I decided this week that a long match preview wouldn’t be all that interesting, as you can get those elsewhere. Plus there was a lot of interesting stuff going on this week.

First, all-around hero Robbie Pires could be on his way to a stadium near you in the very near future. He has been in talks with the Philadelphia Union of the MLS to join them this summer. This has been confirmed both with Peter Nowak, and apparently with either Pires or his people. I have to admit, I will be very sad to see him go, but it would be awesome to see him traveling around the US. He clearly has the personality and skill to endear himself to the people of Philadelphia, and I would love to go catch a few matches up there. Who knows, if this works out, perhaps we could have either a VillarrealUSA trip to Philly, or have Pires come meet up with us to watch Villarreal?

It has been confirmed that unless something drastic happens over the last few matches of the season (can you believe the season is already almost over?), Juan Carlos Garrido will be sticking around for the 2010/2011 season. I think he has earned it, and I look forward to seeing what he can do with the club when he can mix in a few more of his B-teamers alongside A-teamers who he has finally gotten comfortable with. Of all the options Villarreal could have, knowing that next year will be a bit of a down year in terms of big names, Garrido has to be considered the best choice.

Villarreal could be close to signing Gimnasia la Plata’s Columbian striker Marco Perez for next term. Apparently there are issues with his ownership, similar to the Carlos Tevez saga, where multiple owners are hanging on to shares of his rights, so it could be a tricky move. I would think that if we signed him, it would suggest that Nilmar might be on his way to a “bigger” club.

You may have noticed today, but Villarreal B picked up a victory over Celta Vigo, despite being down to ten men from five minutes into the match. It was Montero’s goal that pushed them through (how awesome will he be next year?) with a goal in the 86th. They are an amazing one point out of a promotion spot, and within six of the league leaders.

So, before getting to Villarreal’s match, we have a couple of other matches to watch closely this weekend. Sevilla must travel to the Coliseum Alfonso Perez to take on Getafe (who just embarassed us 3-0 there), Mallorca is home to Malaga, and Bilbao must travel to Osasuna. We have to expect Mallorca to have an easy time with Malaga. Bilbao and Osasuna could have a pretty tight match. I really do not know what I want out of the Getafe-Sevilla match. Obviously, we need Sevilla to drop points. At the same time, we have to be pretty happy about being in the Europa spots, and the last thing I want to do is lose that to a resurgent Getafe. Tough call.

Villarreal will be in Santander tomorrow at 11am eastern time, for what should be a winnable match. Villarreal won 2-0 at El Madrigal earlier in the year, and Racing is simply miserable at home – they have gone 3 wins, 5 draws, and 8 losses at El Sardinero. They have not been playing too poorly as of late, though, picking up 5 of a possible 9 points over their last three, including a 3-1 win over Espanyol in their last home match.

Villarreal have won four out of five, and if you forget the Getafe match, have to feel like they have put in quality work into the last quarter of the season so far. Three points tomorrow would go a long way towards their tenuous bid at maintaining a European position through the end of the season.

They have made the following call for the match:

Keepers: Diego López and Xavi Oliva.
Defenders: Ángel, Javi Venta, Gonzalo, Mateo Musacchio, Godin, Capdevila and Marcano.
Midfielders: Bruno, Ibagaza, Cani, Cazorla, Fuster and Escudero.
Forwards: Rossi, Nilmar and Llorente.

Pires and Senna missed out due to injury. Senna is still hurting from his hamstring injury, and Pires has strained his right adductor. The team has recovered Gonzalo, but it isn’t known whether he will take the pitch alongside Godin, or whether Garrido will play his hamstring safe and keep Musacchio in there.

We need these three points. They should be available. We just have to go and get them. ENDAVANT!

Gonzalo and Marcos Senna both strained hamstrings against Getafe. In good news for Villarreal, Gonzalo is moving quickly towards recovery, and could be available for this weekend’s match in Santander.

Marcos Senna, unfortunately, is recovering more slowly. Although there still is some possibility that he could be ready to go this weekend, it is much less likely.

Also, Musacchio broke a finger, presumably in the last match, but I am not sure. This shouldn’t prevent him from playing if Gonzalo is able to go. He has been training normally with the first team.

