Vila-real Villarreal
—  Municipality  —
Vila-real
Flag Coat of arms
Vila-real Villarreal Location in Spain
Coordinates: 39°56′16″N 0°6′5″W / 39.93778°N 0.10139°W / 39.93778; -0.10139Coordinates: 39°56′16″N 0°6′5″W / 39.93778°N 0.10139°W / 39.93778; -0.10139
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Valencian Community
Province	Castellón
Comarca	Plana Baixa
Judicial district	Vila-real
Founded	20 February 1274
Government
• Type	Mayor council government
• Body	Ajuntament de Vila-real
• Mayor	José Benlloch (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party)
Area
• Total	55.1 km2 (21.3 sq mi)
Elevation	42 m (138 ft)
Population (2010)
• Total	51,367
• Density	930/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Demonym	Vila-realencs (in Valencian) Villarrealenses (in Spanish)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	12540
Dialing code	+34
Official language(s)	Valencian and Spanish
Website	Official website

Vila-real^[1] (Valencian pronunciation: [ˈvila reˈaɫ], Spanish: Villarreal) is a city in the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community,is located 7 km to the south of the province's capital (Castellón de la Plana), at 42 m above sea level, it has 51,367 inhabitants (2010 data), most of them living in the urban area that covers about 10.72% of its county's 55.4 km² surface. Ranked by population, it is the second city in the province (following the capital), and fifteenth in the Valencian Community.

Economy[link]

Villarreal's economy has evolved since the days of cultivation and trade of oranges in the last century to the manufacturing of ceramic tiles, which today is its most important source of income.

History[link]

Belltower of St. James's Church.

It was founded on February 20, 1274 by King James I of Aragon (hence its name), to strengthen the reconquest of the area, and placed strategically on the ancient Via Augusta to 65 km from Valencia, and in the outskirts of Borriana, up to this moment town in hands of the Muslims and in whose municipal term was founded Villarreal. It was a real town from its foundation, with representation in the Valentian Parliament and Delegation of the Kingdom and it had the privilege of using like proper ensign the real standard. It was part of the real arm in the Valencian Parliament and took part very actively in the same ones.

The original town surrounded with walls, expanded outside from the 14th century due to the increase of population, in the called suburbs of Castellón and of Valencia, called later of San Pascual and of Carmen, for there were the ancient Carmelite convent and the sanctum - monastery where the remains of the holy boss rest.

The demographic and economic imbalances that characterize the 15th century were translated, to beginnings of the 16th, in constant conflicts with the Mudejars of the nearby dominions and in a short, but very active participation, in favour of the Criminal slangs.

During the 16th century, the farming land began to be extended and enhanced by drilling wells to obtain water and convert dry land into irrigated fields, making it possible to begin commercial agriculture in the 17th century. After its disastrous participation in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the second half of the 18th century, the first industries were established, mainly for textiles. Also during that time, the city became involved in various revolts and wars that shook Spanish State.

In the 19th century, the cultivation and trade of orange was introduced, which gave the town great economic progress, led both by businessmen and by farmers' associations or "cooperatives". After the Spanish State Civil War in the second half of the 20th century, the earnings obtained from the orange trade allowed several entrepreneurs to build ceramic tile factories, as a way to diversify their productive model. This type of industry has continued to expand up to the present day, and it has become Villareal's main economic activity.

Main sights[link]

Sights in the town include:

• Saint James's Church (18th century)
• Sant Pasqual basilica.
• Plaça Major (Main Square), a square surrounded by several porticoed houses built in different periods.
• The City Museum "Casa de Polo"
• Chapel and park of Mare de Déu de Gràcia (Our Lady of Grace).

Sport[link]

The town is home to Villarreal CF, a football club in Segunda Division, Spain's second highest tier of football.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Villarreal

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Villarreal.

• Official website
• Vilapedia, wiki about Vila-real, history, economy, tourist info, etc.

