Francisco Villarroya

{{about|the Spanish footballer|the Jesuit missionary|Francisco Xavier Villarroya}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Francisco Villarroya

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| fullname = Francisco Javier Pérez Villarroya

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|8|6|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Zaragoza, Spain

| height = 1.80 m

| position = Midfielder

| currentclub =

| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Zaragoza

| years1 = 1984–1988 | clubs1 = Deportivo Aragón | caps1 = 75 | goals1 = 1

| years2 = 1984–1990 | clubs2 = Zaragoza | caps2 = 100 | goals2 = 6

| years3 = 1990–1994 | clubs3 = Real Madrid | caps3 = 83 | goals3 = 1

| years4 = 1994–1996 | clubs4 = Deportivo La Coruña | caps4 = 42 | goals4 = 0

| years5 = 1996–1998 | clubs5 = Sporting Gijón | caps5 = 51 | goals5 = 2

| years6 = 1998–1999 | clubs6 = Badajoz | caps6 = 19 | goals6 = 1

| totalcaps = 370 | totalgoals = 11

| nationalyears1 = 1989–1992 | nationalteam1 = Spain | nationalcaps1 = 14 | nationalgoals1 = 0

}}

Francisco Javier Pérez Villarroya (born 6 August 1966) is a Spanish former footballer who played mostly as a left midfielder.

Club career

Born in Zaragoza, Villarroya made his professional debut with hometown's Real Zaragoza, appearing in one La Liga game in the 1984–85 season (a 4–0 away loss against FC Barcelona)[https://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1984/09/10/pagina-3/1126160/pdf.html 4–0: ¡Viva la huelga! (4–0: Long live the strike!)]; Mundo Deportivo, 10 September 1984 (in Spanish) but being almost exclusively connected with the reserves for three years.[https://www.elperiodicodearagon.com/deportes/2014/05/12/javier-villarroya-zaragoza-vivi-mejores-47299694.html Javier Villarroya: "En el Zaragoza viví los mejores años de mi vida y creo que triunfé" (Javier Villarroya: "I had the best years of my life at Zaragoza and I think I made it there")]; El Periódico de Aragón, 12 May 2014 (in Spanish)

In the summer of 1990, after helping the Aragonese to two consecutive top-ten finishes in the top division – fifth in the 1988–89 campaign, with the subsequent qualification for the UEFA Cup – whilst only missing a total of two matches, he signed with Real Madrid, being occasionally utilised as left-back during his four-year spell and being the capital side's first choice prior to the signing of Brazilian Roberto Carlos, battling for the position with Mikel Lasa.[https://elpais.com/diario/1990/04/24/deportes/640908008_850215.html El Madrid contrata a Villarroya por cuatro temporadas (Madrid hire Villarroya for four seasons)]; El País, 24 April 1990 (in Spanish)[https://www.telemadrid.es/deportes/Jugadores-reconvirtieron-laterales-0-1402059817--20121018043253.html Jugadores que se reconvirtieron en laterales (Players who became full-backs)]; Telemadrid, 18 October 2012 (in Spanish)

After just 13 league appearances in his last two years at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, following the arrival of manager Benito Floro, Villarroya joined Deportivo de La Coruña, being relatively used and adding another Copa del Rey to his trophy cabinet.[https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/torremarathon/2019/03/28/heroes-superdepor/00031553776559527243756.htm ¿Qué fue de los héroes del Superdépor? (What happened to the heroes of Superdépor?)]; La Voz de Galicia, 28 March 2019 (in Spanish) Still in the top tier, he then represented Sporting de Gijón, suffering relegation at the end of his second season.[https://www.lavozdeasturias.es/noticia/sporting1905/2021/06/29/video-reportaje-sobre-sporting-batio-records-negativos/00031624923924449360289.htm Reportaje sobre el Sporting que batió los peores récords (Report on a Sporting that broke the worst records)]; La Voz de Asturias, 29 June 2021 (in Spanish)

Villarroya closed out his career at the age of 32 after one year with CD Badajoz in the Segunda División, amassing top-flight totals of 276 matches and nine goals over 14 seasons.

International career

Villarroya earned 14 caps for the Spain national team in two and a half years,[https://futbolretro.es/francisco-villarroya-futbol-espanol-de-los-90/ Francisco Villarroya: Versatilidad y entrega en el fútbol español de los años 90 (Francisco Villarroya: Versatility and commitment in Spanish football of the 90s)]; Fútbol Retro, 27 January 2025 (in Spanish) and was in the squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, playing all the games (mostly in the back sector) in an eventual round-of-16 exit.[https://www.heraldo.es/noticias/deportes/futbol/2010/06/10/zaragocistas-la-roja-89870-1101028.html Zaragocistas en la Roja (Zaragoza men in la Roja)]; Heraldo de Aragón, 10 June 2010 (in Spanish)

His debut came on 20 September 1989 in a 1–0 friendly win over Poland in A Coruña, featuring the full 90 minutes as a Zaragoza player.[https://hemeroteca.abc.es/nav/Navigate.exe/hemeroteca/madrid/abc/1989/09/21/081.html 1–0: El pie de Míchel marcó ante Polonia el camino que España buscará en Hungria (1–0: Míchel's foot set track in Poland that Spain will seek in Hungary)]; ABC, 21 September 1989 (in Spanish)

Personal life

Villarroya's nephew, Ángel Lafita, was also a footballer (and a midfielder). He played the vast majority of his career with Zaragoza and Deportivo.[https://www.heraldo.es/noticias/deportes/lafita_los_sentimientos_venden_siempre_sere_zaragocista.html «Los sentimientos no se venden: siempre seré zaragocista» ("You can't sell feelings: I will always be a zaragocista")]; Heraldo de Aragón, 11 June 2011 (in Spanish)