In other news if you are interested, Garrido was fined 600 euros in conjunction with his sending off against Atletico Madrid. If you haven’t seen the video of his reaction to the five minutes of stoppage time that were allowed which led to his sending, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Also, the other day I mentioned that Rossi was linked to Napoli. Well, as usually is the case, his agent said that this was not the case, and that a move there was highly unlikely.

Bad luck to not score the first goal; things would have been different. Pires had an immediate impact in his 100th appearance for the club, which warms maddi’s heart. Hopefully that was a one-off performance from Diego Lopez; goals like the first two jeopardize his presence on the Spanish plane to South Africa.

Some news and notes:

• Game recaps from the club website and Marca. Not much to talk about after 1-0.
• Expect to be without Senna and Gonzalo on Saturday. Gonzalo is just happy he pulled up in time. Will Matilla be called up in Senna’s absence?
• Bruno and Ibagaza know that Saturday is a big game. Just like every other, ho-hum.
• 3-0 was too harsh a scoreline, says Garrido, but Europe still is within reach.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! There is a bit going on in the world of Villarreal, as the club waits patiently for its first Monday evening match.

Injury news first up. In an excellent development, Santi Cazorla participated in a full training on Wednesday. No word yet on his return timeframe, but this is a definite positive step. Perhaps he can be available for the last eight or so matches of the season. I kind of doubt that is enough to get him back into the national side, but perhaps it will give him a chance.

On the other side of the equation, Gonzalo Rodriguez has suffered a strained rectus muscle in the back of his left leg, and is doubtful for the match against Malaga. This is especially disappointing considering the improvement that the defense has shown as of late. Musacchio is the expected replacement.

Worth noting, Manuel Pellegrini is getting closer and closer (allegedly) to the door at the Bernabeu, despite a quite admiral performance so far. If he does leave, surely the question must be where he goes, and more specifically, is Villarreal a possibility? I do not know whether it would be good for the club or not to see him back at El Madrigal on a regular basis, but I think this is something that is going to be fairly big news. Phil Ball recently commented (in passing) that his return to Villarreal is a possibility. He is usually pretty knowledgeable about things futbol.

Despite Villarreal’s reported financial troubles, they have been linked with a fairly large summer swoop for disgruntled Liverpool midfielder and Spanish national team member Albert Riera. The rumored price tag is €6.5, which is very big by Villarreal standards, but it has been reported in a few different spots, suggesting a little weight to the story.

Villarreal have also been linked to a couple of other players, including Stuttgart defender and Mexican international Ricardo Osorio, and Banfield (Argentina) midfielder Vergara.

Talked about earlier in the comments, Hernan Perez has been officially called up to the Paraguay national side. This is his first call up to the first team national side, and it could lead to action in South Africa for the midfielder. Endavant, Hernan!

Marcos Senna will enjoy his 200th cap for Villarreal when the club takes on Malaga on Monday. Surely someone around here knows – has anyone been capped more for the club since promotion?

Thank all of you for your congratulations. Maddi Jr. is doing great. He watched his first Villarreal match this past Sunday, and was a bit disappointed, but he looks forward to the team taking care of business this weekend on the return to El Madrigal.

Yesterday, March 10th, was Villarreal’s 87th anniversary from the date of the founding of the club. In honor of that, I wanted to bring back a post from March 10, 2008, in the early months of this blog, concerning the history of the club. This is a history regarding the club’s kit, from Phil Ball’s book, Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football. It also plays into the history of the nickname, the “Yellow Submarine”:

Villarreal, from near Castellón on Spain’s eastern coast, made their debut in the top flight in 1998 and brought an unusual kit story with them. Nicknamed, rather obscurely, the Submarines (allegedly after the Beatles song) their yellow shirts date back to 1947 when the son of the club’s president travelled to the nearest big shopping city (Valencia) to buy some replacement white shirts and black shorts – then the team’s official colours. Unfortunately, when he got to the store there were no white shirts in stock and, with the season about to start, he panicked and bought the only batch remaining, which happened to be yellow. On returning to Villarreal the players thought the shirts were fine, but that they didn’t go too well with the black shorts. The president’s son, decisive if nothing else, travelled to Castellón this time and bought a batch of white shorts which he subsequently had dyed blue on the vote of the players. The club still sports the combination initiated by this act of democratic aesthetics.

Pretty cool, eh?

