Jeffrey's Future in Vila-real
by siempre_riquelme on Mar 23, 2011 10:00 PM CET
Email
PrintJefferson Montero is one of my favorite world footballers. I was thrilled with his 2009 arrival in Vila-real, and he was arguably the best player on last season's loaded B team. He scored 10 goals, led the only filial in Segunda A to a 7th-place finish, and took a punch after a brace in Elche. Not bad at age 20.
This season presented a different challenge: rounding into a complete player and finding a niche in a deep and talented midfield. The arrival of Borja Valero and promotion of teammates Cristóbal and Matilla complicated matters, but I felt that Montero had a shot at playing time. With Cani's resurgence, however, the reality has been very different.
As a result, Montero was a hot commodity in the winter transfer window. To further the Ecuadorean international's development, the club sent him on a six-month loan to our neighbors Levante UD. Since Jeffrey's arrival, Levante has moved into third gear, picking up 17(!) points in its last 8 matches. For comparison, Villarreal has amassed a meager 9 points in that stretch. Champions League form for Levante: is it the singing?
As a direct consequence, Jeffrey has not been able to crack the starting XI. However, manager Luis García Plaza has used him as the first substitute off the bench, consistently giving him around 30 minutes of playing time. At a minimum, it's a much better situation than Jozy Altidore's ill-fated loan to then-Segunda leaders Xerez.
But I have a nagging doubt about our handling of Montero, based on perhaps the club's all-time biggest personnel blunder. The club rarely sets a foot wrong in the transfer market, but there was one big fish that got away: Ecuadorean winger Luis Antonio Valencia. L.A. Valencia completed a permanent move to EPL side Wigan Athletic in January 2008; a mere 18 months later, he had turned down Real Madrid to sign for Manchester United (as Ronaldo's replacement). Oops.
My argument is not that Montero is as good as L.A. Valencia. For starters, we will not know how Montero's ability pans out for a few more years. But perhaps the club's inability to utilize these types of players' strengths-- include Matías Fernández in that discussion-- reveals something about the Villarreal way.
Allen made an astute observation: our success with South Americans has been greater with reclamation projects (Riquelme, Sorín, Forlán, even Nilmar) than younger players (Gonzalo, Ruben, Musacchio). The chasm is particularly wide with respect to players not from Argentina and Brazil. Let's consider this dichotomy in the case of Montero.
Jeffrey came to Spain on the heels of second-division success in Ecuador and a brief loan spell in Mexico. He also played one season in Ecuador's top flight at age 18. His development may have been stunted by his club's desire to cash in on his talents. Put another way, Jeffrey either was going to Europe for big bucks or remaining in the shadows in Ecuador. An obvious talent, but plenty of polishing was required.
On the other hand, Jeffrey was given opportunities in the primera vuelta to prove himself. A humble kid, by all accounts, he may not have trained hard enough to force Garrido's hand. In spot duty, he scored against Athletic in La Liga and Poli Ejido in the Copa, but his commitment to defending was questionable, at best. At an all-for-one club like Villarreal, that sort of behavior will earn you a plush spot on the bench.
How do you see the Montero story ending? Will he play a significant role for Villarreal next season? In the long run?
27 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
How do you see the Montero story ending? Will he play a significant role for Villarreal next season? In the long run?
nope unless he improves 5 folds in defensive duties , or if da yellow sub miss cl
by jackson on Mar 23, 2011 10:47 PM CET reply actions
(Gonzalo, Ruben, Musacchio).
are u kidding me?
gonzalo & mausachhio have been great this season & ruben is doing well
by jackson on Mar 23, 2011 10:49 PM CET reply actions
Let me defend myself a little bit, OK?
I don’t remember (because we had this discussion some time ago) which players I cited to sid as evidence for my thesis. I totally agree that these three have done well, but remember they are all from Argentina and all came up through youth systems there (all but Musacchio saw significant time at the first-team level before joining us). Better examples would be Valencia, as sid mentions, and even Jozy Altidore. Not from South America, but a young player with promise but limited experience. Fitting these players into Villarreal’s system and style has proven to be a challenge.
by Allen on Mar 23, 2011 11:14 PM CET up reply actions
Two points in defense of Allen:
1. One season does not a career make. One year ago, Gonzalo was partying his way into the doghouse, Musacchio was just starting out with the B team, and Ruben was a Recre reject.
