Robert Pirès Villarreal
What is Villarreal?
What is Villarreal in relation to Robert Pires?
In May 2006, Pires agreed to join Spanish side Villarreal. He joined on a free transfer, subject to passing a medical, bringing to an end his six-year career as an Arsenal player. After Villarreal were eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2006 Champions League by Arsenal, Villarrael coach Manuel Pellegrini had wanted to sign Arsenal's Pires or Thierry Henry.  Pires was officially unveiled as a Villarreal player on 3 July 2006. He scored his first goal for the club in 3-3 pre-season draw with Newcastle United on 5 August 2006. However, on 18 August 2006, Pires damaged the cruciate ligament in his left knee in a friendly match against Cadiz and required corrective surgery to alleviate the problem, which kept him out of action for seven months in his new club in Spanish top flight. Pires finally recovered from knee injury and made his first league appearance for Villarreal as a second-half substitute when he was named in Villarreal's squad to face Real Sociedad on 17 March 2007. Pires scored his first league goal on his return from injury in a 3-3 draw away to Real Betis on 31 March 2007. After three appearances as a substitute, Pires made his first start for Villarreal on 22 April 2007 against Barcelona. He opened the scoring for his team to defeat league leaders Barcelona 2-0, avenging his premature departure against Barcelona in the Champions League Final the previous May. On 13 May 2007, in a thumping 4-1 win at Osasuna, the former France international midfielder gave the visitors the perfect start with a seventh-minute opener as Villarreal continued their late-season push for a European spot. The run took "The Yellow Submarine", sinking at 11th spot without him in the side, to the brink of a UEFA Cup place in barely six weeks. Villarreal ended the season in 5th spot wherein Pires played crucial roles in helping Villarreal with the late charge up winning each of their final eight games and an entry into the UEFA Cup.  The 2007-08 season was marked by the ongoing saga between Juan Roman Riquelme and the board of Villarreal. Despite this distraction, Pires' leadership qualities helped Villarreal to win six of their opening eight games. Against Barcelona at El Madrigal, Pires technique earned the Yellow Submarine two penalties which were duly converted by captain Marcos Senna. By contrast, Pires' former national and Arsenal teammate Thierry Henry struggled at Barcelona.[2] Villarreal ended up finishing second in La Liga behind Real Madrid, which was their best league finish in history, beating Barcelona into third place.  In 2009, Pires faced former club Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute in the first leg and playing the full 90 minutes at the Emirates Stadium. Villarreal were defeated 4-1 on aggregate, but Pires received a warm return from the Arsenal supporters, who sang his name throughout both legs.  Pires was told in May 2010 that his contract would not be extended and he would have to look for a new club during the summer as Villarreal will be "changing their philosophy". CANNOTANSWER
In May 2006, Pires agreed to join Spanish side Villarreal.
Ciudad Deportiva Villarreal CF, also known as Ciudad Deportiva Pamesa Cerámica for sponsorship reasons, is the training ground of Villarreal CF, and is located in Villarreal.

Occupying an area of 70,000 m², the training centre is located at the western suburbs of Villarreal.

Facilities
Mini Estadi, with a capacity of 5,000 seats, is the home stadium of Villarreal CF B, the reserve team of Villarreal CF.
2 grass pitches (100x65m)
2 artificial pitches (90x60m)
3 mini artificial pitches (60x35m)
Service centre with gymnasium

External links
 villarrealcf.es
Estadios de España 

Villarreal
Villarreal CF
Sports venues completed in 2003 Villarreal is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Castellón.

Villarreal may also refer to:

Sports 
 Villarreal CF, a football club based in Villarreal, Castellón
 Villarreal CF B, the reserve team of Villarreal CF
 Villarreal CF C, the second reserve team of Villarreal CF

People 
 Brayan Villarreal (born 1988), Venezuelan Major League baseball player
 Eugenio Torres Villarreal, a Mexican professional wrestler, television host and rapper
 Federico Villarreal (1850–1923), 19th-century Peruvian mathematician
 José Villarreal (athlete), Venezuelan paralympic athlete
 Jose Villarreal (soccer) (born 1993), American soccer player who plays for LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer
 José Félix Villarreal (born 1956), Mexican chess master
 José Antonio Villarreal (1924–2010), novelist
 José Luis Villarreal (born 1966), former Argentine footballer
 Javier Villarreal (born 1979), Argentine football player
 Óscar Villarreal (born 1981), Mexican Major League baseball player

Places 
 Villareal, Samar, a municipality in Samar province, the Philippines
 Legutiano, a municipality in Álava province, Spain, sometimes referred to as Villarreal de Álava
 Ciudad Real in Spain, before it was made a city in 1420

Others 
 Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, is a public university in Lima

See also 
 Vila Real (disambiguation), the equivalent term in Portuguese. Villarreal Club de Fútbol "B" is a Spanish football team based in Villarreal, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1999, it is the reserve team of Villarreal CF and plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at Ciudad Deportiva Villarreal CF, with a 5,000-seat capacity.

Background
Unlike in other nations such as England, reserve teams in Spain play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However, reserve teams cannot play in the same division as their senior team. Therefore, the team is ineligible for promotion to the division in which the main side plays. Also, if the main team is relegated to the division in which its reserve side played in the prior season (which happened in 2011–12), the reserve team is automatically relegated to the division below the main team. Reserve teams are also no longer permitted to enter the Copa del Rey.

Premier League International Cup
Villarreal successfully applied to compete in the 2014–15, 2015–16 and 2016–17 versions of the England-based Premier League International Cup. They won the tournament in 2016, beating PSV in the final. Most of Villarreal's players in this Under-23 tournament have been drawn from the B side with some additions from C Team and the Juvenil group.

Season to season

3 seasons in Segunda División
1 season in Primera División RFEF
11 seasons in Segunda División B
4 seasons in Tercera División
4 seasons in Categorías Regionales

Players

Current squad

See also
Villarreal CF – First team
Villarreal CF C – Third team

References

External links
Official website 
Futbolme team profile 

Football clubs in the Valencian Community
Association football clubs established in 1999
Spanish reserve football teams
Villarreal CF
1999 establishments in Spain
Premier League International Cup
Segunda División clubs
Primera División RFEF clubs