Rolando Villalobos


Rolando Villalobos Chacón is a retired Costa Rican footballer and football manager.

Club career

After coming through their youth ranks, Villalobos made his senior debut for Alajuelense on 9 May 1971 against rivals Saprissa and he scored his first goal on 12 April 1972 against Ramonense. He had a stint in Guatemala as well and also played for San Carlos and Saprissa.
He retired at Saprissa in 1988, his last game was on 12 May that year against his first club Alajuelense.

International career

He made his debut for Costa Rica in an August 1972 friendly match against Mexico and collected a total of 9 caps, scoring 1 goal. Villalobos played for Costa Rica at the 1975 Pan American Games.

International goals

DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.19751976 Summer Olympics qualification

Managerial career

Nicknamed el Cadáver, Villalobos has managed the Big Four clubs of Costa Rica as well as the national team on two occasions. He was assistant to Bora Milutinović at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
He was named sports director of Cartaginés in May 2012 and in January 2014 he resigned as sports director of Puntarenas. Now he works for Club Sport Herediano as a sports manager.

Personal life

His son Walter Villalobos also is a professional football player. Married twice, Villalobos has 5 children.