Mikel Villanueva facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Mikel Villanueva

Villanueva with Venezuela in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Mikel Villanueva Álvarez
Date of birth	(1993-04-14) 14 April 1993 (age 32)
Place of birth	San Cristóbal, Venezuela
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Vitória Guimarães
Number	3
Youth career
	Deportivo Táchira
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2014	Deportivo Táchira	5	(0)
2014–2016	ACD Lara	20	(4)
2015–2016	→ Málaga B (loan)	31	(3)
2016–2020	Málaga	31	(1)
2017–2018	→ Cádiz (loan)	13	(0)
2018	→ Reus (loan)	12	(0)
2019	→ Gimnàstic (loan)	17	(0)
2020–2022	Santa Clara	50	(1)
2022–	Vitória Guimarães	54	(1)
International career‡
2016–	Venezuela	31	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:12, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

Mikel Villanueva Álvarez (born on April 14, 1993) is a professional football player from Venezuela. He plays as a centre-back, which is a defensive position, for the club Vitória Guimarães in Portugal. Mikel also plays for the Venezuela national team.

He spent several years playing for Málaga in Spain. During this time, he played 15 games in La Liga, which is Spain's top football league. He was also loaned out to other clubs in the Segunda División, which is the second division. Mikel has also played in the Portuguese Primeira Liga for Santa Clara and Vitória Guimarães.

Since 2016, Mikel has been a full international player for Venezuela. He has represented his country in three Copa América tournaments, which are major football competitions for South American teams.

Mikel's Football Journey

Starting His Career

Mikel Villanueva was born in San Cristóbal, Táchira, Venezuela. He started his football journey in the youth team of Deportivo Táchira. On March 3, 2013, he played his first professional game. This was an away match against Estudiantes de Mérida, which his team lost 1–0.

After not playing much for Deportivo Táchira, Mikel moved to another team in the Primera División called ACD Lara in 2014. He scored his very first professional goal on January 25, 2015. This goal was the only one in an away game against Carabobo FC, leading his team to a win.

On February 22, 2015, Mikel scored two goals in one game! This helped his team win 3–1 at home against Trujillanos FC. During the 2014–15 season, he played 20 games and scored four goals.

Playing for Málaga

On July 4, 2015, Mikel Villanueva joined Málaga CF in Spain. He first played for their reserve team, Málaga B, in the Tercera División. On May 3, 2016, Málaga decided to buy him permanently. He signed a three-year contract and was moved up to the main team, which played in La Liga.

Mikel made his debut in Spain's top football league on October 16, 2016. He started in a game against Deportivo Alavés, which ended in a 1–1 draw. On August 10 of the next year, he extended his contract with Málaga until 2020. Right after that, he was loaned to Segunda División club Cádiz CF for one year.

On July 24, 2018, Mikel joined another second division team, CF Reus Deportiu, on a loan for the season. However, on December 28, he was one of five players who left the club because they had not been paid.

On January 9, 2019, Mikel moved to Gimnàstic de Tarragona, still in the second tier, on loan until June. When he returned to Málaga, he scored his only goal in Spanish football on October 20. This goal helped his team win 2–0 against Deportivo de La Coruña.

Adventures in Portugal with Santa Clara

On August 31, 2020, Mikel Villanueva signed a two-year contract with C.D. Santa Clara. This team plays in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, which is Portugal's top football league. In his first season, he played almost every game, missing only five. Santa Clara finished sixth in the league. On April 11, he scored a goal just four minutes into a game, helping his team win 5–1 at home against C.D. Nacional.

Mikel also got to play in his first international club competition, the UEFA Europa Conference League, during the 2021–22 season. On July 29, 2021, he scored a goal in a home game against KF Shkupi from North Macedonia. Santa Clara won that game 2–0, and 5–0 overall, moving forward in the competition.

Joining Vitória Guimarães

On June 27, 2022, after his contract with Santa Clara ended, Mikel Villanueva joined Vitória de Guimarães. This club is in the same league, the Primeira Liga. He signed a three-year deal with his new team.

Playing for Venezuela

On January 20, 2016, Mikel Villanueva was called up to play for the Venezuela national team. This was for a friendly game against Costa Rica. He made his first full international appearance on February 2, starting in a game that Venezuela won 1–0 in Barinas.

Mikel scored his first goal for his country on March 24, 2016. This was during a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Peru. He scored the second goal for Venezuela in a 2–2 away draw. His teammate Juanpi helped him score this goal. Mikel was chosen for Venezuela's team for the Copa América Centenario in the United States that year, but he did not play in any games.

Mikel was also called up for the 2019 Copa América in Brazil. He played in the first two group games, which were goalless draws against Peru and the host country, Brazil. However, he then became sick with a fever and could not play anymore in the tournament. Venezuela reached the quarter-finals that year.

At the 2021 Copa América, which was also held in Brazil, Venezuela was eliminated from Group B. Mikel only played in the last game, which was a 1–0 loss to Peru.

Scoring for His Country

Here are the goals Mikel Villanueva has scored for the Venezuela national team:

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1.	24 March 2016	Estadio Nacional de Lima, Lima, Peru	Peru	2–1	2–2	2018 World Cup qualification
2.	23 March 2017	Estadio Monumental de Maturín, Maturín, Venezuela	Peru	1–0	2–2	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Venezuela

• Kirin Cup: 2019

See also

In Spanish: Mikel Villanueva para niños