Ugly game yesterday, and Madrid could have scored a few more. Funny game, football. Hope we can regroup quickly, as it’s a big week ahead. Positive image left by our B team players, on the whole. The A team defenders, not so much. Game recaps from the club website and Marca.

Our best performers mid-week were Ibagaza (in the first half), Senna, and Capdevila. Nilmar had his usual moments. Angel and Marcano were generally poor, while Bruno and Llorente looked lost. That leaves Pires, Godin, and Diego Lopez, who were OK. If you have 4 good, 4 bad, and 3 OK players, it’s hard to earn 3 points.

But interestingly, and Garrido agrees with me, the goals all came against the run of play. Despite Marcano’s stupidity, and thanks to Llorente’s hustle and Ruben’s finish, we are in with a chance in the second leg. Just like last year in Greece, it will take a 1-2 scoreline, as we cannot keep a clean sheet.

Villarreal v VfL Wolfsburg

The B team was without six starters on Saturday: Kiko, Matilla, Musacchio, and Ruben, all with the A team; Juan Carlos, suspended; and Joan Oriol, injured. Nevertheless, they pulled out a last-minute 1-1 draw with Recreativo Huelva. Joan Tomas converted a late penalty to share the spoils. Well done, boys. Highlights from Marca here.

Lots to see in this match (thanks to VanHerLaLiga). What a penalty save by Diego Lopez. Iraola did not strike it well, but it’s rare for a goalie nowadays to save a penalty without cheating off his line. And Lopez was in place until the last second. Kudos to him; those 3 points were vital. Also good work by Fuster and our goal machine Nilmar.

After watching these highlights (thanks to LigaAdelante), I wish there had been a stream of the B team game. Our backup goalie Vicente Flor gifted Hercules 2 goals, but Jefferson Montero was splendid. What a move to beat a defender down the byline, and what a sensational goal (off a great pass from Joan Tomas). Turn the defender inside and out, cut back inside, then hammer the ball past a dazed keeper. Next year (and his Spanish citizenship) cannot come soon enough. La Liga, you are on notice.

Monday news round-up:

• Game stories from the club website, Marca, Soccernet, AS, and EFE.
• Garrido and B team product Matilla talk about their first victory in La Liga.
• Make it 7 penalties and 8 red cards against, compared to 0 and 3 in favor, respectively. At least Diego Lopez is laughing.
• No rest this week in preparation for Thursday’s Europa League tie with Wolfsburg, who lost 2-1 on the weekend.
• B team game stories from the club website, Marca, and AS.

EDIT- A few more links:

• Godin and Cani on the match.
• Scoring a goal earns you a high rating from goal.com. So does saving a penalty and being awesome (Fuster, Matilla).
• Gonzalo is out 2-3 weeks; torn muscle in his left leg. Fuster will be a game-time decision for Thursday.

Juan Carlos Garrido calls February a make-or-break month for Villarreal CF. Either the Yellow Submarine will tread water in 2009-10, with the possibility of a mass exodus of players after the World Cup, or the season can be salvaged. So here come our direct rivals for the top six, most visiting El Madrigal, and a 1/16 final Europa League tie against a struggling VfL Wolfsburg side (currently 12th in the 1. Bundesliga). And it all starts tomorrow against Athletic Bilbao.

Based on the B team squad, Garrido will call up midfielder Javi Matilla, defender Mateo Musacchio (for his debut), and striker Marco Ruben. Per Kenez, Matilla may start in place of the suspended Bruno; I think Musacchio and Ruben are cover for Gonzalo/Godin and Nilmar/Rossi, respectively. Recall that Joseba Llorente also is suspended, while Santi Cazorla is out with injury and Joan Capdevila and Diego Lopez are doubts.

