The young and talented Yellows side finished third in their league, and runners-up in the 19th Manolo Salvador Tournament
Villarreal CF’s U9 (Benjamín B) side, have had a fantastic season, finishing third in their league. The team, made up mainly by players who were in the U8s (Prebenjamín A) last season, have numbers that speak for themselves. They had 25 wins, a draw and just four defeats, only finishing behind Valencia and Levante.
Their attacking qualities have stood out, given that they have scored 145 goals, while conceding just 50. Moreover, everyone in the team, apart from the goalkeepers, found the back of the net at least once this season.
The side is a compact team, in which its coaches Víctor Silva, Carlos Bou, Leandro Carbonell, José Luis Trillo and Alejandro García, do not only focus on tactics and techniques, but they also focus on promoting learning, creating a climate of trust between their players. The youngsters’ excitement to be playing football has been the main source of motivation for their coaches, who have focused on promoting solidarity, empathy, respect and unity between the players, with fun and progress being the main objectives.
Bou highlights how the team has evolved throughout the season, and he says there has been positive growth: “At the start, we found it hard to get going and it’s true that the team’s style had to improve. However, the boys have shown their quality both on an individual and collective level, which has led to a lot of goals. At the end of the day, who scores the goals is who goes away with the victory. They’ve grown a lot and this has helped them to know where to look for their team-mates, and to lose the fear of passing a bit. This has helped create a collective harmony which has led to a very nice style of football.”
Bou recognises that all the coaches are very proud of the job carried out by the Yellows youngsters: “The progress at this age is dizzy because we take them on after summer and seems that everything is joyful and chaotic. But six or seven month later we see all the work we’ve done with them, and all their qualities are clear. We’re honestly very happy with the level they’ve shown.”
The U19s recently finished second in the 19th Manolo Salvador Tournament, where Mario Navarro, from Villarreal, was named as best player of the tournament.
The squad is made up of the following players: Jesús Cortés, Sergio Cepedal, Martín Agustina, Jorge Zarceño, Xavi Royo, Jesús Caballero, Aitor Salas, José María Gil, Manuel Gozalbo, Carlos Bacca, Daniel Blanch, Noah Caballero, Mario Navarro and Miguel Soria.
