The evolution of the Yellows’ structure has taken the first team from Segunda Regional to Primera Iberdrola
Villarreal Women are on a roll. The first team won promotion last season and the Submarine’s women’s structure is growing by leaps and bounds every season. In their debut in Primera Iberdrola, the team coached by Sara Monforte, who was also the architect of the promotion, are out of the relegation zone and the dynamic is very positive. In addition, the Administrative Sport Court (Tribunal Administrativo del Deporte – TAD), returned the six points that the Spanish Football Federation (Real Federación Española de Fútbol) RFEF had deducted in the first instance.
Calm reigns at Miralcamp. Everything is going well. But this is the result of more than twenty years of work with the women’s teams. Patri Traver, one of the coordinators of Villarreal Women, explains how their structure works and the strategy to continue growing.
For the players of the academy, knowing that the first team competes in the top domestic league is an incentive to continue pursuing their dreams on the pitch. “The main thing is that the players have references and the fact that the players train in the same facilities as the young players and watch their training sessions and matches makes them think that with effort and patience it is possible to get there. They see it on social media, on TV and also on a daily basis. This makes it much more real”, says Traver.
A philosophy made in Miralcamp
Despite competing in the top flight, Villarreal Women remain faithful to their philosophy and part of the squad that has been making the Yellows’ fans fall in love with the Primera Iberdrola is the one that made it to the top flight last season. “This can be applied to all our age groups. We look first at what we have at home and then we sign players to fill the gaps. It is important that the players grow with the club and the club with them. Everyone knows that the academy also trains in values and we really like that connection that takes place in the growth of both parties,” admits the Submarine’s coordinator.
The academy continues to be a fundamental part of the structure and, for this reason, players such as the very young Irene Miguélez and Bea Prades, home-grown players at the club, face the best players every day wearing the yellow jersey. So does Aixa Salvador, who spent a season at Real Betis Balompié, and returned home to continue competing at the highest level. For their part, the other youth players Albeta and Marta Querol, from Villarreal Women’s B team, train regularly under the orders of Monforte and are in the dynamic of the first team, as well as Vera Rico, who is also a member of the B team, but with more participation in official matches with the first team. The striker, along with Miguélez, is an U19 international with La Roja.
In fact, many of these players are directly involved in the academy. “That’s a little bit of what we’re looking for. Having players in the academy’s teams means that the younger players have role models, a mirror to look up to and that there is a closeness between the two sides,” Traver acknowledges. Sara Bermell, Mexican goalkeeper Pamela Tajonar and Bea Prades are the players who are part of the youth coaching staff this season. Other players such as Lara Mata, Laura Royo, Olivia and Cienfu have already done the same in previous seasons, in both the men’s and women’s leagues.
Two important steps
Villarreal Women have taken two extremely important steps in the growth of their structure this season. On the one hand, Villarreal Women’s D team was born, which competes in Segunda Regional, and is largely made up of players of U16 age. Traver explains the reason for this change towards senior football: “Last year we had two teams in the U14s, an age group with four years difference between some of the players. The level we had didn’t match that of our older players. We decided to put one more team in the senior leagues to create a more competitive environment for them.
Even so, the Villarreal Women’s D team is the undisputed leader in its regular competition and, therefore, according to the Yellows coordinator, the step towards the desired competitiveness “will be achieved more in future seasons if promotions take place”. She also adds that “the aim is for them to compete in every game so that they are ready before the leap to the C and B teams”.
On the other hand, women’s 8-a-side football competes in the men’s leagues under the name of U12s, and they have been putting up a good fight in all their matches, picking up points in many of them. “When you try something new, you never really know what is going to happen, but we were looking for a more equal level and for them to compete, and they are doing just that. The fact that there are very close games, whether for or against, it helps them to generate new tools,” said Traver about the expectations that the club had for the younger players in this change. The girls have more than proved that they are ready to compete against the boys. In fact, there is one player who plays in one of the Submarine’s first-team of the U10s age group.
The objective: to develop players for the first team
In the short term, the Villarreal Women’s team has set itself the challenge of maintaining the most important levels and increasing the number of teams in order to continue producing players. “The main thing is to establish ourselves in some divisions, above all with the first team and the C team. With a view to next season, we would like to implement one more team in 8-a-side football so that the girls can start training earlier with our methodology and be ready to start competing against the boys,” says the coordinator and former Yellows player, who adds the importance of “training players for the first team from the B team “.
The hard work has paid off for the players at all levels. And the fact is that Villarreal promises to become, taking into account the evolution since the creation of the women’s leagues at the beginning of the century, one of the benchmarks of women’s football at regional and national level. Villarreal Women has no ceiling.