Strangely, the A team squad has yet to be announced. Here’s how I expect (hope?) the starting XI will look:

Xavi Oliva
Javi Venta – Gonzalo – Godin – Capdevila
Escudero – Matilla – Marcos Senna – Pires
Nilmar – Rossi

And don’t forget about the B team’s marquee match at league leaders Hercules; it’s a Valencian derby to boot. New manager Paco Herrera just wants the team to keep on rolling. For his first match in charge, he will be without the aforementioned Matilla, Musacchio, and Ruben, along with the suspended Robert Flores, but defenders Mario and Kiko return to the squad. That match is at 12 noon Eastern time tomorrow, and I expect a stream on rojadirecta. It should be a nice warm-up to the A team game at 4 pm Eastern time on GolTV.

Finally, going down another level, Villarreal C goalkeeper Diego Marino will train with the Spanish U-21 squad next week. You may recall that he was the third-string goalie at the U-20 World Cup in Egypt. Great to see the cantera taking full flight.

I predict a 1-1 scoreline at El Madrigal; goals by Nilmar and Toquero. Let’s hope I am wrong. Endavant Villarreal!

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.

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.

Villarreal CF may not be a selling club after all…

At the time of this post, it seemed that Argentine striker Marco Ruben was on his way to Wigan Athletic in the English Premier League. Following the rumors in Marca, he was dropped from the B team squad for the 2-4 victory over Salamanca. Then he praised Wigan’s Spanish-speaking coach and Central and South American players. But then the transfer got bogged down in the details. Well, it looks like those details were enough to keep him on Spanish soil.

So what does this mean for Ruben’s future? Does he move up to the A team now that he is a hot commodity? Or does he remain on the B team to keep a lower profile? I’d like him as the A team’s fourth striker, but if he’s going to play as little as Jony Pereira did, then it makes no sense. Hopefully the B team gets to safety soon–they’re well on their way–and then we can see the cantera in the Primera.

At the same time, Sebastian Eguren should be on his way to Italy. Lazio gets the Uruguayan midfielder (don’t call him a center back) on a six-month loan with an option to purchase. We get 700k euros for the loan and from 3.5 to 4 million euros if Lazio buys. I consider him a Pellegrini reclamation project; he doesn’t fit many coaches’ systems. I hope he makes Uruguay’s World Cup squad, as that’s his logic for the move.

As for Villarreal, I’ll take the money and live with Bruno’s growing pains. He has to get a chance sometime. And with Senna’s decline, we need to know now if Bruno is capable in central midfield. After that, Matilla and Marcos Gullon deserve an extended look.

EDIT: And it’s official, Eguren to Lazio. I know it’s a standard press release, but it sure sounds like he’s not coming back. Best wishes to him.

What beautiful goals from Villarreal B, particularly the 1-1 by Jefferson Montero and 1-3 by Joan Oriol. What a run and strike from a wingback! I’m particularly impressed by the number of half-field rushes. Anyone else see a replacement for Angel Lopez on the cards? Also lots of credit to Juan Carlos; even on the 2 Salamanca goals he made initial saves. Game story from Marca here and highlights below from YouTube (thanks to canalsalamancatv):

And here are highlights of the A team’s 4-2 victory over Zaragoza. Nilmar was man of the match, and we were very opportunistic in the first half. The second half, not so much. You may want to fast forward until Nilmar sets up Ibagaza late to ice the game. From YouTube (thanks to VanherLaLiga):

Big news for the B team: Marco Ruben is off to England to play for Wigan Athletic. He moves to a team in 14th place in the Premier League, only 3 points above the drop zone and Jozy Altidore’s Hull City. Marca had been discussing this rumor for a few days. If we got the reported figure of 5 million pounds, which apparently is what we paid to bring him over from River Plate (Argentina) in 2008, I think the transaction was a success. We can’t expect all of our signings to turn into Luis Antonio Valencia, so I’m not sure why we should hold out for more.

Ruben’s progress here was blocked by Rossi, Nilmar, Llorente, and Altidore (if he returns). Even if one striker is sold, beyond Jony Pereira’s recent departure, Joan Tomas and/or Jefferson Montero deserve a look with the A team. Looks like we are doing business this year and cashing in on some of our assets. Sad to see Ruben go, as he does have a bright future (capped by Argentina and scored on his debut), but he’s not irreplaceable. The B team will struggle a bit more, however, but they just need to stay up.

