Champions League
Another miracle for Villarreal. What is this madness? social networks reported
Villarreal never ceases to surprise. The modest team from the city of 50,000 clawed its way into the top eight teams in Europe by beating Juventus 3-0 in style. As if the Yellow Submarine’s social media admin couldn’t believe it.
Villarreal never ceases to surprise. The modest team from the city of 50,000 has clawed its way into the top eight teams in Europe, beating Juventus 3-0 in style. As if the Yellow Submarine’s social media admin couldn’t believe it.
Want to learn how to play football in modest conditions? Take a look at Villarreal. The club from the Valencian region has a much smaller budget and capabilities than the vast majority of the teams it competes with in Europe. And yet it still manages to overwhelm them.
Just like last year in the Europa League, where they knocked out Arsenal in the semi-finals and beat Manchester United in the final. And on Wednesday, “El submarino amarillo” knocked the famous Juventus out of the Champions League eight-finals. When Danjuma scored to make it 3-0, the club’s social media manager couldn’t seem to believe it. “What is this madness?” he asked at the post of the third goal.
The club’s social media profile drew a comparison with the other quarter-finalists. London has a population of almost 9 million, Madrid three, Munich almost one and a half million. And Villarreal? Just 50,000.
Modest conditions
The value of the Old Lady’s entire squad is 553 million euros, while United’s is as high as 790 million euros. And Villarreal? Only 362 million euros. And that’s enough.
Villarreal really does football in modest conditions. The most expensive transfer in the club’s history is 24-year-old Arnaut Danjuma, who arrived from Bournemouth in the summer. Villarreal paid 23 and a half million euros for him, the second most expensive was Paco Alcácer, who came from Borussia Dortmund for 23 million euros. All other players have already fit under 20 million euros.
There is an absolutely healthy atmosphere at Villarreal. It’s even family-like, and the players don’t want to leave. After winning the Europa League, all sorts of offers were flying in, especially for Spanish internationals Gerard Moreno and Pau Torres. The latter even had an offer on the table from Tottenham with three times the salary he receives in eastern Spain. However, both decided to stay.
It is also impossible not to mention Dani Pareja, who gives the whole game order. His playing intelligence is immense and yet Villarreal got him for a song. He took advantage of the Valencia owner’s madness and bought him out before last season for just €7 million. The defence is led by captain and former Real Madrid stopper Raúl Albiol.
Overall, Villarreal has a well put together team that is not built on just a few players. There are 16-17 players claiming the starting lineup without exaggeration, so evenly distributed is the squad from Estadio de la Cerámica.
And everything is put together by the great coach Unai Emery. For the English public, he is almost a write-off, just because he failed with Arsenal. But at home, he’s showing what a great coach he is. He has won the Europa League three times with Sevilla and last year with Villarreal, making him the most successful coach in the competition.
Now he has taken a modest team from a city in the fifties to the top eight teams in Europe. And God knows, maybe Villarreal hasn’t had the last word yet.
Source: Villarreal CF
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