Juan Reinoso announced its first squad list for the Peru team in League 1 for a microcycle that will take place between March 14th and 18th, 2023. The Peru coach surprised with some new players for this call and one of those news is Leonardo Villar, the young central midfielder of Sport Huancayo. Along with Erick Gonzales and Brandon Palacios, the Villar name is one that has surprised many, although it’s not his first call.
A native of Huanca, Leonardo Villar was trained in the minor leagues of San Martín but never played in the first team. He joined Sport Huancayo from the Saints reserve and made his professional debut in 2019 with “Rojo Matador” on the front line of Ruffles.
Leonardo Villar made his pro debut with Sport Huancayo, a team based in his hometown. Photo: GLR archives
Leonardo Villar and his internship in Spain
A little-known facet of Leonardo Villar is that he did an internship in Europe while he was still part of the San Martín divisions. The former U15 team traveled to Barcelona’s Marcet Academy alongside Franco Zanelatto, Santiago Valoyes and Bruno Díaz, other homegrown players like him. He made this experience in 2017 and he stayed in Spain for several months.
By his own admission, football was very different and he had to adapt to play with great intensity. The trainings were personalized and all his activities were recorded, so he could see every mistake he made that way. During this time he had the opportunity to play against the smaller leagues of professional teams like Atlético Madrid, Sevilla, Rayo Vallecano and many more.
Leonardo Villar in a match with Marcet Academy in Spain. Photo: Marcet Academy
Leonardo Villar and his career at Sport Huancayo
Leonardo Villar made his professional debut on May 17, 2019 in Huancayo’s 3-1 win over Binacional on Day 14 of the Apertura. He has completed the majority of the team’s minutes this season. It improved a lot with the arrival of Carlos Ramaciotti and had much more continuity in the Clausura. This first year in Liga 1 was certainly his best year to date.
Villar is a central midfielder who mainly plays as a lynchpin. Get good scores and play easy and fast. In October 2022, he was included in Juan Reynoso’s squad for the friendlies against Bolivia and Paraguay but did not appear on the list. Curiously, he barely played 6 games last year and in 2021 (543 minutes in 13 games) he didn’t have much continuity either compared to 2019 and 2020.