Manuel Villalobos

Manuel Arturo Villalobos Salvos (born October 15, 1980 in Iquique, Chile) is a Chilean footballer, who currently plays
forward for Club de Fútbol Universidad de Chile. Villalobos has many different nicknames. He is known as "Villagol" by the supporters of Ñublense, as "Ondugol" by the Chilean press, and "Bullalobos" by the supporters of Universidad de Chile.

Career

Villalobos joined Colo-Colo's youth squad at the age of ten in 1990. In 1997 he made his professional debut. In 2000 he was loaned to Club Deportivo Ferroviario Almirante Arturo Fernández Vial to gain more playing time and experience. During his time with Fernández Vial he was the second leading scorer of the Liga Chilena de Fútbol: Primera B. After his impressive season Villalobos was loaned six months to Liga Chilena de Fútbol: Primera División squad Club Deportivo O'Higgins. He then spent the next six months with Deportes Naval. During these two years Villalobos was rejected a chance to return to his original club, Colo-Colo. In 2002 Colo-Colo's coach Jaime Pizarro released him from his contract due to indiscipline.

In 2002 Villalobos signed with Deportes Iquique. The following year Villalobos signed with Portuguese club S.C. Dragoes Sandinenses, where he was primarily used as a reserve. The following two years Villalobos spent in the Liga Chilena de Fútbol: Tercera División where he scored in abundance. However since he was not owned by any first division club, his accomplishments were not taken serious. During this time he thought hard about leaving football for good.

Ñublense, another third division squad, signed Villalobos. Ñublense quickly gained promotion to the Primera B and Villalobos began to regain his interest in football. At the end of the 2006, with Villalobos as the team's top goal scorer and team captain, Ñublense was promoted to the Primera División. In the 2007 Clausura tournament, Villalobos was the second leading scorer of the competition with 13 goals. His good form led Universidad de Chile (Colo-Colo's rival) to sign him to a 2-year contract at the beginning of 2008. Villalobos has said in interviews he hopes to score many goals against Colo-Colo. In the January pre-season matches, Villalobos scored in almost every game. In the 2008 Apertura tournament Villalobos has scored four goals in the first six games.