Santi Cazorla’s decision to stay at Villarreal represents a moral victory for the club, where he made his debut at the age of 18, writes Paul Hirst.
Santi Cazorla’s decision to reject a move to Real Madrid raised more than a few eyebrows in Spain earlier this year. Madrid is used to getting its way — when it comes calling, you accept the offer, without question.
Luis Figo even broke the unwritten law of Spanish football by leaving bitter enemy Barcelona to sign for Los Merengues in 2000.
The Portugal international had a pig’s head thrown at him by Barca fans during a clash between the two teams after he had made the move. But for him, the chance to join Real was just too good to turn down.
Not so for Cazorla, though, who broke ranks with the rest of Spanish football prior to the start of the season by rejecting Real’s overtures to stay with Villarreal, despite being publicly courted by Madrid president Ramon Calderon.
Most players would have jumped at the chance to add their name to an illustrious list of ‘Galacticos’ past and present like Figo, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy, but not 23-year-old Cazorla, who still stands by the assertion that Villarreal is the best place for him to develop his talent.
“There are many other things in football besides Real Madrid,” he declared at the time. “What was most important was that the club showed that I am important to them.
“I did not have to think for long about things. I really appreciate all the effort the club has made. It was the best choice for me.”
Although his commitment to the club was never in doubt, few would have predicted his choice to be a wise one. Bernd Schuster had just guided Madrid to the Primera Liga trophy by an impressive eight-point margin over The Yellow Submarine and looked set to build on that achievement by signing a host of stars.
Villarreal’s second-place finish in 2007-2008 was seen as a one-off, but this season Los Amarillos has gone from strength to strength and, with Cazorla’s help, it currently sits two places above Madrid in the league.
It is also reaping the rewards of Cazorla’s decision in the UEFA Champions League; the midfielder’s inspired form has helped guide the side through to the knock-out stages of the competition with one game to spare.
Cazorla’s decision to stay at the club represents a moral victory for Villarreal, where he made his debut at the age of 18.
After spending three difficult years in and out of the side — “It was the most frustrating time of my life,” he admits — Villarreal sold him to Recreativo Huelva with the option of buying him back for a nominal fee. The club exercised that clause in the summer of 2007 and Cazorla has not looked back since.
On his return to the club the midfielder went on to score five goals in 36 matches and after featuring prominently in the Spanish side that won Euro 2008 he caught the eye of Madrid. Then national coach Luis Aragones chose Cazorla ahead of Madrid legend Raul for the tournament in Austria and Switzerland and Cazorla now commands a regular starting place in Spain’s World Cup qualifying side.
When he comes up against Real at the Bernabeu in early January, Schuster and Co. will get an opportunity to see just what it missed out on. Villarreal, on the other hand, is delighted that it can still call Cazorla its own.
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