Villabona was born in
Irun,
Gipuzkoa. In a career blighted by injuries, he started playing professionally with
Real Sociedad, but only made seven
La Liga appearances in his first three seasons, being an undisputed starter in
1989–90 as he helped the
Basques to a final fifth place. Subsequently, Villabona joined neighbours
Athletic Bilbao, being regularly used at the beginning but very little in his final campaign,
1992–93, facing stiff competition from
Josu Urrutia and youngster
Julen Guerrero. His most steady period was lived at
Racing de Santander, being a very important midfield element for the
Cantabrians; due to recurrent injuries, however, he only totalled 12 games from 1997 to 2001 (none in the
latter season as they finished second-bottom), and retired at the age of 31. ==Honours==