Playing position Years Team Weight 78 kg | Number 4 Height 1.9 m | |
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Full name Mikel Villanueva Álvarez Date of birth (1993-04-14) 14 April 1993 (age 23) Place of birth San Cristóbal, Venezuela Current teams Málaga CF (#4 / Defender), Venezuela national football team (#3 / Defender) Similar Roberto Rosales, Pablo Fornals, Federico Ricca, Miguel Torres Gómez, Juanpi | ||
Mikel Villanueva Álvarez (born 14 April 1993) is a Venezuelan footballer who plays for Spanish club Málaga CF as a central defender.
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Mikel villanueva deportivo lara
Club career
Born in San Cristóbal, Táchira, Villanueva was a Deportivo Táchira youth graduate. On 3 March 2013 he made his professional debut, starting in a 0–1 away loss against Estudiantes de Mérida.
After being rarely used, Villanueva moved to fellow Primera División team Deportivo Lara in 2014. He scored his first professional goal on 25 January 2015, netting the game's only in an away win against Carabobo FC.
On 22 February 2015, Villanueva scored a brace in a 3–1 home win against Trujillanos FC. He finished the campaign with 20 appearances and four goals.
On 4 July 2015 Villanueva joined Málaga CF, being assigned to the reserves in Tercera División. On 3 May 2016, he was bought outright by the club, signing a permanent three-year deal and being promoted to the main squad in La Liga.
Villanueva made his debut in the main category of Spanish football on 16 October 2016, starting in a 1–1 away draw against Deportivo Alavés.
International career
On 20 January 2016, Villanueva was called up to the Venezuela national team for a friendly against Costa Rica. He made his full international debut on 2 February, starting in the 1–0 win in Barinas.
Villanueva scored his first international goal on 24 March 2016, netting the second in a 2–2 away draw against Peru following an assist from Málaga teammate Juanpi. He was named in the Vinotinto's squad for the year's Copa América Centenario in the United States, but did not play.