Though not confirmed, Sebastian Eguren also looks to be on his way. Goal.com suggests that Lazio is interested, which makes sense because we played them in the Europa League. A 6-month loan deal with a 5 million Euro buyout clause sounds like a good deal for all sides. I’d love to have the money right now, but there’s no reason to think that Eguren won’t fit the tradition of Serie A destroyers (Gattuso, Vieira, etc.). We will confirm once it’s official.

On a related note, FT Salamanca 2-4 Villarreal B. All 6 goals in the second half; talk about action. Salamanca took the lead early, then Matilla had a penalty saved, but Jefferson Montero tied the score soon after. Good to see him stepping up in Ruben’s absence. Goals from Gerard Bordas and Joan Oriol sealed the result; Salamanca pulled one back, but Bordas got his brace in stoppage time. What a team! Up to 4th place, 1 point out of the promotion spots.

Well, it has been one of those weeks. Sometimes everything seems to suddenly go wrong, right in the midst of everything going right. The Almeria match was disappointing, but the Celta loss was heartbreaking and mentality-crushing. Everything feels a little different on this side of that match. Call me over-dramatic, but I feel that the whole season might have taken a turn towards mediocrity over the last week.

And, if the season is shot (for purposes of getting into Europe, advancing significantly in the Europa League (momentum, people, we ain’t got it), and obviously the Copa del Rey), it might be time to begin to use this season to get the best possible results from it. And I am not talking about results on the field (although, of course, finishing in the top half of La Liga is mandatory). I am talking about the results that could be gained from getting in some serious playing time for some current-B-soon-to-be-A-teamers in La Liga when they will have essentially a pressure-free chance to enter a Primera mindset.

Because one thing we have to realize, by the beginning of next season, this team could look very different from how it does today. Talisman Robert Pires has essentially made clear that he will be on his way out in the summer. Ibagaza seems to be falling out of favor quickly, primarily due to age and injury (despite an impressive start to the season). Stalwarts such as Javi Venta and Marcos Senna are moving from the twilight of their careers towards midnight. Newbies such as Jony Pereira never really got the chance to settle in. Our defense is simply horrid, with the likes of Angel, Gonzalo, and to a degree Marcano making sub-par forwards look like Wayne Rooney, which means that any of them could be out. And don’t forget the rumors linking Diego Lopez and Santi Cazorla away from the squad to big time clubs.

And now this. It was to be expected, but Giuseppe Rossi is all but certain to be moving to Italy over the summer. Villarreal should be able to demand a good price, but at the same time they are somewhat weakened in the fact that it will be clear that he is ready to move on.

So what will we look like next year? I have a pretty strong feeling that if you took a look at the B-team roster, you would have a pretty good idea.

In an impressive display, Villarreal B managed a 1-1 draw against Segunda A (former) leaders Real Sociedad today at La Ciudad Deportiva (highlights available through the link). Sidarth kept up with the match in the previous post’s comments, and provided the following highlights. The game stayed level at zeroes through the first half. Musacchio picked up a second yellow at 54′, meaning Villarreal were down to 10 men. after giving up a goal in the 75th, Marco Ruben scored his 9th of the season two minutes later to bring the match level and earn Villarreal B the point.

At the moment, Villarreal B sits in 10th place in Segunda, on 24 points. It is a close race altogether, as they are a mere 5 points above the relegation battle, and 6 points from the promotion spots.

So, by my accounting, Villarreal took on the league leaders in the Primera and Segunda in the same weekend, and managed 1-1 draws against each. Not shabby!

And does anyone want to take bets on whether Ibrahimovic gets to dress for the next match? Below is video of his vicious stomp on Godin. I think we can all feel very lucky that Godin appeared to come through relatively unscathed, because Ibra easily could have broken Godin’s foot with the force behind that landing.