Villarreal and Beyond

The match against Elche approaches, and Villarreal hopes to get the three points in what is the third match against teams from the Valencian Community in the past 20 days. After wins against Levante (0-1) and Valencia (2-1) three and two weeks ago, the Alicantinos are next. Elche has not been in the greatest form as of late, but in a competition where Getafe goes to the Bernabeu and takes the three points, you can’t trust anyone.

Special mention goes to German defender Antonbio Rudiger; what he did to Diego Rico yesterday is absolutely uncalled for and he should be put aside for a while.

Back to what concerns us. This morning, Gerard Moreno was active part in the first team’s training, which means the striker should be in the squad for Sunday’s match, although not expected to start. Gerard has played less than 800 minutes this season but has seven goals to his name in La Liga; beyond that tally, it is the way in which the Catalan striker plays and makes other play that makes the difference. The Pedri-esque way in which the team improves its performance overall when he is on the pitch could be what Marcelino’s men need to secure the top four finish this season. 

On the other hand, the player with the most minutes played spoke today; Portuguese defender Renato Veiga arrived this summer through a 25m Euro transfer from Chelsea, and questions were many around his age (22) and his potential contribution to the team at a time when, if you cost this much to come to a team like Villarreal, you need to deliver. 

Renato has proven in eight months he is a good defender, and someone who can only improve as he increases his familiarity with the team, its style of play, and the league overall. This morning in a press conference, he hid from individual accolades when prompted about his own performance this season, and instead spoke of “Focusing on the team.”

He also spoke about his partnership with Pau Navarro, a youth product who at age 20 has had to move from the right back position to the center of the defense, taking the place of Logan Costa and Juan Foyth after injuries. Big names. 

Goes without saying that a top four position in March, tied on points with Atletico, and after losing two defenders to long-term injuries speak to the good performance of both Veiga and Navarro. However, there is a need to improve defensively overall, as the team has gone from conceding less than a goal per match in the first half of the season, to conceding two or more goals in seven out of the past ten matches.

Ayoze did not train this morning, and even though the club did not formally announce any injuries, the Canarian striker left the match against Barcelona complaining about pain in his foot, and is expected to be a last-minute inclusion against Elche. Ayoze has not had the best of seasons, especially after the year he had in 24/25, including a Zarra trophy (award we give in Spain to the top Spanish scorer in La Liga). 

For those of us who grew up watching La Liga in Standard Definition, the week of April 12 will bring the beautiful game back to simpler days. La Liga is encouraging teams to go “full retro” and wear old jersey editions, 80s style scoreboards, and anything else that brings fans back in time.

La Liga is also looking into playing with old-style balls like the ones from the 80s, and could even have old-school graphics and broadcasting style. At Villarreal, it is expected that they will release their retro choice soon, with fans hoping that perhaps the 1998 promotion jersey will be the chosen one. 

PS: Villarreal B played today against Eldense, and solved the match with a decisive 2-0 win against a team at the top of the table. David Albelda’s men sit now in playoff spots to the second division, something most did not expect back in August. On the even younger side, Pepe Reina’s youth team will play against PSG in the European Youth League’s quarterfinals later this month (March 17th). The youth system continues to do its thing; if you have time to watch the B or Youth teams, I would take a gander; talented players are pushing up the ranks.