What we learned from Pepe Reina’s Villarreal press conference as Gero Rulli question answered

Today, Pepe Reina was presented as Villarreal’s new goalkeeper in a press conference where Fernando Roig was in attendance, and the event brought up some interesting talking bits.

The first talking point is the number chosen. First of all, if anyone doesn’t know and is interested, per rule in Spain keepers have to chose between the number 1 and 13 for the kit, with the 25 being reserved for a potential third keeper.

With that being taken care of, Reina will sport the number 1. Rulli allowed him to take the number, sticking to his current digits.

Reina remembered us that when he left, he would come back one day down the road. And now he’s here, ready to help the team to achieve his goals, and contribute with his experience to the whole club.

Reina also talked about retiring in Villarreal, whether we talk in one or two years, but he is very much looking forward to retire as a Groguet.

When talking about the objectives, he said: “The club is ambitious, they must fight to qualify to the Champions League and the other objective is to get to the top both in the Copa del Rey and Conference League.” That’s a statement that we all can agree on.

As I mentioned earlier, he also confirmed that Rulli allowed him to take the number 1, considering that hierarchically it meant for Rulli.

Photo by John Walton/EMPICS via Getty Images

As he also said, he’s here to compete with Rulli for the starting position, but also to help the development of the younger keepers: Iker and Jörgensen.

He also talked about his conversation with Emery where the coach told him “about the hierarchies and Rulli is the starter, and the rest are here to help and compete”. So there you have it on record, Rulli will be the first choice for the start of the season.

After him, Fernando Roig took the time to hype the current season, talking about how the stadium is being renovated, that this season is the year of the centenary, but also that we will celebrate 25 years as president of the club.

He also talked how the prices for the season ticket are lower than in other places, having the possibility of enjoying two professional clubs at a low cost, keeping Villarreal B in mind.

The doubts about who would be the partner of Rulli this season has been answered, and also the question of who would start. Time will tell if Reina manages to become the starter or if Emery will continue with Rulli