Other news items worth noting:

Atletico Madrid are allegedly targeting Giuseppe Rossi as one of the potential replacements for the Forlan/Aguero duo. This seems as much of a joke as a news item, as anyone with a pulse knows that if Rossi says goodbye to Vila-real, it will be for the grandeur of Serie A, not a forever-underachieving side in the south of Madrid. Of course, I could be wrong – I never saw Forlan leaving for Atletico until it happened, and to this day I still don’t quite believe he wears the shirt of the mattress-makers.

Jose Manuel Llaneza has indicated that he hopes Juan Carlos Garrido can continue at the helm of the sub next season. I think Garrido is very promising (and of course, I love his sideline antics). The most important thing, though, is wins. We will see if he can follow through with those over the last few matches of the season. Of course, after Madrid’s bailout from the Champions League, there could be a certain Chilean looking for work in the offseason….

Bad news on the injury front. Godin did not finish practice yesterday after straining a muscle. I could not gather which muscle this was, but I have to think it was in the legs somewhere. He has been playing superbly as of late, so to lose him would be a major blow.

Also, Santi Cazorla, expected to return this week, is not yet ready for action. And worse, he does not know when he will be available. He wants (and needs) to get to 100 percent before returning to the pitch, and the doctors are not yet able to say when that will be. This is doubly bad for Santi, who has probably all but lost his chance at appearing for Spain in June (which, I note, is only THREE months away!). I guess there is a silver lining for Villarreal fans – considering the injuries this season, he is all but assured to return to the squad next season (and perhaps well-rested and fully healthy). Hopefully he can get better sooner rather than later and can see action in South Africa.

And lastly, Bruno needed a hug yesterday after getting whacked in the face by Cani’s flailing arm during practice.

Just a couple of things to point out about where the club sits heading into its match against Espanyol. First things first – glad you aren’t a goal post after Llorente scores? That is definitely not his first assault on goal this season.

The club is currently enjoying two days off after a four-match-in-ten-day stretch. After a couple of brutal months schedule-wise, the club should be looking at a fairly easy-going finish to the season.

In great news for the club, Giuseppe Rossi has returned to Vila-real. Although surely still mourning the loss of his father, he may be available for this weekend’s match. There was a nice moment of silence for Fernando Rossi prior to the Depor match.

Apparently, there was some controversy in Spain over whether Marcos Senna and Juan Carlos Garrido got on alright. Senna attempted to settle that, saying he has plenty of respect for Garrido, and considers him a “crack.” Notably, Senna has played every minute since Garrido took over. I would be very surprised if there was any lasting issues there.

After his best match in __________________ (weeks, months, years?), Angel Lopez is recovering from the mid-match knock that he took to the head. In the end, it required seven stitches. It didn’t slow him down, though, and I have to think he will be ready in a week if Garrido calls on him.

And, I do not think it made the posts or comments around here, but there was significant linkage suggesting that Villarreal are interested in Madrid’s Fernando Gago. With that kind of news base, there is usually at least some truth to a rumor. A year and a half ago, I thought he was one of the most underrated players in the world. I still think he has top notch talent, and I would be very interested to see him in the middle of a 4-4-2 formation.

Lots of stuff in the news today.

First, as has been noted, you can all put that smile back on your face -  Juan Carlos Garrido has been officially named the Villarreal head coach for the next six months.  I am sure he will be given an opportunity to stay around if he can move things in the right direction, but right now it is just a temporary gig.

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!

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.

In what could be Villarreal’s toughest road test of the season, Villarreal head to the Camp Nou to take on scintillating, everything-champion Barcelona. I did not even realize there were six trophies to win in a season, but Barcelona is teaching me things. La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League, Supercopa de Espana, European Supercup, and the Club World Cup. An impressive resume, to say the least.

Currently, Barcelona are sitting in first place in La Liga, two points ahead of Real Madrid. They haven’t lost a match on the season, and in fact haven’t dropped a point at home. At the moment they are on a four-match Liga winning streak.

Villarreal have been merely trying to stay above water for the first half of the season, are finally capturing the spark, that bit of momentum that is so vital to a successful season and a European berth for next season. They have climbed into the top ten of La Liga, and finally can take realistic aim at a Europa Cup spot, and perchance even sneak into Champions League qualification.

