29.12.2009 12:29
Villarreal a home for ex-Barca stars
Pau Ramírez
Since their return to the top flight, Villarreal have welcomed a number of ex-Barca players to the Madrigal, including some of the Catalan club’s most respected figures.
There were three ex-Barca players in the Villarreal team which started their first season in the
top flight in 1998 - Serer, Robert and Thomas Christiansen. Robert Fernández, played for Barca
between 1986 and 1990 and joined Villarreal in 1995, staying for four seasons. Josep Serer learned
his trade at the Masia and played eight games for Villarrealin Primera, whilst Christiansen was a
key member of the promotion winning side, though he moved to Terrassa in the 99/2000 season after
Villarreal were relegated.
Amor – a luxury signing
Villarreal were back in the Primera Liga again for the 2000/01 season and they started the
campaign with a real luxury signing - Guillermo Amor, who came back to the Spanish game after his
time at Fiorentina in Italy. Two more ex-Barca youngsters joined him at the Madrigal: Xavi Roca and
Quique Álvarez, whilst Victor Muñoz, a Barca hero from the 80s, was in the manager’s seat
from 2000 to 2003 and the Argentinean
Juan Antonio Pizzi joined in the 2001/02 season to replace the injured Martín Palermo.
Reina first direct move
The first Barca player to move straight from the Nou Camp to Villarreal was Pepe
Reina, who joined in 2002, before leaving for Liverpool. A year later, Roger Garcia and Juan Román
Riquelme followed and the Argentinean soon became a key player in Villarreal’s success,
guiding them to a Champions League semi final in 2006 against Arsenal, who eventually faced Barca
in that year’s final.
Edmílson the most recent signing
More recently, the Brazilian Sonny Anderson played for one season(2003) and Juan
Pablo Sorín was at the club between 2004 and 2006, whilst José Edmílson joined for six months after
finishing his contract with Barca in 2008. Finally, coach Ernesto Valverde, who played with Barca
between 1988 and 1990, joined last summer.