After having represented Athletic Bilbao during a full decade (appearing in 361 official matches and scoring 11 goals),[1] he went on to serve an even longer stint as president of the Spanish Football Federation.
Villar was born in Bilbao and emerged through the youth ranks of local Athletic Bilbao, going on to make his senior debuts in amateur football, loaned,[2] after which he returned in 1971. With the Basque side, he was an undisputed starter in nine of his ten seasons, helping them to two Copa del Rey finals and winning the 1973 edition.[3]
In March 1974, during a 0–0 La Liga home draw against FC Barcelona, Villar elbowed opposing superstar Johan Cruyff, as the Dutch was subject to severe man-marking by several Athletic players.[4] He eventually received a four-match ban for his actions, but the pair later reconciled,[5] and Villar retired seven years later with more than 350 competitive appearances for his main club.
International career
Villar played 22 times for Spain, scoring three goals. His debut came on 17 October 1973 in a 0–0 friendly with Turkey, in Istanbul.[6]
On 9 December 1979, his last cap, Villar helped the nation qualify for UEFA Euro 1980, netting in a 3–1 win in Cyprus.[7] He did not participate, however, in any major international tournament.
Post-retirement
In 1979, still as an active player, Villar majored in law, and would practice the activity during the following years, which he accumulated with several posts in the footballing hierarchies – he was one of the founders of the Association of Spanish Footballers in 1978.
Having already worked in the Royal Spanish Football Federation under president José Luis Roca, Villar was elected his successor in 1988, and would stay in office for the following two decades, being in charge as the national team won Euro 2008.
Villar also occupied several roles within UEFA and FIFA, being named the organizations' vice president, respectively in 1992 and 2002. Following Spain's controversial exit at the 2002 FIFA World Cup,[8] he left his post at the latter, but was immediately named, amongst others, for the presidency of the Referees' Committee (also in that year, he was named for that position at UEFA[9]).
Villar led the unsuccessful Spain and Portugal 2018 World Cup bid.[10] On 16 February 2012, he was elected for his seventh term at the helm of the Spanish Federation, remaining in office until 2016.[11]
Following the suspension of Michel Platini in October 2015, Villar became UEFA's acting president.[12] The following month, he was fined 25,000 Swiss francs and warned by the FIFA Ethics Committee for failing to cooperate with the investigation into the bidding process of the 2018 World Cup.[13]
On 18 July 2017, Villar was arrested on suspicion of embezzling funds.[14] Nine days later, he resigned from his post at both FIFA and UEFA.[15]
Personal life
Villar's niece, María Villar Galaz, was kidnapped and murdered in Toluca, Mexico in September 2016.[16]
^"Los cachorros son casi leones" [The pups are almost lions] (PDF) (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 23 May 1975. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
^Villar: "Aspiramos al título como el Barcelona" (Villar: "We are title challengers as Barcelona"); Mundo Deportivo, 20 January 1974 (in Spanish)
^"2–0: No tuvo rival serio en el Castellón" [2–0: Castellón was no serious match] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 30 June 1973. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
^0–0: El «Barça» no acertó a concretar su superioridad (0–0: «Barça» could not translate their superiority into goals); Mundo Deportivo, 25 March 1974 (in Spanish)
^Villar: "Quiero olvidarlo todo y pronto" (Villar: "I want to forget everything and quickly"); Mundo Deportivo, 27 March 1974 (in Spanish)
^0–0: España se defendió sin ahogos ante Turquia (0–0: Spain had no problem fending off Turkey); Mundo Deportivo, 18 October 1973 (in Spanish)
^1–3: Era tan difícil no ganar... (1–3: It was so difficult not to win...); Mundo Deportivo, 10 December 1979 (in Spanish)
^Referees given full backing; UEFA, 5 September 2007
^"Give us 2018 and we'll let you have a cheap submarine". Daily Express. 30 November 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
