Ulises Alejandro Dávila Plascencia (born 13 April 1991) is a Mexican 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 last played as an
attacking midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
for
A-League
A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
club
Macarthur FC
Macarthur Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in South Western Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in Australia's premier soccer competition, the A-League, under Professional sports league organi ...
.
Club career
Guadalajara
Born in
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
,
Jalisco
Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
, Dávila was champion with Guadalajara in the category 1990–91 in the National Youth Championship in July 2006, with a 1–0 win over
Pachuca
Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...
, where he scored the only goal. That same year, Chivas also won the Manchester United Premier Cup "Generation 1991", beating
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
by a score of 2-1. In the 2008–09 season, he was loaned to affiliate club
Tapatio, scoring three goals in eighteen matches in the
Primera División A
Primera may refer to
* Nissan Primera, a car
* Primera Air, a former airline
* Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues
* Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas
* Alí Primera
Ely Rafael Primera Ros ...
.
He made his debut for
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
in the
Primera División on 29 August 2009, in a 2–2 draw against Pachuca. Dávila also featured in five matches in the
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...
tournament.
Chelsea
On 27 August 2011, it was announced that Dávila had signed for English club
Chelsea, signing a five-year contract, making him the first Mexican to sign with Chelsea.
Loan to Vitesse
On 30 August 2011, it was announced that Dávila joined Dutch football club
Vitesse Arnhem
SBV Vitesse Arnhem (''Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse Arnhem, Eng: Professional Football Foundation Vitesse Arnhem''), widely known as Vitesse () or internationally known as Vitesse Arnhem, is a Dutch professional association football, footba ...
on loan for the 2011–12 season. He was given the number 24 jersey. He made his club debut against
Roda JC Kerkrade
Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; ), shortly as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or simply Roda, is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the ...
on 17 September 2011, with the game ending in a 5–0 win for Vitesse. Unlike his teammate from Chelsea,
Tomáš Kalas, Dávila struggled to get into the starting XI and had been an unused substitute for a number of games. Playing for their reserve side, he had more success, scoring three goals in three games. On 19 February 2012, once again returned onto the bench against
FC Twente
Football Club Twente (), sometimes known internationally as FC Twente Enschede, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from the city of Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub E ...
but was an unused sub, the game ended in a 1–4 loss for Vitesse. On 28 April 2012, again returned onto the bench against
Excelsior
Excelsior may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry
* "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
* "Excelsior", an 1877 picture book in verse by Bret Harte, published as an advertisement for the Sa ...
but again was an unused sub, the game ended in a 3–2 win for Vitesse. Dávila spent the majority of his time at Vitesse with the reserve squad.
Loan to Sabadell
On 13 July 2012
CE Sabadell announced that Dávila will join them on loan for the 2012–13 season. On 29 September 2012, Dávila scored his first league goal against
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
, winning the game 2–1. On 18 November Dávila scored a brace against
Recreativo de Huelva
Real Club Recreativo de Huelva, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Huelva, Andalucia, Spain. Founded on 23 December 1889, they are the oldest football club in Spain, and currently play in , holding home ...
, and also hit the post almost scoring his first hat trick, Sabadell won the game 5–2 away.
Loan to Córdoba
On the last day of the 2013 Summer transfer window, Chelsea confirmed that Dávila was having a medical at
Córdoba CF
Córdoba Club de Fútbol (), is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Córdoba, Andalusia, Córdoba, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1954 after the dissolution of RCD Córdoba. Currently it plays ...
of the 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 ...
. Later on that day he secured his deal on a season-long loan.
On 23 June, he scored an equaliser in injury time away to
UD Las Palmas
Unión Deportiva Las Palmas S.A.D. is a professional association football, football club based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The club will compete in Segunda División, the 2nd division in the Spanish football league syst ...
in the second leg of the play-off final, earning Córdoba's promotion to
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 ...
for the first time in 42 years.
Loan to Vitória Setubal
On 23 January 2015, Dávila ended his loan with
Tenerife
Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
to join the Portuguese side on loan for the rest of the season.
On 3 August 2015, it was announced that Dávila will remain with
Vitória for the 2015–16 season.
Santos Laguna
On 4 December 2015, Santos Laguna announced they had purchased Dávila from
Chelsea and signed him to a three-year contract.
Delhi Dynamos
In December 2018, Dávila signed with Indian Super League side
Delhi Dynamos, and scored his only goal on 17 February 2019, against
Bengaluru FC in a 3–2 win.
