Place of birth Zaragoza, Spain Name Francisco Villarroya Playing position Role Footballer | Years Team Height 1.80 m 1984–1987 Deportivo Aragon Position Midfielder | |
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Full name Francisco Javier Perez Villarroya Date of birth (1966-08-06) 6 August 1966 (age 49) | ||
Francisco Javier Pérez Villarroya (born 6 August 1966) is a Spanish retired footballer who played mostly as a left midfielder.
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Club career
Born in Zaragoza, Villarroya made his professional debuts with hometown's Real Zaragoza, appearing in one La Liga game in the 1984–85 season (a 0–4 away loss against FC Barcelona) but being almost exclusively connected with the reserves for three years.
In the 1990 summer, 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 two matches combined, he signed with Real Madrid, being occasionally utilized 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.
After only 13 league appearances in his last two campaigns with the Merengues combined, following the of manager Benito Floro, Villarroya signed for Deportivo de La Coruña, being relatively used and adding two trophies to his cabinet (one Copa del Rey and one Supercopa de España). 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 the course of 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 in 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 with Poland, in A Coruña, featuring the full 90 minutes as a Zaragoza player.
Personal life
Villarroya's nephew, Ángel Lafita, is also a footballer (and a midfielder). He played the vast majority of his career with Zaragoza and Deportivo.