Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF, is a Spanish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, that plays in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, the top flight of

Spanish football Football is the most popular sport in Spain, with 61% of the population interested in it. Spain has some of the most influential teams in Europe (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, and others) as well as many playe ...

. Founded in 1923, the club spent much time of its history in the lower divisions of Spanish football and began in La Liga in 1998. In the 21st century, Villarreal gained some league stability, although they sustained relegation in 2012, rebounding the next year and then remaining in the top division to date. The club made its first appearance in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

in 2005, with its best result being the semi-finals in 2006 and 2022. Villarreal also appeared in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

during this time, and won the competition in 2021 by defeating

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, clinching their first major trophy. The club is nicknamed ''El Submarí Groguet'' or ''El Submarino Amarillo'' ( Yellow Submarine) due to its yellow home kit, and due to being a low-profile team compared to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

, and regional rivals

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. They play their home games at the

Estadio de la Cerámica es:Estadio is the spanish language word for Stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered s ...

, and have been touted as an example of a small but successful club.

History

1923–29: early years

Club Deportivo Villarreal was founded on 10 March 1923 "to promote all sports especially Football." The stadium was rented for 60 pesetas a month and ticket prices were set at half a peseta for men and a quarter of a peseta for children. Women were granted free admission. On 17 June 1923, Castellón, a modern rival of the club, played the first match against a club named after

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

. On 21 October of that year, Villarreal played their first game ever, playing against Castellón. Villarreal started off with a kit of white shirts and black shorts, reflected in their first badge.

1929–98: time in lower divisions

Villarreal entered regional competitions within the Spanish football pyramid from 1929 to 1930 onwards. The 1934–35 season saw the team lose to Cartagena when a win would have seen them promoted to the nationwide Second Division. The following season saw Villarreal win the First Division of the region before the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. When the war finished in 1939, the club played again in the Second Division of the region. However, CD Villarreal was dissolved in the early 1940s, and in 1942, CA Foghetecaz, an acronym for the club's founders (Font, Gil, Herrero, Teuler, Catalá and Zaragoza), was one of several clubs established in its place. On 25 August 1947, the new club joined the Valencian Football Federation and in 1950 renamed itself as CAF Villarreal, where the F stood for Foghetecaz. The name changed again to the current Villarreal CF in June 1954, with a badge similar to the present one. They finished seventh and then fourth twice in the First regional league before being promoted to the Tercera Liga (Third Nationwide) as champions in 1956. They were relegated in 1960–61 after finishing 14th. The club adopted their present badge in the middle of 1966. In 1966–67, Villarreal returned to the Tercera as champions. In 1970, they reached the national Segunda for the first time. After narrowly avoiding relegation in their first season, they were relegated the following season. In 1975–76, they were relegated from the Tercera to the Regionals, but were promoted back again the next season. In 1986–87, Villarreal were promoted to the Segunda Liga B. In 1990, they finished 18th and were relegated back to the Tercera. There were back-to-back promotions as the club returned to Segunda B and finished second, earning promotion to Segunda A for the first time. From 1992 to 1997, Villarreal were often in low or mid-table positions, but reached the play-offs in 1997–98 by finishing fourth. The two-legged play-off was against Compostela. Villarreal hosted the first leg which was a 0–0 draw, but the second leg at the home of the Galician team was a 1–1 draw, thus Villarreal were promoted on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

1998–2012: La Liga and European debuts

Villarreal's

debut started with a match against reigning European champions

at the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...

on 31 August 1998 where they lost 4-1 despite taking the lead after 3 minutes. The first home game was against

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...

the week after. Because of a difficult season, Villarreal were relegated to the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

for the 1999–2000 season, but by finishing third, they were then promoted back to the Primera División. Van Persie Free Kick cropped

After finishing seventh on their return to the Primera, Villarreal finished in 15th place for two-straight seasons. Villarreal competed in the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

in the middle of 2002, defeating FH of Iceland,

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

of Italy, and

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

of France. They lost in the final to compatriots

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

, 2–1 on aggregate. In the middle of 2003, they defeated the Dutch team

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, ) is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the m ...

in the final of the Intertoto Cup, thereby qualifying for the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. In their major European debut, Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, losing to neighbours and eventual champions

. In the league, Villarreal finished in eighth place. In the middle of 2004, Villarreal retained the Intertoto Cup, beating compatriots

on penalties after the final finished 2–2 on aggregate. This qualified them to the UEFA Cup. They lost in the quarter-finals of the