Giovani dos Santos

Giovani dos Santos warming-up for Barcelona
Personal information
Full name	Giovani dos Santos Ramírez
Date of birth	(1989-05-11) 11 May 1989 (age 23)
Place of birth	Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Tottenham Hotspur
Number	17
Youth career
2002–2006	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006–2007	Barcelona B	27	(6)
2007–2008	Barcelona	28	(3)
2008–	Tottenham Hotspur	17	(0)
2009	→ Ipswich Town (loan)	8	(4)
2010	→ Galatasaray (loan)	14	(0)
2011	→ Racing Santander (loan)	16	(5)
National team‡
2005	Mexico U17	8	(2)
2007	Mexico U20	6	(5)
2007–	Mexico	56	(12)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 April 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 May 2012

Giovani dos Santos Ramírez^[2] (born 11 May 1989) is a Mexican footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. He can also play as a winger or second striker. Since joining Tottenham, he has had loan spells at Ipswich Town, Galatasaray and Racing de Santander. He previously played for FC Barcelona.

Dos Santos was a member of the Mexican National U-17 team that won the 2005 U-17 World Cup held in Peru. He made his debut for the Mexico national team in a 1–0 victory over Panama on 9 September 2007. He was called to play at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Personal life[link]

Dos Santos was born in Monterrey, Mexico.^[2] He is the son of former Brazilian footballer Zizinho, who played for the Mexican football clubs Club América and Club Leon in the late 1980s. His mother, Liliana Ramírez, is a Mexican national. Dos Santos has two brothers and two half-brothers; the elder, Éder dos Santos, currently plays for Club América in the Primera División de Mexico as a defensive midfielder, and his younger brother, Jonathan dos Santos plays for FC Barcelona in the Spanish First Division.

Club career[link]

Barcelona[link]

Dos Santos joined FC Barcelona's academy of La Masia at the age of eleven^[3] and played for Barcelona's Juvenil A category where he helped his team to make a comeback in the league and win the regional title. This title allowed them to participate in the Youth Copa del Rey, where they faced other regional champions, among them their historic arch-rivals, Real Madrid. Dos Santos once again played a significant role during the tournament and helped the team win the national title of the Juvenil A category.

In 2006, dos Santos was invited on the pre-season tour of Barcelona's senior squad; during a friendly match on 29 July 2006, he scored in his senior team debut game against Danish club AGF Aarhus.^[4] On 28 November 2006, Barcelona included dos Santos in their 23-man squad for the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.^[5]

During the summer of 2007, dos Santos was once again invited to join Barça's senior squad on their pre-season tour. On 29 August 2007, dos Santos received dual nationality^[6] and was included in the official first team squad. He made his competitive and league debut on 2 September 2007 (at 18 years and 114 days) during a 3–1 home win against Athletic Bilbao, coming on for Thierry Henry in the 62nd minute.^[7]

Dos Santos made his Champions League debut on 20 September 2007 during a 3–0 home win against Olympique Lyonnais. He came on as a substitute for Xavi in the 79th minute.^[8]

On 17 May 2008, dos Santos scored a hat trick against Real Murcia, with a final score of 5–3, granting a victory to Barça on the team's last game of the 2007–08 season. It was also the last game dos Santos played before joining Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham Hotspur[link]

On 18 June 2008, dos Santos passed a medical and agreed terms to complete his move to Tottenham Hotspur from Barcelona. Barcelona reported that the transfer fee was €6 million with an additional 5 million Euros payable depending on appearances for Tottenham.^[9][10][11]

The young Mexican was on target twice as Tottenham beat local Spanish side Tavernes in an 8–0 thumping on their 2008–09 pre-season tour. Dos Santos also played in Tottenham's other pre-season games such as the 5–1 wins over Leyton Orient and Norwich City. He also scored the second goal in the 3–0 win over Borussia Dortmund to help Spurs to make it two wins out of two and take home the Feyenoord Jubileum Tournament trophy. Dos Santos scored his first competitive goal for Spurs in the UEFA Cup on 26 February 2009 against Shakhtar Donetsk.^[12] After 12 first team appearances, he was sent on loan to Ipswich Town for the remainder of the season.^[3]

Ipswich Town (loan)[link]

In March 2009, dos Santos signed on loan at Ipswich Town until the end of the season.^[13] He made his debut on 14 March 2009, coming on as a substitute against Reading.^[14] He scored his first league goal and the equaliser in the following game against Burnley. He scored his second goal against Bristol City on Easter Monday, a 94th minute penalty to equalise for Ipswich. He also claimed an assist and a goal from the penalty spot in Ipswich's 3–2 win over local rivals Norwich City a week later.^[15] He finished his loan with four goals in eight appearances.^[3]

Back at Tottenham[link]

His first game of the 2009–10 season came against Doncaster Rovers in the League Cup, in which he provided an assist. He was substituted off, however, due to an ankle injury early on in a League Cup game against Preston North End and has only managed to make a substitute appearance in a 1–0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers before being loaned out to Galatarsaray in Turkey.

