Villarreal Grabs Last-Minute Equalizer in Santander

A good article although I would say Valero is a far better player than Xabi Alonso. Some interesting comments from readers as well.

da congrats should go 2 mario :) not nilmar

In Spain players can come up to the first team but first team players are not dropped to the B team.

There has been a lot of comment regarding the failure to bring in a central midfielder during the winter transfer window. However this problem dates back to the time Valverde put Eguren in the dog house for refusing to play centre back.He was never replaced and in the absence of Senna Garrido first used Ibagaza and this season Borja Valero.
Borja has proved to be a multipurpose player but it does mean that Villarreal have been using all three of their experienced creative midfielders nearly all the time. First Musacchio and then Marchena have been tried as a partner for Bruno but these options appear to now discarded. The possible understudies to Cani, Cazorla and Borja have been Matilla, Montero and Cristóbal who also have been found wanting. So there is the opportunity now for Wakaso and Gullón to cement their stay with the first team squad.

i thought mario got da goal (i saw da match late night on espn3) nilmar may have touched it after it already crossed da line

da wakaso did more in 10 minutes than cristobal in 61 minutes.

da wakaso also showed how 2 play as left back. catala & mario need to get forward 2 make da vcf system work. they are not there 2 b defenders only

According to EPM Sr Roig and co decided to sit apart from the new owner.

http://www.elperiodicomediterraneo.com/noticias/noticia.asp?pkid=640382

here’s what zonal marking said—
  http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/02/28/milan-3-0-napoli-napoli-dont-turn-up/

leaving aside all the discussion of formations, Napoli didn’t have Lavezzi, who was the main player against us that set up Cavani; they did have Aronica in defense, who was suspended against us; but they also had Maggio, Pazienza and Cannavaro as starters, none of whom started against us. So the Thursday match took a lot out of them physically. And mentally, I think it certainly did given their lack of commitment in what should have been a huge game for them, as the last paragraph of the article states.

       Returning to the Phil Ball article, it’s interesting that a couple of the comments mentioned the Napoli fans’(low) opinion of La Liga and Villarreal. Many Italian football fans are seriously delusional when it comes to comparing their league to others. There was a time when Serie A was the best in the world but that is now gone. And as proof of that, Napoli’s loss means that in 2012 Italy will have only 3 CL places, with Germany overtaking them on strength-of-league coefficient and taking their fourth spot. (The EPL and La Liga already have four, of course). Which basically was what Rossi was saying in the buildup to the match.

I should maybe clarify (because I don’t want to be misunderstood): I think it’s great Racing has a new owner who is enthusiastic about the club and supports it with his heart as well as his money. But as the EPM article indicates, his boyish enthusiasm is quite a contrast to the other club presidents, and it’s “not the done thing”.
   Clearly if you sit in the presidential box with him you become a character in his play, so to speak, and it sounds as if the Villarreal delegation had seen enough of that at the team hotel to choose to opt out.
   It will be interesting to see what other visiting club presidents choose to do, though I don’t know if Syed will be at all the matches. I heard he is also interested in buying an Australian A-league team—Wellington Phoenix (well, they’re in New Zealand, but the league is Australian)

Salamanca 1-0 Villarreal B
Goal: Sarmiento (31’)

Half time: Salamanca 1-0 Villarreal B
Goal: Sarmiento (31?)

Salamanca on their way to ending a run of 10 consecutive defeats.

seems odd given that he is in Garrido’s call for Wednesday, don’t you think?
I forgot totally about this—but Airam appears to be in the game also Castellani (now listening on Radio Nou), …and Bille just puts a shot over…

cristóbal joins his pals matilla, oriol in da doghouse

Yes, distance from 5th place is the most important metric. Athletic could surpass Espanyol with a win in Zaragoza, however.

Match report on B team here:
http://www.as.com/futbol/articulo/salamanca-rompe-racha-duelos-ganar/20110301dasdasftb_50/Tes

Marquitos started but was subbed at half time along with Nico.

if so they’ll deserve it because they still have to play Villarreal, Barcelona and Real Madrid at home and Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol on the road. I don’t see them with a lot of easy games left, and they have been inconsistent. I do think they could get into the Europa placings though.
   The team I most fear in terms of the 4th spot is Athletic Bilbao—their remaining schedule is kinder than Sevilla’s. But frankly Villarreal has four winnable home matches: Hercules, Sporting, Zaragoza, and Getafe. If we win those four, and scramble a win and draw on the road, that gives us 63 points which probably will be enough unless someone runs off 6-7 wins in a row—and the way this season has gone I’d be surprised if that happens.