José Luis Villanueva

José Luis Villanueva

Personal information
Full name	José Luis Villanueva Ahumada
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.76 m)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Morelia
Number	7
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 November 2006

José Luis Villanueva Ahumada (born November 5, 1981 in Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean foward, who currently plays for the Korean club Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i.

Second Division in Chile

As a young boy, Villanueva admired the popular Chilean club Colo-Colo. Villanueva stated that during the 1991 Copa Libertadores, which Colo-Colo won, he attended almost every Colo-Colo game. However it was not Colo-Colo which gave him his start, it was Palestino where he was part of the youth squad until 2001.

In 2001, Palestino, a first division squad in Chile, loaned him out to second division squad Temuco 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 an impressive 2002 campaign he finally was called to stay with his original team in first division. Villanueava continued his goal scoring habits during the 2003 season with Palestino by netting 18 goals in 30 games. After the season Palestino once again loaned Villanueva out, this time to Universidad Católica. From 2004 to 2005, Villanueva added 14 more goals to his career total.

Out of Chile

Palestino sold him to Argentinean Racing Club in 2005 for $150,000 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 "Shileeeno, shileeno," just how River Plate fans had chanted for Chilean legend Marcelo Salas years before.

Currently Villanueva is part of the Mexican club Morelia where he joined at the start of clasura tournament of 2006. He wears the number 7.

International Career

He has represented the Chilean national team at the Sub-20 level in 2001, Sub-23 level during the preolympic qualifications in 2004, and has represented the adult squad since 2005.

Personal Life

He is married to wife Rossana and has a son named José Luis. He names Marcelo Salas, Marcelo Barticciotto, and Patricio Yáñez as his idols of soccer. He hopes to end his career with his favorite Chilean squad Colo-Colo.