Jorge Villafaña

Not to be confused with Jorge Flores (soccer).
Jorge Villafaña
Personal information
Full name Jorge Antonio Villafaña
Date of birth (1989-09-16) September 16, 1989
Place of birth Anaheim, California, United States
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position Full back
Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Santos Laguna
Number 19
Youth career
2004–2007 Santa Ana DSP Juventus
2007 Chivas USA
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2007–2013 Chivas USA 86 (7)
2014–2015 Portland Timbers 52 (2)
2016– Santos Laguna 8 (0)
National team‡
2007–2009 United States U20 15 (1)
2012 United States U23 2 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of February 7, 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of March 26, 2012

Jorge Antonio Villafaña (born Jorge Antonio Flores on September 16, 1989) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Santos Laguna in Liga MX.

Career

Youth

Villafaña spent part of his childhood in Pénjamo, Guanajuato, Mexico before returning to the United States for high school. He attended Anaheim High School and became captain of the soccer team. In March 2007, Villafaña won Sueño MLS, a reality show that led to a try-out with Major League Soccer. His reality show win earned him the nickname "Sueño".[1] Villafaña beat out around 2,000 other competitors to earn a spot on Chivas USA's U-19 squad.

Professional

Villafaña was signed by Chivas to a professional contract in July 2007.[2] He made his only appearance of the season as a substitute in a 3-0 win over New York Red Bulls. He scored in 2008 season debut against D.C. United as a substitute.[3] Villafaña made his first career start the following week against the Colorado Rapids and scored on a glancing header to seal the game for Chivas.[4] Villafaña scored again the following week against the Columbus Crew.[5]While with Chivas, Villafaña appeared in 86 league matches and scored 7 goals.

After the 2013 season, Villafaña was traded to the Portland Timbers.[6] He would make 50 starts over two seasons with the Timbers. The Timbers won 2015 MLS Cup; Villafaña's performance in that victory was highlighted as strong by several analysts and commentators.[7][8][9]

Following the triumph, Villafaña was sold to Liga MX club Santos Laguna for a reported fee of just under $1 million.[10][11]

International

In 2007, Villafaña was called up for the United States U-20 for its trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina from November 23 to December 3.[12] The team was part of an 11-day training camp with the U-20 squads of Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay. Villafaña played in all three of the USA's games during the trip. A game tying assist against River Plate's reserves[13] and a game-tying goal against the Argentina national under-20 football team[14] helped earn him the honor of team captain.

Villafaña appeared in all three of the USA's games at the 2008 Campos Verde International in Beja, Portugal.[15] Villafaña scored his second international goal against the Bolton Wanderers Reserves in a 2-0 win in Bolton, England on May 7, 2008.[16] He assisted a goal in the USA's 2-1 win over the Manchester United Reserves the following day.[17]

Personal life

In November 2011, Villafaña changed his name from "Jorge Flores" to "Jorge Villafaña" opting to take his mother's maiden name as his last name.[18]

Honors

Club

Portland Timbers

See also

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, May 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.