Bray Wanderers v Villarreal C.F
Full Story here
Spain is rejoicing in the immediate afterglow of winning the World Cup for the first time in its history after last Sundays 1-0 win over Holland in Johannesburg. Andres Iniesta’s extra time winner deservedly secured the greatest prize in the game for the current European Champions.
Bray natives will be able to share in some of the feel-good factor surrounding Spanish football when La Liga team Villarreal take on Bray Wanderers in the Carlisle Grounds on Monday 26th July 2010 at 7.45pm.
Villarreal finished in 7th place in last season’s La Liga standings – they were runners-up to Real Madrid as recently as 2007/08 – and will bring a full strength squad to Bray with the exception of their new World Champion, Joan Capdevila who played in all of Spain’s seven matches in South Africa.
The travelling party will include Marcos Senna, a member of the Spanish side that won the 2008 European Championships, Giuseppe Rossi, the former Manchester United striker who has 14 caps for Italy to his name.
Several players that featured in the World Cup Finals will also be in Bray. These include the talented Brazilian forward Nilmar, who has won eight international caps and was apart of the Brazilian team in South Africa and the United States international Jozy Altidore who impressed for the USA at the World Cup Finals Africa. Diego Godin was part of the impressive Uruguay team that reached the semi finals in South Africa.
The squad also contains some of the brightest young talents playing in Europe right now with the precocious Brazilian teenager Tiago Dutra the standout youngster. At just nineteen years of age he has already amassed a total of eighteen caps for the Brazilian under 19 team.
Commenting ahead of the game against Bray Wanderers, Villarreal Manager Juan Carlos Garrido said, "The victory by the Spanish national team will give a great boost to Spanish football at all levels. The past few years have been great for the game in Spain with the European Championship win and success in the various UEFA club competitions now capped off by this magnificent World Cup victory. It will put more spotlight on La Liga and make it even more competitive so it is vital that we get off to a strong start when La Liga re-commences. Our fixture with Bray Wanderers is, therefore, extremely important for us in our pre-season preparations”.
Wanderers manager Eddie Gormley is excited about the forthcoming fixture, “Villarreal have been one of the best teams in La Liga over the past few years – in fact, they finished second in La Liga in 2008 – so we are certain that they will provide a stern test for us. Spain’s win in the World Cup should add some colour to the occasion and I’m sure our supporters will turn out in strong numbers to see what promises to be a free-flowing match”.
Head of Football at PLATINUM ONE, Eamon McLoughlin said that the Bray faithful are in for a treat on July 26th, “The Spanish style of football that we have enjoyed so much in recent years is not just confined to the National team – the top La Liga clubs, including Villarreal, play the game in an open and exciting manner. Fans of open, attractive football will see that for themselves when Villarreal arrive in Ireland for this match”.
Tickets for the match are available now and are priced at €15 for adults, €10 for students and €7 for children under 16 years of age.