His commitment has been questioned by Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp, who warned him to stay away from nightclubs and revealed that he was often late for training on Mondays.^[16] Redknapp assured dos Santos, however, that he is still part of his plans at Tottenham.^[17] Dos Santos scored in Tottenham's Europa League group match against Shamrock Rovers on 29 September 2011, at White Hart Lane.

On 7 January 2012, he scored a goal and completed an assist for a 3–0 win against Cheltenham Town F.C. in the 3rd round of the F.A. Cup.

Galatasaray (loan)[link]

In January 2010, dos Santos signed for Turkish club Galatasaray on loan for the remainder of the 2009–10 season, with an option to purchase him at the end of that period.^[18] The move reunited the player with Frank Rijkaard, his former coach at Barcelona. On 31 January, he made his debut coming on as a 58th minute substitute for Emre Çolak in a league game against Denizlispor with victory 2–1.^[19] He returned to Tottenham in the summer having failed to score for Galatasaray, and stayed there for half a season before being loaned to La Liga club Racing Santander in January.

Racing Santander (loan)[link]

Dos Santos with Racing.

On 31 January 2011, dos Santos joined La Liga side Racing de Santander on loan until the end of the season from Tottenham.^[20] He made his debut for his new club on 5 February 2011 as a substitute against Real Zaragoza, drawing the game 1–1. He scored his first goal as a substitute against Villarreal CF in the 68th minute on 27 February 2011. Dos Santos scored a brace in a 3–2 win league match over Hércules CF.

International career[link]

U12 Danone Nations Cup[link]

dos Santos participated at the 2001 Danone Nations Cup that was held in the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, where 40 countries also participated. Mexico would finish the tournament fifth. He won the Golden Boot award for top goalscorer.

U17 FIFA World Cup[link]

During the 2005 U-17 World Championship, which his team won, dos Santos assisted half of the goals of the Mexican team during the tournament, a feat that won him the Adidas Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, finishing behind only to Brazilian and current Manchester United midfielder Anderson.

U20 FIFA World Cup[link]

In the U-20 World Cup Qualifiers, he scored twice; once against St. Kitts and Nevis in the 86th minute and the second against Jamaica in the 56th minute. He was forced to sit out the last game for precautionary reasons against Costa Rica, as he had received a yellow card in the previous match. The game ended in a 1–1 draw, but Mexico still qualified, finishing top of the regional group.

During the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Mexico was placed in Group C, where they were drawn against Gambia, Portugal, and New Zealand. On 2 July 2007, dos Santos and the rest of the Mexico team played against Gambia and won 3–0, with Giovani opening the scoring in the second half with a volley into the top left-hand corner from outside of the box. Dos Santos then played against Portugal, where Mexico won 2–1, scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot. As Mexico had already qualified from the group, he was rested for the game against New Zealand. In the round of 16, Mexico played against Congo and dos Santos returned to the starting line-up and yet again opened the scoring with a goal from the penalty spot in a match that Mexico won 3–0. In the quarter-finals, Mexico was eliminated by Argentina by an own goal on the second-half, which was the only goal of the game in a 1–0. Dos Santos was awarded the Adidas Bronze Ball.

Mexico national team[link]

Dos Santos earned his first selection for a Mexico senior team roster when Hugo Sánchez picked him for exhibition games against Panama and Brazil.^[5] Dos Santos appeared for the first time for Mexico in a 1–0 victory over Panama on 9 September 2007.^[21] The match was abandoned at half time because of heavy rain.^[5] He scored his first two goals for Mexico on 24 June 2009 in a friendly match against Venezuela, a game in which he was also named Man of the Match.

