The Chumillas dynasty continues with Marcos
The Chumillas dynasty continues with Marcos

Prudencio and his son David played in the first team and now the youngest of the family is following in their footsteps

The Chumillas dynasty continues. This family from Vila-real has dedicated a large part of their lives to the Yellow Submarine for three generations. Prudencio, the first of the family to wear the yellow jersey, was recently honoured by the club along with the rest of the men behind the promotion to the second division in 1970 at the ceremony marking the expansion of the Passeig Groc, which commemorated this achievement and the UEFA Europa League win.

He was accompanied by his grandson Marcos, currently playing in the Yellows Academy, who dreams of following in the footsteps of his grandfather Prudencio and his father David, who played three seasons in the first team in the second tier.

A history of Villarreal

Prudencio and David are not the only father and son who have played for the first team. Adriano García and his son Carlo, currently playing for Villarreal B and with some minutes with the first team behind his back; Xisco Nadal, current first-team delegate, and his father Sebastián; or César Arzo and his father, among others, have followed this curious tradition.

The club has changed considerably during these three generations. When Prudencio was wearing the Submarine jersey, the club was not yet owned by Fernando Roig. “This has experienced a monumental growth. Nobody thought about it at that time. I don’t know how it is possible that the person in charge has been able to build all this and such a competitive team. The evolution has been very rapid,” confesses the oldest of the Chumillas family.

Más tarde, fue el turno de su hijo David y el equipo ya estaba asentado en Segunda División y el hijo de Prudencio debutó con el primer equipo cuando militaba en la UD Vall de Uxó, que en aquel entonces era filial del conjunto groguet, antes de formar parte del cuadro amarillo definitivamente. “Competíamos en Segunda División, pero todo era mucho más amateur. No teníamos filiales ni una ciudad deportiva. Todo esto no tiene nada que ver y ahora es un éxito ver al primer equipo compitiendo siempre por lo máximo, al filial en Segunda, que es muy importante para poder canalizar ese paso de jugadores hacia el primer equipo, y el Femenino en Primera División. A nivel de club, es el año más satisfactorio”, subraya David, que ahora dirige una empresa tras su retiro del fútbol, etapa en la que lo compaginó con sus estudios universitarios.

Later, it was the turn of his son David and the team was already established in the second division with Prudencio’s son making his debut with the first team when he played for UD Vall de Uxó, which at the time was an affiliated club of the Yellows, before joining the Submarine for good. “We were competing in the second division, but everything was much more amateur. We didn’t have B or C teams or a training ground. All this has nothing to do with what we have nowadays and now it is a success to see the first team always competing for the best, the B team in the second division, which is very important to be able to channel players towards the first team, and the Women in the first division. At club level, it’s the most satisfying year,” underlines David, who now runs a company after his retirement from football, a period in which he combined it with his university studies.

Like father(s) like son(s)

Now it’s the turn of little Marcos, who is in his fifth season at the club, not counting his previous stage in the Psychomotor Motor Skills programme. “He’s had a ball at his feet since he was a little boy and he never stops. I like the way he plays and I have fun when I come to see him”, his grandfather proudly explains. On the other hand, his father also likes to see his son enjoying yellow: “We encourage him to play this sport because he has liked it since he was little. You could see that he has inherited the love that we have at home and having these facilities, resources and coaches is something unique and we have to take advantage of the fact that we have it at home.”

The youngest of the Chumillas family says that his favourite player is Álex Baena, the idol of many groguets thanks to his great performance in the current campaign and his yellow feeling, with which he feels identified: “As well as being a midfielder like me, he is very good, he plays very well, he has a lot of desire, he has a very good shot and pass and he gets away from his opponents very well.”

Memories that will last a lifetime

At the moment, Marcos’ best memory in the Yellows Academy was winning a final with the U7s (Mini B) team against Levante UD in a penalty shootout. It was a tournament in Alcoy and the oppositoin players were physically superior, but Marcos’ team did a great job and managed to lift the cup. The youngsters returned home late that Saturday and, the following day, got up early to play the final of a provincial tournament against CD Onda in Vilafamés. Marcos lifted both trophies and completed a great weekend. Marcos still has many beautiful moments left to experience in Villarreal’s youth system and his grandfather Prudencio and his parents David and Blanca will continue to attend the José Manuel Llaneza Training Ground to witness them.

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