My time at Villarreal CF and CD Roda
Football was and is my biggest passion, in which I invest a lot of time and which is the area I know the most about. As a child/teenager I always had a ball with me to make every free minute meaningful and even if I am not a professional football player today, I see my future career in a football club!
Therefore, I was more than pleased when I got accepted for an international marketing internship at the Spanish first league football club Villarreal CF.
At the beginning I was a little bit nervous because I did not know what to expect. However, my new bosses and colleagues Lucy, Thomas and Brandon calmed me down right away. They helped me from the first day on, explained my work areas and tasks and showed me that Villarreal CF is a big family.
In the first week I learned all about the club, the team, the philosophy and everything what happens in the setting of the Club. That all is important to represent the club from the province ofCastellón in the best possible way.
Subsequently, I wrote an article about the Villarreal academy (click here). In short, the text is about the first team Villareal players who are still active and who were part of the Villarreal academy and shows how it compares to other top academies in Europe over the last years. My second topic was about the standout statistics (click here) in the history of the Yellow Submarine.
I really liked the work and the research about the Villarreal CF academy and so I developed some statistics to benchmark Villarreal vs other European teams.
In addition to the research, I got the task to translate videos from the official YouTube account from Spanish into English which helped me to improve my language skills.
The other interns and me also got the possibility to visit the stadium and to see the cabins of the players, training sessions of the first team and the whole facilities of the club. We were always warm welcomed to watch the home games in “Estadio de la Ceramica” and the absolute highlight was the game against the big FC Barcelona. In the end it was a 4-4 draw and the best game I have ever seen live in the stadium. Thanks for that!
Then my internship changed completely. Less behind a desk, more on the pitch! Lucy Goffe, who has played for the Villarreal women’s team and who has a lot of contacts in the club, made it possible that I became part of the coaching staff at CD Roda (U14). CD Roda is the partner club of Villarreal CF, with the same training grounds, facilities, training methods and aims.
On my first training day I met my new staff colleagues Roberto and Alberto who told me everything about the playing system, what has importance for them and how they handle as a team optimally with all challenges. They are really nice people, who have helped to integrate me really fast.
Most of the training sessions I had an active part, because it is the best way to learn all the names and see the strengths and weaknesses of the individual players. I really enjoyed this and it was really exciting because I had the possibility to compare Spanish and German football training sessions.
The boys started to ask me things about football and life and more and more, I got part of the team. We made a lot of jokes together and they helped me a lot with my Spanish and some of them wanted to speak with me in English. They are a great group of young teenagers. On and off the pitch.
The couch staff and me assisted the away games in the surroundings of Castellón and Valencia and the home games at “Ciudad Deportiva Pamesa Cerámica”. I really like this training ground because everything is really new and modern and it gives you the feeling of beeing part of something really professional. The last match at home was against the German school of Valencia which we won 4-0 and we finished the league in third place.
I am really thankful for the last months and I can say that I learned a lot about the work environment in a professional football club. It was a great experience and big step in the right direction. Big thanks to Lucy, Thomas, Brandon, Roberto, Alberto and the team for making this possible. Espero que nos veamos de nuevo!
