In Vila-real, a sleepy town a little north of Valencia, it's usually quiet on the street, but once every two weeks it's a party. When Villarreal plays at home, you can hear the fans in the stadium sing loudly from anywhere in town.
The small Belgian town of Mechelen was the holder of a strange record for over 30 years. After the Europa Cup win of KV Mechelen in 1988, it was the town with the smallest population that ever won a Europa Cup, with roughly 88,000 inhabitants. Villarreal beat that record in the summer of 2021 by winning the Europa League: In Vila-real only 55,000 people reside, of which a third are socios of the club. A Europa League winner from a small village, a true football fairytale.
In the club's entire history, Villarreal has only played at El Madrigal, as the stadium is called by its fans. Since the renovations a few years ago, the stadium is officially called 'Estadio de la Cerámica', a reference to the ceramic industry that the province of Castellón is known for.
The Estadio de la Cerámica is still quite old. The houses that surround the stadium are sometimes literally built beneath the stands. The home base of the 'Yellow Submarine' can seat 23,500 fans, and expansion without demolishing some of those houses is impossible. From the inside, it's a strange stadium, with the Fondo Norte being the most eye-catching stand. On top of the regular stand, there's a kind of huge balcony built, which is the away end. The stand towers high above the other stands, and offers an amazing view over the surroundings of Vila-real.
Around the Estadio de la Cerámica there are many small bars where the Villarreal fans gather on match days. It's where many fans watched the Europa League Final against Manchester United as well since they were not allowed in the stadium for COVID-measures. After the last penalty, a massive party broke loose.
Our favourite is Bar Tribuna, right behind the main stand. A brown interior, the unavoidable smell of fresh paella and scarves on the wall: This is how a Spanish football bar should be.
On the outskirts of Vila-real lies Ciudad Deportiva Villarreal CF, on Carrer Miralcamp. It's the training ground of the club and the home of the youth academy. In the small stadium on the complex (with surprisingly nice floodlights) the reserves of Villarreal play their home matches, in Spain's third level.
For the home games of Villarreal, you can easily buy tickets. Getting a ticket for the top matches is also not that difficult. You order them on the club's official website but bear in mind that the ticket prices against top teams are notably higher as well.
In Vila-real, you can't really miss the Estadio de la Cerámica, but parking in the narrow streets around the stadium is almost impossible on match days. The best thing you can do is park your car on the edge of the town (for example at the Mercadona) and walk the last part. From the train station of Villarreal, it's approximately a 15-minute walk.
Images: Shutterstock, BSR Agency
