Manuel Villalobos

Manuel Villalobos

Personal information
Full name	Manuel Arturo Villalobos Salvos
Date of birth	October 15, 1980 (1980-10-15) (age 31)
Place of birth	Iquique, Chile
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Huachipato
Number	9
Youth career
1990–1997	Colo-Colo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1997–1999	Colo-Colo	?	(?)
2000	Fernández Vial	?	(?)
2001	O'Higgins	8	(0)
2001	Deportes Talcahuano	?	(?)
2002	Deportes Iquique	?	(?)
2003	Dragoes Sandinendes	?	(?)
2003	Deportes Arica	?	(?)
2004	Deportes Copiapó	?	(?)
2005–2007	Ñublense	40	(19)
2008–2009	Universidad de Chile	70	(27)
2010–	Huachipato	48	(21)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 February 2008. † Appearances (Goals).

Manuel Arturo Villalobos Salvos (born October 15, 1980 in Iquique, Chile) is a Chilean footballer, who currently is on Huachipato. Villalobos has many different nicknames. He is known as "Villagol" by the supporters of Ñublense, as "Ondugol" by the Chilean press, and "Bullalobos" by the supporters of Universidad de Chile.

Career

Villalobos joined Colo-Colo's youth squad at the age of ten in 1990. In 1997 he made his professional debut. In 2000 he was loaned to Fernández Vial to gain more playing time and experience. During his time with Fernández Vial he was the second leading scorer of the Primera B (Chilean Second Division). After his impressive season Villalobos was loaned six months to Primera División (Chilean First Division) squad O'Higgins. He then spent the next six months with Deportes Talcahuano. During these two years Villalobos was rejected a chance to return to his original club, Colo-Colo. In 2002 Colo-Colo's coach Jaime Pizarro released him from his contract due to indiscipline.

In 2002 Villalobos signed with Deportes Iquique. The following year Villalobos signed with Portuguese club S.C. Dragoes Sandinenses, where he was primarily used as a reserve. The following two years Villalobos spent in the Chilean Third Division where he scored in abundance. However since he was not owned by any first division club, his accomplishments were not taken serious. During this time he thought hard about leaving football for good.

Ñublense, another third division squad, signed Villalobos. Ñublense quickly gained promotion to the Primera B and Villalobos began to regain his interest in football. At the end of the 2006, with Villalobos as the team's top goal scorer and team captain, Ñublense was promoted to the Primera División. In the 2007 Clausura tournament, Villalobos was the second leading scorer of the competition with 13 goals. His good form led Universidad de Chile (Colo-Colo's rival) to sign him to a 2-year contract at the beginning of 2008. Villalobos has said in interviews he hopes to score many goals against Colo-Colo. In the January pre-season matches, Villalobos scored in almost every game. In the 2008 Apertura tournament Villalobos has scored four goals in the first six games. On January 11 he signed a 1 year contract with Huachipato of Chile.

Villalobos played for Chile at the 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Egypt.^[1]

References

1. ^ Manuel Villalobos – FIFA competition record

Persondata
Name	Villalobos, Manuel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 15, 1980
Place of birth	Iquique, Chile
Date of death
Place of death