LA-LIGA - Villarreal

Villarreal CF is the little engine that could in European club football. A little more than a decade after establishing itself in the Spanish top flight (hopefully for good, but just ask Deportivo La Coruña), the Yellow Submarine is among the world’s elite clubs.

Detractors point to the club’s relatively bare trophy cabinet, apart from capturing the now-defunct Intertoto Cup. But finishing as Spanish league runners-up—ahead of Barcelona—and reaching the semifinals of both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League are admirable accomplishments. With Champions League football returning to Estadio El Madrigal in 2011-12, the club is undeniably aiming for more.

This summer’s big departure was homegrown product and Spanish international playmaker Santi Cazorla, who left for greener pastures in Málaga. Central defender Cristián Zapata (from Serie A side Udinese) and supporting striker Javier Camuñas (from La Liga’s Osasuna) are the summer’s main arrivals, helping to bolster a thin squad. And more changes may be in store soon: strikers Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi and midfielder Borja Valero are wanted by the top clubs on the continent.

After finishing 4th in La Liga in 2010-11 and defeating Danish side Odense in the Champions League play-off round, Villarreal will want to seize on the opportunity to play in the world’s premier club football competition. As a result, this term’s Spanish Copa del Rey will take a backseat. In that competition, expect to see a number of players from Villarreal’s ‘B’ team, which competes in Spain’s second division (joined only by Barcelona’s youth team).

But Villarreal cannot afford to forget about La Liga, as only a top-four finish (or a trophy) will ensure a similar financial windfall next season. With the rise of free-spending Málaga and continued threats of Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, and Atlético Madrid, the competition for third place (behind the big two) will be stiff.

Villarreal is on firmer financial footing than many of its competitors, thanks to the stewardship of owner Fernando Roig and right-hand man José Manuel Llaneza. Champions League money, a lower wage bill, and the sale of star performer Cazorla will only enhance that position. Add in a burgeoning fan base and productive academy system (both the ‘A’ and ‘B’ team coaches are former Villarreal players), and the Villarreal success story promises a happy ending.

Eighty-eight years in, the future of Villarreal CF is brighter than ever. Challenging for a top-four finish in La Liga and making the knockout phase of the Champions League are the club’s two primary goals in 2011-12. Anything more would be gravy.

Not bad for a club from a sleepy industrial town of 50,000 people. Villarreal plays football the right way, just as it conducts its business (don’t ask a Mallorca fan). Join us at VillarrealUSA.com, the premier source of English-language content on the Yellow Submarine (even if we say so ourselves).

¡Endavant, a guanyar, a triomfar Villarreal!

--sid, VillarrealUSA.com