Aston Villa vs Sevilla friendly – Madjo, Goretzka and Torres set to feature?
Aston Villa have been put through their paces in Marbella, Spain, this week, with Brian Madjo, Leon Goretzka and Pau Torres all back and taking an active part in training, each returning from their respective injury or fitness issues. The trio could feature in Friday’s friendly against Sevilla, the 15th staging of the Antonio Puerta Memorial Trophy match, played in honour of the Sevilla midfielder who died in 2007.
On international break training before Sevilla
“Everything is good,” Unai Emery told VillaTV, ahead of Villa’s friendly against Sevilla. “To have this break, working one week in Birmingham and the second week here in Spain, trying to keep our routine working because we need to keep the rhythm we achieved before the break and the good results we achieved.”
The away trip to Spain also serves a practical purpose: it mimics the travel and routine of a Champions League away fixture, sharpening Villa for the midweek trips still to come this season.
“The players with the national team are working with their teams, but we must continue working here ourselves, trying to get stronger for the next challenges we will face.”
Emery has benefited from retaining a relatively strong group of Villa players to work with the returning trio adding to the likes of Boubacar Kamara, João Gomes, Alejandro Garnacho, Emi Buendia, Tyrone Mings, Tammy Abraham and Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
On facing Sevilla in the Puerta Memorial
“It’s important to play against Sevilla because we want to keep our good form we had before the break, keeping the same mentality as last week when we were playing against Southampton.
“Playing in the Antonio Puerta match is important for this cause.”
Who is Antonio Puerta?
On 25 August 2007, during Sevilla’s opening La Liga match of the season against Getafe, Antonio Puerta lost consciousness and collapsed on the pitch. He regained consciousness and walked off, but collapsed again in the dressing room. Medics performed cardiac resuscitation before he was rushed to the Virgen del Rocío hospital in Seville.
Puerta remained in intensive care in a critical condition for three days before passing away on 28 August 2007, aged 22. Doctors confirmed the cause of death as postanoxic encephalopathy (severe brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen), along with multiple organ failure resulting from a prolonged cardiac arrest. Autopsy and medical findings indicated he had suffered from an undiagnosed, rare hereditary heart condition.
Sevilla permanently retired his No 16 shirt in his memory. The club has staged the Antonio Puerta Memorial Trophy ever since, inviting a guest side to Seville each year to mark his life.
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Unai Emery transfer market
Unai Emery transfer market