Jump to content

Francisco Villarroya

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Quite A Character (talk | contribs) at 23:53, 11 March 2020 (Honours: no proof he played one second in the competition that year, removed. Other minor tweaks.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Template:Spanish name

Francisco Villarroya
Personal information
Full name Francisco Javier Pérez Villarroya
Date of birth (1966-08-06) 6 August 1966 (age 58)
Place of birth Zaragoza, Spain
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Zaragoza
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1988 Deportivo Aragón 75 (1)
1984–1990 Zaragoza 100 (6)
1990–1994 Real Madrid 83 (1)
1994–1996 Deportivo La Coruña 42 (0)
1996–1998 Sporting Gijón 51 (2)
1998–1999 Badajoz 19 (1)
Total 370 (11)
International career
1989–1992 Spain 14 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Francisco Javier Pérez Villarroya (born 6 August 1966) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mostly as a left midfielder.

Club career

Born in Zaragoza, Villarroya made his professional debut with hometown's Real Zaragoza, appearing in one La Liga game in the 1984–85 season (a 0–4 away loss against FC Barcelona)[1] but being almost exclusively connected with the reserves for three years.

In the summer of 1990, after helping the Aragonese to two consecutive top-ten finishes in the top division – fifth in 1988–89, with the subsequent qualification to the UEFA Cup – whilst only missing a combined two matches, he signed with Real Madrid, being occasionally utilised as left back during his four-year spell and being the capital side's first-choice prior to the signing of Brazilian Roberto Carlos, battling for the position with Mikel Lasa.[2][3]

After only 13 league appearances in his last two campaigns with the Merengues, following the arrival of manager Benito Floro, Villarroya signed for Deportivo de La Coruña, being relatively used and adding another Copa del Rey to his trophy cabinet. Still in the top level, he then represented Sporting de Gijón, suffering relegation in his second season.

Aged nearly 33, Villarroya closed out his career after one year with CD Badajoz in Segunda División, amassing top-flight totals of 276 matches and nine goals over 14 seasons.

International career

Villarroya earned 14 caps for the Spanish national team during slightly more than two years, and was in the squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, playing all the games – mostly in the back sector – in an eventual round-of-16 exit.

His debut came on 20 September 1989 in a 1–0 friendly win over Poland, in A Coruña, featuring the full 90 minutes as a Zaragoza player.[4]

Personal life

Villarroya's nephew, Ángel Lafita, was also a footballer (and a midfielder). He played the vast majority of his career with Zaragoza and Deportivo.[5]

Honours

Real Madrid

Deportivo

References

  1. ^ 4–0: ¡Viva la huelga! (4–0: Long live the strike!); Mundo Deportivo, 10 September 1984 (in Spanish)
  2. ^ El Madrid contrata a Villarroya por cuatro temporadas (Madrid hire Villarroya for four seasons); El País, 24 April 1990 (in Spanish)
  3. ^ Jugadores que se reconvirtieron en laterales (Players who became fullbacks); Telemadrid, 18 October 2012 (in Spanish)
  4. ^ 1–0: El pie de Míchel marcó ante Polonia el camino que España buscará en Hungria (1–0: Míchel's foot set track in Poland that Spain will seek in Hungary); ABC, 21 September 1989 (in Spanish)
  5. ^ «Los sentimientos no se venden: siempre seré zaragocista» («You can't sell feelings: I will always be a zaragocista»); Heraldo de Aragón, 11 June 2011 (in Spanish)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Francisco_Villarroya&oldid=945126993"