Mateu Lahoz whistles the end of the first half in the legends match, with the Spaniards going to the cut with a 1-0 win thanks to a Catanha goal.
The defender marked Palermo and anticipated the Titan with a header, but in the clash he suffered a blow to the ribs that left him breathless. The winger tried to continue, but in the end he had to come out in place of Juanfran García.
The Spanish-Brazilian converted the first goal of the game for the Spanish legends, headering in a Juanfran Torres cross. Later he celebrates doing the “seagull”, which characterized him throughout his career.
Riquelme gave a demonstration of his brilliant technique and vision, even despite the eight years that separate his professional retirement. The number 8 put in a perfect through ball for Javi Venta, and Palermo marked the pass behind him to define, but the cross was cut at the right moment. And the fans dedicated songs to Román.
Palermo moves into the area, and his teammates want him to be the one to open the scoring. First it was Capdevila who crossed deep from the left, but he did not get to head. Then it was Forlán, but his delivery was too strong.
Riquelme left a great through ball for his former partner in Boca, he left it to the Uruguayan, and then the ball was left on the right for Javi Venta, who placed a cross for the Titán that was cleared at just the right time. Applause descends from the stands.
El Titán saw Ricardo López ahead and attempted a very distant left-footed shot, reminiscent of the great goal he scored against Independiente in 2006. However, his shot did not have much force and went wide. Even so, the attempt aroused chants of “Paleeeermo” from the fans.
The captain of the Spanish legends is the most controversial presence of the day, given that his recent stint at Villarreal as technical director was controversial and ended in a bitter dismissal.
Move Salva Ballesta for the Spanish legends and start the exhibition of the centenary of Villarreal.
The legends of Villarreal and the Spanish team are already on the playing field of the Estadio de la Cerámica to begin the exhibition, with the presence of Riquelme and Palermo.
Román was the last player to be presented to the fans at the Estadio de la Cerámica, and they reacted with a standing ovation for the enganche, the loudest of Villarreal’s 24 idols.
The legends are presented one by one upon their arrival on the field, and the Titan, goalscorer in Villarreal’s first years in the first division, was greeted with chants of “Paleeeermo, Paleeeermo” by the fans.
Among the legends that will play against Villarreal’s idols will be Juanfran Torres, Fernando Morientes, Iván Campo, Sergi Barjuán, José Amavisca and Quique Setién, a controversial figure due to his recent failed stint as coach of the Yellow Submarine.
“Cachavacha” spoke in the preview of Villarreal’s exhibition, where he won a Golden Boot in the 2005/06 season as the top scorer in all of Europe, recalling his time with the Valencian team with great affection: “I remember the three years that we pass here A lot of Uruguayan, a lot of Argentine, a nice communion was made ”, valued the former Atlético de Madrid, Inter and Independiente. In the case of Martin [Palermo] I always played against each other, we could never play together. But meeting that generation again, starting to make that change… Today we have a totally different club, from less to more. Having the opportunity to be here is something very nice”.
Villarreal announced the players who will start the exhibition, with the presence of the two Xeneizes idols from the start. They will be accompanied by other great players such as Diego Forlán, Robert Pirès, Marcos Senna, Joan Capdevila and the Argentine Gonzalo Rodríguez.
In a relationship that had several twists and turns, which cooled off at the end of their football careers but was later refloated since Román took over as vice president of Boca (the Titan was recognized at La Bombonera when he visited Xeneize as DT from Platense), Riquelme and Palermo are already at the Estadio de la Cerámica facilities, where they were seen sharing a mate before the exhibition.
The two Xeneizes idols could not coincide in Villarreal; in fact, one arrived immediately after the other had left. Palermo arrived in January 2001, immediately after winning the Intercontinental Cup with Román, and he played a total of 81 games in which he scored 21 goals, but his time was cut short by a fractured tibia and fibula that he suffered due to the collapse of a stadium wall generated by an avalanche of Yellow Submarine fans. He left the club in mid-2003, and then Riquelme arrived, initially on a two-year loan and then permanently. He found the goal 45 times in 145 games, in which he was the leader of a historic team led by Manuel Pellegrini, until in January 2007 he forced his return to Boca.
In the preview of the reunion with the Villarreal fans, the Titán recognized his former teammates in Boca Rodolfo Arruabarrena and Diego Cagna for opening the way for the Argentines at the club and expressed his wish to have played in the era of Manuel Pellegrini along with Riquelme , but he remembered his stay at the Yellow Submarine with great affection: “When they hired me, the club made a great effort. It was also recently that I had scored two goals against Real Madrid, all of which meant a lot of popularity with my arrival. From then on the club began to have that recognition, to take those small steps so that today it is considered an important club in Europe”.
Several Argentine supporters of Xeneize have made the trip to the Estadio de la Cerámica to witness a dream day, of course accompanied by commemorative songs: “What you did for Boca is not forgotten in life.”
Villarreal confirmed 24 of his former players to be part of the event, which largely form the basis of the historic teams of the mid-2000s, where he was runner-up in the Spanish League and reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time. In addition to Riquelme and Palermo, the Argentines Mariano Barbosa, Gonzalo Rodríguez, Mateo Musacchio, Juan Pablo Sorín and Fabricio Coloccini will also be present.
Welcome to the Liveblog of the special match for the Centenary of Villarreal, where the legends of the club will play an exhibition against other historical Spanish players. The great attraction of the day, however, will be the reunion on a soccer field of two idols from Boca, Juan Román Riquelme and Martín Palermo, who represented the Yellow Submarine at different times in their careers. The match will start at 1:15 p.m. and will be broadcast on Star+.
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