UPDATE: Villarreal has drawn Belgian side Club Brugge K.V. (watch out for Croatian midfielder Ivan Perisic), Croatian champions NK Dinamo Zagreb, and Greek runners-up PAOK F.C. (who eliminated Fenerbahce) in Group D of the Europa League (h/t to capercat). I’m most concerned about PAOK from Thessaloniki, who have quality and experience in Pablo Garcia, Muslimovic, and Salpigidis, not to mention the rabid Greek home support. But we should aim to win the group and go through comfortably.

The B team gets underway today in Valladolid. As manager Javi Gracia says, the Segunda A is a very tight league, so the details make the difference.

Here is the squad for this season’s curtain-raiser:

GKs: Vicente Flor and Diego Mariño.
Ds: Mano, Héctor, Carlos Tomás, Dorian Dervite, Jaume Costa, Ángel Ortega and Diego Jiménez.
MFs: Marcos Gullón, Natxo Insa, Nico, Hernán Pérez, Facundo Coria and Torres.
Fs: Airam, Iago Falqué and Joselu.

Missing out are Kiko and Mario, who started yesterday’s Europa League match in Belarus. I wouldn’t expect them to play much for Javi Gracia. Injured are striker Gerard Bordas, Brazilian midfielder Tiago Dutra, and defender Joan Truyols. Endavant!

In call-up news, Santi Cazorla is the only non-World Cup winner selected by Vicente del Bosque for Spain’s Euro 2012 qualifier in Liechtenstein and friendly in Argentina. Well deserved. That also means Joan Capdevila and Carlos Marchena continue with La Furia Roja. But no Bruno Soriano, though he’ll get more chances.

Another year, another B teamer with his South American selection. Now it’s Hernán Pérez, traveling to Japan and China with the Paraguayan national team. Congrats.

First off, VillarrealUSA is proud to join the NewsNow network. This partnership will give our readers access to Villarreal news in English from across the Web.

To our new readers: welcome! We hope to keep you entertained.

Lots of news from the Ciudad Deportiva:

• For the first time ever, Villarreal CF has 4 players in a Spanish national team squad. That’s tied with Real Madrid. Incredible.
• Marchena and Capdevila were locks, having won the World Cup, and Cazorla was due. But Bruno Soriano, really?
• El Periódico Mediterráneo had hoped for 5, including Senna and Diego López. Sadly, their time may be done, though Diego is more reliable than Pepe Reina.
• Speaking of Bruno, he has signed for an additional 4 years. His contract now runs out in 2016, or when Barcelona pays his rescission clause.
• The B team has made its “last signing” of the offseason: wingback Jaume Costa, on loan from Valencia.
• And from the “Where are they Now?” files: Ernesto Valverde is being considered for manager of the Japanese national team.

An update on our Europa League opponent to come on Friday.

What a display on Thursday at White Hart Lane. U.K. down, Poland to go on the club’s European preseason swing. But as George W. Bush reminded us, don’t forget about them.

Lechia Gdansk has an interesting history, having been associated with Solidarity and counting Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa among its supporters. The club will get a new 44,000-seat ground in preparation for Euro 2012. I am unfamiliar with their players, but expect a grand environment for today’s match.

The game will be aired on Punt Dos in Castellón at 2 pm Eastern Time. I will miss the match, so please leave your comments and reactions in this thread. Endavant Villarreal!

and some other things.

First off, this is a pretty awesome video linked by Nick:

Villarreal is challenging their exclusion from Europe, and has already filed paperwork with UEFA to get the process going.  Fernando Roig is confident of a positive outcome.  He said that UEFA sent him a letter earlier this month, informing him that a seventh-placed finish would qualify the club for the Europa League.  The RFEF will be supporting Villarreal’s challenge, which has to be helpful.

Roig also commented on a couple of other things of note.

• He said that the officiating seemed partial against Villarreal this season, and that they would look into it further.
• He said, referring to del Bosque’s exclusion of Cazorla, Senna, and Diego Lopez: “Para los jugadores es un palo, pero también hay que pensar en la parte positiva y podrán estar más frescos y descansados, aunque creo que deberían haber ido los tres.”  For those who would like a rough translation, he thinks that it is unfortunate for the three, and that they should have been included, but that there are some positives for the club, namely that the players will return rested and fresh.
• There is going to be some restructuring at the club next week, but nothing unusual.  He said as a result, Fernando Roig Nerugules would have more power in the organization.
• And lastly, he asked that the fans stay by the club’s side through this time of economic trouble.  Sidarth has been working hard on something that we will be putting out on here before long, doing just that.

Philadelphia is none too happy with comments from Bobby Pires, who found that the city was not “charming” enough for him. First off, perhaps he should come play in Charm City for Crystal Palace USA! Plenty of charm in Baltimore! But really, I hope he isn’t serious about retiring, but I understand his not wanting to move his family to a place he isn’t thrilled about at this stage in his career (although Philly really isn’t all that bad, Robert!). Regardless, I would love to see him in the US plying his trade somewhere. And he is a great guy, based on my brief time meeting him – I feel sure he might come down for a VillarrealUSA Penya gathering to watch a match!

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.

