Villarreal played one season in France at Montpellier before moving to Mexican side C.F. Pachuca during the 1997 season. Reoccurring injuries forced Villarreal to return to Argentina where he played for his home side Belgrano in 1998. He played in Argentina for the remainder of his career and after a short stint at Estudiantes he returned once more before retiring with Belgrano in 2004.
International career
Villarreal showcased some brilliant midfield work in eight different international appearances with the Argentine national team, the most successful being an International Championship at the 1992 King Fahd Cup, later to be known as the Confederations Cup. Despite an absence of contributing goals during his international career, Villarreal played an instrumental part in the defeat of Saudi Arabia in the first addition of what would become the Confederations Cup.
Coaching career
In 2012, Villarreal was brought to Chilean club Colo-Colo as part of Omar Labruna coaching staff, serving as the deputy manager and training coach for the club. In June 2014, Jacksonville Armada FC, a team in the North American Soccer League based in Jacksonville, Florida, announced it had hired Villarreal as the team’s inaugural head coach. He parted ways with the club in June 2015. In October 2019 he becomes the first coach of the Miami Beach Club de Futbol, the first and only professional team of the city of Miami Beach
Recruiting
From 2005 to 2007 Villarreal worked as President of the Academy REDH (Rumbo has Excelencia y Deportiva Humana) where he and Venezuelan academy founder Guillermo Ãngel Hoyos recruited top South American talent, most notably Lionel Messi. The program offered a comprehensive educational academy that accompanied advanced football training programs enabled the best South American footballers the opportunity to play in the best clubs in Europe and around the world. Along with his colleagues, Villarreal has managed to place many of the most talented students in the best Spanish, French, Greek, and Italian clubs.