Leonardo Ulloa

Leonardo Ulloa

Ulloa in 2014
Personal information
Full name José Leonardo Ulloa
Date of birth (1986-07-26) 26 July 1986
Place of birth General Roca, Argentina
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Leicester City
Number 23
Youth career
C.A.I.
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 C.A.I. 7 (1)
2005–2007 San Lorenzo 31 (3)
2007 Arsenal Sarandí 12 (3)
2008 Olimpo 14 (3)
2008–2010 Castellón 78 (31)
2010–2013 Almería 90 (39)
2013–2014 Brighton & Hove Albion 50 (23)
2014– Leicester City 70 (17)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:46, 24 September 2016 (UTC).


José Leonardo Ulloa (locally: [xoˈse leoˈnaɾðo uˈʎoa]; born 26 July 1986) is an Argentinian professional footballer who plays for English club Leicester City as a striker.

After starting out with C.A.I., he joined San Lorenzo in 2005, going on to spend the better part of the following years in Spain with Castellón and Almería, competing in La Liga with the latter club and also being Segunda División top scorer in 2012.

In 2013 Ulloa moved to England, where he represented Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City. He won the Premier League with the latter, in the 2015–16 season.

Club career

Early years / Castellón

Born in General Roca, Río Negro, Ulloa started his career in 2002, playing with Primera B Nacional side Comisión de Actividades Infantiles. In 2005 he moved to the Primera División, signing for San Lorenzo de Almagro where he was part of the squad that won the Clausura 2007.

Shortly after, Ulloa joined Arsenal de Sarandí. In the summer of 2008, after a brief stint with Olimpo de Bahía Blanca, he moved to Spain to play for Segunda División's CD Castellón, being reunited with former C.A.I. teammate – and countryman – José Carlos Tabares. He scored 16 goals in his debut season, his team's best and sixth in the league.

Almería

Ulloa posted similar numbers in 2009–10, but Castellón were relegated after finishing 22nd and last. In late June 2010 he moved to another club in the country, UD Almería, sigining a five-year contract.[2]

On 13 September 2010, in only his second official game for the Andalusians, Ulloa scored in the last minute for a 2–2 La Liga home draw against Real Sociedad, after an individual effort.[3] The following month, against the same opponent in the Copa del Rey's round-of-32 first leg, he netted twice in the last 20 minutes to help his team come back from 0–2 to win 3–2, in the Basque Country.[4]

On 22 December 2010, again in the domestic cup, Ulloa scored three goals and assisted on another, as Almería downed RCD Mallorca 4–3 in the first leg,[5] winning 8–6 on aggregate. On 16 January 2011 he took his league tally to five, netting in a 1–1 home draw against Real Madrid after finishing a move from countryman Pablo Piatti.[6]

Ulloa was crowned the 2011–12 season's top scorer,[7] but Almería failed to regain their top level status after finishing seventh.

Brighton & Hove Albion

Ulloa playing for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2013

On 16 January 2013, Ulloa transferred to Football League Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion on a four-and-a-half-year deal, for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £2m.[8][9] He scored on his debut ten days later, in a 2–3 home loss against Arsenal in the FA Cup.[10]

On 2 March 2013, Ulloa became the first ever player to score a hat-trick at The AMEX, during Brighton's 4–1 win over Huddersfield Town.[11] Two weeks later, he scored twice against Crystal Palace in a 3–0 victory, also at home,[12] contributing to his team's first home win in the M23 derby since 1988; manager Gus Poyet described him as "different class";[13] he continued his scoring run on the 30th, with his ninth goal in 12 games coming in a 2–2 draw at Nottingham Forest.[14]

On 27 April 2013, Ulloa scored the goal that confirmed Brighton's place in the Championship play-offs, heading the 88th-minute winner to secure a 2–1 success at Leeds United.[15] The following season, on 3 May 2014 and again through a header, he netted in the last-minute to once again send the club to the play-offs, helping to a comeback at Nottingham Forest and 2–1 win.[16]