…to Villarreal.  El Bambino is apparently looking to extend his contract, which currently ends in 2013. He said, “It was said that I could go to Rubin Kazan or Juventus, but I am only thinking of Villarreal.  I still have the first contract I signed with Villarreal, and when we sit down to negotiate, things will move quickly.  Here, I have everything I need to be happy.”

Even if the expectation is that he actually will move on to an Italian side this summer (in part determined perhaps based on whether Villarreal can complete its resurgence into the Champions League positions), a contract extension can only help Villarreal.  Combine an increased buyout clause and a good performance for the Italian-American-Italian at World Cup 2010, and Villarreal, if it wants to sell, can demand a very high price.  Of course, I am more than happy to see him continue to suit up in yellow.

Also, for those who are interested, Joan Capdevila played 90 minutes in Catalunya’s victory over Argentina yesterday.

This is just one of those wins you want to savor for a bit.

In other news:

There is something to play for this Thursday: 120,000 euros. Villarreal has now racked up about 1.5 million euros in this European campaign, and pick up 120K for every win, and 60K for every draw. If they advance further than the initial knockout stage, the numbers look like this, round by round: 270,000 euros (last 16), 360,000 (quarters), 630,000 (semifinals), 2,000,000 (runner-up) and 3,000,000 (champions). It’s not exactly Champions League money, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of either.

Capdevila won’t be getting any rest any time soon. He has been called up for the December 22 friendly between Argentina and Catalunya at the Camp Nou – one heck of a match, I must say.

And for those who have lost a little track of Villarreal B as of late, they are comfortably in 10th place in Segunda A. Tenth, that is, but only 3 points out a tie for a promotion spot in 3rd. They are six points ahead of the drop, and have picked up 11 points in their last five. The way things are going, I think there are going to be a few players that will have shown enough after this year to get serious consideration for next year’s A team.

Nilmar bagged another goal, leading Brazil to another victory today, this time over Oman.   It seems that he just can’t stop scoring for the Samba boys – once he puts on the other yellow shirt, he becomes almost unstoppable in front of goal.  Against Oman, he scored in the 4th minute, and had an 11th minute goal called back for offsides. 

He has been on fire for Brazil as of late, scoring a hat trick in September, along with three goals in his last four matches.  Considering his generally uneventful run of form for Villarreal, we can only hope that he can bring a little bit of whatever water it is he is drinking before the international matches back with him to Spain.

As a side note, next week while in Spain, I will be interviewed by Radio Vila-real, and possibly, from what I am told, by VillarrealTV.  Luckily, I will be able to do it in English, with the help of an interpreter.  I look forward to spreading the word about the new penya, VillarrealUSA, as well as the supporters back home and around the world.  I will try to post links here when I know a little more about it, but the website for Radio Vila-real is http://www.radiovilareal.tk.

Things have been busy for me over the last week, as I make last-minute preparations to head over to Vila-Real on Friday. One development is that after the match Sunday against Valladolid, I am meeting with some members from the Belgian penya, Els Flamencs Grocs, with the blessing of the other international penyas, to further the development of our international union of penyas. It will be an exciting few days in Vila-Real, and I look forward to updating the site with stories about the club, my experience over there, and the town itself.

Not too much has been happening at Villarreal over the last few days as the players were given a break, and a number of internationals have joined up with their national teams.

Diego Godin and Sebastian Eguren both played the full 90 against Costa Rica on Saturday in the 0-1 that seems almost assured to send them into the World Cup next summer. The return leg in Montevideo will be Wednesday night. And speaking of Diego Godin, the paperwork has been filed for his new EU passport, and Villarreal expects to extend his contract sometime within the next month. Negotiations will start next week.

Speaking of internationals, hopefully you got a chance to watch Rossi and Nilmar in action on Saturday. Rossi didn’t score, but brought flare and danger to an Italian side that had been quiet against the Netherlands. He is worried that his lack of recent goalscoring may have dented his chances for the World Cup, but I think everyone else can clearly see he has worked himself out of his rut. Nilmar continued his ridiculous run of Brazilian form with another goal (and earning a penalty), virtually locking in his place with the national side for the World Cup. His goal was a beautiful header off a long pass, driven just past the outstretched arms of the keeper. If you haven’t seen it, you need to:

In sad news, former Villarreal striker Antonio de Nigris died today in Greece at the age of 31, apparently of cardiac arrest. He played at Villarreal in 2003 (and Poli Ejido from 2003-2004), and was currently with Greek side Larissa.

Valverde has reconvened the team after giving them a little rest, and today will be the squad’s first practice in a few days. Other than Cazorla, who is still sidelined with injury, and the internationals (Capdevila, Lopez, Rossi, Nilmar, Godin, Eguren), Valverde has a full squad. That means that after more than six long weeks out, Ariel Ibagaza has returned to fitness and will be a full participant in practice.

And, no matter how crazy they may sound, some rumors turn out to be true. No word on the truth behind these rumors, but Villarreal have been linked to Ibagaza’s former teammate, Dani Guiza, who is tired of his Turkish experiment. They have also been rumored to be looking at Olympique Marseille winger Ben Arfa. I have to admit that while I have heard of him, I have never seen him play, and no virtually nothing about him.