José Luis Villanueva

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Villanueva and the second or maternal family name is Ahumada.

Not to be confused with Luis Villanueva, a Venezuelan television executive

José Luis Villanueva

Personal information
Full name	José Luis Villanueva Ahumada
Date of birth	November 5, 1981 (1981-11-05)
Place of birth	Santiago, Chile
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Deportes Antofagasta
Number	--
Youth career
	Palestino
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001–2003	Palestino	31	(22)
2001	→ Temuco (on loan)	12	(7)
2002	→ Ovalle (on loan)	36	(20)
2004	Cobreloa	16	(1)
2004–2005	Universidad Católica	36	(16)
2005–2006	Racing Club	31	(7)
2006	Morelia	16	(4)
2007	Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i	3	(1)
2008	Vasco	5	(0)
2008–2009	FC Bunyodkor	28	(28)
2010	Tianjin Teda	12	(2)
2011	Universidad Católica	35	(9)
2012-	Deportes Antofagasta
National team‡
2003–2006	Chile	4	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 November 2010. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of December 24, 2007

José Luis Villanueva Ahumada (born November 5, 1981 in Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean football (soccer) player. He is currently playing for Universidad Católica.

Second Division in Chile

In 2001, Palestino, a first division squad in Chile, loaned him out to second division squad Temuco (7 goals) where Villanueva helped the squad gain promotion to Chile's first division. The following year instead of returning to Palestino, Villanueava once again was loaned out to second division squad Ovalle. In 2002 with Ovalle, Villanueva scored twenty goals.

Palestino

After a year 2002 campaign he was called to stay with his original team in first division. Villanueva continued his goal scoring during the 2003 season with Palestino by netting 22 goals in 34 games, including Pre-Sudamericana Cup. After the season Palestino once again loaned Villanueva out, this time to Universidad Católica. From 2004 to 2005, Villanueva added 16 more goals to his career total.

Out of Chile

Palestino sold him to Argentine Racing Club in 2005 for $600,000 dollars. In Argentina he became a fan favorite immediately. In a match versus Quilmes, Villanueva scored two goals to lead Racing Club to a 4-1 victory. With less than a minute left in the match, Villanueva was taken out. As he left the pitch, the fans could be heard chanting "shileno, shileno", just how River Plate fans had chanted for Chilean legend Marcelo Salas years before.

Villanueva then had spells in South Korea for Ulsan Hyundai in 2007 and in Brazil for Vasco da Gama in 2008 before moving to Uzbekistan.

International career

He has represented the Chilean national team at the U-20 level in 2001, U-23 level during the preolympic qualifications in 2004, and has occasionally represented the adult squad since 2003.

Personal life

Currently José Luis writes a very popular "opinion piece" about football in PrensaFútbol.com. He also is married with 30 year old journalist, Fernanda Bünzli. José likes to travel around the world and he hopes he could write in the future about his experiences. He hopes to end his career with his favorite Chilean squad Universidad Católica and then study a professional career.

Honours

Club

• Universidad Católica
  • Copa Chile: 2011

References

• José Luis Villanueva at kleague.com