Leicester City

On 22 July 2014, Ulloa joined Leicester City on a four-year contract for a club record £8 million,[17] being handed the number 23 shirt.[18] He started on his Premier League debut at home to Everton on 16 August, and scored after 22 minutes as his team twice came from a goal down to secure a 2–2 draw.[19] He found the next in his third game, against Arsenal on 31 August for another home draw (1–1),[20] and scored the only goal of the match to help defeat Stoke City for the club's first win of the campaign.[21]

On 21 September 2014, Ulloa contributed with a brace in a 5–3 home win over Manchester United.[22] After nine matches without a goal, he scored but in a 1–2 loss at Aston Villa.[23]

During January 2015, Ulloa scored in FA Cup victories over Newcastle United[24] and Tottenham, helping the Foxes to reach the fifth round.[25] On 18 April, he netted his first league goal of 2015 in a 2–0 win against Swansea City which saw Leicester move out of the last place for the first time since November 2014.[26] Two weeks later, he scored twice in a 3–0 success over Newcastle for his team's fifth win from six matches.[27]

Ulloa played mostly second-fiddle to Shinji Okazaki and Jamie Vardy in 2015–16,[28][29] but still managed to contribute with 29 games and six goals[30][31][32][33][34] as Leicester won the first top-flight league title of their 132-year history,[35] including one in the last minute in a 1–0 win over Norwich City at the King Power Stadium on 27 February 2016 which caused celebrations that led to a small earthquake registering on the Richter scale.[36]

International career

In late 2014 Ulloa, whose grandfather was born in Chile, had an offer from Chile national team manager Jorge Sampaoli to become naturalized and represent them,[37][38] but he declined it.[39]

Personal life

Ulloa was one of up to 20 top football players named in the Panama Papers, a 2016 leak of offshore accounts. In 2008, while at San Lorenzo, he ceded his economic and image rights to Jump Drive Sports Rights LLC, registered in New York in the name of two companies registered in Samoa. The director of the company at the time of the leak was on trial for fraud and it is alleged he pocketed money due to Ulloa.[40]

Club statistics

As of match played 20 September 2016[41]
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
C.A.I. 2002–03[42] Primera B Nacional 20———20
2003–04[42] Primera B Nacional 51———51
Total 71———71
San Lorenzo 2004–05[42] Argentine Primera División 00———00
2005–06[42] Argentine Primera División 121———121
2006–07[42] Argentine Primera División 192———192
Total 313———313
Arsenal Sarandí 2007–08[42] Argentine Primera División 123———123
Total 123———123
Olimpo 2007–08[42] Argentine Primera División 143———143
Total 143———143
Castellón 2008–09[41] Segunda División 401600——4016
2009–10[41] Segunda División 381500——3815
Total 783100——7831
Almería 2010–11[43] La Liga 34766——4013
2011–12[44] Segunda División 382821——4029
2012–13[45] Segunda División 18442——226
Total 9039129——10248
Brighton & Hove Albion 2012–13[45] Championship 1791100202010
2013–14[46] Championship 33142210203816
Total 50233310405826
Leicester City 2014–15[47] Premier League 37113200—4013
2015–16[48] Premier League 2962020—336
2016–17[48] Premier League 4000102070
Total 70175230208019
Career total 34811720144050378134
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the UEFA Champions League, Football League play-offs and FA Community Shield.

