Luis Ezequiel "Chimy" Ávila (born 6 February 1994) is an Argentine professional

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 lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club Betis.

Club career

Tiro Federal

Born in

Rosario, Santa Fe Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

, Ávila played for

Tiro Federal Club Atlético Tiro Federal Argentino (mostly known just as Tiro Federal or Tiro Federal de Rosario) is an Argentina, Argentine association football, football club from the city of Rosario, Santa Fe, Rosario, in Santa Fe Province. The team curren ...

as a youth, also having a short spell at

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

in 2010. He made his first team debut for the former on 18 October 2010 at the age of just 16, coming on as a second-half substitute for Gastón Meinicocci in a 0–2

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 team ...

away loss against

Almirante Brown William Brown (also known in Spanish as Guillermo Brown or ''Almirante'' Brown) (22 June 1777 – 3 March 1857) was an Irish sailor, merchant, and naval commander who served in the Argentine Navy during the wars of the early 19th century. Brown ...

. Ávila scored his first goal on 11 June 2011, netting his team's second in a 3–1 away win over

Ferro Carril Oeste Club Ferro Carril Oeste, known simply as Ferro Carril Oeste or familiarly, Ferro, is an Argentine sports club from the neighbourhood of Caballito, Buenos Aires. Although many activities are hosted by the club, Ferro is mostly known for its assoc ...

, as his side was already relegated. He did not establish himself as a regular starter for the side in the following seasons, as the club competed in the

Torneo Argentino A The Torneo Argentino A (in English "Argentine A Tournament") was one of the two leagues that formed the regionalised third level of the Argentine football league system. Clubs in the Torneo Argentino have indirect membership in AFA, while clubs ...

. In February 2013, Ávila was dismissed by the club after being accused of

theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...

. He stayed nearly two years without playing football, working as a

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of maso ...

. He was declared innocent only in 2018.

San Lorenzo

On 3 February 2015, Ávila signed a three-year contract with

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...

. He made his club – and Primera División – debut on 19 April, replacing

Matías Catalán Matías Ezequiel Catalán Echevarria (born 19 August 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Argentine Primera División club Talleres. Born in Argentina, he plays for the Chile national team. Club career Catalán mad ...

in a 0–1 away loss against Aldosivi. Ávila scored his first goal for ''Ciclón'' on 25 March 2017, netting his team's second in a 3–0 home win against

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

Huesca (loan)

On 1 August 2017, Ávila was loaned to Spanish

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

side

SD Huesca Sociedad Deportiva Huesca, S.A.D., is a Spanish football club based in Huesca, in the autonomous community of Aragon. Founded in 1910, the club competes in the Segunda División, having played in the Spanish top division for the first time in th ...

for the season. He scored seven goals in 35 appearances as his side achieved promotion to

, and had his loan extended for a further year on 16 June 2018. Ávila made his debut in the Spanish top tier on 19 August 2018, replacing goalscorer

Álex Gallar Alejandro "Álex" Gallar Falguera (born 19 March 1992) is a Spanish footballer who plays as either a left winger or a forward for Spanish club Ibiza. Club career Born in Terrassa, Barcelona, Catalonia, Gallar was a Terrassa FC youth graduate. H ...

in a 2–1 away win against

SD Eibar Sociedad Deportiva Eibar (in ) is a Spanish football league teams, Spanish professional football club based in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country. Founded on 30 November 1940, the men’s te ...

. Eight days later, he scored the equalizer in a 2–2 draw at

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

. On 9 February 2019, Ávila scored a brace in a 2–0 away success over

Girona FC Girona Futbol Club, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. ( ) is a Spanish professional Football team, football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, the team plays in La Liga, to which they gained promotion in the 2022 ...

. He scored ten times during the campaign, but could not prevent his side's relegation.

Osasuna

On 27 June 2019,

CA Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club based in Pamplona, Navarre. It was founded on 24 October 1920 and plays in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football. The team's ...

reached an agreement with San Lorenzo for the transfer of Ávila. He signed a four-year contract, for a fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

2.7 million. On his debut for the club on 17 August, he scored the game's only in an away success over

CD Leganés Club Deportivo Leganés, S.A.D. is a professional football club based in Leganés, Community of Madrid. They currently compete in La Liga, the first tier of the Spanish league system. Leganés was officially founded 23 June 1928 and played thei ...

. In January 2020, Ávila suffered an injury on his left

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

, being sidelined for the remainder of the season. In September, after being close to a return, he suffered the same injury on his right knee. Ávila returned from injury in March 2021, and played his first match after 435 days sidelined on 3 April, a 0–0 home draw against

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. They compete in La Liga, the top tier of the Football in Spain, Spanish football. The team has pla ...

Betis

On 1 February 2024, Ávila signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with fellow top-tier side

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

, for a fee of €4 million plus variables.

Personal life

Ávila is the brother of the footballer Gastón Ávila. He grew up supporting his local club

Rosario Central Club Atlético Rosario Central (), more commonly referred to as Rosario Central, or simply Central, is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded on 24 December 1889, ...

and he tattooed its crest onto his body. His nickname "Chimy" came from the word

chimichurri () is an uncooked sauce used as an ingredient in cooking and as a table condiment for grilled meat. Found originally in Argentina and used in Argentinian cuisine, Argentinian, Uruguayan cuisine, Uruguayan, Paraguayan cuisine, Paraguayan and ...

, an Argentine sauce. He gained a Spanish passport in 2022.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Osasuna *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

: runner-up

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Betis *

UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...

runner-up: 2024–25

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Avila, Chimy 1994 births Living people Footballers from Rosario, Santa Fe Argentine men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Argentine Primera División players Primera Nacional players Torneo Argentino A players Tiro Federal footballers San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers La Liga players Segunda División players SD Huesca footballers CA Osasuna players Real Betis players Argentine expatriate men's footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain 21st-century Argentine sportsmen