Spanish Primera Division - Villarreal in 2010-2011 season
Although, Villarreal is not a club that has won a lot of success in their history, however, they have been doing great in recent times. They made it to the Champions League semi-final in 2006, while they have been to the second place in La Liga in 2007-2008 Season. However, the club has shown no consistency, whatsoever, as one year they make it to Champions League, while in the next season they fail to get any European spot.
Last season, Villarreal managed to get only a seventh place finish in overall standings, which means that they would not be able to play in any European competition. This result was a major let down from last seasons, as Villarreal managed to play in Europe in last three seasons consecutively. The major blame can be given to Real Madrid, who got hold of Villarreal’s manager Manuel Pellegrini.
After Pellegrini, the reigns were held by Ernesto Valverde, who has now left Villarreal for Olympiacos. Now, Juan Carlos Garrido has been placed in charge of Villarreal, for the current season. Garrido does not have strong credentials, but he has been successfully managing B-team for a long time.
Last season, the major let down for Villarreal was their abysmal performance in their away fixtures. Out of 16 wins, 13 matches were won at home, while 11 out of 14 matches were lost, while playing away from home. Apart from that, Villarreal did not perform well against the big teams, as they suffered their biggest defeats against Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Also, Villarreal was unable to defend properly, as they suffered a total of 57 goals in La Liga. On the other hand, Villarreal managed to score only 58 goals, thus, coming out with a goal difference of +1. Again, most of the goals were conceded away from home, as their goal difference in away fixtures was -16.
For the new season, Villarreal would have set a target to finish off in top four positions. For this purpose, they will have to defend properly, especially in their away fixtures. As far as their forward line is concerned, Villarreal has a few players that can score goals. The biggest responsibility would lie on the shoulders of Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi. Last season, Rossi scored 14 goals and made 4 assists for the club, while Nilmar scored 12 goals and made 5 assists. However, both these players have a bigger potential, so they can improve this season.
Apart from these two players, Villarreal has Marco Ruben, who scored 17 goals, last season, for Villarreal B team. The squad has been strengthened with the addition of young Jozy Altidore, who was also a crucial part of USA’s team for the World Cup in South Africa.
The midfield of Villarreal looks slightly better than the rest of the team. Their major players are Cani and Marcos Senna. Both these players are capable of winning the games for their club. However, the performance of Marcos Senna is on a downhill, which resulted in his elimination from Spanish squad. Therefore, for the new season, Senna would have to re-establish his partnership with Cani, in order to improve his team’s standings.
This season, Villarreal has also signed Borja Valero from Mallorca. Valero was instrumental in his team’s fifth place finish last season. Therefore, the midfield of Villarreal has improved from last season, while there are other players as well, who can fill in the shoes, like Santi Cazorla, Bruno and Herman Perez.
In the defence, Villarreal has some good options, including Carlos Marchena and Joan Capdevila. Both these players were a part of Spanish World Cup winning squad, while Capdevila was a permanent member in the starting line-up. However, last year, Marchena was troubled by injuries, which created a lot of problems for Villarreal. The squad is small, while there are almost no substitutions available for times like these.
The new season would be very important for Villarreal, as they would try to regain their European spot. A lot would be dependent upon defenders, however, every other player would have to step-up his game a little, in order to provide an extra push for the ultimate achievements.
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