Joao Villamarín

Joao de Jesús Villamarín Antúnez (born 10 February 1992) is a Peruvian footballer who plays as a forward for Argentine Primera División club River Plate.

A journeyman, he has made over 250 appearances and scored over 50 goals in the Peruvian Primera División. He has represented ten teams in the league, starting with Alianza Lima, and won the Clausura in 2018 and 2020 for Melgar and Ayacucho, respectively.

Career Born in Pisco, Villamarín was raised in Lima where he came through the youth teams of Alianza Lima. He played once for the first team on 18 February 2012 on the opening day of the Peruvian Primera División season; he came on as a 68th-minute substitute for Mauricio Mori a 2–2 home draw with León de Huánuco with both teams fielding youth players due to a players' strike.

Villamarín played for Sport Áncash in the Peruvian Segunda División in 2013 and for top-flight Unión Comercio before joining Real Garcilaso for 2016. He ended his only season with the team from Cusco with 8 goals from 29 games (13 starts), earning attention from Alianza. He was also considered for a Peru national team game away to Bolivia, as manager Ricardo Gareca wanted players who would be accustomed to altitude.

For 2017, Villamarín moved to UTC Cajamarca. After contributing 7 goals, he moved on a two-year deal to Melgar. He won the 2018 Clausura tournament with the club from Arequipa.

Villamarín signed for newly promoted Carlos A. Mannucci in January 2019. In July that year he scored against UTC and his celebration was interpreted by fans of Universitario – Alianza's rivals – as an insult. The fans had perceived that he had posed in front of a television camera making a gesture of an inverted U; after receiving death threats, he said that it was an "M" for his son, Mateo.

For 2020, Villamarín joined Ayacucho. He was again a Clausura champion, scoring his attempt in the penalty shootout at the end of the final against Sporting Cristal on 5 December.

In January 2021, Villamarín signed for Sport Boys. He recorded his best goalscoring figures during his season in Callao, with 11 in 22 games, putting him joint third in the entire league.

Villamarín joined Universitario at the start of 2022. He scored on his debut for Las Cremas on 6 February in a 3–0 win at Academia Cantolao, but added no more goals before transferring to Atlético Grau in June. He played 16 games, scored 5 goals and was sent off once in what remained of the season as the club missed out on a Copa Sudamericana place two points behind Deportivo Binacional, before leaving in December.

Villamarín signed for a second spell at Carlos Mannucci in 2023. Having scored once in 12 games – all from the bench – for the team from Trujillo, he joined another former employer for the following year, namely Sport Boys.

Personal life Villamarín is the cousin of fellow footballer Roberto Villamarín. They were teammates at UTC, Ayacucho, Universitario de Deportes and Carlos Mannucci.

Honours Melgar Peruvian Primera División: 2018 (Clausura)

Ayacucho Peruvian Primera División: 2020 (Clausura)