Category: Match day program EN

Know your opponent: Villarreal

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Founded in 1923, Villarreal has never won La Liga with their best finish occurring in 2007-2008 when they ended the campaign in second place. The club won the now defunct Intertoto Cup in 2003 and 2004 while they have regularly appeared in the Champions League and Europa League over the past decade. While being relegated for the 2012/13 season, the Yellow Submarine was promoted at the end of the year.

Villarreal is always a side that provides entertainment and excitement on the pitch but just this week the club made news off of the field of play when they sacked Head Coach Fran Escriba after the Yellow Submarine fell to Getafe 4:0. The club appointed 39-year old Javier Calleja who had been coaching the Villarreal B side to take his place. Calleja played for the club between 1999-2006 and also featured for Malaga and Osasuna before retiring in 2012.

Calleja: .Villarrealcf.es ()

To get the Maccabi fans up to speed about their Europa League Matchday 2 opponent we spoke to a pair of La Liga experts, David Cartlidge a journalist for football magazine Four Four Two and @LaLigaGav who hosts the The Sound of La Liga Podcast.

Villarreal is filled with quality players who can impact a game, but there are a number of standouts says Cartlidge, “Samuel Castillejo is the main danger man going on form this season. He’s a live wire winger who joins the attack and can both create and assist. He must have a close eye kept on him at all times, though a few hard tackles can sometimes shake him off his game.”

Cartlidge added that another player to keep an eye on is Rodri Hernandez, “He’s a young midfielder but extremely talented. He’ll hold the team together, win the ball back and play simple, tidy passes through midfield into the attack.” @LaLigaGav looked at another pair of talents, “Cedric Bakambu from the Congo is a lovely player who has excelled since joining the club while Carlos Bacca who is on loan from AC Milan should have a very prominent season with Villarreal this year.”

Though there will be a new coach on the sidelines for the match the style of play has been consistent for years says @LaLigaGav, “Attack, attack, attack!! They’ve been playing a certain attacking style of football from as far back as I can remember.” Cartlidge chimed in as well, “Villarreal are tight defensively for the most part and they look to spring on the counter whenever possible. Expect them to be organized and tough to break down. On the counter they pose a lot of pace, skill and ability to be clinical given the quality of their strikers.”

.Villarrealcf.es ()

For a small city of only 50k residents Villarreal is an important part of its culture comments @LaLigaGav, “They’re passionate. Villarreal is a tiny district about an hour from Valencia yet their games are regularly attended by over 20k fans. They have fan clubs all over the world and are quite prominent in Scandinavia.” Cartlidge also mentioned, “The fans have become used to some good football over the years and are demanding in that sense. They can sometimes lack patience, and be a bit tetchy when things are not going well.“

When it comes to Villarreal’s chances against Maccabi the odds are stacked against the Yellow & Blue @LaLigaGav said, “Villarreal should in theory be beating a team like Maccabi quite comfortably, but I’d be very surprised if Villarreal don’t at least come away with a draw.” However the coaching issue could be an equalizer explains Cartlidge, “The coaching situation has thrown everything up in the air and made the task a lot more difficult for Villarreal. Saying that, they do have the individual quality to see this one out and pick up an important win – both in terms of the competition and confidence generally too.”

Fun Facts about Villarreal:

1) Villarreal’s nickname, The Yellow Submarine, does come after the Beatles song. Fans played the song on a record player in 1966 and chanted the words to it while watching Villarreal play.

2) It’s the second smallest town ever to produce a Champions League semi-finalist, after Monaco. In 2006 they had the likes of Diego Forlan, Riquelme and Senna and they lost to Arsenal when Riquelme missed a penalty near the end of the second leg.

3) Their youth system is one of the very best in Spain, if not Europe. The money they receive from TV money or transfers is generally pumped into its youth set up.

4) Club owner and Spanish billionaire Fernando Roig made his fortune in the local ceramics business and changed the name of the club’s home stadium from El Madrigal to La Cerámica to reflect the local industry. The stadium can also hold half of the city’s population.

Battocchio’s Fabulous Five

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Goalkeeper: Roberto Carlos Abbondanzieri
“There are plenty of great keepers, but what was really unique about Abbodanzieri was his ability to use his feet. He was able to send the ball to wherever he wanted to. He’s also from Argentina so that adds few points as well. The fact that he was able to use his feet so well really impressed me.”

Defender: Fabio Cannavaro
“He may have been physically small but he played football in a big, big way. He had a lot of character and personality and I like players that have those qualities. He was a huge part of the Italy team that won the 2006 World Cup and also captured the Ballon d’Or as a central defender.”

קנבארו. צילום: Alchetron ()

\Defensive midfielder: Andrea Pirlo
“I’m happy that I was able to play against him. When you see him play it’s as if he isn’t running, but that’s not the case. He always knows where to stand and to be in the right place to make you run a lot. When I played against him, my coach told me to chase after him and I just wasn’t able to. He was always able to escape. You don’t have to say much about his technical ability as everyone knows how good he is. His free kicks are like penalties and his passes are at the highest levels.”

Attacking midfielder: Leo Messi
“How can you not pick Messi. He is the best player in the world and in history. He’s also from Argentina, from the same city that I grew up in and he played for the same club as I did. There are enough reasons to choose him.”

Striker: Antonio Di Natale
“He may not have been the greatest striker that I have ever seen play, but I played with him at Udinese and he is a wonderful striker in my eyes. Number 9, small, physical and quick who played in the middle and could score from any angle. He was so accurate and so smart. He blossomed at a late age but he was able to maintain a high level of play until his late 30’s and he was one of the best strikers in the Italian league for many years.”

די נטאלה. צילום: Alchetron ()

Know your opponent: Bnei Sakhnin

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Changes on the sidelines
Though the season might be young, Sakhnin has had plenty of action with many twists and turns. It began when the Club appointed Brazilian boss Jairo Swirsky as Head Coach who didn’t last to see the campaign’s opening whistle leaving them back at square one. Felix Naim was handed the keys to the team after last managing Hapoel Kfar Saba. Now at the helm of Sakhnin, Naim will attempt to steer the ship to the championship playoffs for the second straight season and prove that he is a coach to reckon with in the Israel Premier League Ligat Ha’Al.

Comings & Goings
After participating in the championship playoffs last campaign, the Sakhnin side primarily stayed intact especially in terms of the Israelis. Mohamed Calibat and Israel Zaguri came to help out the attack while Giorginho went to Beitar Jerusalem. Yuval Abidor and Siraj Nasar also left the club.

What have they done so far?
Sakhnin has opened the season very well picking up 6/6 points beating Hapoel Acre 2:1 on Matchday 1 and defeating Hapoel Raanana 2:1 the following week. However, in Toto Cup action the Club did not fare as well drawing two matches while losing a pair of contests as well.

Under the Magnifying Glass
One of the most important players for Sakhnin has undoubtedly been Firas Mugrabi and this season won’t be any different. Following his return to Doha from Maccabi Haifa, Mugrabi has looked fantastic so far scoring once while picking up two assists. His lighting speed and quickness will be a lethal weapon against all of the Ligat Ha’Al sides especially when he feels at ease, which is what happens to him when playing for Sakhnin.