He scored his third goal for Mexico on 19 July in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final game against Haiti in the 42nd minute and also recorded two assists in the 4–0 victory. On 26 July 2009, he helped Mexico end a ten-year drought of victory against the United States on American soil with a 5–0 victory that helped secure Mexico's fifth CONCACAF Gold Cup.^[22] He was named player of the tournament.

On 5 September 2009, dos Santos contributed to all three goals in a 3–0 win over Costa Rica in the 2010 World Cup qualification stages. He scored the first goal from outside the penalty box with his preferred left foot and assisted in the following two goals.^[23]

When his brother Jonathan dos Santos was cut from Mexico's final 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup, his father Zizinho said that dos Santos was very hurt and claimed he was unsure whether he would play in the World Cup.^[24]

In the 2010 World Cup, dos Santos started in every game for Mexico as a right winger. He completed 138 passes without providing an assist.^[25] He was voted runner-up for the FIFA Young Player of the Tournament award, which eventually went to Thomas Müller of Germany.^[26]

Dos Santos was called up to play the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup after a good mid-season loan to Racing Santander. On 9 June 2011, dos Santos scored a brace against Cuba in a 5–0 win.^[27] In the final match against the United States, he scored in a 4–2 win, by dribbling inside the box against Tim Howard and chipping the ball into the top-left corner over Eric Lichaj. That goal was also named the best goal of the tournament.^[28]

Career statistics[link]

As of 20 March 2012

International[link]

As of 31 May 2012

International goals[link]

Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	24 June 2009	Georgia Dome, Atlanta, United States	Venezuela	2–0	4–0	Friendly
2.				3–0
3.	19 July 2009	Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, United States	Haiti	2–0	4–0	2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
4.	26 July 2009	Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, United States	United States	2–0	5–0	2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
5.	5 September 2009	Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, San José, Costa Rica	Costa Rica	1–0	3–0	2010 World Cup qualification
6.	12 October 2010	Estadio Olímpico Benito Juárez, Ciudad Juárez, México	Venezuela	2–2	2–2	Friendly
7.	1 June 2011	Invesco Field at Mile High, Denver, United States	New Zealand	1–0	3–0	Friendly
8				2–0
9.	9 June 2011	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, United States	Cuba	2–0	5–0	2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
10.				4–0
11.	25 June 2011	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States	United States	4–2	4–2	2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup
12.	31 May 2012	Soldier Field, Chicago, United States	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–0	2–1	Friendly

Honours[link]

Club[link]

Barcelona

• Supercopa de España: 2006^[29]

International[link]

Mexico

• FIFA U-17 World Cup (1): 2005
• CONCACAF Gold Cup (2): 2009, 2011

Individual[link]

• Danone Nations Cup U-12 Golden Boot: 2001^[30]
• FIFA U-17 Silver Ball: 2005
• FIFA U-20 Bronze Ball: 2007
• CONCACAF Gold Cup Most Valuable Player: 2009

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Giovani Dos Santos

• Official site
• Tottenham Hotspur profile
• Giovani dos Santos – FIFA competition record
• Footballdatabase.com Provides Profile and Statistics for Giovani Dos Santos
• Giovani Dos Santos career stats at Soccerbase
• Ipswich Town profile
• Giovani dos Santos at National-Football-Teams.com

Mexico squads v t e Mexico squad – 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup Winners (5th title) 1 Ochoa 2 Magallón 3 Rodríguez 4 Dueñas 5 Pinto 6 Torrado (c) 7 Medina 8 I. Castro 9 Bravo 10 Franco 11 Vela 12 Corona 13 Barrera 14 Sabah 15 J. Castro 16 Esquivel 17 dos Santos 18 Cárdenas 19 Noriega 20 Martínez 21 Valenzuela 22 Juárez 23 Pérez Coach: Aguirre v t e Mexico squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Pérez 2 Rodríguez 3 Salcido 4 Márquez (c) 5 Osorio 6 Torrado 7 Barrera 8 Castro 9 Franco 10 Blanco 11 Vela 12 Aguilar 13 Ochoa 14 Hernández 15 Moreno 16 Juárez 17 dos Santos 18 Guardado 19 Magallón 20 Torres Nilo 21 Bautista 22 Medina 23 Michel Coach: Aguirre v t e Mexico squad – 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Winners (6th title) 1 Ochoa (Michel) 2 Rodríguez (Reynoso) 3 Salcido 4 Márquez (c) 5 Osorio 6 Torrado 7 Barrera 8 Castro 9 de Nigris 10 dos Santos 11 Reyna 12 Talavera 13 Zavala 14 J. Hernández 15 Moreno 16 Juárez 17 Sinha (Aguilar) 18 Guardado 19 Dueñas (Fabián) 20 Torres Nilo 21 Bermúdez (Mier) 22 E. Hernández 23 Orozco Coach: de la Torre v t e Mexico squad – 2011 Copa América 1 Michel (c) 2 Álvarez 3 Alanís 4 De Buen 5 Chávez 6 Gallardo 7 Dávila 8 Orrantía 9 Márquez Lugo 10 dos Santos 11 Aquino 12 Sánchez 13 Rodríguez 14 Araujo 15 Enríquez 16 Ponce 17 Pacheco 18 Peralta 19 Reynoso 20 Pulido 21 Mier 22 Aguilar 23 Reyes Coach: Tena

