About this Site:

VillarrealUSA.org was started in February 2008 (although dreamed up much earlier) as an attempt to build a site American fans of Villarreal CF to follow the team and, maybe one day, organize match parties and trips to Villarreal matches. The site has managed to meet some of those goals in its first two years of existence.

Most importantly, the site has developed a small, dedicated, and growing group of readers in the United States and abroad who passionately support Villarreal CF.  These Villarreal fans will soon be part of the official US supporters group: the VillarrealUSA Penya.

The site has gotten a lot of attention in Spain. In 2009, VillarrealUSA.org was mentioned in an article in El Periodico Mediterraneo, a Valencian-based newspaper. Also, the site has been included in the Canal9 local news broadcast in the Valencian province.  For my role in starting the site, I have been interviewed at submarinoamarillo.net and, from Sweden, at svenskafans.com.

Stay tuned to VillarrealUSA.org for updates as the VillarrealUSA Penya becomes official in November 2009!

About Villarreal and the USA:

Needless to say, Villarreal are not the most well-known European (or even Spanish) club in the America. Most people who are not fans of football have never heard of the Yellows, and many who are football fans do not know much about Villarreal.  This site intends to change that.

Villarreal has some history with players from the United States, but that history has not always worked out to Villarreal’s advantage when it comes to picking up US support.

In July 2007, Villarreal signed Giuseppe Rossi, an Italian U-23 who was born in New Jersey. Of course, a lot of American fans are not thrilled with Rossi, as he chose to play for Italy, the country of his family tree, rather than that of his own birth.  Despite having his ups and downs on the pitch, Rossi has risen to stardom with Villarreal, and Villarreal have only just held onto his rights over the last couple of summers.  It is expected that his pseudo-American presence at El Madrigal will soon be eliminated, in favor of the pitches of Italy.

In the summer of 2008, Villarreal signed American superstar Jozy Altidore.  Unfortunately, Villarreal gained additional notoriety among soccer fans in the United States with the way the Jozy Altidore signing has worked out. Jozy Altidore is arguably America’s best soccer prospect, and looks set to have a long future on the US Men’s National Team.  When Villarreal signed him, paying more for him than any club has payed for a player from the USA in history, it was assumed by many that this would be the opportunity to put US soccer on the map – and to develop a player known for strength and size in the box into a player that would be known also for the famous Spanish skill on the ball.  Things did not go smoothly, though.  Jozy was on the first team during the beginning of the 2008-2009 season, but played sparingly.  In his third appearance, though, he scored against Athletic Bilbao just seconds into his late-match substitution.  Despite this showing, he couldn’t gain a regular position in Manuel Pellegrini’s side, and after three more appearances, was disastrously loaned out to Segunda B leaders Xerez.  Villarreal could not have expected it, but Altidore never got a chance to enter the pitch for the Andalusian side, and in fact, rarely made the bench.  For the 2009-2010 season, Altidore has been loaned out to English Premiership side Hull City, and it looks to be a very long shot that he will ever wear Villarreal’s yellow jersey again.

But American fans should not write Villarreal off just because of a couple of players.  Villarreal is the type of club that, in their hearts, every supporter of their local team wishes they could have.  Villarreal CF is an unpretentious club, nestled just off the Mediterranean Sea in Vila-Real, just a little over 60 kilometers north of Valencia.  The club was formed on March 10, 1923, and spent decades in relative obscurity, before current owner and president Fernando Roig purchased the team in the late 1990s.  Since Roig took control of the club, Villarreal truly has become “Un Club Para Todos” – a club for everyone.  From the shocking 2005-2006 Champions League run to the 2007-2008 second place finish in La Liga to Fernando Roig’s providing 2009-2010 season tickets free of charge to all 2008-2009 season ticket holders who lost their jobs in the recession, Villarreal has risen from minnow to greatness, while playing beautiful football and keeping the attitude of a humble, hard-working, small-town team.