On a related note, Marca reported that Pelligrini still wants to get another center back. He said that three are just not enough with the amount of games we will be playing - I cannot agree more, and I hope Llaneza and Roig listen to him.
Excellent report, thanks for this. It's nice to see Bruno getting some time, and the goal scoring getting spread around. I am getting very excited about the opener against Valencia. Ok I know we need defenders and I will admit Materazzi is a quality defender but seriously, IMO this guy is a prick and I would hate to see him play for Villarreal. Can you imagine the amount of fouls this team would get with both Cygan (when he is in porr form) and Marco in the squad? UGH.
please god not him. We have competent holding mid lineup, we don't need him. Materazzi is unsuited to playing football. That dude is mentally ill. We don't need his long shots, besides that he's crap. It's good to hear that de la bella performed well. How reliable he is has to be determined from long term observation though. We need a reliable CB and possibly another defender to ensure the security necessary to compete in both la liga season and UEFA Cup.
Boca finds it nearly impossible to keep Riquelme My spanish is poor so please let me know if I mis-interpreted this.
If he isn't transferred, Villarreal expects him back in exactly one week. So we'll see. Thanks for the report, SempreGroc. Hercules may be a Segunda team but let's not forget Valladolid embarrassed the hell out of us last season in the Copa del Rey when they were still in Segunda. So a 4-0 result at Hercules in their stadium is cause for optimism, especially hearing that the team dominated the game from minute 1.
Yeah it's good news but I don't want to jump the gun with optimism yet. He'll return on August 15, and hopefully he will then sit down with the management and discuss the possibility of his reintegration with the squad. At least this gives us some limits: Best case scenario (pretty unlikely that all of this will happen): Roman comes back and talks to Pellegrini and Roig. They agree to let him play in the team again, he gets the #8 back, the squad accepts him as another teammate, everyone moves on, and suddenly we now have another world-class midfielder in our squad, on whom we are NOT dependant any longer. As I said, I think this is unlikely, though we can always hope. Worst case scenario (less unlikely, but I hope not): Roman comes back and the management doesn't want him to play. He is given the #16 for registration purposes, and at best he is accepted by some of his teammates and spends the next couple of seasons training and not playing at all. This would be terrible. So let's hope for the best. edit: Tacchi is a huge get for Cosmi. I remember a couple years ago when he was rather unceremoniously thrown out of a promising Udinese club with ambitions similar to Villarreal. Brescia is his chance to redeem himself. I hope he does.
I don't think Roman would say these without knowing what to expect. “In a few days I have to begin training with my club, which is Villarreal” “I will immediately get myself ready for manager Manuel Pellegrini, who I plan to only have a player and manager relationship with, and only that” “I’ve always been a Boca fan, and when I play for Villarreal and watch Boca on the television and see one of my teammates wearing the number ten jersey, I will feel like I am lending it to him, until the day when I put it on again” “Perhaps I will put on the Boca jersey again in June of 2009, when my Villarreal contract expires”
Well, I'll tell you what is going to happen... (more or less) Riquelme will came back here next week to begin his own pre-season, training alone by the moment and doing his work as the others. That's the way to put preassure on the team and avoid the possibility of being "fired" for free according to his low yield for the team. If he do his work (training) normally, the team have to give him a number (he have the "16"), and let him train and supply the same things than the others (facilities, physiotherapist, ...), and the only thing that he won't do is to play the matches. This can change if he accepts one of the offers to leave the team that Villarreal will propose him. I have heared that he will go to At. Madrid at the last moment, when he notice that he isn't going to play in the next two years. I hope he leave the team soon and we can get some money for him..., it's one of the best players but his behaviour is very very very undesirable. PD: monday I will make the report of the team against Sporting the Praga
A lot of the details were undisclosed, but how can you blame Roman for this? Manuel Pellegrini had gotten rid of Arruabarrena, Sorin, Figueroa and Somoza? so far. Quite possibly Riquelme and Barbosa now too. Fabricio Fuentes had been irreplaceable for the club, Gonzalo Rodriguez had stayed out of the matter with the 2 injures. If options were opened for those 2, you think Pellegrini would of spared them from the purge? Be grateful, be thankful.
This goal.com article addresses the Argentina "exodus." http://www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=379297 Is there anything to this? Does Pelligrini dislike Argentinians? What is his basis? Personal? Style?
That article is bogus. I seriously doubt Pellegrini has a vendetta against Argentinians, if it were true, I'm certain that Ruben Cousillas would not be his assistant manager. Mentioning Gonzalo Rodriguez in the list of unappreciated Argentinians is also preposterous. We all know that Gonzalo is a first team starter whenever he is fit, the kid just happens to be as fragile as sugar glass. If anything, I think it is the upper management (Roig and chair members) that may have lost faith in Argentinians and are now betting on European talent.
I think that's a load of BS. But one thing they may have considered: when they bring in Argentinians from South America or Mexico, there is a period of adaptation, whereas Europeans don't have that. They are already playing at the top flight. I think that explains the 3 French players and the Anelka rumors, etc. It's not like Pellegrini has suddenly developed a fondness for the French.