Javier Aquino

Javier training in a match against Independiente Medellin
Personal information
Date of birth	(1990-02-11) February 11, 1990 (age 22)
Place of birth	Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Right winger
Club information
Current club	Cruz Azul
Number	7
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2010-	Cruz Azul	59	(3)
National team‡
2011–	Mexico	6	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of February 19, 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of November 11, 2011

Javier Ignacio Aquino Carmona (born on February 11, 1990 in San Francisco Ixhuatán, Oaxaca) is a Mexican football midfielder who currently plays for Cruz Azul in the Primera División de México.^[1] He was formed in Cruz Azul lower division teams. He played with the Mexico national football team on the 2011 Copa America and in the 2011 Pan American Games.

Early career[link]

Javier lived his childhood in San Francisco Ixhuatán in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, he was always a humble and working person that loved football until scouts from Cruz Azul went to Lagunas, Oaxaca. Javier had great technical qualities so he stayed in Cruz Azul lower divisions. Javier played for the Cruz Azul Lagunas in Tercera Division Mexicana, and after having outstanding performances he traveled to Mexico City to join in the Cruz Azul Reserves. He was waiting for an opportunity a few years until the Apertura 2010 he was taken into account together with other youth players to join the Primera División. Aquino was one of the revelations of the tournament, his main virtues are great dribbling, speed and accuracy of passes.

Club career[link]

He scored his first goal in Primera División on October 24, 2010 during week 13 of the Torneo Apertura 2010 against Morelia in Estadio Morelos after a one two pass from Emanuel Villa.

He became a regular in Cruz Azul on the Torneo Clausura 2010 where he played 923 minutes in 18 games, 7 as a starter. For the Torneo Apertura 2011 he was the assist leader with 6 assists in 15 games of regular season, accumulatiing 791 minutes of playing time.

International career[link]

He made his official debut with Mexico national football team on July 4, 2011 facing Chile in Copa América 2011 where he played on the 3 games that Mexico played.

He was called by Luis Fernando Tena to play the 2011 Pan American Games where he played all games and won the Gold Medal.

Since the Mexico national football team that played on Copa América 2011 was an under-22 team with 5 reinforcements (although for FIFA stats it was the official Mexico national football team), it could be said that the debut with the real big team was on November 11, 2011 against Serbia in a friendly match entering on the 86' minute for Andrés Guardado.

Club career statistics[link]

As of 19 February 2012^[2]

Honours[link]

International[link]

Mexico

• Pan American Games:
  • Winner (1): 2011
• CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament:
  • Winner (1): 2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
• Toulon Tournament:
  • Winner (1): 2012 Toulon Tournament

References[link]

External links[link]

• Medio Tiempo

Mexico squads v t e Mexico squad – 2011 Copa América 1 Michel (c) 2 Álvarez 3 Alanís 4 De Buen 5 Chávez 6 Gallardo 7 Dávila 8 Orrantía 9 Márquez Lugo 10 dos Santos 11 Aquino 12 Sánchez 13 Rodríguez 14 Araujo 15 Enríquez 16 Ponce 17 Pacheco 18 Peralta 19 Reynoso 20 Pulido 21 Mier 22 Aguilar 23 Reyes Coach: Tena