Eduardo Villanueva

Eduardo Villanueva did not begin as a goalkeeper. He came through Colo-Colo's academy as a central defender, and the switch to goalkeeper, as he has told Chilean media, came about almost by accident rather than by design.

He briefly left for Palestino's academy in 2019 before returning to Colo-Colo, where he stayed through the club's youth ranks. The move paid off gradually: in 2023 he was part of the side that won the Proyección youth tournament and picked up the award for the competition's best defensive record. A year later he went further still, winning the Fútbol Joven championship and saving the decisive penalties in the final against Unión Española.

Between those two triumphs came a harder stretch. In 2022 and 2023 Villanueva dealt with a hand injury and, by his own account, depression after losing his place in the youth national team setup — a period that makes the later titles read differently.

Colo-Colo rewarded the recovery with a contract extension to December 2027, signed in August 2025. When Brayan Cortés left for Peñarol, Villanueva moved up to become the club's second-choice goalkeeper. His first-team debut in the Chilean championship came on 26 September 2025 against Deportes Iquique, sent on for the injured Fernando de Paul in the 59th minute. He also featured in a friendly against Real Valladolid that year.

Not every outing went smoothly: in a friendly against Deportes Puerto Montt he was at fault for two errors that turned into a 2-1 defeat, a reminder of how unforgiving the position can be for a player still finding his feet at senior level.