^Ángel María Villar Llona re-elected RFEF president; UEFA, 17 February 2012
^"FIFA suspends Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini for 90 days; Chung for six years". ESPN FC. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
^Ziegler, Martyn (13 November 2015). "Fifa corruption investigation: Uefa vice-president Angel Villar Llona fined and warned over refusing to help 2018 World Cup investigation". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
^"Spain football chief Angel Maria Villar Llona arrested". BBC News. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
^"Ángel María Villar resigns from Uefa and Fifa positions after arrest in Spain". The Guardian. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
^"Spanish football chief's niece killed after kidnapping". BBC News. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
^"2–2: Los andaluces remontaron dos ventajas vascas" [2–2: The Andalusians countered Basques' advantage twice] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 26 June 1977. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
^"Athletic 2–1 Juventus". UEFA. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
Ángel, maría, villar, this, spanish, name, first, paternal, surname, villar, second, maternal, family, name, llona, llona, born, january, 1950, spanish, former, professional, footballer, played, midfielder, villar, 2009senior, vice, president, fifain, office, . In this Spanish name the first or paternal surname is Villar and the second or maternal family name is Llona Angel Maria Villar Llona born 21 January 1950 is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder Angel Maria VillarVillar in 2009Senior Vice President of FIFAIn office 16 March 2017 27 July 2017PresidentGianni InfantinoPreceded byIssa HayatouSucceeded byDavid ChungFirst Vice President of UEFAIn office 1992 September 2017PresidentLennart Johansson Michel Platini Aleksander CeferinActing President of UEFAIn office 9 October 2015 14 September 2016Preceded byMichel PlatiniSucceeded byAleksander CeferinPersonal detailsBornAngel Maria Villar Llona 1950 02 21 21 February 1950 age 72 Bilbao SpainHeight1 79 m 5 ft 10 in OccupationFootballer retired Association football careerPosition s MidfielderYouth career1961 1969Athletic BilbaoSenior career YearsTeamApps Gls 1969 1981Athletic Bilbao291 8 1969 1970 Galdakao loan 1970 1971 Getxo loan International career1972Spain amateur1 0 1973 1979Spain22 3 Club domestic league appearances and goalsAfter having represented Athletic Bilbao during a full decade appearing in 361 official matches and scoring 11 goals 1 he went on to serve an even longer stint as president of the Spanish Football Federation Contents 1 Club career 2 International career 3 Post retirement 4 Personal life 5 Honours 6 References 7 External linksClub career EditVillar was born in Bilbao and emerged through the youth ranks of local Athletic Bilbao going on to make his senior debuts in amateur football loaned 2 after which he returned in 1971 With the Basque side he was an undisputed starter in nine of his ten seasons helping them to two Copa del Rey finals and winning the 1973 edition 3 In March 1974 during a 0 0 La Liga home draw against FC Barcelona Villar elbowed opposing superstar Johan Cruyff as the Dutch was subject to severe man marking by several Athletic players 4 He eventually received a four match ban for his actions but the pair later reconciled 5 and Villar retired seven years later with more than 350 competitive appearances for his main club International career EditVillar played 22 times for Spain scoring three goals His debut came on 17 October 1973 in a 0 0 friendly with Turkey in Istanbul 6 On 9 December 1979 his last cap Villar helped the nation qualify for UEFA Euro 1980 netting in a 3 1 win in Cyprus 7 He did not participate however in any major international tournament Post retirement EditIn 1979 still as an active player Villar majored in law and would practice the activity during the following years which he accumulated with several posts in the footballing hierarchies he was one of the founders of the Association of Spanish Footballers in 1978 Having already worked in the Royal Spanish Football