2. I purposely compared those 3 Argentines with club legends. I could’ve used Barbosa, Escudero, Mati, Somoza, and others. Every transfer is hit or miss.
by sidarth on Mar 23, 2011 11:47 PM CET up reply actions
Also, I wish our club recorded a song like that. Better than La Violeta and the Christmas spot, for my money.
by sidarth on Mar 23, 2011 11:48 PM CET reply actions
Well, I give Levante credit for doing it (and apologizing for the singing quality) but there’s no visual that stays with you like Rossi throwing skanky pizza dough in the air. The Christmas spot was classic!!!
by Allen on Mar 24, 2011 1:06 AM CET up reply actions
I could be entirely wrong, but I remember that of the little I had seen of Antonio Valencia in Spain, I had the impression that his style of play was not fully compatible with Pellegrini’s Villarreal. He was a very direct, fast, physical player. These are great qualities in a player, no doubt, and from what I hear he’s turned out to be a good player (I must admit I haven’t followed him closely), but depsite this, i don’t think he fit into Pellegrini’s mix. In other words, I don’t think it was so much a matter of overlooking his talents as it was a conscious decision that he wasn’t what Villarreal needed at that moment. By the way he doesn’t play much at Man U does he? For better or for worse,Villarreal made good business with him, and both parties are probably happy with the outcome.
I wonder whether Jeff Montero will have a similar fate, i.e. it’s not so much the case that v.c.f. overlooks his qualities as opposed to the reality that he doesn’t really fit into the plans. As long as Cani, Cazorla, Borja, and Wakaso are all in the mix, I doubt that Jeff will be coming back.
by alex on Mar 24, 2011 2:33 AM CET reply actions
I am with alex when it comes to Valencia. Yes, he is a tremendous talent, but the reality was that he was not going to fit in at Villarreal. Just because a player is tremendous does not mean that he will fit in with the style or mindset of a club like Villarreal. While we do not know exactly how it would have played out with Valencia, I think Villarreal did cash in reasonably well in the matter.
by maddi on Mar 24, 2011 2:41 PM CET up reply actions
@alex: I agree with you on Pellegrini’s take, but part of being a great manager is finding ways to work with what you have. And on his playing time at Man Utd, he is considered Ronaldo-lite, but he suffered a serious injury earlier this season. He’s been a fixture in the starting XI.
@maddi: I haven’t seen any outward signs of an ego in Valencia, and that’s been the main issue with players fitting in here. Also, we didn’t cash in close to the profit that Wigan made in 18 months. Opportunity lost on that front.
by sidarth on Mar 24, 2011 3:55 PM CET up reply actions
to briefly switch topics, the long-awaited opening of the Castellon Airport will take place on March 25th. It’s merely a symbolic opening held on that date for political reasons—the airport isn’t likely to be operating for a while yet, since negotiation are still in progress with several airlines to actually fly in there. But maybe at some point it will actually happen.
Sr. Roig will be attending the opening ceremony—the airport has been a longtime sponsor of Villarreal CF, though it was rumored this fall they would not be continuing as sponsor beyond this year. I hope they do—I like their logo, and would hate to see us sponsored by an online betting service or something like that, plus I like the local nature of the sponsorship.
by Allen on Mar 24, 2011 12:18 PM CET reply actions
I share your sentiments with regard to sponsorship, I wouldn’t like to see Burger King platered on our shirts.
Castellon Airport has received through Villarreal and their entry in to European competitions a good amount of publicity but has that done any good for an entity that has not existed. The construction of the airport is a project of the Valencian Government and it is in fact the taxpayers money that has been wasted publicising something that has not existed. Or was it a devious method of patronising Villarreal?
by Kenez on Mar 24, 2011 8:58 PM CET up reply actions
Well they’ve spent about $300 milliion to build a small four-gate airport, so there’s been far more money wasted than the sponsorship, however much that has been!
by Allen on Mar 24, 2011 9:40 PM CET up reply actions
and to return to topic (somewhat), is Montero in the squad for the Ecuador friendly against Colombia in madrid, or did he drop out due to injury? And btw Antonio Valencia will be there—he was injured in September against Rangers and only recently returned to action for Man Utd
by Allen on Mar 24, 2011 12:33 PM CET reply actions
Nice picture of the lads ! http://yfrog.com/h4hdburj
by Nick on Mar 24, 2011 12:59 PM CET reply actions
and Diego says they are cutups in the locker room, too….
