Marcos Sánchez and Héctor Muñoz, two young players from Vila-real who want to have success with the Submarine
Two young promises from the Yellows Academy. Two boys from Vila-real. Marcos Sánchez, Villarreal C right-bck, and Héctor Muñoz, a goalkeeper who plays for the Juvenil A and Juvenil B teams, are the two local footballers closest to the elite in the Submarine’s youth set-up.
Taking into account Migue Leal and Carlo Adriano, who have already made their first-team debuts for the Yellows, the future ‘xiquets del poble’ (hometown boys), the nickname of the town’s leading footballing product, Pau Torres, are Marcos and Héctor. In the Yellows Academy, talent from the province of Castellón is shining, with footballers from Castelló, Burriana and La Vall d’Uixó, as well as Vila-real, being a key part of the youth set-up.
The idols
Seeing the team from your hometown win a European trophy with Pau in the starting XI is something that inspires future generations. With the centre-back leading the way for youngster to look up to, followed by Carlos Adriano and Migue Leal, there are a number of players that the youngsters from Vila-real can look up to: Héctor Font, César Arzo and Xisco Nadal for example, all of whom are still linked to Villarreal.
Pau, the famous ‘xiquet del poble’, is arguably the best player ever from Vila-real. He won the UEFA Europa League with Villarreal, is currently playing in the UEFA Champions League, as well as reaching the semi-finals of a European Championship and winning an Olympic silver medal in Tokyo.
All the life with the same methodology
Both Marcos and Héctor have been brought up in the Yellows Academy with a clear methodology. And this, when they work with different coaches and team-mates, helps them to understand what is needed on the pitch. “The methodology at the club is clear, and you there’s a real family feel. The first team players always say hi to us. In the UEFA Youth League I play with players from Villarreal B or from the U19s, and it’s like we’re all the same team. It’s a real family,” explained Sánchez.
Two demanding competitions
This year, both are playing in top competitions. Marcos is playing in the UEFA Youth League and Héctor made his División de Honor debut this season against CF Talavera last week.
Regarding the continental competition, the full-back says: “We’re really excited about it. We’ve worked a lot to get here. Not qualifying first was a shame, because we would have got through another round, but we’re working with the same push to continue to make history for Villarreal’s academy.”
He adds: “Being able to represent my town in Europe is something that I’m proud of and it’s a pleasure to be able to do so. Villarreal has always had one of the best academies in Spain and now it’s time for them to know us in Europe too.”
Thanks to Villarreal, players from not only the town of Vila-real, but across the province of Castellón, have played for various age groups for the Spain national team: “You can see that in nearly every youth team for Spain, there is a Villarreal player, and that shows how well we work here,” underlines the Villarreal C player.
Héctor underlines that for him: “The last few years, it has been tough to stay in the leading teams, with the change to 11-a-side football and what’s needed of a goalkeeper. But still being here is something I’m proud of, and I will fight for every match. You can’t put a price for playing for the team from the town you’re born in, especially with such an academy like this one. I walk to training, I enjoy myself, and I’m the happiest guy around.” Regarding the U19s in the División de Honor, he says: “We started the year with higher expectations. We started inconsistently and we didn’t get the results we wanted, but we’re turning things around and we’re happy with the progress we’re having. That’s the positive thing about this season.”
The dream of making a debut
Their friends and family hope to see them make their debuts one day at the Estadio de la Cerámica in front of their fans. That’s something they’ve both dreamed off too. Marcos says: “It’s a dream. I’ve lived through that moment in my head so many times. That moment. Making my debut in front of my people, with the stadium full… A lot of my friends ask me when I’ll make it. We all dream of doing it. There’s a long way to go and I need to improve a lot to get there.”
Héctor also was prudent: “I think I’ve never thought of it because there’s still a lot of work to do, and a lot of experiences to go through before reaching that level. When I go to the first-team games and see Filip (Jorgensen) warming up, it makes me want to experience that one day, and even more so, being a hometown boy, with my friends being able to see someone from their town playing.”
No-one knows if that day will come, but the two youngsters from Vila-real work hard every day to try and make their top-flight debut at home, just like their idol Pau.
