.jpg) Ulloa in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | José Leonardo Ulloa Fernández[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1986-07-26)26 July 1986 (age 39)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | General Roca, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| CAI | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2004 | CAI | 7 | (1) |
| 2005–2007 | San Lorenzo | 31 | (3) |
| 2007 | Arsenal Sarandí | 12 | (3) |
| 2008 | Olimpo | 14 | (3) |
| 2008–2010 | Castellón | 78 | (30) |
| 2010–2013 | Almería | 90 | (39) |
| 2013–2014 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 50 | (23) |
| 2014–2018 | Leicester City | 86 | (18) |
| 2018 | →Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | Pachuca | 28 | (8) |
| 2019–2021 | Rayo Vallecano | 28 | (6) |
| Total | 434 | (135) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
José Leonardo Ulloa Fernández (locally[xoˈseleoˈnaɾðowˈʎoafeɾˈnandes]; born 26 July 1986) is an Argentine former professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
After starting out withCAI, he joinedSan Lorenzo in 2005, going on to spend the better part of the following years in Spain withCastellón andAlmería, competing inLa Liga with the last of those clubs and also beingSegunda División top scorer in the2011–12 season.
Ulloa moved to England in 2013, where he representedBrighton & Hove Albion andLeicester City. He won thePremier League with the latter side in2015–16.
Born inGeneral Roca, Río Negro,[3] Ulloa started his career in 2002, playing withPrimera B Nacional sideComisión de Actividades Infantiles. In 2005 he moved to thePrimera División, signing forSan Lorenzo where he was part of the squad that won the2007 Clausura.[4]
Shortly after, Ulloa joinedArsenal de Sarandí. In the summer of 2008, after a brief stint withOlimpo,[3] he moved to Spain to play forSegunda División clubCastellón, where he was reunited with compatriot and former CAI teammateJosé Tabares.[5][6] He scored 16 goals in hisdebut season, his team's best and sixth in the league.[7]
Ulloa posted similar numbers in2009–10, but Castellón were relegated after finishing 22nd and last.[8] In late June 2010 he moved to another club in the country,Almería, signing a five-year contract.[9]
On 13 September 2010, in only his second official match for theAndalusians, Ulloa scored in thelast minute for a 2–2La Liga home draw againstReal Sociedad, after an individual effort.[10] The following month, against the same opponent in theCopa del Rey'sround-of-32 first leg, he netted twice in the last 20 minutes to help his team come back from 2–0 to win 3–2 in theBasque Country.[11]
On 22 December 2010, again in the domestic cup, Ulloa scored three goals andassisted on another, as Almería beatMallorca 4–3 in the first leg,[12] winning 8–6 on aggregate. On 16 January 2011 he took his league tally to five, netting in a 1–1 home draw againstReal Madrid after finishing a move from countrymanPablo Piatti.[13]
Ulloa was crowned the2011–12 season's top scorer at 28 goals,[14][15] but Almería failed to regain their top-flight status after finishing seventh.[16]
On 16 January 2013, Ulloa transferred toChampionship sideBrighton & Hove Albion on a four-and-a-half-year deal, for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £2 million.[17][18] He scored on his debut ten days later, in a 2–3 home loss againstArsenal in thefourth round of theFA Cup.[19]
On 2 March 2013, Ulloa became the first ever player to score ahat-trick atFalmer Stadium, during Brighton's 4–1 win overHuddersfield Town.[20] Two weeks later, he scored twice againstCrystal Palace in a 3–0 victory also at home,[21] contributing to his team's first home win in theM23 derby since 1988; managerGus Poyet described him as "different class",[22] and he continued his scoring run on the 30th, with his ninth goal in 12 matches coming in a 2–2 draw atNottingham Forest.[23]
On 27 April 2013, Ulloa scored the goal that confirmedBrighton's place in the Championship play-offs, heading the 88th-minute winner to secure a 2–1 away defeat ofLeeds United.[24]The following season, on 3 May 2014 and again through aheader, he netted in the last minute to once again send them to the play-offs, helping to a comeback at Nottingham Forest and 2–1 win.[25]
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On 22 July 2014, Ulloa joinedLeicester City on a four-year contract for a club record £8 million,[26] being handed the number 23 shirt.[27] He started on hisPremier League debut at home toEverton on 16 August, and scored after 22 minutes as his team twice came from a goal down to secure a 2–2 draw.[28] He found the net in his third appearance, against Arsenal on 31 August for another home draw (1–1),[29] and scored the only goal of the match to help defeatStoke City for the side's first win ofthe campaign.[30]
On 21 September 2014, Ulloa contributed a brace in a 5–3 home win overManchester United.[31] After nine games without a goal, he scored but in a 2–1 loss atAston Villa.[32]
During January 2015, Ulloa scored inFA Cup victories overNewcastle United[33] and Tottenham, helping the Foxes to reach the fifth round.[34] On 18 April, he netted his first league goal of 2015 in a 2–0 win againstSwansea City which saw Leicester move off the bottom of the table for the first time since November 2014.[35] Two weeks later, he scored twice in the 3–0 victory over Newcastle for his team's fifth win from six matches.[36]
