Petter Villegas (born November 15, 1975 in Esmeraldas) is an

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

ian-born Puerto Rican

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played for

Puerto Rico Islanders Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

Career

Youth and college

Villegas came to the United States with his family as a child, settling in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Saint Benedict's Preparatory School St. Benedict's Preparatory School is a Catholic college preparatory school in Newark, New Jersey run by the Benedictines. The school serves boys and girls in kindergarten through twelfth grade on a urban campus. The school has been accredite ...

, where he was a three-time New Jersey All State high school player, scoring 34 goals, assisted on 18 more in 1993. In 1999, he was named by ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...

'' as one of the top ten New Jersey high school soccer players of the 1990s. He played one year of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Kean College Kean University () is a public university in Union and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Kean University was founded in 1855 in Newark, New Jersey, as the Newark Normal School. Initially establi ...

, earning first team All-NJAC honors in 1995, before turning professional.

Professional

Villegas' first taste of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

action came in 1996, when he played three games for the MetroStars on loan from the

New Jersey Stallions The New Jersey Stallions were an American soccer team, founded in 1996, which competed in various divisions of the United Soccer Leagues until 2004, after which the team left the league and the franchise was terminated. The club originally star ...

of the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. Three years in the minors followed, until the Metros drafted Villegas in the first round of the

1999 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1999 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft took place in Fort Lauderdale on the afternoon of Sunday, February 7. The second and third rounds of the 1999 MLS College Draft had taken place earlier that morning. In this supplemental draft, a nu ...

. 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 – earning 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 Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

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 Orlando Perez (born July 12, 1977 in Pomona, California) is an American soccer defender, who played eight seasons in Major League Soccer. Perez never played college soccer, but he was drafted twice in MLS, both times by coach Octavio Zambran ...

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

for

Craig Ziadie Craig Ziadie (born 20 September 1978 in Pembroke Pines, Florida) is a Jamaican-American soccer player, who last played right back for the MetroStars of Major League Soccer. Youth and College Although he was born in Florida, Ziadie grew up ...

and

Mark Lisi Mark Lisi (born October 11, 1977) is an American former soccer player who played midfielder for New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer until his retirement due to debilitating injuries at the finish of the 2006 season. Lisi Court in Franklin ...

. 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 Aucas,

Barcelona SC Barcelona Sporting Club () is an Ecuadorian sports club based in Guayaquil, known best for its professional football team. Internationally known as Barcelona de Ecuador, in Ecuador it is simply referred as Barcelona, El Idolo (BSC) or Barce. T ...

Manta Manta or mantas may refer to: * Manta ray, large fish belonging to the genus ''Manta'' Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * Manta (comics), a character in American Marvel Comics publications * Manta (''Uridium''), a spaceship in the Br ...

and

Deportivo Cuenca Club Deportivo Cuenca is an Ecuadorian football club based in Cuenca. They currently play in the Serie A, the top-flight football league in the country, and is one of two clubs from Cuenca to have played in the top-flight (the other being LDU ...

. In 2005, he came back to the United States, signing with the

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

. He continued with the

until the end of the 2009 season. Villegas signed with River Plate Puerto Rico of the

USL The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

for the 2011 season, but played just three games before the team was removed from USL Pro due to financial difficulties. He moved back to the Islanders in the

in June. His contract was not renewed at the end of the season.

International

In 2008, having been a resident of Puerto Rico for three years, Villegas made his debut with the Puerto Rican national team, scoring a goal against the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, which enabled Puerto Rico to advance to the next stage of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

qualification.

Honors

Club

Puerto Rico Islanders

* USL First Division Championship runners-up:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Commissioner's Cup:

* CFU Club Championship runner-up:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

References

External links

Puerto Rico Islanders bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Villegas, Petter 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Esmeraldas, Ecuador St. Benedict's Preparatory School alumni Soccer players from Newark, New Jersey Ecuadorian footballers Puerto Rican footballers Parade High School All-Americans (boys' soccer) New Jersey Stallions players New York Red Bulls players D.C. United players S.D. Aucas footballers Barcelona S.C. footballers Manta F.C. footballers C.D. Cuenca footballers Puerto Rico Islanders players Club Atlético River Plate Puerto Rico players USISL Select League players USL First Division players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Expatriate soccer players in the United States USL Second Division players New York Red Bulls draft picks Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Puerto Rico men's international footballers