Lucas Villafáñez

Lucas Martín Villafáñez (locally [biʃafaɲes]; born 4 October 1991) is an Argentine-Greek professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for the Greek giants Panathinaikos F.C..

Lucas Villafáñez
Personal information
Full name Lucas Martín Villafáñez
Date of birth (1991-10-04) 4 October 1991
Place of birth Comodoro Rivadavia, Chubut, Argentina
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position(s) Attacking midfielder, winger
Club information
Current team
 Panathinaikos
Number -
Youth career
C.A.I.
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 C.A.I. 55 (11)
2010–2011 → Independiente (loan) 8 (2)
2011–2016 Independiente 23 (0)
2013–2014 → Huracán (loan) 20 (2)
2014–2016 → Panetolikos (loan) 38 (11)
2016–2018 Panathinaikos 53 (10)
2018–2019 Alanyaspor 47 (1)
2019– Morelia 16 (2)
2020– Panathinaikos 0 (0)
National team
2011 Argentina U-20 1 (1)
2011 Argentina U-22 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 June 2020

Club career

Villafáñez made his professional debut in the Primera B Nacional with his hometown club Comisión de Actividades Infantiles, when he was 16 years old. In total he played 57 games with the club, scoring 12 goals.

In 2010, Independiente acquired the player on a one-year loan deal. He debuted in the Argentine Primera División on a 0–1 defeat to Tigre for the 2010 Apertura, despite the game being played in February 2011.[1]

On 2 May 2011, Villafáñez scored his first goal with Independiente, in a 1–1 draw with Boca Juniors.[2]

In summer 2013, the hitch that had a contract until June 2014 and would not be taken into account by Miguel Angel Brindisi was asked by Antonio Mohamed after his arrival in Huracán F.C. and eventually would be signing with the "Globe". After several days of negotiation and obstacles, it was finally decided that Villafáñez would go on loan to Huracán F.C. for the 2013–14 season.[3][4] On 1 August 2014, Villafáñez signed a two-year contract with Greek Super League side Panetolikos on loan from Independiente,[5] along with his former Independiente teammates Fernando Godoy and Nicolás Martinez.[6]

In December 2015, Villafáñez was linked with a move to AEK Athens.[7] On 24 January 2016, he scored with a close-range effort at the beginning of a match against Veria which Panetolikos won 1–0 and scooped its first away victory since August 2015.[8]

Panathinaikos

On 27 January 2016, Panathinaikos bought the Villafáñez's playing rights from Independiente, so from the summer of 2016, he would have belonged to the "Greens". Panetolikos, however, wanted to make a profit form the player's transfer and gave him to Panathinaikos from 1 February.[9] On 6 March 2016, he scored his first goal with the club in a 2–0 home win against Atromitos.[10] On 28 October 2017, thanks to a close-range effort by the Argentinian attacking midfielder, Panathinaikos won 1–0 at Super League derby clash against champions Olympiacos.[11] On 7 January 2018, Marinos Ouzounidis’ team, which had last tasted victory in the Super League back on 28 October with a 1–0 derby win over Olympiacos, finally stopped the rot in the first game of 2018 thanks to a pair of penalties from Villafáñez in a 2–0 win home game against Platanias.[12]

On 14 January 2018, with Panathinaikos in financial difficulties, French website "Foot Mercato" reported Villafáñez had been offered to three Ligue 1 clubs, namely Nantes, Saint-Étienne and Toulouse for the January transfer window on a loan basis till the end of the season with a purchase option in the range of €2 million for the summer of 2018.[13]

Villafáñez left the club having 73 appearances (10 goals, 13 assists) in all competitions.

