Not too much to see here (thanks to VanHerLaLiga), so consider this an open thread to discuss your thoughts on game 1 of the Garrido era. I’d call the formation a mishmash of Pellegrini’s 4-4-2 and Valverde’s 4-2-3-1; in sum, it was not very effective. Fuster is good at the punta but not in Cani’s midfield position; he was out of place with 2 strikers in front of him. Nilmar and Llorente are our best aerial threats up front, but they didn’t see much service from the wingers. And I don’t think they pair well together.
Some articles to waste time at work on a Monday:
The new manager is thinking positive. That’s a nice change. And hey, no dour expressions!
This year’s revelation (Fuster) and regression (Gonzalo) like what they saw in Mallorca. I’m glad someone did.
The B team’s Cristobal is on cloud nine. If Jefferson Montero set me up that nicely, I would be too.
My, how things can change. No, Villarreal have not skyrocketed into the Champions League places over the last week, but there is a sense of optimism that has transformed this side from a truly sinking sub into a club with hope. The firing of Ernesto Valverde after last weekend’s debacle against Osasuna, in which Villarreal could not have even been called a shell of their former selves and the fans made themselves known with their whistles and white handkerchiefs, and the installation of Juan Carlos Garrido, have changed everything.
For one, in the immediate future, Villarreal’s players (those who did not get shipped off) will probably be much happier, as the locker room had soured in the last weeks of Valverde’s reign. This *could* provide the spark they need to reinvest themselves into the season and make something worthwhile out of it.
It also goes a long way to permanently define Villarreal as an attractive-football-only club. Villarreal were made famous under the stylistic designs of Manuel Pellegrini, and everyone just assumed that pretty football was intrinsic to the club. The disastrous Valverde experiment proved that although the style ran deep, the management wasn’t opposed to changing things up a bit if the finances were right. Well, I don’t see that happening again. No one accepted it, and the management have learned their lesson. They have now brought in Garrido, who has long been with the club as coach of the B team, and who will reestablish quality football at El Madrigal.
Tomorrow, we get to see the first experiment under Garrido. And it is bound to be interesting. For one, how does the club respond to the new manager’s changes in less than a week? No matter how positive the change, it is a disruption that will not make things easy.
Secondly, they are traveling to fifth-place Mallorca, who have won every match they have played this term at the Ono Estadi. Talk about walking into a challenge for your first match as the manager of a Primera Liga side! It may not be heading into the Santiago Bernabeu, but it sure won’t be easy.
And thirdly, there is a bit of turmoil up front. Giuseppe Rossi will not be with the club, as he has traveled to the US for a family emergency. To fill the hole, Garrido called up Marco Ruben. The call-up of Ruben is significant. After the Wigan deal falling through, no one was quite sure what to expect. But we all know that Garrido is a fan, and Ruben has performed well for him this year. The fact that he was included in the 18 suggests he will almost certainly get the start. Garrido specifically stated that he understands the needs of the B team, and he would not have called up anyone from the B team to be merely a “third or fourth option.” Do the math, and in a 4-4-2, there are two strikers. We have three on the bench, so it looks like the “third option” will be Nilmar or Llorente. Of course, I could be reading this wrong, and Garrido could just mean that Ruben will definitely see time on the pitch and that he would not have brought him up if he was not confident he would at least use him as a sub.
Mallorca have not done anything but win on their island this season, and find themselves in fifth place, a mere two points from the Champions League positions. Many people, though, think Mallorca is carrying a business-class ticket but has snuck their way into first class; in other words, it is only a matter of time before they get caught. Perhaps they have begun to show some of their cracks over the last two weeks, after a 1-1 draw at Espanyol, and a 2-1 loss at Xerez. Not that Villarreal did any better playing those two clubs back-to-back earlier this year, but it is a pretty poor showing.
In the first match of the season between these clubs, they drew 1-1 at El Madrigal. In a ridiculous rain storm, Giuseppe Rossi scored in the 54th minute, but Villarreal could not hold on and a 75th minute goal from Borja Valero leveled the match. That was back when we still had real hope for a big season….
