When Villarreal completed Diego Forlan’s transfer from Manchester United in 2004, the club sought to include a friendly match clause. However, the Red Devils refused. The president of the club, Fernando Roig Alfonso responded casually, “Don’t worry. They will come – and for free, “said Roig as reported by The Guardian.
A year later, Man United actually came to El Madrigal. After Forlan’s transfer, these two clubs met five times and Villarreal never lost. In the 2021 Europa League final on Thursday, the two teams met again and the party who rejected the friendly party proposal lost.
Villarreal won the Europa League after beating Manchester United. Unai Emery’s squad must undergo 120 minutes and a round of penalties to win the trophy. The two teams drew after Gerard Moreno and Edinson Cavani scored. During the shootout, all 10 outfield players scored; from Gerard Moreno to Pau Torres, from Juan Mata to Victor Lindeloef. Each goalkeeper must take the decisive kick. Geronimo Rulli also became a hero, successfully converting a penalty as well as countering David De Gea’s shot.
The success of winning the Europa League means a lot to Villarreal. This is the first major trophy for the club. Despite playing in four European semifinals and one Copa Del Rey semi-final in the 21st century, The Yellow Submarine has not won the prestigious trophy in history. The three titles they have won are only minor titles, namely one Tercera Division (Spain’s fourth division) and two winners with the Intertoto Cup.
This victory also confirms Villarreal’s status as a small club that dares to dream big. The word “little club” here is not a derision. In terms of various aspects, they are indeed a small club. The club is based in a city of only about 50,000 people; very small compared to its two neighbors who also have football clubs: Valencia and Castellon de la Plana. The entire population of Villarreal, or, the official name: Vila-real, can’t even fill the Old Trafford seats, there are still around 25,000 seats left.
The Villarreal supporter base is also not very big. Early last season, before the pandemic, club season ticket holders were at 19,000, at least number nine in La Liga. In comparison, the Yellow Submarine’s rivals in the top seven this season, Real Betis have nearly triple the season ticket holders (50,373). Villarreal’s stadium, Estadio de la Ceramica, also has a small capacity, only accommodating 25,000 people. There are only seven teams in La Liga 2020/21 that have a stadium smaller than Villarreal.
Villarreal’s budget is also relatively modest. Launching a Sports Intelligence survey, the salary budget for Villarreal players for 2019/20 is 1.73 million dollars per year. Barcelona, which has the biggest payroll in La Liga, has a budget seven times that of Villarreal. Their opponents in the Europa League final, Manchester United have a salary budget of almost five times. Behind all that simplicity, Villarreal consistently challenged the top flight of La Liga. In the last eight years, The Yellow Submarine has only finished outside the top six. The club’s best ever achievement has been to lock in the league runners-up in 2007/08, eight points adrift of champions Real Madrid.
The Yellow Submarine and the Era of Fernando Roig
Villarreal spent most of his existence at the bottom of the league pyramid. The club was founded on March 10, 1923 and has competed in the Valencia regional competition for decades. In the 1950-1970s, the club experienced several promotions and relegations from the national league to the regional level. In the early 1940s, Villarreal was briefly disbanded. Local communities who do not want football to disappear from the city have formed new clubs. The club that stood out the most at that time was CA Foghetecaz. The club was later recognized as the official heir to Villarreal. Foghetecaz changed its name to Villarreal CF in 1954.
One of Foghetecaz’s legacy that has survived to the present day is the club’s great colors. Previously, the Villarreal jersey was white and black. In 1947, before the season started, the son of the then president of Villarreal was assigned to shop for players’ uniforms to Valencia. However, when they arrived at the store, the stock of white uniforms and various other colors was out of stock. He also bought the only set of uniforms left, which happened to be yellow. The players liked the color and decided to change the color of the pants to blue as well. This yellow-blue color was worn by Villarreal until 2003, when they switched to a full yellow jersey.
The new color eventually earned him the nickname Villarreal, which has been pinned until now: The Yellow Submarine. This nickname is the result of the meeting of the club’s local identity with the spirit of young people who are touched by globalization. By 1967, battery-powered record player technology had reached Villarreal. Youngsters use the tool to play music. At Villarreal parties, a group of young supporters often played songs from the rock group that was trendy at the time, The Beatles. The song that is often sung by supporters is “Yellow Submarine”. They turned it into a Spanish support song. Since this Villarreal began to be known as The Yellow Submarine or El Submarino Amarillo.
By the 1990s, Villarreal had their ups and downs in the Segunda and Tercera Divisions. New significant changes occurred when the club was bought by Fernando Roig, a local billionaire who owns a ceramics business. This change of ownership occurred because the previous owner, Pascual Font de Mora fell ill and the family wanted to find a new owner.
One of the club’s top brass, Jose Manuel Llaneza was tasked with finding a new owner. The owner he is looking for must also have ties to the city. Villarreal is classified as tight in changing ownership. They do not want the club to fall into the hands of just any businessman. Roig is chosen and Llaneza arranges a deal with him. “When we came there was just a typewriter and Llaneza,” Roig said. “Yes, there was only Jose Manuel [Llaneza] and two others: Gumbau and someone named Parra who had died. Now there are 500 staff [at Villarreal], ”continued the club CEO and Roig’s son, Fernando Roig Negueroles.
Fernando Roig installed his son and daughter into the club’s top structure. However, what he did was not just nepotism. Roig is fully committed to developing Villarreal. He even set a target of promotion to La Liga three years after taking ownership in 1997.That goal was achieved more quickly: Villarreal was promoted to La Liga in 1998. In the Roig era, Villarreal reorganized the infrastructure and invested in the youth development system. The Yellow Submarine manages income and expenses carefully. As a result, their financial condition tends to be stable from year to year to take part in La Liga.
Seriousness in developing young players combined with a successful transfer and loan policy. This principle has been maintained to this day. When facing Man United, Villarreal played eight academy graduates: Gerard Moreno, Mario Gaspar, Manu Trigueros, Alfonso Pedraza, Pau Torres, Yeremy Pino, Moi Gomez, and Dani Raba. Two players on the bench, Jaume Costa and Fernando Nino also graduated from the academy.
In the transfer market, Villarreal’s maneuvers in the last 30 years also tend to be successful. They don’t spend more than they earn. Even so, The Yellow Submarine can always patch up the departure of important figures such as Diego Forlan, Giuseppe Rossi, to Santi Cazorla.
The development of young players and efficient transfers are the keys to Villarreal’s success. The stable financial condition made the club never suffered a significant setback despite being relegated twice. Paired with the right coach, this “humble” club can consistently be the bully of the Spanish triopoly. Unai Emery, the coach who presented Villarreal with his first major title, also praised the way the club is managed. “This club is designed to do important things,” he said before the Europa League final.
Prior to Emery’s arrival, Villarreal had done a lot of important things. They qualified for the 2006 Champions League semifinals. In 2008, they ended the season in second place in La Liga. The only thing missing from The Yellow Submarine’s journey is a trophy, and Unai Emery is giving it away in 2021.
The Europa League trophy is the reward deserved for Villarreal’s patience and consistency. This club shows that ambition can be realized slowly and carefully. There is no need for hasty maneuvers that can put the club in a disadvantageous position. Like the lyrics of The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine”, Villarreal are at peace with their way of life as The Yellow Submarine.
ASL
