The Yellows reached the semi-finals of the JSSL Academy in Singapore, with four clean sheets along the way
This Easter, a Villarreal girls’ team experienced the second international tournament outside of Europe ever! An U16 Yellows side made up of a combination of players from the Femenino C, D and Infantil teams, took part in the prestigious JSSL Academy Tournament in Singapore, where they reached the semi-finals, managing to keep four clean sheets along the way.
One of the coaches of this team, Jordi Ferriols, tells us what this Asian adventure has been like for the Submarine: “An unforgettable experience for all of us. For many of the players and coaching staff it was the first time we had left Europe. Being able to represent Villarreal was unforgettable and they showed what they were made of and had a great time.”
The players showed their commitment to Villarreal and to the sport by representing the Yellows in the best possible way: “Villarreal demands good players and good people, and they showed that at all times, respecting all their opponents and the culture of the country,” explained the coach. And, as if that wasn’t enough, they seemed to play by memory, as if they had been training together all year: “The fact that we all work with the same model and ideas has made it much easier for us to take players from C and D and even the Infantil team,” he added.
7-a-side football and no offsides
As well as adapting to playing together, the Submarine’s U16 players had to learn to play ‘a new sport’. They were returning to 7-a-side football, despite the fact that they had been formed playing 8-a-side football in the region of Valencia, and a few years had already passed since their move to the big pitch and playing 11-a-side. But the changes didn’t stop there; there was no offside.
“Playing 7-a-side football is very different. Here we play 8-a-side and on top of that there was no offside, plus the girls have been playing 11-a-side football for several years. With the handicap of offside, you have to adapt to how to occupy the space”, recalls Ferriols, who underlines that “in the first game we were surprised. It was like a mixture between futsal and 7-a-side football. You had to mix it up and find solutions. From our idea, we were able to adapt to that and reach the semi-finals.”
And the Yellows were not the only ones who needed a short period of adaptation to these new rules. “Sporting Portugal and ourselves found it hard to adapt. Valencia CF also found it a little difficult, but it’s true that they were already familiar with the format from previous years.” Even so, Villarreal beat the Portuguese side 4-0.
A town known across the world
It was the first time that Villarreal had taken part in this renowned competition with teams from all over the world, especially from Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Japan, but everyone knew the crest and the colours. This is how Ferriols describes it: “I would emphasise that the Villarreal name is very well known. Everyone recognises you and that’s very nice. All the players from the Asian teams wanted to take photos with us. The players felt very loved. We represent Villarreal and, in particular, the female side and that’s incredible for us.”
As also happens in other 7-a-side tournaments such as LALIGA FC Futures, at Miralcamp they had to make a selection of 12 players to participate in the tournament and some players were unable to attend. “In this case, only 12 players were able to go. We hope that many more will be able to go to this type of tournament in the future representing these colours because they feel it”, hopes a proud Jordi Ferriols, who believes that “these experiences enrich us.”
So, the players from the Yellows Academy are gaining experience in top level international tournaments to continue making female football at Villarreal great in the present and in the future.
