Benji Villalobos

Benji Oldai Villalobos Segovia (born 15 July 1988 in El Salvador) is a Salvadoran professional goalkeeper.

Benji Villalobos
Personal information
Full name Benji Oldai Villalobos Segovia
Date of birth (1988-07-15) 15 July 1988
Place of birth El Tránsito, El Salvador
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 C.D. Águila[1]
Number 22
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004 CD UDET
2005 Universidad Gerardo Barrios
2006– CD Águila[2][3] 259[4] (1)
National team
2010– El Salvador 17 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Villalobos and the second or maternal family name is Segovia.

Club career

UDET

After starting his career at UDET in 2004.

Universidad Gerardo Barrios

Villalobos played for Segunda División club Universidad Gerardo Barrios in 2005, before joining Águila in 2006.

Águila

Although Villalobos had been signed to Águila since 2006, he did not get any game time until 2 May 2008, in a league match against Alianza. Although Águila lost that game 2–1, Villalobos did very well and proved that he had a lot of potential.

On 15 September 2012, he scored a penalty kick against Isidro Metapán in a 2–3 defeat.

On 22 December 2009, Águila reached the Apertura 2009 final against FAS, but lost 2–3, Villalobos did not play.

In the next tournament, Águila will achieved a new final, but lost against Isidro Metapán 1–3, Villalobos did not play.

On 6 May 2012, Águila won the Clausura 2012 final against Isidro Metapán (2–1 victory), Villalobos was in goal.

Águila reached the semi-finals of the Apertura 2012, but lost against Isidro Metapán 3–5 on aggregate.

Águila was two points away from relegation in the Clausura 2014.

In the next tournament reached a new final, but lost against Isidro Metapán on penalties, Villalobos was in goal.

Águila reached the Clausura 2016 final, but lost again local rivals Dragón 0–1, Villalobos was in goal.

On 1 December 2018, Águila reached the semi-finals of the Apertura 2018, after defeating Audaz 4–3 on aggregate. However, Águila was eliminated by Santa Tecla F.C. 2–5 on aggregate. In May 2019, Villalobos save two penalties at the Clausura 2019 final against Alianza F.C.[5]

Match-fixing ban

On 10 October 2013, Villalobos was banned for six months due to his involvement with match fixing.

International career

Villalobos received his first call-up to the El Salvador national team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification game against Suriname on 10 September 2008, but did not get any game time. He has since been selected numerous times, but only received his first full men's national team cap when he played in an international friendly against Guatemala in September 2010, which El Salvador lost two-nil.

He was a non-playing squad member at the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[6] However, Villalobos returned to El Salvador national team in 2017.[7]

Honours

Club
C.D. Águila

References
  1. "Águila cierra pretemporada con un triunfo - elsalvador.com". 9 January 2018.
  2. "El emotivo homenaje de Benji Villalobos a Raúl García".
  3. "Benji Villalobos, portero de Águila: "Ante FAS son más que tres puntos"".
  4. "El Salvador - B. Villalobos - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  5. "Benji Villalobos se consagró como la figura de la final del Clausura 2019". Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  6. Team Analysis El Salvador Archived 26 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine - CONCACAF
  7. "Benji Villalobos: "He demostrado que quiero estar en la selección" | El Gráfico". Elgrafico.com. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
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