Federation under president Jose Luis Roca Villar was elected his successor in 1988 and would stay in office for the following two decades being in charge as the national team won Euro 2008 Villar also occupied several roles within UEFA and FIFA being named the organizations vice president respectively in 1992 and 2002 Following Spain s controversial exit at the 2002 FIFA World Cup 8 he left his post at the latter but was immediately named amongst others for the presidency of the Referees Committee also in that year he was named for that position at UEFA 9 Villar led the unsuccessful Spain and Portugal 2018 World Cup bid 10 On 16 February 2012 he was elected for his seventh term at the helm of the Spanish Federation remaining in office until 2016 11 Following the suspension of Michel Platini in October 2015 Villar became UEFA s acting president 12 The following month he was fined 25 000 Swiss francs and warned by the FIFA Ethics Committee for failing to cooperate with the investigation into the bidding process of the 2018 World Cup 13 On 18 July 2017 Villar was arrested on suspicion of embezzling funds 14 Nine days later he resigned from his post at both FIFA and UEFA 15 Personal life EditVillar s niece Maria Villar Galaz was kidnapped and murdered in Toluca Mexico in September 2016 16 Honours EditAthletic Bilbao Copa del Rey 1972 73 Runner up 1976 77 17 UEFA Cup Runner up 1976 77 18 References Edit Los cachorros son casi leones The pups are almost lions PDF in Spanish Mundo Deportivo 23 May 1975 Retrieved 7 December 2015 Villar Aspiramos al titulo como el Barcelona Villar We are title challengers as Barcelona Mundo Deportivo 20 January 1974 in Spanish 2 0 No tuvo rival serio en el Castellon 2 0 Castellon was no serious match in Spanish Mundo Deportivo 30 June 1973 Retrieved 19 May 2016 0 0 El Barca no acerto a concretar su superioridad 0 0 Barca could not translate their superiority into goals Mundo Deportivo 25 March 1974 in Spanish Villar Quiero olvidarlo todo y pronto Villar I want to forget everything and quickly Mundo Deportivo 27 March 1974 in Spanish 0 0 Espana se defendio sin ahogos ante Turquia 0 0 Spain had no problem fending off Turkey Mundo Deportivo 18 October 1973 in Spanish 1 3 Era tan dificil no ganar 1 3 It was so difficult not to win Mundo Deportivo 10 December 1979 in Spanish Ghandour sees red BBC Sport 21 July 2002 Referees given full backing UEFA 5 September 2007 Give us 2018 and we ll let you have a cheap submarine Daily Express 30 November 2010 Retrieved 11 May 2014 Angel Maria Villar Llona re elected RFEF president UEFA 17 February 2012 FIFA suspends Sepp Blatter Michel Platini for 90 days Chung for six years ESPN FC 8 October 2015 Retrieved 19 May 2016 Ziegler Martyn 13 November 2015 Fifa corruption investigation Uefa vice president Angel Villar Llona fined and warned over refusing to help 2018 World Cup investigation The Independent Archived from the original on 7 May 2022 Retrieved 23 May 2016 Spain football chief Angel Maria Villar Llona arrested BBC News 18 July 2017 Retrieved 18 July 2017 Angel Maria Villar resigns from Uefa and Fifa positions after arrest in Spain The Guardian 27 July 2017 Retrieved 10 October 2017 Spanish football chief s niece killed after kidnapping BBC News 21 September 2016 Retrieved 21 September 2016 2 2 Los andaluces remontaron dos ventajas vascas 2 2 The Andalusians countered Basques advantage twice in Spanish Mundo Deportivo 26 June 1977 Retrieved 6 April 2017 Athletic 2 1 Juventus UEFA Retrieved 6 April 2017 External links EditAngel Maria Villar at BDFutbol Angel Maria Villar at Athletic Bilbao Angel Maria Villar at National Football Teams com Angel Maria Villar at EU Football info RFEF profile achievements in Spanish Angel Maria Villar FIFA competition record archived Spanish national team official website Civic officesPreceded byMichel Platini Acting President of UEFA2015 2016 Succeeded byAleksander CeferinSporting positionsPreceded byJose Luis Roca President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation1988 2017 Succeeded byLuis Rubiales Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Angel Maria Villar amp oldid 1130237860, wikipedia, wiki, book, 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