Pablo Villa
Spanish footballer and coach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pablo Villanueva Fernández (born 12 April 1976), known as Villa, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently assistant manager of Premier League club Aston Villa.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pablo Villanueva Fernández | ||
| Date of birth | 12 April 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Alcorcón, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Aston Villa (assistant) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Trival Valderas | |||
| Real Madrid | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1997 | Real Madrid C | 60 | (20) |
| 1997–2001 | Real Madrid B | 71 | (20) |
| 2000–2001 | → Racing Ferrol (loan) | 27 | (3) |
| 2001–2003 | Leganés | 80 | (9) |
| 2003–2007 | Córdoba | 95 | (15) |
| 2007–2009 | Guadalajara | 72 | (10) |
| Total | 405 | (77) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2010–2012 | Trival Valderas (youth) | ||
| 2012–2013 | Córdoba B | ||
| 2013–2014 | Córdoba | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
Born in Alcorcón, Community of Madrid, Villa finished his development with Real Madrid, making his senior debut with the C team in the Segunda División B after being recruited to the academy by Vicente del Bosque.[1] Also during the 1996–97 campaign, he was promoted to the reserves who competed in the Segunda División, his first professional appearance occurring on 2 March 1997 in a 0–2 home loss against Las Palmas where he played the full 90 minutes.[2]
Villa spent the following five seasons in the second division, starting out with a loan at Racing de Ferrol.[3] Subsequently, he represented Leganés and Córdoba, scoring a career-best eight goals (with the professionals) in 2004–05 for the latter side but being relegated.[4]
Villa retired in 2009 at the age of 33 after a spell with Guadalajara, due to knee problems.[4]
Coaching career
Villa started working as a manager at amateurs Trival Valderas, being in charge of its youth squads.[5] In June 2012, he was appointed manager of Córdoba B, replacing Rafael Berges who took the reins of the first team.[6] He finished the season in second place in the Tercera División, being ousted in the play-offs by Granada B who were eventually promoted.[7]
Villa was named coach of Córdoba on 27 June 2013, with the club still in the second tier.[8] He was relieved of his duties on 9 February of the following year, due to poor results.[9]
Starting in the summer of 2014, Villa worked with compatriot Unai Emery at several teams. His first one was Sevilla,[10][11] followed by Paris Saint-Germain,[12] Arsenal,[13] Villarreal[14] and Aston Villa.[15]
