Pablo Herrera has received the Villarreal CF gold badge at the Endavant Gala for his outstanding sporting career
Villarreal CF awarded Pablo Herrera with the club’s gold badge at the Endavant Gala, which was held this Tuesday at the Paranimf lecture theatre at the Jaume I University, for his impeccable and extensive sporting career.
Villarreal CF president, Fernando Roig, was in charge of presenting this prestigious award to the former elite sportsman, who joins a select group of athletes such as Sergio García (golf) and Roberto Bautista (tennis).
After the presentation of the badge, Pablo Herrera recalled with great emotion how his relationship with the Yellows began:‘’I still remember the call I received 20 years ago from the legendary José Manuel Llaneza. I was in Tenerife and he told me that Villarreal CF wanted to collaborate with me. For me, it was and has always been a source of pride that a top club wanted to support me in a sport as modest as mine.”
Herrera also took the opportunity to thank the whole of the Villarreal family: “I want to thank José Manuel Llaneza, the Roig family, Endavant and Villarreal. And also to Marcelino García Toral, because in 2012 I had a very serious injury and it was him who opened the doors of his locker room so that I could be treated with the best.”
“It has been an honour to defend the club’s colours all over the world,” and this is how he closed his speech, putting the finishing touch to a magnificent career, wearing the Villarreal CF gold badge on the lapel of his jacket.
A legend of sport in Spain
Pablo Herrera is a man who perfectly represents the values of Villarreal CF and the true spirit of sport. With him, more than two decades ago, after his participation in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the sports sponsorship programme of the yellow club began: Endavant Esports.
Herrera has taken sport from Castellón to the very top, having won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and also holds the honour of being the only player in the history of his sport to have taken part in six Olympic Games.
After more than 20 years competing at the highest level, he put the finishing touch to a successful professional career in Paris 2024, in which he has also won four medals at the European Championships. Undoubtedly, an excellent career that has earned him the respect of the beach volleyball world and the admiration of the whole of Spanish sport.
