Matías Raúl Villarreal (born 16 January 1992) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Gimnasia Mendoza.[3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matías Raúl Villarreal | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-01-16) 16 January 1992 (age 30) | ||
| Place of birth | Godoy Cruz, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder[2] | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Gimnasia Mendoza | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Luján de Cuyo | |||
| Deportivo Guaymallén | |||
| 2006–2011 | Independiente Rivadavia | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2017 | Independiente Rivadavia | 65 | (1) |
| 2017–2020 | Estudiantes | 81 | (3) |
| 2020–2021 | Aldosivi | 10 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Quilmes (loan) | 15 | (0) |
| 2022– | Gimnasia Mendoza | 5 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:26, 20 March 2022 (UTC) | |||
Villarreal initially played in the youth system of Luján de Cuyo, prior to spending two years in the ranks of Deportivo Guaymallén.[2] 2006 saw Villarreal head to Independiente Rivadavia, appearing exclusively for their youth sides up until 2011.[2][4][5] His senior debut arrived in Primera B Nacional on 7 May 2011 against CAI, with the central midfielder starting an eventual goalless home draw; though would be substituted off at the interval.[3] He had previously been on the bench versus San Martín a month prior.[3] Ten appearances later, Villarreal scored in a win over All Boys on 15 November 2014; a ninetieth minute winner.[3]
After sixty-nine matches for Independiente Rivadavia, Villarreal switched Primera B Nacional for Primera B Metropolitana after agreeing a move to Estudiantes in August 2017.[3] His first appearance came in a scoreless draw with UAI Urquiza on 3 September, while his opening goal came almost two years later against Sacachispas on 18 May 2019; in a campaign that concluded with promotion to the second tier.[3] Two further goals followed, in a victory over Mitre in February 2020, across twenty-three games in 2019–20.[3][4] July 2020 saw Villarreal join Primera División side Aldosivi under manager Guillermo Hoyos.[6][7]
Villarreal's top-flight debut occurred on 31 October 2020 in the Copa de la Liga Profesional against La Plata's Estudiantes; in a match that finished without any goals, just like his previous two club debuts did.[3][8] To gain some more playing time, Villarreal was loaned out to Quilmes in July 2021 for the rest of 2022.[9] However, the spell was cut short and he returned at the end of 2021.
In January 2022, Villarreal moved to Gimnasia Mendoza.[10]
In February 2008, Villarreal received a call-up to train with the Argentina U17s.[11]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Independiente Rivadavia | 2010–11 | Primera B Nacional | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2012–13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 2014 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | ||||
| 2015 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||||
| 2016 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 65 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 69 | 1 | ||||
| Estudiantes | 2017–18 | Primera B Metropolitana | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 35 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Primera B Nacional | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 23 | 2 | |||
| Total | 81 | 3 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 87 | 3 | ||||
| Aldosivi | 2020–21[nb 1] | Primera División | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Career total | 149 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 159 | 4 | |||