Wollongong to Villarreal: 18 year old lands football scholarship with Spanish giants

Liam Hoyn is a Wollongong teen that has landed a dream opportunity to play for Villarreal CF in Spain on a scholarship deal. READ MORE ABOUT AUSTRALIA’S RISING FOOTBALL STAR.

LIAM Hoyn of Wollongong has been selected to play for Villarreal FC in Spain on a season-long scholarship.

Hoyn, 18, will join the Juvenil C team at the Spanish club, having been offered a position from the Villarreal Sydney Academy.

Kitted up and ready for action. Liam Hoyn in Villarreal yellow. Photo: Contributed

Incredibly, Hoyn is the first player to ever be offered a position in the competitive league squad at Villarreal from one of their academies, not just in Australia, but around the world.

Jacobo Munoz Sirera is the Academy Director in Sydney, and played a massive role in Hoyn being offered the opportunity to play in Spain.

“When he came to us, we could see the potential,” Sirera said.

“He had a great understanding of the game, a very intelligent player.

“We could immediately see ways we could help him.”

Sirera offered Hoyn the opportunity to travel to the club in Spain and participate in a player training week experience.

With the club clearly impressed with Hoyn’s ability, this one week turned into a second week, before Hoyn was offered his scholarship position for next season.

Sirera emphasised how these opportunities don’t occur often, and that Hoyn would not have been sent to Spain if Sirera did not believe he had the potential to succeed.

Liam Hoyn (front row, second from left) with his Villarreal Juvenil C squad. Photo: Contributed

“We [the Sydney Academy] helped him to put a step in the door, but if it wasn’t for his personal drive it would not have been possible,” Sirera said.

“He has done the difficult part of getting a spot in the club, but there’s lots of hard work to be done.

“Now it’s up to him.”

Debbie Hoyn, mother of Liam, was over the moon that Liam’s hard work had paid off with this opportunity.

“It’s amazing to see, we didn’t expect it at all,” Debbie said.

“We went over to Spain with him in those first weeks to support him.

“It was very nice to meet the club and have the opportunity to see where he was going and who he’d be working with.

“We’re in contact every day, whether it be texting or video chats, and I can tell he’s absolutely loving it.”

Liam Hoyn alongside Director of the Villarreal Academy Sydney Jacobo Sirera. Photo: Villarreal Academy Sydney Facebook Page

Debbie was pleased to see that the club is very focused on helping their players off the field as well, with Hoyn studying in a business and marketing program, as well as learning Spanish to help him in his new environment.

Debbie has been a part of this journey with Liam, and has sacrificed a lot of time and energy to help him achieve his footballing dreams.

Living in Wollongong but training in Sydney, Liam and his parents would be waking up at 4am to travel up the highway for 6:30am training on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week.

All the while, Hoyn was deep in his secondary study at Illawarra Sports High School.

His mother was always a firm believer, however, that her son’s drive and commitment to his game would reward him in the future.

“We’ve always supported him at whatever club he’s been at,” Debbie said.

“Every parent wants to believe their child will be the superstar at whatever sport they play, and we supported him because we believed this.

“Of course we see him going all the way, but it’s so nice to have that confirmation from an independent person in Jacobo and the Academy.”

Hoyn has been playing representative football since U9s football and was previously a part of the Barcelona Academy Sydney.

In 2018 he captained this Academy side in the 2018 Barcelona Academy World Cup in Barcelona.

A year later he would captain the Academy again in the Asia Pacific Cup in India, finishing top goalscorer in the tournament.

Liam Hoyne in the action for Cringila Lions in 2022. Picture: Denis Ivaneza

When the Barcelona Academy closed, Hoyn played in the NPL1 and in the IPL Youth League, but still eager to play the Spanish style of football, he trialled for the Villarreal Academy in Sydney, where he gained selection.

Hoyn is an attacker, but is not yet restricted to a singular role or side of the field, with Sirera highlighting the value of his flexibility to adapt to all positions in attack.

Off the field, Sirera emphasised the qualities that make Hoyn a valuable squad member.

“He makes the players around him better on and off the field,” Sirera said.

“He’s always ready to train, always puts in the work and always has a big smile on his face.

“It’s something about him that makes him special.”

No Australian has ever played in the first team for Villarreal, with only a handful ever playing in the top-flight of the Spanish league itself.

There’s a lot of hard work ahead for Hoyn, but he is hopeful that this scholarship extends beyond just its first year, and that he’ll one day be seeing his name on the first squad’s team sheet.