Mari Paz Vilas
Spanish footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
María de la Paz Vilas Dono (born 1 February 1988) is a Spanish footballer who played as a forward for Levante UD, Barcelona, Espanyol, Valencia, Real Betis, and Levante Las Planas in the Primera División. She has also represented Spain and Galicia. She has a Bachelor of Physiotherapy.
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Training for the national team in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | María de la Paz Vilas Dono | ||
| Date of birth | 1 February 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Vilagarcía de Arousa, Galicia, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Arosa | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2006 | Atlético Arousana | (186) | |
| 2006–2008 | Levante UD | 49 | (18) |
| 2008–2011 | Barcelona | 45 | (18) |
| 2011–2013 | Espanyol | 59 | (50) |
| 2013–2020 | Valencia | 182 | (126) |
| 2020–2022 | Real Betis | 54 | (14) |
| 2022–2023 | Levante Las Planas | 26 | (4) |
| International career | |||
| 2006–2007 | Spain U19 | 9 | (9) |
| 2008–2018 | Spain | 26 | (15) |
| 2007–2023 | Galicia | 2 | (3) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Vilas started her senior career in 2002 with local team Atlético Arousana for whom she scored 186 goals until 2006, when she signed for Primera División club Levante UD.[1]
In July 2008, following bankruptcy proceedings at Levante UD, Vilas left the club and signed with Barcelona, claiming it was the best offer she got and was supported by the national team manager.[2]
In 2011, Vilas joined Espanyol.[3] In June 2012, she scored the winning goal to help the club win their sixth Copa de la Reina, beating Athletic Bilbao 2–1 in the final of the 2012 edition.[4] Looking back, Vilas says that her time at Espanyol relaunched her career, reaching her peak there.[5]
In 2013, Vilas moved to Valencia, ahead of the 2013–14 Primera División season.[6] In June 2018, Vilas signed a two-year contract extension, bringing her time at the club up to seven seasons, a club record. She was also the club's all-time top scorer with over 100 goals.[7]
In July 2020, Vilas signed a two-year contract with Real Betis, as their first signing for the 2020–21 Primera División season.[8] Her performance at Real Betis was worse than at Valencia, scoring only 14 goals in 54 appearances, while also being hampered by injuries.[9]
In July 2022, Vilas joined Levante Las Planas.[10] Two months later, she was announced as one of the captains for the 2022–23 Liga F season, together with Yasmin Mrabet, Júlia Mora, and Alba Mellado.[11]
In May 2023, Vilas joined the seven-a-side football club Porcinas FC playing in the new Queens League as the first active professional footballer in the league.[12] She scored 4 goals in 26 matches and decided to leave Levante Las Planas.[13]
International career
Vilas was a member of the Spanish national team during the 2009 European Championship qualifying,[14] scoring a goal in her first match against Northern Ireland.[15] Previously she scored the first of Spain's two goals in the 2007 Under-19 Euro.[16]
Vilas set a new UEFA Women's Championship record in April 2012 when she scored seven goals in her team's 13–0 win over Kazakhstan marking her return to the national team.[17]
International goals
Mari Paz Vilas – goals for  Spain | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 16 February 2008 | Estadio El Montecillo, Aranda de Duero |  Northern Ireland | 3–0 | 4–0 | Euro 2009 qualifying |
| 2 | 5 April 2012 | La Ciudad del Fútbol, Las Rozas de Madrid |  Kazakhstan | 4–0 | 13–0 | Euro 2013 qualifying |
| 3 | 5–0 | |||||
| 4 | 6–0 | |||||
| 5 | 7–0 | |||||
| 6 | 9–0 | |||||
| 7 | 10–0 | |||||
| 8 | 13–0 | |||||
| 9 | 16 June 2012 | Stadion Brügglifeld, Aarau, Switzerland |  Switzerland | 1–1 | 4–3 | |
| 10 | 21 June 2012 | La Ciudad del Fútbol, Las Rozas de Madrid |  Turkey | 2–0 | 4–0 | |
| 11 | 3–0 | |||||
| 12 | 8 April 2017 | Kehrwegstadion, Eupen |  Belgium | 0–2 | 1–4 | Friendly |
| 13 | 30 June 2017 | Pinatar Arena, San Pedro del Pinatar | Belgium | 7–0 | 7–0 | Friendly |
| 14 | 28 February 2018 | AEK Arena - Georgios Karapatakis, Larnaca |  Austria | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2018 Cyprus Women's Cup |
| 15 | 7 June 2018 | La Condomina, Murcia |  Israel | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
In popular culture
Vilas' hometown Vilagarcía de Arousa decided to rename their stadium in honour of her in February 2016.[18]
Honours
Club
- Levante UD
- Primera División: Winner 2007–08
- Copa de la Reina de Fútbol: Winner 2007
- FC Barcelona
- Copa de la Reina de Fútbol: Winner 2011
- Copa Catalunya: Winner 2009, 2010
- RCD Espanyol
- Copa de la Reina de Fútbol: Winner 2012
- Valencia CF
- Copa de la Reina de Fútbol: Runner-up 2015
International
- Spain
- Cyprus Cup: Winner, 2018