The squad for the match:
Keepers: Diego López and Xavi Oliva.
Defenders: Capdevila, Marcano, Godin, Gonzalo, Ángel and Javi Venta.
Midfielders: Escudero, Pires, Cani, David Fuster, Ibagaza, Bruno and Marcos Senna.
Forwards: Nilmar, Llorente and Marco Ruben.
It is going to be an exciting match, and could tell us a lot about what the rest of the season is going to look like. It starts at 11am, and should be available on rojadirecta.com, and possibly on DirecTV in the States. ENDAVANT!
And yes, Nick, the snow hit the mid-Atlantic states hard today. I am sure Sidarth and the other DC-area Villarreal supporters are in a similar boat to me, but I spent hours today digging out from close to 30 inches of drifting snow that frequently, due to the work of the wind, was hip-deep. And I am still two to three hours of additional digging from having any chance of getting my car back on the road. The snow was fun, but now I look forward to all of it being gone!
After an early season 3-1 loss to Cordoba, Villarreal B turned the tables today, demolishing the Andalusian side 4-0. Goals from Bordas, Matilla, Cristobal, and Carlos Tomas set the stage to give Paco Herrera a decisive victory in his first match as head coach. And they did it without Marco Ruben, who is called up to the first team for the first time for tomorrow’s match at Mallorca. The team now sits tied for 4th place, one point out of the promotion zone. Wow.
As an avid B team follower– though it’s been hard to find streams recently– maddi wanted me to write about our new manager Juan Carlos Garrido. Having failed to do this in the Valverde era, I figured the clock was ticking until June (when Garrido’s contract is up). I think Garrido will stick around for a few years, though, and here’s why.
Demeanor: What we first noticed about Valverde, aside from his physical condition as an ex-footballer, were his sideline antics. Like Pellegrini, Valverde was rather reserved on the touchline, but his emotions were not reassuring– dour looks rather than positive encouragement.
In contrast, Garrido is much more positive, but this may correlate with the low expectations placed on a B team manager, not to mention that winning cures all ills. Let’s see how he handles somewhat out-of-favor veterans Robert Pires, Ariel Ibagaza, and Javi Venta. All in all, I expect a more positive atmosphere around the club.
Familiarity: As a Washington Capitals fan, I understand why Garrido’s coaching history works for a club with a successful developmental system. And there’s no disputing that Villarreal has one of the best academies in Spain; Garrido’s nine years in charge of it surely played a part. As a soccer fan, the success of Pep Guardiola at Barcelona is inspiring but utterly unrealistic.
But Garrido already has a greater familiarity with our personnel than Valverde ever did. Sure, Valverde coached and played in La Liga for years, but aside from his time at Espanyol, Villarreal CF was irrelevant. At best, Valverde knew of Capdevila (then at Deportivo), Javi Venta, Angel Lopez (Celta), Senna, Cani (Zaragoza), and Llorente (Valladolid). That’s not enough to play Pellegrini-style football.
Expectations: Garrido will benefit from lowered expectations after the disastrous start to this campaign. My patience with Valverde through the end of 2009 stemmed from a belief that, while the squad may be the strongest in club history, building a team like Pellegrini’s would take time. Unfortunately, with the unceremonious Copa del Rey exit and continued mediocrity in the league, time was not on Ernesto’s side.
If Garrido takes the club from its current 10th position to 6th by season’s end, he will be a hero. That’s 8 points away with 18 matches left, though we’re only 9 points above the drop zone. And of the teams ahead of us, I’m only confident that Athletic Bilbao will be in the top 8 by season’s end. Call me crazy, but teams like Mallorca and Deportivo have a lot of work left to finish above mid-table.
And here comes a nice stretch of games to right the Submarino Amarillo. If we get a result in Mallorca, February sets up perfectly to make up ground on our direct rivals, as Athletic and Deportivo come to El Madrigal. Quickly developing a squad rotation will be important, as the Europa League returns in two weeks.
