Foot In Both Camps

Lifelong Fulham fan Thomas McIlroy began following Villarreal after working in the region. Now employed within the Spanish club’s media team, Sunday’s friendly sees Thomas’ two favourite sides go head-to-head.

How long have you been a Fulham fan?

My dad is actually a Chelsea fan, but my mum is a Fulham fan, and she won the battle for which team I would support. I got my first season ticket back in the 1998/99 season, when I was eight years old, and I’ve never looked back!

Adopting Villarreal as your Spanish team must have a story to it…

I studied French and Spanish at university and had to spend a year in Spain as part of my degree. I could have been sent anywhere to teach English in a school, but I was sent to Vila-real, the town where Villarreal is based. The school where I worked was next door to the training ground, and I lived on the same road. Vila-real is a small town, there is not much to do there, so I got a season ticket to watch some football, and because it was incredibly cheap. I could also easily watch training sessions, with a number of them open to the public, and regularly went to watch the B team play. I fell in love with the club, which for me is almost a Spanish version of Fulham, often an underdog, but with big aspirations and a real community feel. After returning to England after my year abroad, I stayed following the club and really felt part of the Villarreal community.

To get a job in their media department must be something of a dream role then?

It was a dream come true. I sometimes take for granted where I’m working, but I’m extremely lucky to work in the media department at a club that I love, that is also a big European side, but also a great place to work. I’m going into my fifth season at the club and it has grown massively each year.

Were you pleased when you heard that Fulham and Villarreal would be playing each other?

I was over the moon. I was on holiday, and one of my colleagues messaged me to tell me because he knew I’d be excited. I’ve always hoped that both teams play each other in Europe, but this is the next best thing.

It must have been good fun covering the team these past couple of years, with the Europa League win and the run to the Champions League Semi-Finals?

Winning the Europa League was amazing. I was nervous going into the Final in Gdansk, I didn’t want to go to two Europa League Finals and have my team lose both of them, but when we won it was an incredible feeling. It was probably the first time I’d cried with joy at a football match since Fulham beat Juventus 4-1. When I got my hands on the trophy, it felt like I’d been waiting to see it since 2010. The run to the Champions League Semi-Finals was incredible, too. It felt a lot like the Fulham 2010 Europa League campaign to me. No-one expected us to beat the teams we did, but we did. With the tie at 2-2 with 45 minutes left against Liverpool, we believed we could reach the Final, and while it was heartbreak at the end, we were so proud of the run that the team had been on, and we got to make some good content in the press department too along the way.

Who in the Villarreal side should Fulham fans look forward to seeing?

For me, if Gerard Moreno is fit, Villarreal are one of the best teams in Spain. He’s a differential player, and was the reason Villarreal won the Europa League and reached the Champions League Semi-Finals. He’s up there with Mousa Dembélé and Santi Cazorla as one of the most talented players I’ve seen play for a team I support. Apart from him, Juan Foyth has become one of the best right-backs in Spain since joining from Tottenham, while Dani Parejo is the man who takes control of the midfield – he’s come on a lot since his days at QPR. There are also a few talented youngsters in the squad, such as Yeremy Pino and Nicolas Jackson.

Did you still get to see much of Fulham last season?

I was only able to get over to see two matches in person. First of all was the 0-1 defeat to Sheffield United, and I was worried that in such a great season, the only match I would see in person would be a defeat, but I managed to get to Craven Cottage for the match against Preston to see Fulham go up. As long as they didn’t clash with Villarreal’s games, I watched the rest of the games on FFCtv, enjoying the commentary from Gentleman Jim and Jamie.

How do you think both sides can do next season in their respective campaigns?

My dream for Villarreal is a Conference League win with a push in the league to get back into the Champions League spots, and I think it’s possible. I’m expecting Fulham to stop the yo-yo club stigma and stay up. I’m really excited to see how Marco Silva’s side does in the Premier League, and I’m sure Aleksandar Mitrović will prove his doubters wrong in the top flight.

What sort of game do you think we’ll get at Craven Cottage on Sunday?

I’m expecting an open game with two teams that like to score. Villarreal are a week behind Fulham in terms of pre-season, with the LaLiga season starting a week later. They may also make a few more changes, after playing Southampton the day before.