Inigo Perez has succeeded Marcelino Garcia Toral as the new Villarreal manager.
The Yellow Submarine finished third in La Liga last season with 72 points, the second-highest tally in the club’s history. However, in the UEFA Champions League and the Copa del Rey, the team’s performance was rather disappointing.
In the Champions League, Villarreal collected only one point out of a possible 24 and finished 35th in the table. Similarly, in the Copa del Rey, they were knocked out in the Round of 32 by Racing Santander.
Former Villarreal Manager Marcelino’s Tactics
Marcelino was appointed as the Villarreal manager back in November 2023. Under the Spaniard, the club qualified for the Champions League in both of his complete seasons.
Marcelino’s Villarreal were a mid-block side that defended compactly and relied on direct counterattacks to attack the opposition. This is evident from their average possession of 44% per game last season, which ranked them 17th in the league.
Brief History of New Villarreal Manager Inigo Perez
Inigo Perez joins as the new Villarreal manager from the Madrid side Rayo Vallecano. Perez retired from football at the end of the 2021/22 La Liga season, during which he played for CA Osasuna. He joined Rayo Vallecano as an assistant manager under Andoni Iraola straight after retirement.
In the summer of 2023, Perez was supposed to join Iraola as an assistant at AFC Bournemouth. A work permit issue prevented him from joining Iraola, and then he was appointed head coach at Vallecas in February 2024.
Having spent a lot of time under Iraola, it is no surprise that one can find a lot of similarities in the tactics and playing style of the new Liverpool and Villarreal managers.
The new Villarreal manager led Rayo Vallecano to their first European final in history. Crystal Palace beat them 1-0 in that Europa Conference League final. Last season, they finished eighth in the league and missed out on a European spot by one point.
Perez’ Tactics at Vallecas
Rayo Vallecano under Perez were a high-pressing side that relied on direct play and dynamic positions and structures. When building from the back, they tried to play through the opposition and dominate possession.
Vallecano maintained the fourth-highest possession in La Liga last season, averaging 53.7% per game. They also created 101 big chances, the sixth most by any La Liga side in 2025/26.
Rayo Vallecano did not press high up the pitch throughout the game. Certain triggers initiated that high press, such as a back pass or a defender receiving the ball in an uncomfortable position. Rayo had 1073 recoveries in the opposition half last season, the third most by any La Liga side last season.
Perez’s game plan at Vallecas relied a lot on the full-backs. The full-back duo of Pep Chavarria and Andrei Ratiu were impressive with their speed, progression and duel-winning ability.
Chavarria ranked in the 93rd and 91st percentiles among full-backs last season in La Liga for defensive duels won percentage and progressive carries. Ratiu was also impressive in the same metrics and was one of the fastest players in the league last season.
The Costly Attacking Shortcoming
Rayo Vallecano’s problem last season was their finishing. Out of 101 big chances created, Rayo only managed to find the back of the net 41 times and missed 60 big chances.
They also created a cumulative xG of 53.2 last season but underperformed their own expected goals by a huge margin. Because of this lack of goal scoring, Rayo narrowly missed out on European football for next season.
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What to Expect from the New Villarreal Manager at Estadio de la Cerámica
Perez has a lot of quality players at his disposal at the Estadio de la Cerámica. This list includes George Mikautadze, Ayoze Pérez, Alberto Moliero, Sergi Cardona and Alex Freeman. These players allow the new Villarreal manager to implement a similar tactical approach.
Els Groguets are already familiar with defending compactly in a 4-4-2 mid-block and playing a direct style of play. What Perez adds is a bit more control and composure with the ball.
We can expect Villarreal to dominate possession more going into next season, create plenty of goal-scoring opportunities, and, with the attacking quality they have, finishing should not be a problem.
Perez also brings the much-needed experience of playing in big European nights. Villarreal have started their pre-season with a solid 3-1 win against PSV Eindhoven. With a month of pre-season training and better players than Vallecano, as the stats show, the new Villarreal manager will likely enjoy success and bring magical nights back to the Estadio de la Cerámica.
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