Villarreal played in Tarragona, Catalunya on Saturday evening against Segunda side Gimnastic, which claims to be the oldest team in Spain. The club enjoyed a brief spell in the Primera in 2006-07, when it finished dead last and dropped back down. That was the first time the club was in the first division since 1949-50, which is before Villarreal CF ever had left the Valencian regional leagues.
We won 0-3 thanks to 1st-half goals from Giuseppe Rossi (11') and what was described on Canal 9 radio as a cracker from Santi Cazorla (23'). Good to see Rossi get off the mark. David Fuster completed the scoring in the 82nd minute, continuing his very impressive preseason and justifying his buyback from Elche. This was a nearly full-strength squad, with extended appearances from most of the first-team players. Most importantly, Cazorla and Senna played much of the game, and Nilmar, Rossi, and Llorente all got significant game time.
And the B team has completed a perfect preseason by defeating Segunda B side Ontinyent by 1-2. My man Joan Tomas tied the game with a penalty in the 30th minute, and Marcos Gullon had the game-winner on the stroke of halftime. The B team's next game will be its debut in Segunda, a home derbi against fellow Valencian side Levante in two weeks' time. I won't deny that I'm almost as excited for that game as for the first team's season opener in Pamplona against Osasuna.
EDIT: Game story from EFE.