Conclusion: The pieces are in place for Juan Carlos Garrido to succeed as Villarreal CF’s next manager. The entire club is behind him, and he knows what the players, management, and fans expect. Senor Garrido, it’s time to stand and deliver.
Interestingly, Fernando Roig spoke to the players before officially giving Valverde the axe. I doubt that the conversation was determinative, but it seems pretty clear that Valverde could not have had that much support in the locker room at this point. A number of players had been more or less calling for a change, and it looks like the feeling was at least somewhat widely held.
On less happy news, we have poor, poor Sebastian Eguren. Someone please correct me if I am reading this wrong, but it looks like Eguren is signed with Lazio, but they may have no plans to use him. The Italian team just signed Thomas Hitzlsperger as their apparent efforts to avoid keeping Eguren were in play, and now it looks like Eguren might be hopeless for six months. He will be given an opportunity to get his blood pressure down – if that really is an issue at all – but you have to feel terrible for the guy. Hopefully all of this is rumors and things can work out. I would be happy to see him back at Villarreal, but it looks like that ship might have sailed.
For those of you wondering why Valverde went without Rossi, perhaps that wasn’t all his fault. Apparently Rossi came down with a case of the flu and couldn’t go the full 90. Who knows how having Giuseppe start would have changed the game? It looks like, from the opinion expressed at this site at least, that it might have been the best thing to happen for the club’s future.
Injury-wise, it looks like Javi Venta will be available for the Yellow Submarine when they travel to the island of Mallorca this weekend. His hamstring is getting back to 100 percent, and he hopes to be ready to go.
And as a side note regarding the website, VillarrealUSA is now into its 25th month of existence (if you go into the archives, there are a few posts that I lost due to server problems in the beginning). The site now consists of over 800 posts and over 4,700 comments. Thanks for all of your contributions to the quality of the site! ENDAVANT!
At this point, Villarreal do not have a new manager, but have put Garrido, manager of the B team, in charge. If he does well, I could see him getting the job permanently, considering what he has done with the B team. More to come, for sure….
EDIT (by sidarth): I think I know how our readers feel, but here is a poll from Marca. Interesting results so far…for the record, I voted yes. And not because of the Osasuna home loss; I have a lot more respect for that side than many do.
However, with all of the hopes placed on winning the club’s first major title and the favorable draw, losing to Celta Vigo over 2 legs in the Copa del Rey 1/8 finals was unpardonable. How can you lose 0-1 at home with a full ‘A’ team squad when the ‘B’ team had won 0-2 in Vigo? If the coach is unable to win against lower-division opposition AND is not developing our younger players (who are pretty good, by the way), then he’s not doing his job. Adios, Ernesto.
Villarreal have the luxury of back-to-back Liga matches at El Madrigal, as Osasuna, a regular nemesis from the Basque country to the north, travels down to the Mediterranean and little Vila-real. Osasuna are troublemakers for the Yellow Submarine, but they have shown holes in the walls of their Pyranean fortress, crashing heavily out of the Copa del rey midweek, 0-3, against visitors Racing Santander.
Osasuna have had a busy but rewarding January. Since January 3rd, the team has already played eight matches, and on Sunday faces their ninth of the month. A match every three days will wear out even the deepest of teams, and Villarreal has to be ready to take advantage of that. The Racing result notwithstanding, Osasuna would probably tell Villarreal to not take anything from the number of matches they have played this month, as they have done admirably. They started the new year with a draw against Real Madrid, advanced against Hercules in the Copa del Rey, and also managed wins over Espanyol and Xerez in their last two Liga matches. Currently, they sit in 12th place, a mere three points behind the pace of Villarreal.
Villarreal are continuing their up and down season, unable to gain any momentum. After three straight La Liga victories in December, and a draw with Barcelona to start the new year, things had begun to look up. The scene quickly turned the other way, though, with Villarreal falling to lowly Celta de Vigo in the Copa, drawing 1-1 home to Almeria, and then embarrassing themselves 4-1 at Valencia. Last week’s 4-2 home win against relegation favorites Zaragoza felt good, but didn’t look all that good.
