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Not a bad weekend, all things considered. EPM as always has a considered analysis of the Athletic match, saying a draw was about right:
Un encuentro a tumba abierta en el Madrigal - Deportes - El Periódico Mediterraneo
Abrahan's report with comments from the coaches is here.
Nilmar got some coverage as well, it was interesting to read how much he valued Marcos Senna's perspective on helping him get through the whole transfer situation and so on:
As far as we know, Gonzalo, Ruben and Borja are OK; not sure about Hernán Pérez, who was limping pretty badly after meeting the press yesterday (remember, he had to leave the pitch after a reckless, unpunished tackle)
B team news: Since we didn't have TV coverage and very little else, we didn't point out that Pablo Iñiguez had to come out after re-injuring his leg early in Saturday's game (on a play where he conceded a penalty, subsequently saved by Mariño). Sounds like he may be out a while longer, which is too bad given he was showing promise after moving up from the C team.
Mariño, by the way, has been selected for a friendly against Egypt taking place tomorrow (he'll be a member of the possible Spanish Olympic squad, which I believe is under-22?). And our own Mini-Estadi will host an under-21 friendly on Wednesday: Switzerland and Austria will play there. Not sure how we landed that one!
C team news: With their fifth win in a row, Villarreal C is now in eighth place. Four of their next five matches are against teams either above them or just below them in the table, so if there is to be a late promotion push, the club needs to maintain its recent form.
Other news: Jozy Altidore gave an interview in which he talked about his season at AZ so far (he scored two goals for them yesterday). The article references Villarreal only obliquely, but in light of his experiences here makes interesting reading.
Juan Arango published an interesting piece on the economic crisis facing football in Argentina and the economic situation in Argentina generally. Worth a read, since as he says the reality may be much different than the facade the country wants you to see. So expect clubs such as Villarreal to continue to scour the Argentine league for (relatively) cheaply-priced talent.
Finally, yours truly was interviewed for an online publication based in India, so if you'd like to see what thehardtackle.com asked me and how I responded, go here. It's a nice site, and has a variety of articles on it--I enjoyed reading one about APOEL, another team that doesn't get much coverage in English.