Honours

Club

San Lorenzo
Arsenal Sarandí
Leicester City

Individual

Almería

References

  1. ↑ "Leonardo Ulloa". Leicester City F.C. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "El Almería ficha al argentino Ulloa" [Almería signs Argentine Ulloa]. Diario Sur (in Spanish). 22 June 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  3. ↑ "Ulloa sí vale una entrada" [Ulloa sure is worth paying your ticket]. Marca (in Spanish). 13 September 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "Copa del Rey: Ulloa lidera la espectacular remontada del Almería en Anoeta (2–3)" [King's Cup: Ulloa leads Almería's spectacular comeback in Anoeta (2–3)] (in Spanish). Goal.com. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "Ulloa lidera el manicomio" [Ulloa in charge of bedlam]. Marca (in Spanish). 22 December 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  6. ↑ "Real held by lowly Almeria". ESPN Soccernet. 16 January 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  7. 1 2 Iago Aspas (Celta) se sitúa a cuatro goles de Ulloa (Almería) (Iago Aspas (Celta) four goals behind Ulloa (Almería)); ABC, 27 May 2012 (Spanish)
  8. ↑ "Albion complete Ulloa deal". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "Leonardo Ulloa: Brighton & Hove Albion sign Almeria striker". BBC Sport. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  10. ↑ "Luton, MK Dons grab Cup glory". ABC News. 26 January 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "Brighton 4–1 Huddersfield". BBC Sport. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  12. ↑ "Brighton 3–0 Crystal Palace". BBC Sport. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  13. ↑ "Gus Poyet delighted for Brighton's Leonardo Ulloa after Palace win". BBC Sport. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  14. ↑ "Nott'm Forest 2–2 Brighton". BBC Sport. 30 March 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  15. ↑ "Leeds United 1–2 Brighton". BBC Sport. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  16. ↑ "Nottingham Forest 1–2 Brighton". BBC Sport. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  17. ↑ "Leonardo Ulloa: Leicester City seal £8m deal for Brighton striker". BBC Sport. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  18. ↑ "Leonardo Ulloa joins Leicester City". Leicester City F.C. 22 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "Leicester 2–2 Everton". BBC Sport. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  20. ↑ "Leicester 1–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 31 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  21. ↑ "Stoke 0–1 Leicester". BBC Sport. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  22. ↑ "Leicester 5–3 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  23. ↑ "Aston Villa 2–1 Leicester". BBC Sport. 7 December 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  24. ↑ "Leicester 1–0 Newcastle". BBC Sport. 3 January 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  25. ↑ "Tottenham 1–2 Leicester". BBC Sport. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  26. ↑ "Leicester 2–0 Swansea". BBC Sport. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  27. ↑ "Leicester's Leonardo Ulloa continues surge against nine-man Newcastle". The Guardian. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  28. ↑ "Leicester City vs Swansea: Ulloa steps into Jamie Vardy shoes with two goals, Mahrez and Albrighton also score". The Daily Telegraph. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  29. ↑ "No Vardy, no problem, say Ulloa and Co.". The Hindu. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  30. ↑ "Newcastle United 0–3 Leicester City". BBC Sport. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  31. ↑ "Leicester City 3–0 Stoke City". BBC Sport. 23 January 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  32. ↑ "Leicester City 1–0 Norwich City". BBC Sport. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  33. ↑ "Leicester City 2–2 West Ham United". BBC Sport. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  34. ↑ "Leicester City 4 Swansea 0: Who needs Jamie Vardy? Ulloa, Mahrez and Albrighton put Foxes eight points clear of Tottenham". The Daily Telegraph. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  35. 1 2 3 "Leicester City's Premier League title the most unlikely feat in sport history". ESPN Soccernet. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  36. ↑ Crellin, Mark (8 March 2016). "The earth is moving at the King Power Stadium these days when Leicester find the net". Sky Sports. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  37. ↑ "Leo Ulloa elige Chile" [Leo Ulloa chooses Chile]. Marca (in Spanish). 5 November 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  38. ↑ "Chile entrenaría en Europa para jugar la Copa América 2015" [Chile would train in Europe to play the Copa América 2015]. El Comercio (in Spanish). 16 December 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  39. ↑ "Leonardo Ulloa minimiza opción de jugar por Chile: "Se conversó algo, pero no hablamos más"" [Leonardo Ulloa downplays option of playing for Chile: "We had a conversation, but spoke no more of it"]. La Tercera (in Spanish). 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  40. ↑ Gary Rivlin; Michael Hudson; Marcos García Rey (3 April 2016). "Panama Papers: How soccer has become enmeshed in offshore world". IrishTimes. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  41. 1 2 3 "L. Ulloa". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  42. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Ulloa José Leonardo" (in Spanish). Fútbol XXI. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  43. ↑ "Games played by Leonardo Ulloa in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  44. ↑ "Games played by Leonardo Ulloa in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  45. 1 2 "Games played by Leonardo Ulloa in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  46. ↑ "Games played by Leonardo Ulloa in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  47. ↑ "Games played by Leonardo Ulloa in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  48. 1 2 "Games played by Leonardo Ulloa in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
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