One way or another, it looks to be a tight match. Both teams are sitting mid-table, and when facing reality, have to admit that the dreams for the season should be aimed merely at safety. Plus, these two sides usually play close matches. The last four have ended in draws. In the three prior to that, it was two wins for the Basques, and one for the Yellows. One win for Villarreal in seven matches. In other words, to find a Villarreal victory, you have to go back to 2006-2007.
Villarreal’s eighteen-man squad:
Keepers: Diego López and Xavi Oliva.
Defenders: Ángel, Godin, Gonzalo, Capdevila and Marcano.
Midfielders: Cani, Pires, Escudero, Bruno, Fuster, Ibagaza, Marcos Senna and Marcos Gullón.
Forwards: Llorente, Nilmar and Rossi.
Villarreal have the tools to win the match. But then again, they always have the tools to win the match. It is just rarely in recent times that they have been able to get all those tools working together for a result.
We need Pires in the match, and with Santi Cazorla out for a month, I would be surprised if he wasn’t in there. Being at home, it is likely to be a 4-4-2, with Senna and Bruno in the middle, Cani and Pires on the wings, and a combination of either Rossi and Llorente or Rossi and Nilmar up front.
The match is on at 11am eastern, and streams will be available on rojadirecta.com. If you live in the States and have Directv, you are in luck, and should be able to watch the match on television.
We at VillarrealUSA thought that Sebastian Eguren was happily on his way to Lazio. As did he. As did Villarreal. And, we think, as did Lazio.
But that might not be the case. There are reports that he has failed a medical examination because of high blood pressure, and that he may be returning to eastern Spain where his situation would not work for anyone. Lazio would be out a midfielder they need. Villarreal would be with a midfielder that (unfortunately) they do not want. Eguren would be looking at a severely diminished chance of finding his role into Uruguay’s World Cup squad for lack of playing time.
But Villarreal are denying that he is coming back. So, as of right now, I do not know if anyone knows what is going to happen. We’ll do our best to keep the situation updated here.
It has been discussed in the comments below, but Santi Cazorla is facing four to five weeks out after tearing his right hamstring. He is set to miss matches against Osasuna, Mallorca, Bilbao, Madrid, and possibly Deportivo. As we have already demonstrated, that is not an easy stretch even when at full strength.
David Fuster is recovering from the flu and is expected to be ready to go for Sunday’s match against Osasuna.
Javi Venta is getting close to being back at 100 percent, but is not expected to be ready for Sunday’s match.
In other news, La Liga will shortly begin to play matches on Mondays. This could be a great thing for those watching in the States, as theoretically it opens up another possible TV slot – and clears up the current mass of matches that starts the Sunday matchday.
Thanks to Kenez, here is the squad for tomorrow’s B Team match against locals Levante:
Keepers: Juan Carlos & Vicente Flor.
Defenders: Mario, Kiko, Musacchio, Carlos Tomás, Catalá & Ángel.
Midfield: Matilla, Natxo Insa, David Lázaro, Felipe Manoel, Jefferson Montero, Hernán Pérez & Cristóbal.
Forwards: Joan Tomás, Gerard & Marco Ruben.
Levante sit in 8th place, three points behind Villarreal B. The match is in Valencia; hopefully the Villarreal boys will put on a better show than the A team’s last trip south.
Marco Ruben is in the squad. I hope he will be able to shrug off his disappointment at not making it to England during the break and will come out ready to prove a point. But, according to some reports, a few English Premiership scouts will be in the stands in Valencia tomorrow. So that might not be over just yet.
Welcome fellow fans of Villarreal CF, especially those in the United States! This is the website of VillarrealUSA, the official United States penya (supporters group) for Villarreal. The penya is primarily based in the US, but incorporates views, and welcomes members, from around the world.
You can contact the authors on this site by email: maddi - maddi [at] villarrealusa [dot] org, nick - noc [at] villarrealusa [dot] org, or sidarth - sidarth [at] villarrealusa [dot] org.
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