Julio Villalba

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Villalba and the second or maternal family name is Gaona.

Julio César Villalba Gaona (born 17 September 1998) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Independiente.

Julio Villalba

Villalba playing for Paraguay U20 during the 2017 South American Youth Football Championship
Personal information
Full name	Julio César Villalba Gaona
Date of birth	(1998-09-17) 17 September 1998 (age 26)[1]
Place of birth	Ciudad del Este, Paraguay
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Independiente
Number	9
Youth career
0000–2016	Cerro Porteño
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2017	Cerro Porteño	16	(4)
2017–2021	Borussia Mönchengladbach	2	(1)
2017	→ Cerro Porteño (loan)	13	(2)
2020	→ SCR Altach (loan)	8	(0)
2021–2022	Guayaquil City	24	(1)
2022–2023	Sol de América	8	(0)
2023	Luqueño	1	(0)
2024–	Independiente	0	(0)
International career
2015	Paraguay U17	11	(2)
2016–2018	Paraguay U20	4	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 26 October 2023

Club career

Villalba signed with Borussia Mönchengladbach in January 2017.^[2]

Upon returning to Paraguay, he featured for Cerro Porteño U20 in the 2016 U-20 Copa Libertadores.^[3][4][5]

He made his first-team debuts for Cerro Porteño during 2016 and the club will enjoy little of him before the player departs permanently to the Bundesliga.^[6]

On 8 January 2020, Villalba was sent on loan to SC Rheindorf Altach of the Austrian Bundesliga for the remainder of the season.^[7]

International career

Villalba featured in Cerro Porteno's youth academy and Paraguay U17 alongside Sergio Díaz.

Villalba played at the 2015 South American Under-17 Football Championship, making 8 appearances.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}

He then featured at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup making three appearances and scoring two goals against Syria U17^[16] and France U17.^[17][18]