Juan Carlos Garrido, having secured at least one more year at the helm of Villarreal, has announced that he will be pulling nine players up into the first team for Villarreal. This will reshape the face of the club, and could write our future for many years to come.
Goalkeeper: Juan Carlos;
Defenders: Mario, Joan Oriol, Catalá and Musacchio;
Midfielders: Matilla and Cristobal;
Strikers: Marco Ruben and Jefferson Montero.
That is most of a team right there. Throw in a few seasoned veterans, including the likes of Capdevila, Gonzalo, Cazorla, Cani, and Llorente, and the club should be in good shape. A lot more to come on the new additions as we head into the summer.
And in related news, José Manuel Catalá has signed a three year renewal with the first team, so his call-up should be permanent. He will be a long-term replacement for Capdevila.
Villarreal is not wholly out of Europe just yet. Mallorca's money troubles are still chasing them, and they could yet be denied European competition in the fall if they fall into bankruptcy, as UEFA has the right to cancel their license. That would open up the position for Villarreal coming in from seventh. Not that we would have really deserved it, but I'll take it!
Former Villarreal hard man Guillermo Franco is moving on from West Ham after helping them avoid relegation this past term. He made 23 appearances, scoring 5 goals, which is his best year in a while. I hope he is rewarded with a quality contract either somewhere he will enjoy in Europe, or back in Mexico. He has the opportunity this summer with the national side to improve his worth even more.
A couple of interesting rumors have been in this press. And these are mentioned not because they will actually happen, but they are still fun to think about.
- Villarreal's star Giuseppe Rossi is in the headlights of Liverpool. First of all, I really don't like Liverpool. But seriously - can you imagine putting him and Fernando Torres together? That would be a pretty amazing duo.
- And the second part of the rumor is that Liverpool would offer Albert Riera in return. This is of course highly unlikely, as Villarreal need money, and do not want to take on high salaries such as Riera would demand.
- Villarreal have been linked to Barcelona's Rafa Marquez. a) Why would we want him anyway? b) Again, no chance of us taking on that kind of salary.