Héctor Villalba

Héctor Daniel "Tito" Villalba (born 26 July 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Uruguayan Primera División team Peñarol. Born in Argentina, he represents Paraguay internationally.

Héctor Villalba

Tito Villalba after signing the Golden Spike for Atlanta United on 10 September 2017
Personal information
Full name	Héctor Daniel Villalba[1]
Date of birth	(1994-07-26) 26 July 1994 (age 31)
Place of birth	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s)	Winger, Forward
Team information
Current team	Peñarol
Number	8
Youth career
2004–2012	San Lorenzo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2016	San Lorenzo	89	(15)
2016–2020	Atlanta United	82	(21)
2016	→ Tijuana (loan)	1	(0)
2020–2025	Libertad	98	(26)
2025-	Peñarol	13	(3)
International career‡
2018–	Paraguay	2	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 06 July 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 May 2019

Club career

Villalba was born on 26 July 1994 and lived almost to maturity in the Villa 1–11–14. He arrived in San Lorenzo when he was 10, and was chosen after a test in which 500 boys were selected to start a path to professionalism. He confessed to being a fan of San Lorenzo, and went through all the lower levels at the club.

On 18 August 2012, he made his debut in the Primera Division Argentina, against Estudiantes de La Plata, when he entered in the 37th minute of the second half replacing Luis Aguiar, with Ricardo Caruso Lombardi as team manager.

Tito Villalba signing the Golden Spike on 10 September 2017-09-10

On 22 July 2016, Villaba signed as a young Designated Player with Major League Soccer side Atlanta United.^[3] He joined Liga MX side Tijuana on loan on 28 July 2016, but struggled to make many appearances for the club due to injury.^[4]

On 31 January 2020, Villaba was transferred to Paraguayan Primera División side Club Libertad for 4 million USD.^[5]

On 30 January 2025, Villalba was sold to Uruguayan Primera División side Peñarol for approximately 1.8 million USD.

International career

Born in Argentina, Héctor is also eligible to represent the Paraguay national team because his father was born there. On 5 September 2018, he made the one-time switch to Paraguay in hopes of making the squad for the 2019 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.^[6]

On 25 September 2018, Villalba was called up to Paraguay along with fellow club teammate Miguel Almirón for a national team camp despite not scheduling any friendlies.^[7] He made his competitive debut with Paraguay on 20 November as a substitute in the second half of the friendly match against South Africa.^[8]

Personal life

Villalba can speak Guarani, an indigenous language spoken in Paraguay.^[9]

In January 2018, Villalba earned a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.^[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played on 7 October 2023^[11]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Continental[c]		Other[d]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
San Lorenzo	2012–13	Argentine Primera División	9	2	3	0	—		—		—		12	2
	2013–14		34	4	1	0	—		2	0	—		37	4
	2014		15	3	0	0	—		13	1	1	0	29	4
	2015		27	6	2	0	—		5	0	1	0	35	6
	2016		4	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	—		8	0
	Total		89	15	6	0	2	0	22	1	2	0	121	16
Tijuana (loan)	2016–17	Liga MX	1	0	2	0	—		—		—		3	0
Atlanta United	2017	Major League Soccer	34	13	0	0	—		—		1	0	35	13
	2018		28	7	1	0	—		—		5	1	34	8
	2019		20	1	1	0	—		4	0	2	0	27	1
	Total		82	21	2	0	—		4	0	8	1	96	22
Libertad	2020	Paraguayan Primera División	20	3	—		—		6	0	—		26	3
	2021		20	5	—		—		14	2	—		34	7
	2022		22	4	—		—		3	1	—		25	5
	2023		29	13	—		—		10	0	—		39	13
	Total		91	25	—		—		33	3	—		124	28
Career total			263	61	10	0	2	0	59	4	10	1	344	66

1. Includes Copa Argentina, Copa MX, and U.S. Open Cup.
2. Includes Torneos de Verano.
3. Includes Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, and CONCACAF Champions League.
4. Includes FIFA Club World Cup, Supercopa Argentina, Recopa Sudamericana, MLS Cup Playoffs, and Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi.

International

As of 20 November 2018

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Paraguay	2018	1	0
Total		1	0

Honours

San Lorenzo

• Argentine Primera División: 2013 Inicial
• Copa Libertadores: 2014
• Supercopa Argentina: 2015

Atlanta United

• MLS Cup: 2018
• Eastern Conference (playoffs): 2018
• U.S. Open Cup: 2019
• Campeones Cup: 2019

Libertad

• Paraguayan Primera División: 2021 Apertura, 2022 Apertura, 2023 Apertura, 2023 Clausura
• Copa Paraguay: 2023
• Supercopa Paraguay: 2023

Individual

• MLS Goal of the Year: 2017^[12]