The team with Baena, Jorgensen, Carlo Adriano, Tasende and Collado made history
What a side Villarreal CF’s U19s (Juvenil A) were in the 18/19 season! Led by the current Director of Football, Miguel Ángel Tena, a team that included talents such as Álex Baena and Filip Jorgensen was on the verge of winning the triple crown of División de Honor, Copa del Rey and Copa de Campeones.
In the end, Tena’s side managed to lift the first two titles and lost cruelly on penalties in the final of the last major tournament against Real Zaragoza, but that season went down in the history of the Yellows Academy and will always be remembered as one of the best generations in the youth system.
11 of them are still with Villarreal
Six players from that dream team are still enjoying professional football at the Submarine. In the first team, Álex Baena and Filip Jorgensen have made a name for themselves in the elite, while Carlo Adriano, Dani Tasende and Diego Collado are three key players for Miguel Álvarez at Villarreal B. Enric Martínez continues in the youth ranks at Villarreal C. Many other players are still active in LALIGA or in other leagues, such as Iván Morante and Juan Carlos Arana (Racing Santander), Fer Niño (Burgos CF) or John (Elche CF).
In addition to the six players mentioned above and Miguel Ángel Tena, other members of the coaching staff are still linked to the Yellows. Pepe Alcaide is the current first team analyst, while fitness coach David Pérez and psychologist Cristian Segovia are two of Miguel Álvarez’s most trusted men at Villarreal B. David Karg is also part of the youth academy scouts.
The team also included Izan Morcillo, Vicente Bellmunt Jorge Carlos Galdón, Borja Marzá, Javier Comeras, Vadim Murria, Robert Bairam Mihalache, Javier Cendón, Daniel Pereiro, José Luis Blanco, Rodrigo Robles, Álex René, Gonzaga Delage and Miguel Operé.
Villarreal academy history
This historic double was the second in Villarreal U19s’ history, the first having been won by Javi Calleja as coach. The Yellows won the regular championship with a comfortable eight-point lead over runners-up Levante UD.
Juvenil A won the División de Honor title after beating Lorca in the last match of the regular season (1-3). The Yellows were the top scorers in their group with 81 goals scored, with Diego Collado the team’s third top scorer with 13 goals.
After winning the league, Miguel Angel Tena’s side won the Copa del Rey final at the Municipal Antonio Peroles in Roquetas de Mar in formidable fashion (0-3). Their opponents were a powerful Atlético de Madrid side boasting players of the talent of Rodrigo Riquelme, Sergio Camello and Víctor Mollejo.
And it was time to round off the season with the treble. The setting was unbeatable. Our team travelled to Galicia to play in Balaídos against a Real Zaragoza team with stars such as the U21 international Alejandro Francés, now in the first team. After an agonising extra time in which the initial scoreline was also unchanged, the penalty shoot-out had to go to the eighth kick to determine the champion.
The Yellows fell with pride and thus ended a season to remember. Will some of them lift their first Copa del Rey in the first team?