BTW Sid Lowe is doing apiece today on Rossi..will post link when it’s up!
by Allen on Mar 24, 2011 2:28 PM CET up reply actions
With no 1st team game this weekend Wakaso has been released to Javia Gracia for the B team game against Catagena on Saurday.
by Kenez on Mar 24, 2011 1:49 PM CET reply actions
so to jump back to the strike question, what authority does the judge have in Spanish law to order the games to go ahead? I think almost everyone agrees that it is an act of stupidity not to play and will inconvenience fans, players, media, everyone—but if 13 of the 20 teams voted to do it, are there legal grounds for the lockout decision to be overturned? Does anyone know?
by Allen on Mar 24, 2011 3:31 PM CET reply actions
More generally, hindsight is 20/20, so to say that L.A. Valencia wasn’t going to fit in at Villarreal is highly conclusory. He didn’t fit in because we sent him on loan to the EPL immediately and then sold him before he could prove himself in Spain.
What worries me is not that we let a talent get away; that happens all the time. The bigger issue is that we haven’t found a way to develop certain types of players. We are wonderful at finding roles for older players, but developing young raw athletes remains an issue. Those players are match-winners.
by sidarth on Mar 24, 2011 4:01 PM CET reply actions
Right, which I think was your point in the post to start with. We could probably sell Jeffrey and make money on it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we did a good job managing him.
Perhaps young raw athletes works better for VCF in the case of defenders, especially central defenders, since their role is not that different in our system? But there’s something wrong if we don’t develop other great talent, too. Garrido knew Jeffrey from the B team, so it surprises me that things didn’t work out well this season.
by Allen on Mar 24, 2011 4:16 PM CET up reply actions
These players could be match-winners. I think that there are two factors at work against players like Montero and Valencia.
I have not done any research on this but my perception is that it has been much more difficult for younger players to break through in La Liga than say the EPL. Although there are now signs that due to economic factors this is changing as some clubs like Villarreal are turning to their cantera.
For instance Santi Cazorla made his debut for Villarreal just short of 19 years old and had two seasons before being shipped off to Recre for a season. Marco Ruben had four seasons in Argentina before coming to Villarreal where again he was shipped off to Recre for two seasons and then last season with the B. Again by the time he made his debut with the 1st team he was 23. Then there are other examples, like Marcos and Hector Font, that were loaned out and never made it back to the 1st team.
The other factor is that Villarreal generally do not play with wingers, the ostensible wide players such as Borja, Cazorla and Cani are creative midfield players, that in times past would have been called inside forwards.They are required to take up positions anywhere in the opponents half, not just hug the touchline.Therefore it’s going to be difficult for players like Montero and Escudero last season to get much playing time. So in answer to the question I can not see Montero playing a significant role next season. At best it could be bit parts as a sub and the occasional cup game.
by Kenez on Mar 24, 2011 4:54 PM CET up reply actions
For a long time I had a soft spot in my heart for Hector Font, I always wanted him to come back, but that never happened….
by alex on Mar 24, 2011 5:08 PM CET up reply actions
In case we needed any further evidence as to the ludicrousness of the proposed lockout/strike, the Spanish papers are pointing out there is no good time to play the Villarreal-Barcelona match on the April 9-10 weekend. This is because on April 7, Villarreal host Twente in the Europa League, while Barcelona travel to Shaktar Donetsk for a match on the 12th.
AS is suggesting Barcelona would win this off-the-pitch struggle and the game would be played on the 9th because “Champions League takes precedence” but I would think the players’ union, as well as the Villarreal coaches and trainers, would have some strong objections to playing two games in three days against topflight opposition—even if they were both at home. I cannot believe that Villarreal would agree to such a proposal.
Meanwhile, two of the teams joining Villarreal in the lawsuit are supposed to play each other: Real Sociedad and Sevilla. Both of their team presidents have said they will do everything they can to play the match, and the league has at least assigned referees to the weekend matches:
http://www.marca.com/2011/03/24/futbol/1adivision/1301000177.html
The chaos gets greater by the day.
by Allen on Mar 25, 2011 2:11 AM CET reply actions
La Liga -> Run by Morons , with Crap Refs, but with best talent in Europe =======
Imagine if LIga got it’s act together !
by Acqua on Mar 25, 2011 4:07 AM CET up reply actions
Here’s a report of the Spanish Under 21 match against France. All three Villarreal players took part. Mario played the full 90 minutes, Diego Mariño played the first half conceding 3 goals and Iago Falqué got 15 minutes at the end.
by Kenez on Mar 25, 2011 8:37 AM CET reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
Twitter & Facebook
