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Why are Villarreal called The Yellow Submarine?

Thursday night at Anfield will see the Yellow Submarine play in the home of the band that gave th...



Why are Villarreal called The...
Soccer

Why are Villarreal called The Yellow Submarine?

Thursday night at Anfield will see the Yellow Submarine play in the home of the band that gave the world "Yellow Submarine".

La Liga high-flyers Villarreal take a 1-0 lead into the second leg of their Europa League semi-final in Liverpool. It is the first time the Spanish side have played in Liverpool since 2005, and the two cities are intrinsically linked through The Beatles' hit from 1966.

Although Villarreal are almost 100 years old, the yellow kits only date back to the 1940s when the team were a only a regional side in the Spanish province of Castellon. As the team climbed through the divisions and into the Spanish fourth-tier, they looked for a club anthem as a way of improving the atmosphere at their games in the Madrigal.

The team released a video ahead of the semi-final tie that shows how the two cities are linked by the song. Mosen Guillermo Sanchis, the town's priest came up with the idea of using The Beatles song as their anthem.

"At the time, the Liverpool band, The Beatles were very popular. I went to the juke box and put on the "Yellow Submarine" song." The idea was formed and the song was played at Villarreal's stadium before a league game, and from there it has since become tradition. 

From playing the song at games, as the team moved up the divisions, the nickname eventually stuck with the team. Groguet, the team's mascot is even a submarine, after being created in 2001.

In the build-up to the game, Villarreal fans have been visiting some of The Beatles attractions throughout Liverpool.

Win, lose or draw, it looks like for once, "You'll Never Walk Alone" may not be at the top of the charts in Anfield on a European night. 

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