Hi Rios. I would like to know where are you from, because I live in Villarreal and we have here a lot of "unofficial" information, not showed in the newspapers and the internet, that begin like rumors but I think most of them are true. First of all, Roman is the only person who caused that situation. He have been the best player of Villarreal those last years, our "star"... He have enjoyed all the privileges of a star in a modest team (comparing to Real Madrid and Barcelona). He used to park his car in a zone forbidden of the Ciudad Deportiva to avoid the journalists (the other players in the parking...), last year before the match against Barcelona (we loose 4-0) he left the team to go to Argentina to see his son born (no one has done something like this in Villarreal before, even Josico played the match when his son born and he born here in Spain...), he force the club to sign his private fisiotherapyst (Jorge Bombicino) to avoid he had to go each time that get injuried to Argentina, he didn't weigh himself when the trainer ask him to do it (all the players have to keep his optimum weigh) ,.... do you think it's enough to blame Roman for this...? I think so..., but there is something else. When we loose in the Madrigal 1-4 against Osasuna past season and after doing a disastrous match the president went down to the changing room to talk to the team. He reminded them that they have to came back to Villarreal 29 december (remember that the previous season they returned january 3, and we loose against Valencia, playing quite bad) and Roman said to the president that he will return january 3..., maybe Roman thought he was "the boss" now? What happened after that all the world nows it, Roman will never play again in Villarreal, and I think is the right thing. Something similar happened with Sorin, and the other players, they didn't show here what they were expected to show, only this. Bye
so in your opinion, the conflict is caused by: 1. parked his car in forbidden zone to avoid journalists. 2. missed 1 game because his son was being born. Actually he missed 2 matches for that reason. Also didn't play against Getafe. 3. signed a personal physiotherapist. 4. didn't weight himself when a trainer asked him to. depend on what you mean by "blame". If the punishment is to get rid of him after all he had done for us, I cannot not disagree. are you not aware that the Osasuna game was the last match Roman played in spain? By the beginning of February he was playing for Boca already. more importantly, are you not aware that Roman had been benched through out the 2005-06 season? He only played 20 some matches the entire year, and during which he scored 13 goals, as a midfielder! That's the cause of him falling out with Villar, not the bullshit excuses you named. LOL
Sorry but I don't know how to explain myself better in english. Maybe you don't understand what I mean. Those "bullshit excuses I named" are only drops of water filling a vase, and what happened after Osasuna's match (17/12/2006) was the drop that makes the vase flow... He is a very good player but just a "worker" more in a soccer team, in a little club, the Villarreal. He thought that he was above all, the players, the trainer and the most important person here, our president, so he just made him know who was the boss here and who was paying him his salary. Sorry again but I don't understand what you mean here: "are you not aware that Roman had been benched through out the 2005-06 season?" I only want to add that I loved Roman Riquelme while he wanted to play here and give all for our team, and I began to hate him when he started to spoil the team.
Oops, I forgot it..., tomorrow before the match against Osasuna, Fernando Roig is going to make a press conference to talk about Riquelme... We still don't know what he is going to say.
I think you explained well. During 05-06 season, Riquelme only played 26 matches including against Benfica. and he was practically the best player we had. That was not because Roman didn't want to play, rather that Roig and Co. didn't want him to play. Not because he wasn't in shape to play either, he scored 13 goals in those 26 matches. In comparison, Forlan scored 10 goals in 33 matches that season. And Diego Forlan was a striker. What would you feel if you're the best player of the team and your coach sits you on the bench 1/2 the matches?
If anyone is bullsh*tting here, it is you, Rios. Riquelme played a total of 25 Liga games, vs 30 for Forlan. In total, he played 37 matches in 05/06 season, vs 43 for Forlan and 41 for Senna. Indeed, that is fewer matches, but conveniently enough, you "forget" to mention that he got injured in the 2nd game of the season, vs Sevilla, and missed the match against Zaragoza because of suspension. In addition, he missed 5 games in a row during in late January and February of 2006 (vs Sevilla, Cadiz, Celta, Espanyol and Athletic) due to an injury. He was then again slightly injured on 3/18 vs Atletico. That's 8 league matches missed due to injury or suspension. I am not even counting the games on 4/4 and 4/14 April vs Zaragoza and Barcelona when Riquelme was rested in favor of the Champions league games vs. Inter and Arsenal, respectively. Oh, and yes, you forget to mention that Riquelme scored 4 out of his 14 goals in all competitions goals from penalties (and that he missed an additional 3 in the process...) How does that compare to Forlan, who had 13 goals and actually *more* (5) assists than Riquelme (4)? Do you want me to keep going? Or do you stand corrected now? The point that i am trying to make is this is not about how Riquelme would "feel" for being sidelined despite being a superstar. We know that he's good. God knows that i would like to see him back on the team. Unfortunately, the fool thinks he is above others... In Spain, US, and maybe even Agentina, when you don't show up to WORK, when you are getting PAID, you get FIRED. Yes, one time is ok, maybe twice, but how many times are you, as a accomodating manager, supposed to look the other way? Pellegrini is not insane...neither was Barcelona's coach..;who should we believe? Riquelme is a great player. So was Anelka, Best, and many others. Skill alone does not make a great player.