Villarreal are on a streak at the moment, but have been decidedly horrid when playing away from El Madrigal in La Liga. After drawing with Osasuna, they lost to Bilbao, Depor, Xerez, Sevilla, and Gijon before eeking out a last-minute winner to continue Atletico’s season-long embarrassment. Four points from seven matches. If you want to know where our season has sunk, look to our away matches in La Liga. It has been a train wreck. Things are going to have to turn around quickly if tomorrow is going to be respectable.

Barcelona will be coming in slightly short-staffed. Seydou Keita and Jeffren are both out with injuries, and Yaya Toure has already headed to his home country for the African Cup of Nations.

Villarreal will be without Gonzalo, which should keep us at eleven on eleven for the match. Rossi has also recovered from a sprained right ankle. The full squad:

Keepers: Diego López and Oliva.
Defenders: Marcano, Javi Venta, Ángel, Capdevila and Godin.
Midfielders: Fuster, Senna, Bruno, Eguren, Pires, Cazorla, Cani and Escudero.
Forwards: Nilmar, Rossi and Llorente.

Ibagaza, Fuentes, and Jony Pereira were left out by Valverde’s decision. I am not sure I quite understand about Ibagaza, but it must mean that Valverde is focused on a traditional 4-4-2 approach to take on Barcelona’s prolific offense. I think if he was planning on a 4-4-1-1 or a 4-2-3-1, he would have included Ibagaza. My lineup:

Diego López
Javi Venta – Godin – Marcano – Capdevila
Pires – Senna – Bruno – Cazorla
Rossi – Llorente

I can’t say I expect a win, but I think Villarreal can capitalize on their recent momentum to put on a strong showing, and challenge for a point.

The match is on ESPN360 and ESPN Deportes Saturday at 1:55pm eastern time.  ENDAVANT VILLARREAL!

Happy 2010, everyone. VillarrealUSA is about to return to its regularly-scheduled, post-holiday posting, but until then, here are a couple of news items as Villarreal gets ready to travel to Barcelona and the Camp Nou.

Thanks to all the new members of the VillarrealUSA penya for signing up. The rosters are growing nicely. Those who haven’t yet signed up, get on it! And you want to know how official we are these days? Go to villarrealcf.es, the official website, click on the button for myvillarreal.com, the official online community, and look for the link to this site. Two clicks from the team’s official website…not bad!

Good news and bad news when it comes to preparation for the Barcelona match. The good news: no Messi. Lionel Messi was given permission to return late from Christmas break in order to let him get some extra rest, and Villarreal is the primary beneficiary.

The bad news: unfortunately, the other players given permission to take extended leave – Diego Milito, Dani Alves, and Maxwell – all decided to come back early and will be with the Catalans for the match. Likewise, the Mexican defender Marquez was not expected back but surprised the club and showed up early. Also, it appears Iniesta has recovered from injury and will be with the club.

Barcelona will be without a couple of other players. Seydou Keita and Jeffren are both out with injuries. Yaya Toure has already headed out for the African Cup of Nations.

Villarreal’s injury scene is not too bad. Ibagaza should be well-rested after missing the last few matches of 2009. Although he might not have played in the league matches, Gonzalo has not recovered from a hamstring injury, and is out for another two weeks. He will miss the league matches against Barcelona and Almeria, and the Copa match against Celta de Vigo.

And a worrying rumor: Manchester United is keeping its eye on Villarreal B mainstay, and Villarreal first team future star, Matilla. Apparently he has a fairly low buyout clause, since the rumor is that it would only take 2.7m pounds to pry him away, which is way too low of a price tag. Hopefully Villarreal can remedy this and get Matilla ready for next year – the way Eguren and Senna are looking this year, Matilla could be a starter next to Bruno next year.

Fabricio Fuentes will probably be on his way out shortly. It is a shame the way his tenure has ended, as he provided a couple of years of solid play and strong leadership. He is expected to head back to play in Mexico after understandably getting frustrated with the way Villarreal has handled him this year.

Villarreal’s match against Barcelona is available on ESPN360 on your computer, or ESPNDeportes for those of you who have Spanish-language programming.

Also, it isn’t confirmed yet, but Villarreal should be on GolTV next weekend against Almeria in the 4pm eastern Saturday timeslot. Sidarth and I are going to try and organize another gathering at Summer’s for the match, so stay tuned. If anyone else is planning on heading out to a bar for the match and is interested to see if any other local fans are interested in meeting up, drop me a line at maddi [at] villarrealusa.org and I will post it here.

Happy New Year, and ENDAVANT VILLARREAL!