Villarreal Yellow Heart
I had one of the best experiences of my life by having the opportunity to do my internship with Villarreal CF. Also known as the Yellow Submarine, Villarreal is a Spanish soccer club whose top professional team plays in La Liga. I arrived June 1st and left June 31st. The four weeks I was there felt like forever. I felt like I was at home and sharing different moments with different people that I did not know.
I meet my boss Brandon Páramo who helped a lot in different ways. He was very kind by sharing his knowledge and the experience he has had over the past years working for Villarreal. I also met Lucy who made such a big impact in my time there. Lucy also works for the International Department. I met Lucy the four days I was there. She was part of the Villarreal Women’s soccer team. She welcomed my classmates and I to her work routine and to her team. She made us feel as if we were part of the team for a long time. We practiced with the team probably 4 times and it was the highlight of my days. I enjoyed every minute. I made some friends that I will never forget and will have for the rest of my life.
From the soccer team of Villareal my mind was and still is blown away after my experience there. The way the team interacts with the community, The Yellow Submarine’s atmospheric stadium holds around 25,000 — half the town’s population. When Anfield’s 59,000-seat redevelopment is finished, every single man, woman and child in Vila-real will be able to fit into it. A place as small as Vila-real should not be producing a club the size of Villarreal, and the fact that it has is one of the enduring miracles of football. The fact here is humility and hard work. Villarreal has a lot of passion for football that right at the moment you arrive there, it automatically turns your heart yellow because it is a different team from other European teams. There is something special that makes you believe anything can be possible.
My boss Brandon took my classmates and I for a tour to La Ciudad Deportiva where they have their academy and also training facilities for the players that play in the second division, as well as in the first division. During my tour, I was able to reflect on how much sacrifices it takes to reach your dreams at such a young age and how much impact the people who are part of the Villarreal academy have on them. Seeing the professional players situation for what I saw and heard they give everyone unconditional support and they all want them to be successful there. The team shows everyone who is part of the Villarreal family to be motivated, to be better than what they were yesterday, and always find a motivation to keep players in the right direction. I was surprised at the way they have the dorms in the academy as on most of the walls of the hall they have different quotes of different legends or famous people.
Lucy gave us a tour of El Estadio De La Cerámica. It was a spectacular experience. The atmosphere you receive right when you enter to the stadium is unexplainable because the stadium is very small. It has their own qualities compared to others like Barcelona that is a big stadium and has the museums. It is nice to see a stadium like the Cerámica because it is homie and everyone can experience it. I remember I sat where the president Fernando Roig sits to watch the matches and the view is incredible. Every seat you will have a good view because the stadium is designed in a way where you feel comfortable and you can interact with the game. As said before there is something very special that the Villarreal soccer team has that my experience of the tour was so enjoyable and fun. This stadium is great for a team like Villarreal. This experience made an impact on me, and now has a special place in my heart. I met some of the best people and this place felt like my home away from home. That is how now I am one those GROGUETS that you see in the town of Vila-real.
