Villarreal enjoyed one of the best nights in the club’s history last week, with a scintillating performance at La Ceramica that cooled off six-time European champions Bayern Munich.
Villarreal enjoyed one of the best nights in the club’s history last week, with a scintillating performance at La Ceramica that cooled off six-time European champions Bayern Munich.
“We have beaten one of the best teams in the world,” captain Dani Parejo said after Villarreal scored a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final last week. But he knows that may not be enough.
Villarreal enjoyed one of the finest nights in the club’s history with a scintillating performance at La Ceramica, which cooled off the six-time European champions.
Unai Emery’s side would take a one-goal lead in Tuesday’s second leg in Germany, yet the overriding sentiment was regrettable as a series of missed opportunities kept Bayern alive.
“We did a great job and if we’ve been honest, we should have won more,” said Villarreal midfielder Giovanni Lo Celso.
Instead, a goal deficit is far from insurmountable for a team that has scored 17 and 20 goals in their last five matches at home in their last four European matches at the Allianz Arena.
Villarreal has made a habit of neutralizing glamorous opponents, even though their La Liga status of the seventh show shows they can struggle against minor opposition.
While Emery’s forensic analysis and in-depth video sessions may suppress the spontaneity needed to defeat a limited number of sides, it means his team is deftly clever and hard to break down.
In the past year, Villarreal have defeated Europa League champions, Coppa Italia winners, Bundesliga champions and FA Cup winners. They also beat Manchester United to win last season’s Europa League.
In Spain, they are unbeaten this season against defending champions Atlético Madrid and leaders Real Madrid.
After a resounding 3–0 win in Turin, which defeated Juventus in the last 16, Villarreal will be confident they can get the job done in Germany and reach the club’s first Champions League semi-final since 2006.
Win or lose in Munich, a win against Bayern in the home leg will be recorded in Villarreal history books.
biggest challenge
While Bayern were winning the European Cup for the third time in a row in 1976, Villarreal were being relegated to the fourth tier in Spain. When Bayern won their fifth in 2013, Villarreal had just been promoted to the top flight.
Villa-Real’s population, just over 50,000, could fit inside Bayern’s stadium, with 25,000 seats remaining. No small city has teamed up to win a European title.
Villarreal remained in the third division for most of its history until Spanish billionaire Fernando Rog took over in 1998.
Roig has made improvements to the stadium, training ground and team. Villarreal signed players such as Riquelme, Diego Forlan, Marcos Senna and Santi Cazorla.
He has been a fixture in the top flight for all but one in 22 seasons of this century.
With stability secured, Emery was hired to take the team to the next level, challenge for trophies and move into the top four of La Liga.
He has disappointed in the league but the success of the Cup has kept Emery’s stock high. A job at Newcastle in November tempted him but turned it down, with the prospect of a European run too tantalizing.
Similar arguments kept local-born star defender Pau Torres at the club he joined when he was five, despite interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United last summer.
The only question now is whether the crucial win over Bayern Munich will be remembered as the pinnacle of an incredible run, or as the basis of something else.
“Tuesday will be the biggest challenge of my career as a coach,” Emery said. “And also for the club, for the players, for a lot of people here.”