On the last LA Liga competition day, Villarreal concluded their phenomenal campaign with a 4-2 dismantling of Seville. Champions League qualification was already in the bag, which means that the bet was zero, but there was still plenty to celebrate. The atmosphere was electric, with 20,000 flags fluttering like a yellow sea, the Villarreal national anthem roaring and every soul in the stadium ready for the end of the season. It was a perfect broadcast for the iconic Raul Albiol, who served so faithfully in a genuine tribute of fans, teammates and the club he had served.
The emotion almost immediately walked on the field. Only three minutes in the crowd broke out, and as if he was about to, Yeremy Pino picked up an excellent opener and lifted his shirt to reveal a personal dedication to Albiol. Villarreal smoke blood and pushed their advantage home, Pape Gueye doubled the lead only four minutes later with a thunderous left -wing strike from the edge of the box. While the game eventually came to rest, the 4-2 conclusion is a good reflection of what the Villarreal season has been: a goal. Villarreal broke their all-time top scores record with 71 goals, and their points count is as their second best ever in La Liga, only overshadowed by the iconic 77-point trek in 2007-08 of the Villarreal of Manuel Pellegrini.
Vila-Real, a city in the Valencian community of around 50,000 people, could fit its entire population in half of Barcelona's Camp Nou. Yet this city consistently rubs shoulders with the continental elite. Their fifth place finish this season, which secured their Champions League place via the extra European performance place of Spain, is not exactly a bolt of the Blue when we look at their finances.
Villarreal has budgeted € 143 million for this season, that the seventh highest in La Liga and the fifth highest wage account. The real Head-Scratcher, however, is how this club has collected such a considerable financial power from a rather modest city and has achieved consistent success on the field. Let's explain how this happened.
The crucial moment in the history of Villarreal was then Fernando Roig Alfonso, an seasoned businessman with an estimated net value of US $ 1.7 billion, the club acquired in 1997. The Spanish billionaire, whose fortune is rooted in his ownership of Pamesa Ceramica and a 9% interest in the Giant Mercadona supermarket, embodies a form of club students and community.
As he explains in an interview with Relo, Roig's journey with Villarreal did not start as a long dream, but more as a pragmatic business opportunity. He describes it as a casual encounter: the previous owner, Pascual Font de Mora, tried to sell, and Roig, whose ceramic activities in the nearby city of Almassora operated, saw potential. He was also attracted to the fact that at Villarreal he could be the only owner who makes decisions, in stark contrast to a club like Valencia, where several individuals were looking for power and control. Roig had witnessed such power struggle from first -hand as his own brother, Juan Roig, served as president. This clear command structure, combined with the 'excitement to be able to do something important', the deal for the businessman sealed.
Roig claims that Villarreal is “managed in the same way as Mercadona or Pamesa”, but at the same time he understands the emotional material of football. Roig states that in his core companies the objective is a profit, for Villarreal, “The goal is not to make money … but rather to prevent you from losing money and keeping the feeling [from the local fans and community]. “He explains frankly that in football:” Even if he owns the stock, the true owner is the one who thinks in Geel: the fan “.
The keys to the lasting success of Villarreal under Roig are, in his own words, built on a base of hard work, a ruthless focus on the Youth Academy and the mixing of that talent at home with cunning external signing sessions. The Cantera of the club is not only a production line, but a place where “first personal education and then sport” are given priority. Alex Baena, for example, shared that he chose Villarreal above Real Madrid because the more family environment of the club enabled him to visit his parents whenever he wanted.
It is difficult to paint Villarreal as a fairy -tale story, because the turnout eventually still comes down to having a billionaire investor. However, if you see what kind of football ownership the Villarreal acquisition of Roig followed (multi-club ownership, sportswashing, sovereine power funds, American private equity), it is difficult not to feel that the Villarreal venture of Roig is one of the best examples of how football with capital in a healthy and sustainable way. Roig is a resident of the Valencian community. He understands that the real owners of the club are his fans and he prioritizes continuity and long -term stability in his club's management. Roig is someone who, in his own words, believes that “give football back to society a part of what you have earned.”
In the past 25 years, Villarreal has been an near-constant competition in European competition. In their 25 seasons in La Liga, they have qualified a total of 17 times for Europe. This season's qualification for the Champions League would mark their fifth participation in the most prestigious club competition in Europe, where they already reached the semi -final twice in 2006 and 2022. They have also been a European League tribe dishes and glorious, outright winners in 2021 in 2021 in 2021 in 2021 in 2021 in 2021 in 2021 in 2021.
Even the hiccups in their journey, such as the incidental relegation (a sobering memory that no project is really immune for gravity) or the strange coaching Merry-go-round, can do little to derail the umbrella story. The club dismissed Javi Calleja famous to rent it again less than two months later. More recently, the Post-Unai Emery era in 2022 saw some struggles with the appointments of Quique Setien and Pacheta, which led to a period of tactical drift and a careful slide down.
In the moment of crisis, Villarreal opted for a well -known one, albeit complicated, name: Marcelino Garcia Toral. The same Marcelino who had led them to the European qualification in 2016, but to be fired a week before the season began to say, say, say, differ in opinion with the players and the board of Roig.
For a large part of his career, Marcelino has been seen as an avid 4-4-2 evangelist and a coach whose tactical playbook was based on defensive firmness and direct transitions. In Villarreal this season, Marcelino chose to form his philosophy for the talent instead of forcing rigid square pins in round holes. He did not completely leave his principles, but he has certainly embraced a more open and attacking style.
Villarreal ended the season with 71 goals, the third best scoring record in La Liga, behind only the usual suspects, Barcelona and Real Madrid. This attacking verve, despite a defense that was only the twelfth best in the division, was the engine of their Champions League -Push.
This striking attack has a few core protagonists. Ayoze Perez, taken over from Real Betis last summer, delivered the best season of his career. Not only did he succeed in getting shots and finishing them, but ayoze was also very involved in Villarreal's ownership. Ayoze was well supplemented with his striker partner Thierno Barry, with 11 goals to his name and a frightening presence on the air.
Then there is Alex Baena, the creative heart of this team, in 7 goals and 9 assists. Baena also synchronized pretty well with his left side Sergi Cardona, another cunning signature. Cardona was taken over from Las Palmas last summer and closed the season with 7 assists from his left role.
The rumor mill is, as always, churn. Important players, such as Baena and Barry, are already being connected to larger clubs. And the cold, hard fact of modern football is that success in a club of the relative size of Villarreal often leads to lucrative offers for their brightest talents. Keeping their core, or at least reinvesting intelligent, will remain just as important as it has been for them.
This season, the lack of European obligations Marcelino and his team allowed all their attention to La Liga. That luxury will have disappeared next year. Champions League football brings a ruthless schedule that demand deeper squadrons, robust rotation and a level of physical and mental resilience that can make or break a campaign. The team, although talented, must be strengthened and diversified to really compete on both fronts.
However, the reality is that Villarreal is used to this. Compeating in Europe is not a novelty; It is the norm for them. And if their history is a guide, the yellow submarine must be able to navigate European waters again.