UnderClaudio Ranieri, Ulloa played mostly second-fiddle toShinji Okazaki andJamie Vardy in2015–16,[37][38] but still managed 29 games and six goals[39] as Leicester won the first top-flight league title of their 132-year history,[40] including one in the last minute of a 1–0 defeat ofNorwich City at theKing Power Stadium on 27 February 2016 which caused celebrations that led to a small earthquake registering on theRichter scale.[41]
Ulloa struggled to break into the first team following the signings ofAhmed Musa andIslam Slimani in2016–17,[42] prompting an enquiry from Swansea City.[43] He did not start his first league match of the season until 2 January 2017, in a goalless draw againstMiddlesbrough,[44] and late into that month he submitted a transfer request,[45] which led to bids fromAlavés andSunderland;[46] these were rejected, as well as a subsequent loan offer fromGalatasaray, leading the player to express in aTwitter post that he felt "betrayed by Ranieri" and vowed not to play for Leicester again.[47] A total of three bids from Sunderland, ranging from £3 million to £7.5 million, were rejected as Leicester were unwilling to sell him to a relegation rival.[48]
On 24 August 2017, aged 31, Ulloa signed a new contract at Leicester, extending his link until June 2019.[49] He struggled to break into the first team duringthe season, only totalling 19 minutes in the league in four substitute appearances;[50] thus, on 29 January 2018, he completed a loan move to Brighton & Hove Albion for his second spell.[51]
Ulloa scored his first goal for Brighton since 2014 on 17 February 2018, in a home 3–1 home win againstCoventry City inthe FA Cup.[52] His first in the league came on 9 May, but in a 3–1 loss away toManchester City;[53] shortly after, having appeared in 12 competitive matches,[54] he revealed he was hoping to earn a permanent move.[55]
On 10 August 2018, Ulloa joinedLiga MX clubPachuca.[56] His first goal for his new team, a header, opened the scoring in a 2–0 win overCelaya in theCopa MX.[57][58]
On 30 August 2019, Pachuca announced Ulloa's departure toRayo Vallecano viaTwitter.[59]
In late 2014 Ulloa, whose grandfather was born in Chile, had an offer fromChile national team managerJorge Sampaoli to become naturalized and represent them,[60][61] but he declined it.[62]
Ulloa was one of up to 20 top footballers named in thePanama Papers, a 2016 leak of offshore accounts. In 2008, while at San Lorenzo, he ceded his economic and image rights to Jump Drive Sports Rights LLC, registered inWashington in the name of two companies registered inSamoa. The director of the company at the time of the leak was on trial for fraud; it was alleged he took money that was due to Ulloa.[63]
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| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| CAI | 2002–03[64] | Primera B Nacional | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| 2003–04[64] | Primera B Nacional | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | |||||
| San Lorenzo | 2004–05[64] | Argentine Primera División | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2005–06[64] | Argentine Primera División | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||||
| 2006–07[64] | Argentine Primera División | 19 | 2 | — | — | — | 19 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 31 | 3 | — | — | — | 31 | 3 | |||||
| Arsenal Sarandí | 2007–08[64] | Argentine Primera División | 12 | 3 | — | — | — | 12 | 3 | |||
| Olimpo | 2007–08[64] | Argentine Primera División | 14 | 3 | — | — | — | 14 | 3 | |||
| Castellón | 2008–09[65] | Segunda División | 40 | 16 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 16 | ||
| 2009–10[66] | Segunda División | 38 | 14 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 14 | |||
| Total | 78 | 30 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 79 | 30 | ||||
| Almería | 2010–11[67] | La Liga | 34 | 7 | 6 | 6 | — | — | 40 | 13 | ||
| 2011–12[68] | Segunda División | 38 | 28 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 40 | 29 | |||
| 2012–13[69] | Segunda División | 18 | 4 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 22 | 6 | |||
| Total | 90 | 39 | 12 | 9 | — | — | 102 | 48 | ||||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2012–13[70] | Championship | 17 | 9 | 1 | 1 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 20 | 10 | |
| 2013–14[71] | Championship | 33 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 38 | 16 | |
| Total | 50 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 58 | 26 | ||
| Leicester City | 2014–15[72] | Premier League | 37 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 40 | 13 | |
| 2015–16[73] | Premier League | 29 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 6 | ||
| 2016–17[74] | Premier League | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[d] | 0 | 23 | 1 | |
| 2017–18[75] | Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 86 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 102 | 20 | ||
| Leicester City U21/U23 | 2016–17[74] | — | — | — | 1[e] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2017–18[75] | — | — | — | 1[e] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 2017–18[75] | Premier League | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 12 | 2 | ||
| Pachuca | 2018–19[76] | Liga MX | 25 | 8 | 7 | 6 | — | — | 32 | 14 | ||
| Rayo Vallecano | 2019–20[77] | Segunda División | 17 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 6 | ||
| 2020–21[78] | Segunda División | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[f] | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Total | 28 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 32 | 6 | |||
| Career total | 431 | 135 | 34 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 483 | 156 | ||
San Lorenzo
Arsenal Sarandí
Leicester City
Individual
