This Thursday, October 20, José Manuel Llaneza Durà, vice president of Villarreal, passed away. However, none of them will be able to fully grasp the significance that the figure of Llaneza, as he was known in the football world, has had and will continue to have in the history of Villarreal. Since Llaneza has grown to be the actual soul of the Castellón club, he has been much more than a leader. Since his arrival at the La Plana entity in 1994, few people will have supported their team with the fervour and commitment that he did.
Great football devotee, he joined Villarreal with little prior professional experience other than serving as president of local team Puzol. If he was successful in keeping the category that year, the organization’s then president, Pascual Font de Mora, was searching for someone who could consolidate it in the Second Division and professionalise it. There was just one game left as the 1993–1994 season came to a close. Castellón needed to lose in Castalia, and Villarreal needed to win in Cadiz. Years later, he admitted, “I assumed that my career in football was going to last a week. Because it was inconceivable for it to happen.”
The contributions of José Manuel Llaneza Durà
He received the city’s gold medal with Pau Torres just over six months ago. When he was already dealing with the serious sickness that has recently plagued him. When he thanked Llaneza for her labour, the football player could not contain his tears: “José Manuel has always watched our games at the sports city in all of my recollections going back to when I was a young child. They are unaware of how significant that was to a young person.”
Leukemia was discovered to be Llaneza’s condition earlier this year. After being hospitalised, he returned to the La Cermica stadium on May 15. And was met with an emotional standing ovation that will go down in Villarreal history. His wife Encarna Carceller passed away unexpectedly and suddenly a little over a month ago. a forceful strike. Villarreal cited his happy photo of him with the Europa League trophy. He won in Gdansk two years ago as the reason for his dismissal. The moment that Villarreal supporters will always remember as the culmination of over 30 years of yellow.
