The Yellows academy players got a special talk from former footballer Jacinto Elá Eyene
Knowledgeable advice. Just a few days ago, Villarreal B and Villarreal players received a presentation from Jacinto Elá Eyene, a former professional footballer, and author of the book ‘Football B: What I Would Have Liked To Have Known When I Was A Footballer That No-one Told Me.”
Elá (2/5/1982), from Equatorial Guinea, was picked as the best U14 player in the world at an international tournament. He was part of the Espanyol academy and played for Spain at youth level, before signing for Southampton. However, a knee injury stopped him from playing elite football at just 26 years old.
Nowadays, he promotes his book and gives talks about his life to promising young footballers, with the hope they ‘continue to wish for the best, but they also prepare themselves for the worst.’ “I explain to them what they can find along the way, and I give them advice so this doesn’t happen to them,” he explains.
For Villarreal CF, academic formation, as well as personal development, is extremely important, and the club tries to let players make their own decisions on and off the pitch, while they get the values from the Yellows, and football more generally.
To see the Villarreal TV report (in Spanish), just click on the video tab.
