| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Petter Enrique Villegas España | ||
| Date of birth | (1975-11-15)November 15, 1975 (age 49) | ||
| Place of birth | Esmeraldas, Ecuador | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder/Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995 | Kean Cougars | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1999 | NY/NJ Stallions | ||
| 1996 | →NY/NJ MetroStars (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 1999–2002 | MetroStars | 88 | (15) |
| 2002–2003 | D.C. United | 18 | (2) |
| 2003–2005 | Aucas | 26 | (0) |
| 2004 | →Barcelona SC (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2004 | →Manta (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2005 | →Deportivo Cuenca (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2005–2009 | Puerto Rico Islanders | 107 | (15) |
| 2011 | River Plate Puerto Rico | 4 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | Puerto Rico Islanders | 12 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2008–2011 | Puerto Rico | 13 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of December 17, 2011 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of December 17, 2011 | |||
Petter Villegas (born November 15, 1975, inEsmeraldas) is anEcuadorian-bornPuerto Ricanfootballer who played forPuerto Rico Islanders in theNorth American Soccer League.
Villegas came to the United States with his family as a child, settling inNewark, New Jersey. He attendedSaint Benedict's Preparatory School, where he was a three-time New Jersey All State high school player, scoring 34 goals, assisted on 18 more in 1993. In 1999, he was named byThe Star-Ledger as one of the top ten New Jersey high school soccer players of the 1990s.[1]
He played one year ofcollege soccer atKean College, earning first team All-NJAC honors in 1995, before turning professional.
Villegas' first taste ofMajor League Soccer action came in 1996, when he played three games for theMetroStars on loan from theNew Jersey Stallions of theUSISL. Three years in the minors followed, until the Metros drafted Villegas in the first round of the1999 MLS Supplemental Draft.[2] He played the next four and a half seasons for the Metros, mostly as a right midfielder, but also as a forward and defender. Villegas' erratic play matched his versatility – brilliant one moment, awful the next – earning him the sarcastic nicknameThe Greatest Metro Ever. Despite his inconsistency, he scored a number of key goals, including an overtime game winner in a comeback against theTampa Bay Mutiny in 2000. Overall, Villegas scored 13 goals and 21 assists in his Metro career, adding two goals and two assists in the playoffs.
On May 10, 2002, the MetroStars traded Villegas and defenderOrlando Perez toD.C. United forCraig Ziadie andMark Lisi. At the time of the trade, Villegas had started all seven MetroStars' games that season. He spent the rest of the year with D.C., scoring two goals and adding five assists. Villegas left MLS afterwards, going back to his native Ecuador to play forAucas,Barcelona SC,Manta andDeportivo Cuenca. In 2005, he came back to the United States, signing with thePuerto Rico Islanders of theUSL First Division. He continued with thePuerto Rico Islanders until the end of the 2009 season.
Villegas signed withRiver Plate Puerto Rico of theUSL for the 2011 season,[3][4] but played just three games before the team was removed from USL Pro due to financial difficulties. He moved back to the Islanders in theNorth American Soccer League in June. His contract was not renewed at the end of the season.
In 2008, having been a resident of Puerto Rico for three years, Villegas made his debut with thePuerto Rican national team, scoring a goal against theDominican Republic, which enabled Puerto Rico to advance to the next stage of the2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.