Villarreal celebrate centenary with eyes on regional, Asian talent, says club legend Marcos Senna

As Spanish club Villarreal celebrate their centenary on Friday, one of the club’s greatest players has revealed what the club means to him, and the plans it has to expand its footprint regionally and across Asia.

A ceremony to mark 100 years since the foundation of the club will take place at El Estadio de la Ceramica on Friday.

It will feature theatrical, musical and audiovisual components, and will tell the story of the club from its beginnings, through promotions to the Second and First Divisions, participation in the Champions League, and winning the Europa League title in 2021.

Former Spanish international and 2010 World Cup winner Marcos Senna, who spent 11 years with Villarreal before retiring there, is now a club director and says the Yellow Submarines are looking to compete with Spain’s top clubs, such as Real Madrid and Barcelona.

“The club is my family and my life,” he said.

“For me, it’s been a true privilege to be able to have come to Villarreal, with their project and with their structure, and I want to be here many, many years, as many years as possible.”

Villarreal currently sit in sixth place in the league and play away to Anderlecht of Belgium on Thursday in the UEFA Europa Conference League. Expectations are high that it will be a successful season.

“At Villarreal, we’ve been working with a system and methodology for many years now. And it’s worked very well. Obviously, we’re very humble and we work very hard,” said Senna. “We always choose a specific style of player for each position, and that’s worked well. And not just players, but also the coaches.

“Each season doesn’t always come off as we like, but we have a very good line of work that we follow and this year we’ve got great