Football Special Report: Villarreal CF In 2010-2011 Season
The Yellow Submarine of Spain, Villarreal CF, is going well in the 2010-2011 Season in La Liga. The club is sitting in third place, behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, in the league standings. At this point in the Spanish Primera Division, Villarreal looks
like the only team that can break into the top two, if they keep on putting up good performances one after another.
In the last couple of years, La Liga has not been as competitive as in previous years, because it was completely dominated by Barcelona. This year, even the second place seemed unlikely for the smaller clubs, as Real Madrid has become stronger than the previous
seasons as well. However, until the match against Barcelona, Villarreal stood a very real chance of keeping up with the pace of these two giants of European football. Even right now, if Real Madrid keeps on performing like their match against Barcelona, Villarreal
would stand a great chance of taking the second place before the Christmas break.
Villarreal does not have a big history in Spanish Primera Division, as they made their first appearance at the end of last millennium in 1998. However, the side was relegated after only one season, but they came back in the very next season. Since then,
Villarreal has grown from the bottom half of the table to a team pushing for Champions League and European spots in the table. Although, they never came close to winning a title in the league, however they made it into the semi-final stage of the Champions
League in 2006-2007. This is a great achievement for a team that has seen very little of football against the best teams of Europe in a top division.
Last season, Villarreal came in seventh place, barely making it into the UEFA Europa League for the current season. This season, the Yellow Submarine is going for the Champions League finish, putting up a little fight for the two big clubs, i.e. Barcelona
and Real Madrid, when all the other clubs of Spain have lost their hope. Villarreal is only five points behind Madrid, and they need a better stroke of luck away from home in order to close down that gap.
Villarreal’s home record, this season, has even been better than Barcelona. In the six matches played at home, Villarreal has won five and drawn a single match, which was played against Valencia last Saturday. On the other hand, the away form has not been
great for the club, as they have managed only three wins in seven matches. Even the goal scoring has been brilliant at home, where Villarreal has scored 14 goals and only 2 have been scored against them. These statistics do not look great in the away matches,
which is something Villarreal needs to improve in order to break into the top two of the league.
The two real stars for Villarreal, this season, have been Guiseppe Rossi and Nilmar. Both these players are on a great goal-scoring form, while both remain the third-highest scorers in La Liga, with eight goals each in thirteen appearances. Also, Santi Cazorla
has played a better role in the midfield and he has scored four goals so far, making another four assists. These players have played an important role in Villarreal’s attack, while Angel Lopez, Carlos Marchena, Bruno and Joan Capdevila have played an important
part in the defence.
The important thing about Villarreal’s season is that their players have shown a lot of consistency and great fitness levels. All the big players in the attack and defence have played in every single match for their team, while Marcos Senna is also coming
back into his best form. The manager of Villarreal, Juan Carlos Garrido, only needs to improve his results in away matches. When he manages to do so, Villarreal would definitely surprise many pundits who have already made up their minds about the outcome of
Spanish Primera Liga.
Tags: