Marta Querol, Aixa Salvador, Lucía Gómez, Irene Miguélez, Nerea Vicente, Lucía Romero, María Romero and Carmen Carbonell, Villarreal Women’s first-team players, have all spent time with various Yellows’ youth teams
Villarreal CF is a clear example of the academy success and its clear commitment to developing youngsters in the academy. More than 100 players have made their debut with the men’s first team since Fernando Roig’s arrival, with players such as Santi Cazorla and Rodrigo Hernández standing out.
The women’s and girls’ teams, created in 2000 with the launch of the first women’s team, have continued this success, working daily during this developmental period. This season, a total of eight players have previously played for a youth team at the club.
- Marta Querol (Morella, 05/02/2004).
- Aixa Salvador (Castellón, 12/10/2001).
- Lucía Gómez (Castellón, 11/10/1996).
- Irene Miguélez (Castellón, 05/07/2004).
- Nerea Vicente (Castellón, 01/07/2002).
- Lucía Romero (Alquerías del Niño Perdido, 31/12/2006).
- María Romero (Castellón, 31/01/2005).
- Carmen Carbonell (Valencia, 28/07/1999).
An unparalleled feeling
‘Villarreal CF is the club of my life. I’ve been a fan since I was a little girl and to be able to defend these colours for so many years is a source of great pride,’ said an emotional Marta Querol. Marta, alongside Aixa Salvador and Lucía Gómez, are the three players who have been with the club for more than a decade – the latter during different periods – and, as a result, have been awarded a ceramic Submarine, which is given to players after their tenth season in the club.”
Aixa Salvador also feels at home at the club: “For me it’s home and it’s family. Villarreal is a place where I can be and where I can be.” In her case, Aixa is in her 11th season as a Yellows’ player, divided into three stages. “I couldn’t find a better situation and context than this to ‘come home’. Coming home fills you with enthusiasm and when that enthusiasm is sustained over time, it’s because you’re in the right place,” she says with a special sparkle in her eyes.
As for Lucía Gómez, it could be said, almost without a mistake, that she has fulfilled her dream by defending the Yellows’ colours: ’It’s my home, because it’s the club where I was schooled and where I had the dream of becoming a footballer. And it was also the club that took me in at a bad time and made me get my hopes up again – the player from Castellón was in the midst of recovering from her fourth rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee. Besides, one of the dreams of my life was to play for Villarreal in the first division and my dream now is to do it again.”
Growing with good values
The methodology used at the Villarreal CF youth academy not only focuses on technical and tactical training, but also emphasises the fundamental values of the club, and this is what the three players highlight.
“You are how you are trained and how you are educated, and Villarreal are very concerned about that. That is their DNA, because they train the boys and girls as footballers, but also as people,” says Lucía.
Marta adds: “These have been years full of learning and experiences that shape you and make you who you are. The club has always instilled values in me that have formed part of my training process.”
And this training is constant, as Aixa points out. “I consider that I am still a player in development, because we are constantly adapting and training to be better every day. And I think that all the people I have spent time with at the club have taught me to be a better player and, above all, a better person.”
And how to put those values into words? They have no doubt: ‘work, effort, perseverance, companionship and respect’.
In short, a club that is like a family, emphasises Aixa, “in which we work very well in all areas” with the clear objective of “helping the players to develop better in sport” and thus continue to break down barriers and fulfil their dreams.
