The Villarreal B head coach has analysed the Mini Submarino’s next opponent, Atlético Madrileño (Saturday, 2pm CET)
Villarreal B head coach David Albelda spoke to V Play to analyse the build-up to the next match against Atlético Madrileño, corresponding to Matchday 21 of Group II of 2025/26 Primera Federación season, which will take place this Saturday at 2pm CET in Alcalá de Henares.
The Valencian coach began by assessing the impact of the winter transfer window on B teams: “We’ve had departures of players who were important for us, but we accept it. When you have players with quality, teams from higher divisions come looking for them and that’s a normal part of the development of young footballers.” Despite this, he also spoke positively about the latest arrivals to the Mini Submarine: “New players have come in and we’re in a phase of quickly assimilating concepts, but the team will overcome it and is prepared. These are important signings that will give us more competitiveness in certain areas of the pitch. It’s also important to have a lot of competition among the players so they are in a continuous process of growth.”
Regarding the opposition, Albelda highlighted the difficulty posed by Atlético Madrileño: “I always say that Atlético Madrileño are like a Villarreal B, but two years older. They have a slightly higher average age and more experience, but I’m focused on us. I’m thinking about the confidence we have, the fact that we’re in a good moment, and that we have options to play a good match, which will give us chances to win.” The Villarreal B coach also underlined the versatility of the rojiblanco side: “They are a team that handles all the concepts of football very well. They can play well in a low block, a mid block and a high block. They counter-attack well and have very decisive players up front for this category. We know the difficulty, but it’s also true that we have a lot of confidence in ourselves.”
Finally, regarding the match itself, Albelda explained the type of game he expects: “I expect a very dynamic match, with lots of ideas and end-to-end action. The key will be to control them well defensively. They have very good players, but we’re going there with conviction and we’re prepared.”
