4]
On 31 January 2020, Villaba was transferred to Paraguayan Primera División side Club Libertad for US$4 million.[5]
On 30 January 2025, Villalba was sold to Uruguayan Primera División side Peñarol for approximately US$1.8 million.
International career
Born in Argentina, Héctor is also eligible to represent the Paraguay national team because his father was born there. On 5 September 2018, he made the one-time switch to Paraguay in hopes of making the squad for the 2019 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[6]
On 25 September 2018, Villalba was called up to Paraguay along with fellow club teammate Miguel Almirón for a national team camp despite not scheduling any friendlies.[7] He made his competitive debut with Paraguay on 20 November as a substitute in the second half of the friendly match against South Africa.[8]
Personal life
Villalba can speak Guarani, an indigenous language spoken in Paraguay.[9]
In January 2018, Villalba earned a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[10]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played on 7 October 2023[11]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental[c] | Other[d] | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| San Lorenzo | 2012–13 | Argentine Primera División | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 2 | |||
| 2013–14 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 37 | 4 | ||||
| 2014 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 4 | |||
| 2015 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 6 | |||
| 2016 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Total | 89 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 121 | 16 | ||
| Tijuana (loan) | 2016–17 | Liga MX | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Atlanta United | 2017 | Major League Soccer | 34 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 35 | 13 | ||
| 2018 | 28 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 1 | 34 | 8 | ||||
| 2019 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 1 | |||
| Total | 82 | 21 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 96 | 22 | |||
| Libertad | 2020 | Paraguayan Primera División | 20 | 3 | — | — | 6 | 0 | — | 26 | 3 | |||
| 2021 | 20 | 5 | — | — | 14 | 2 | — | 34 | 7 | |||||
| 2022 | 22 | 4 | — | — | 3 | 1 | — | 25 | 5 | |||||
| 2023 | 29 | 13 | — | — | 10 | 0 | — | 39 | 13 | |||||
| Total | 91 | 25 | — | — | 33 | 3 | — | 124 | 28 | |||||
| Career total | 263 | 61 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 59 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 344 | 66 | ||
- Includes Copa Argentina, Copa MX, and U.S. Open Cup.
- Includes Torneos de Verano.
- Includes Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, and CONCACAF Champions League.
International
- As of 20 November 2018
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paraguay | 2018 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Honours
San Lorenzo
Atlanta United
Libertad
- Paraguayan Primera División: 2021 Apertura, 2022 Apertura, 2023 Apertura, 2023 Clausura, 2024 Apertura
- Copa Paraguay: 2023, 2024
- Supercopa Paraguay: 2023
Peñarol
Individual
- MLS Goal of the Year: 2017[12]
