What a way to end my six-month internship abroad with Villarreal CF!
Last Tuesday, I was able to experience the Yellow Submarine’s entry into the UEFA Champions League semi-finals live in the Allianz Arena in Munich. One of many highlights of the last six months …
To complete my Master’s degree in Sports Economics at the University of Bayreuth (Germany), I needed to do an internship abroad for at least three months, which I was allowed to do in the International Department of Villarreal CF. This was handled by the Valencia-based agency Euroace. The agency’s premises not only serves as a co-working space for interns, but also has Spanish courses available for all ages to learn Spanish.
The framework conditions of the internship are designed in such a way that the tasks to be completed can be done independently of the location and at one’s own pace. The tasks set were appropriate to this chosen concept. So you could work comfortably in the agency when Spanish courses were taking place in the afternoon or work in your flat via home office. In addition, there was enough time to get to know Valencia and all it’s magnificent features.
Once a week, I would make the 60km trip to the rustic, bustling city of Villarreal with the other three interns Jase, Gianluca and Ethan to work in the local offices and to discuss the status of the various tasks with Brandon, our supervisor.
Despite the distance between the accommodation in Valencia and Villarreal, I felt comfortable and part of the Yellow Submarine from the very first day. During the first few weeks, the programme included a guided tour of the stadium, a visit to the club grounds and matches of the youth and women’s teams. The participation in the Champions League group stage allows us to watch the Youth League matches as well as the home games against Young Boys Bern and Manchester United in the “Estadio de la Ceramica”.
The tasks I was given by Brandon were mainly related to supporting the implementation of the internationalisation strategy on the US market. Other tasks included the creation of a benchmark for the internationalisation strategies of other European football clubs.
After an instructive and great three months, I returned to Germany shortly before Christmas. The concept of location-independent and flexible working hours allowed me to extend my internship by a total of three months after consultation with Brandon. This allowed me to continue working on the exciting projects of the International Department while writing my Master’s thesis.
With the visit of the quarter-final second leg, where I also received the tickets for the away block from Brandon, exciting months came to an end. What remains are great memories, new friends and the feeling of having been more than just an intern at a Champions League semi-finalist.