Alanyaspor

On 23 January 2018, Turkish club Alanyaspor initially offered an €800,000 transfer fee to Panathinaikos for Villafáñez. The transfer offer involved two Greek internationals, Giorgos Tzavellas and Giannis Maniatis.[14] According to various sources, the transfer could be set in the range of €1.1 million, with Villafáñez agreeing to a 2.5-year contract, with annual earnings levelled to €800,000 per year.[15] After three days of negotiations, Panathinaikos agreed with Alanyaspor for a total transfer amount of €1.2 million. The financial struggling Greens will receive a net amount of €900,000, as Villafáñez ex-club Panetolikos retained a 10% resale rate, while from the total transfer amount Panathinaikos will cover his debt both to the player's rights from Independiente and his annual delayed salary.[16][17] On 27 January 2018, two days after his arrival, he made his debut with the club as a starter in a 3–1 home win game against Alanyaspor. On 18 May 2018, in the last matchday of the season he scored his first goal with the club in a 3–2 home win game against Antalyaspor.

Morelia

On 3 July 2019, Monarcas Morelia presented Villafáñez as their new player.[18]

Panathinaikos Return

On July of 2020, Villafanez returned to the Greek giants Panathinaikos F.C. with a 1+1 year loan deal from Monarcas Morelia.

Greek Passport

In 2014, Lucas started the procedure in order to claim the Greek citizenship, due to his great-grandfather who was from Piraeus, in order to be eligible for the Greek national football team. In December 2017, he was in the final stages for acquiring the citizenship and will be available for the Greek national football team, but coach Michael Skibbe has not confirmed if he will call-up Villafañez.

International career

Villafáñez was part of Sergio Batista's Argentina's U-20 national team in 2010. In 2011, he was selected to represent Argentina at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Villafanez also, expressed his desire to play for Greece National Football Team, through his maternal great-grandfather, who was born at Piraeus.[19]

References
  1. "Opening '10 statistics". Argentine Soccer. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  2. "Boca igualó con Independiente y ambos siguen lejos" (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  3. "Lucas Villafáñez se va a Huracán" (in Spanish). elrojoesmipasion.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  4. "Lucas Villafañez nuevo jugador de Huracán" (in Spanish). cahuracan.com. 2 August 2013.
  5. "Archived copy" ΜΠΑΜ με Βιγιαφάνιες ο Παναιτωλικός (in Greek). allsportsagrinio.gr. 31 July 2014. Archived from the original on 3 August 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "LOS ARGENTINOS PARRA Y VILLAFAÑEZ SE SUMAN AL FUTBOL GRIEGO" (in Spanish). elcomercial.com.ar. 1 August 2013. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  7. "AEK monitoring Villafanez". www.sdna.gr. 10 December 2015.
  8. "Panaitolikos leave Veria victorious". www.sdna.gr. 24 January 2016.
  9. "Κωστούλας: Τα βρήκε με Ιντεπεντιέντε ο Παναθηναϊκός για Βιγιαφάνιες-Panathinaikos agreed with Independiente for Villafañez". www.sport24.gr. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  10. "Panathinaikos beat Atromitos at Leto's return". www.sdna.gr. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  11. "Με Βιγιαφάνιες ο Παναθηναϊκός 1-0 τον Ολυμπιακό". www.sport24.gr. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  12. "Παναθηναϊκός - Πλατανιάς 2-0". www.gazzetta.gr. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  13. "Προτάθηκε σε Ναντ, Σεντ-Ετιέν και Τουλούζ ο Βιγιαφάνιες". www.sport24.gr. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  14. "ALANYASPOR, 10 NUMARA TRANSFERİ YAPIYOR! HASAN ÇAVUŞOĞLU AÇIKLADI". turkfutbol.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  15. "Ετοιμάζει βαλίτσες ο Βιγιαφάνιες". www.sport24.gr. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  16. "Οριστικό: με 1,2 εκατ. ευρώ στην Αλάνιασπορ ο Βιγιαφάνιες". www.sport24.gr. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  17. "Villafanez, Aytemiz Alanyaspor'da". www.hurriyet.com.tr. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  18. Lucas Villafañez llega a Monarcas Morelia, mimorelia.com, 3 July 2019
  19. "Villafanez: "I am dreaming of playing for Greece National Team"". www.sdna.gr. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
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