Wellington Phoenix
In July 2019, Dávila signed with A-League side
Wellington Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League Men, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the 2007–08 ...
on a two-year deal. Dávila secured a fourth goal in six starts with a goal from outside the box against
Brisbane Roar on 23 November 2019. The goal proved vital in their 2–1 victory, Wellington's first win of the
2019–20 A-League season. Dávila helped the Phoenix to its best ever regular season finish, ending in third place for
the League
''The League'' is an American television sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football l ...
,
before the team lost 0–1 to
Perth Glory FC
Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...
in their first game of the
elimination finals.
Dávila finished the season with 12 goals and five assists, winning the
Johnny Warren Medal along with
Miloš Ninković
Miloš Ninković ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Нинковић; born 25 December 1984) is a Serbian former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
Club career
Čukarički
At a young age, Ninković joined FK Čukarički's youth academy and la ...
.
Macarthur FC
On 17 May it was announced that Dávila had signed a three-year deal to join
Macarthur FC
Macarthur Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in South Western Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in Australia's premier soccer competition, the A-League, under Professional sports league organi ...
for the 2021–22 season. On 6 November 2021, Dávila was announced as the captain for the
2021–22 A-League Men season. On 24 June 2024, the club announced that they agreed a mutual termination of contract with Dávila. At the same time, Dávila was arrested for allegedly being involved in
match fixing
In organized sports, match fixing (also known as game fixing, race fixing, throwing, rigging, hippodroming, or more generally sports fixing) is the act of playing or officiating a contest with the intention of achieving a predetermined result, v ...
.
International career
Youth
Dávila was part of the
under-20 side that played the
2011 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, in which Mexico finished as champions. He also participated in the
2011 Toulon Tournament in France, where Mexico finished as fourth place losing to Italy in a penalty shoot-out. Dávila scored two goals during the
2011 Toulon Tournament, scoring against France and Hungary.
Dávila was part of the 20-man squad that participated in the
2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 18th FIFA U-20 World Cup. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities. The tournament was won by Brazil national under-20 football team, Brazil w ...
in Colombia. Mexico would eventually finish third in the tournament by beating France 3–1, and he was able to score a goal against France.
Senior
Dávila received his first call up to the
senior national team to play the
2011 Copa América
The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international association football, football tournament for national ...
, to replace one of the five players that were suspended for having disciplinary problems in
Quito
Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...
, Ecuador. He did not play in any of Mexico's matches.
Personal life
In March 2020, Dávila's wife Lily Pacheco gave birth to a son. Lily died on 30 May 2022.
Match fixing scandal
On 17 May 2024, Dávila along with two Macarthur FC teammates,
Kearyn Baccus
Kearyn Byron Baccus (born 5 September 1991) is a footballer who most recently played as a central midfielder for Macarthur FC in the A-League Men. Born in South Africa, he played as a youth international for Australia.
Club career
Baccus joine ...
and
Clayton Lewis, were arrested by
New South Wales Police Force
The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...
over an alleged match fixing scandal.
Career statistics
Club
Honours
Guadalajara
*
Copa Libertadores
The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...
runner-up:
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
Santos Laguna
*
Liga MX
Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...
:
Clausura 2018
Macarthur FC
*
Australia Cup
The Australia Cup (currently known as the Hahn Australia Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the national association football, soccer single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Fo ...
:
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
Mexico U20
*
CONCACAF U-20 Championship:
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
Individual
*
A-League
A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
Player of the Month: December 2019
*
A-League
A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...
PFA Team of the Season:
2019–20,
2020–21,
2021–22
*
Johnny Warren Medal:
2020–21
*
Mark Viduka Medal
The Mark Viduka Medal is an association football award that recognises the Player of the match, best adjudged player/s from the final of the Australia Cup (formally the FFA Cup) each year. Introduced in the first edition of the competition in 2014 ...
:
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davila, Ulises
1991 births
Living people
Mexican men's footballers
Footballers from Guadalajara, Jalisco
Men's association football midfielders
Mexico men's under-20 international footballers
Mexico men's youth international footballers
2011 Copa América players
Liga MX players
Eredivisie players
Segunda División players
Primeira Liga players
Indian Super League players
A-League Men players
C.D. Guadalajara footballers
Chelsea F.C. players
SBV Vitesse players
CE Sabadell FC footballers
Córdoba CF players
CD Tenerife players
Vitória F.C. players
Santos Laguna footballers
Odisha FC players
Wellington Phoenix FC players
Macarthur FC players
Mexican expatriate men's footballers
Mexican expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Portugal
Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal
Mexican expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand
Expatriate men's association footballers in New Zealand
Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Australia
Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia
Mexican expatriate sportspeople in India
Expatriate men's footballers in India
21st-century Mexican sportsmen
Sportspeople involved in betting scandals
Expatriate men's footballers in England