Luis Manuel Villa López (born 11 August 1989), commonly known as Luisma, is a Spanish former

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 played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Club career

Born in

Noja Noja is a municipality located in the autonomous community of Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a ...

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

, Luisma came through the youth system at

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

. He was mainly registered with

the B team The B Team is a global nonprofit initiative co-founded by Sir Richard Branson and Jochen Zeitz. It advocates for business practices that are more centered on humanity and the climate. History In 2013, a group of leaders came together followin ...

during his three-year spell with the club, appearing in three

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 ...

matches as a substitute in three different seasons; his debut in the competition came on 1 September 2007, when he played five minutes after replacing

Gonzalo Colsa Gonzalo Colsa Albendea (born 2 April 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as a central midfielder. He amassed La Liga totals of 340 matches and 29 goals over 14 seasons, representing in the competition Racing de S ...

in a 1–1 away draw against

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

. Released in 2010, Luisma took his game to

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

, where he represented in quick succession

Real Unión Real Unión Club, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Irun, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa, near the border with France. Founded on 15 May 1915 it currently plays in Primera División RF ...

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

SD Amorebieta Sociedad Deportiva Amorebieta is a Spanish football team based in Amorebieta-Etxano, in the Basque Country. Founded in 1925, it currently plays in , holding home games temporarily at the Lezama Facilities outside Bilbao (its own ground '' Campo ...

and

SD Noja Sociedad Deportiva Noja is a Spanish football team based in Noja, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. Founded in 1963, it plays in , holding home games at '' Estadio La Caseta'', with a capacity of 3,000 seats. History Founded in 1963, Noj ...

. He reached the promotion playoffs to

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 ...

with

the first The First or The 1st may refer to: Arts and entertainment Albums * The 1st (album), ''The 1st'' (album), by Willow, 2017 * The First (Shinee album), ''The First'' (Shinee album), 2011 * The First (single album), by NCT Dream, 2017 Television * T ...

and third sides, but consecutively fell short. In late July 2013, Luisma went on trial at

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

in the

Conference Premier The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National Le ...

alongside compatriot Roberto Casabella. Both players had their signings confirmed on 3 August, and the former's first goal came on 2 November 2013 when he scored the game's only in a home win over

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...

, being also later

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for two bookable offences. Across his two seasons at Barnet, Luisma scored 17 goals in 67 games in all competitions. In his second season, he finished as the team's second top scorer and helped them win promotion to

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

as champions. On 2 July 2015, he left by mutual consent as he wanted to move back to Spain, writing a farewell letter to fans on his departure. Luisma joined

Arenas Club de Getxo Arenas Club de Getxo is a Spanish football club based in the town of Getxo, near Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1909, it currently plays in , holding home games at Campo Municipal de Gobela, with a 2,000-se ...

on 15 July 2015. After three seasons, he then had a short spell with

SD Ponferradina Sociedad Deportiva Ponferradina, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Ponferrada, in the El Bierzo region, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 7 June 1922, it plays in Primera Federación - Group 1, holding home ma ...

also of the third tier. In January 2019, Luisma signed with

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club

Bengaluru FC Bengaluru Football Club () (Kannada: ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು.ಎಫ್.ಸಿ) is an Indian professional football club based in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club w ...

until the end of the season. He returned to Spain one year later, agreeing to a deal at amateurs

Sestao River Club Sestao River Club is a Spanish football team based in Sestao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1996 it plays in , hosting home games at ''Estadio Las Llanas'', with a capacity of 8,905 seats. History ''Sestao River Club ...

. Luisma continued competing in the Spanish lower leagues until his retirement, with

Gernika Club Gernika Club is a Spanish football team based in Gernika, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1922 it plays in , holding home games at '' Estadio Urbieta'', with a capacity of 3,000 seats. Season to season ---- *12 sea ...

and

SD Leioa Sociedad Deportiva Leioa is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Leioa, in the autonomous community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country. Founded in 1925 it plays in , holding home games at ''Estadi ...

Career statistics

Honours

Barnet *

: 2014–15 Bengaluru *

: 2018–19

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luisma 1989 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Cantabria Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Tercera Federación players Rayo Cantabria players Racing de Santander players Real Unión footballers Deportivo Alavés players SD Amorebieta footballers Arenas Club de Getxo footballers SD Ponferradina players Sestao River Club footballers Gernika Club footballers SD Leioa players National League (English football) players Barnet F.C. players Indian Super League players Bengaluru FC players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in India Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in India