Villarreal to face Tenerife in the Copa Del Rey

Villarreal has been draw against CD Tenerife in the round of 32 of the Copa Del Rey. They defeated Castellon in the last round 2-0 (after having just defeated them 1-0 in the league). They are currently 16th in Segunda, though a win or two could have them mid table rather easily.

Tenerife spent quite a bit of time in the top flight during the 1990s, and made the semi finals of the UEFA Cup in 1997. Their last time in Primera, however, was 2009-2010 (though they found themselves in the third tier just two seasons later). Their best finish in the Copa Del Rey was also a semi-final in 1994. Jupp Heynckes and Rafa Benitez have both managed the Canary Island outfit. They may be best known for denying Real Madrid two straight league titles on the last day of the season in 1992 and 1993.

For the Americans among us, you may know of Shaq Moore, the right back formerly of Levante who has earned five caps with the US Men’s National team. He’s an absolute fixture in their side having already accumulated about as many minutes as he did all last season and is tied for the team lead in assists. Their leading goalscorers are Fran Sol and Alex Bermejo.

Naturally, this will be a matchup we are expected to win. The exact date is not set yet but it will be either the 16th or 17th of January. Having gone out to a second tier opponent in this competition last year, however, we cannot take them lightly. Tenerife is a proud club with a lot of history and I expect that to be reflected in their effort.