Petter Villegas

Infobox Football biography
playername= Petter Villegas
fullname = Petter Enrique Villegas España
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1975|11|15
cityofbirth = Esmeraldas
countryofbirth = Ecuador
height = 5 ft 7 in
currentclub = Puerto Rico Islanders
clubnumber = 10
position = Midfielder / Forward
youthyears = 1991-1993
1995
youthclubs = Saint Benedict's Preparatory School
Kean College
years = 1995-1999
1996
1999-2002
2002-2003
2003-2004
2004
2004
2005
2005-
clubs = New Jersey Stallions
→ MetroStars "(loan)"
MetroStars
D.C. United
Aucas
→Barcelona SC "(loan)"
→Manta "(loan)"
→Cuenca "(loan)"
Puerto Rico Islanders
caps(goals) =
3 (0)
88 (15)
18 (2)
26 (?)
1 (?)
13 (?)
6 (?)
97 (14)
nationalyears = 2008-
nationalteam = Puerto Rico
nationalcaps(goals) = 1 (1)
pcupdate = 2 October 2008
ntupdate = 23 July 2008

Petter Villegas (born November 15, 1975 in Esmeraldas, Ecuador) is a soccer winger, who currently plays for the Puerto Rico Islanders of the USL First Division.

Biography

Villegas came to the United States at an early age, and played high school boy's soccer at Saint Benedict's Preparatory School. He was a three time New Jersey All State high school player. In 1993, he scored 34 goals, assisted on 18 more. In 1999, he was named by "The Star-Ledger" as one of the top ten New Jersey high school soccer players of the 1990s. [Jandoli, Ron. [http://web.archive.org/web/20030110132039/http://nj.com/hssports/ledger/index.ssf?/hssports/century/stories/bsoccerdecades.html "The Century's Best -- Boys Soccer: Top 10 Players of each decade"] , "The Star-Ledger", November 7, 1999, backed up by the Internet Archive as of January 10, 2003. Accessed September 11, 2008.]

He went on to play a year of college soccer at Kean College, earning first team All-NJAC honors in 1995. His first taste of Major League Soccer action came in 1996, when he played three games for the MetroStars while on loan from the New Jersey Stallions of the USISL. Three years in the minors followed, until the Metros drafted Villegas in the first round of the 1999 MLS Supplemental Draft. He played the next four and a half seasons for the Metros, mostly as a right midfielder, but also as a forward and defender. Villegas' erratic play matched his versatility. Brilliant one moment, awful the next - a lot like the team he played for - earned him the sarcastic nickname "The Greatest Metro Ever". Despite his inconsistency, he scored a number of key goals, including an overtime game winner in a comeback against the Tampa Bay Mutiny in 2000. Overall, Villegas scored 13 goals and 21 assists in his Metro career, adding two goals and two assists in the playoffs.

On May 10, 2002, the MetroStars traded Villegas and defender Orlando Perez to D.C. United for Craig Ziadie and Mark Lisi. At the time of the trade, Villegas had started all seven MetroStars' games that season. He spent the rest of the year with D.C., scoring two goals and adding five assists. Villegas left MLS afterwards, going back to his native Ecuador to play for Barcelona SC, ESPOLI, Manta and Cuenca. In 2005, he came back to the U.S., signing with the Puerto Rico Islanders of the USL First Division.

In 2008, Villegas made his debut with the Puerto Rican national team, scoring a goal against the Dominican Republic, which enabled Puerto Rico to advance to the next stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.

References