Mikel Villanueva

Mikel Villanueva Álvarez (born 14 April 1993) is a Venezuelan footballer who plays as a central defender for Santa Clara.

Mikel Villanueva
Personal information
Full name Mikel Villanueva Álvarez
Date of birth (1993-04-14) 14 April 1993
Place of birth San Cristóbal, Venezuela
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Santa Clara
Youth career
Deportivo Táchira
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2014 Deportivo Táchira 5 (0)
2014–2016 ACD Lara 20 (4)
2015–2016 → Málaga B (loan) 31 (3)
2016–2020 Málaga 31 (1)
2017–2018 → Cádiz (loan) 13 (0)
2018 → Reus (loan) 12 (0)
2019-2020 → Gimnàstic (loan) 17 (0)
2020- Santa Clara 11 (0)
National team‡
2016– Venezuela 25 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:29, 30 January 2021 (UTC).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13:46, 19 November 2019 (UTC)
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Villanueva and the second or maternal family name is Álvarez.

Club career

Born in San Cristóbal, Táchira, Villanueva was a Deportivo Táchira youth graduate. On 3 March 2013 he made his professional debut, starting in a 0–1 away loss against Estudiantes de Mérida.

After being rarely used, Villanueva moved to fellow Primera División team ACD Lara in 2014. He scored his first professional goal on 25 January 2015, netting the game's only in an away win against Carabobo FC.

On 22 February 2015, Villanueva scored a brace in a 3–1 home win against Trujillanos FC. He finished the campaign with 20 appearances and four goals.

On 4 July 2015 Villanueva joined Málaga CF, being assigned to the reserves in Tercera División.[1] On 3 May 2016, he was bought outright by the club, signing a permanent three-year deal and being promoted to the main squad in La Liga.[2]

Villanueva made his debut in the main category of Spanish football on 16 October 2016, starting in a 1–1 away draw against Deportivo Alavés.[3] The following 10 August he renewed his contract until 2020, and was immediately loaned to Segunda División club Cádiz CF for one year.[4]

On 24 July 2018, Villanueva joined fellow second division side CF Reus Deportiu, on a season-long loan.[5] On 28 December, he was one of the five players who left the club due to unpaid wages.[6]

On 9 January 2019, Villanueva moved to Gimnàstic de Tarragona still in the second tier, on loan until June.[7]

International career

On 20 January 2016, Villanueva was called up to the Venezuela national team for a friendly against Costa Rica.[8] He made his full international debut on 2 February, starting in the 1–0 win in Barinas.[9]

Villanueva scored his first international goal on 24 March 2016, netting the second in a 2–2 away draw against Peru following an assist from Málaga teammate Juanpi.[10] He was named in the Vinotinto's squad for the year's Copa América Centenario in the United States, but did not play.[11]

International goals
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result CompetitionRef
1.24 March 2016Estadio Nacional de Lima, Lima, Peru Peru2–12–22018 World Cup qualification
2.23 March 2017Estadio Monumental de Maturín, Maturín, Venezuela Peru1–02–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honors

National

Venezuela

References
  1. "El Málaga ficha al venezolano Mikel Villanueva para el filial" [Málaga signs Venezuelan Mikel Villanueva to the reserves] (in Spanish). La Opinión de Málaga. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  2. "Málaga CF executes option to buy clause on Mikel Villanueva". Málaga CF. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  3. "Empate a todo en Mendizorroza" [Full draw at the Mendizorroza] (in Spanish). Marca. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  4. "Mikel jugará cedido en el Cádiz CF" [Mikel will play on loan at Cádiz CF] (in Spanish). Málaga CF. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  5. "Mikel Villanueva refuerza la defensa del Reus" [Mikel Villanueva bolsters the defense of Reus] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  6. "El principio del fin: cinco jugadores del Reus ya han quedado libres" [The beginning of the end: five Reus players are already free] (in Spanish). Marca. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  7. "Villanueva arriba cedit pel Málaga CF" [Villanueva arrives on loan from Málaga CF] (in Catalan). Gimnàstic Tarragona. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  8. "Mikel Villanueva called-up to Venezuela's first team". Málaga CF. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  9. "Venezuela superó 1–0 a Costa Rica en amistoso disputado en Barinas" [Venezuela overcame Costa Rica by 1–0 in a friendly played in Barinas] (in Spanish). Venezolana de Televisión. 2 February 2016. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  10. "Report: Peru 2 Venezuela 2". BeIN Sports. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  11. "Copa América Centenario: Venezuela confirma su lista definitiva de 23 jugadores" [Copa América Centenario: Venezuela confirm their final list of 23 players] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  12. https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2019/11/19/world/friendlies/japan/venezuela/3172935/?ICID=PL_MS_119
  13. https://www.jfa.jp/eng/samuraiblue/20191119/
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