2004–05 UEFA Cup The 2004–05 UEFA Cup was the 34th edition of the UEFA Cup. The format of the competition had changed from previous seasons, replacing that from the previous one after the abolition of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999; an extra qualifying round was ...

to Dutch side AZ, losing 3–2 on aggregate. During the same season, Villarreal finished in third place in La Liga, earning the club their first direct qualification to a European tournament, the Champions League. The club's centre-forward

Diego Forlán Diego Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional Manager (association football), football manager and former football player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his ...

won the

Pichichi Trophy In Spanish Association football, football, the Pichichi Trophy () is awarded by the sports newspaper ''Marca (newspaper), Marca'' to the top goalscorer of each La Liga season. Named after the Athletic Bilbao striker Pichichi (footballer), Rafael ...

for top scorer in the league, with 25 goals. Villarreal defeated the English Premier League's Everton in a play-off for the Champions League group stages. The group saw Villarreal go undefeated, drawing both games against

and achieving a draw and a win each against

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

of France and Benfica of Portugal. The win over Benfica was away and both teams advanced to the last 16. The club then drew 3–3 against

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

of Scotland in the Last 16, advancing on away goals due to a 2–2 draw at Ibrox. In the quarter-finals, Villarreal beat

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Since 1 ...

on away goals after finishing 2–2 on aggregate. The club bowed out in the semi-finals against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, losing 1–0 away at

Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...

Juan Román Riquelme Juan Román Riquelme (; born 24 June 1978) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer and current president of Boca Juniors, the club where he spent the majority of his playing career.penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

saved by

Jens Lehmann Jens Gerhard Lehmann (; born 10 November 1969) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was a member of Arsenal's " Invincibles", playing every match of their unbeaten title-winning season. He holds the UEFA ...

in the home game, which finished 0–0. Arsenal went on to lose in the final in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to another Spanish club,

. Villarreal finished seventh in La Liga, which only earned an Intertoto Cup position. Villarreal contested the Intertoto Cup in the middle of 2006 and was knocked out in its first game, to

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

of Slovenia. The first leg was lost 2–1 at home and the away game was a 1–1 draw. The team finished 5th in La Liga and qualified for the

. Villarreal gained their best-ever league position in 2008, finishing second to Real Madrid by eight points, and also reached the last 32 in that season's UEFA Cup. After defeating

BATE Borisov FC BATE Borisov (, ''FK BATE Borisov'' ; , ''BATE Barysaw,'' ), commonly referred to as BATE or BATE Borisov, is a Belarusian professional football team from the city of Barysaw. The club competes in the Belarusian Premier League, of which the ...

of Belarus in a play-off, the team won Group C unbeaten. Their group opponents were

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

of Italy,

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It lies on the left bank of the Jizera (river), Jizera River. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region. I ...

of Czech Republic,

IF Elfsborg Idrottsföreningen Elfsborg, more commonly known as IF Elfsborg or simply Elfsborg (), is a professional association football, football club based in Borås, Sweden, and is affiliated to the Västergötlands Fotbollförbund. They play in the Alls ...

of Sweden, and

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

of Greece. In the last 32, Villarreal were defeated by eventual champions

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club plays in the Russian Pr ...

, losing the first leg 1–0 in Russia to a

Pavel Pogrebnyak Pavel Viktorovich Pogrebnyak ( ; born 8 November 1983) is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Moscow, Pogrebnyak began his career at Spartak Moscow, making his professional debut in 2002. Over the next th ...

goal. The second leg was won 2–1 by Villarreal at El Madrigal, but Zenit advanced on away goals. The club automatically qualified for the

2008–09 UEFA Champions League The 2008–09 UEFA Champions League was the 54th edition of Europe's premier club football tournament and the 17th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, on 27 May 2009. ...

by finishing second in La Liga the previous season. They drew Manchester United, for the second consecutive campaign,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, and

Aalborg BK Aalborg Boldspilklub is a Danish sports club based in the city of Aalborg. The club is also known as AaB for short (cf. logo) or Aalborg BK. Through time the club has had branches in cricket, tennis, ice hockey, handball, and basketball, but curr ...

. They made a good start by holding current European champions Manchester United to a goal-less draw at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, a third 0–0 draw in a row against the English giants. A first win was sealed on 30 September by beating

Gordon Strachan Gordon David Strachan ( born 9 February 1957) is a Scottish former football coach and player who is currently Technical Director of Dundee. He played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Sc ...

's Celtic 1–0 at El Madrigal, courtesy of a

Marcos Senna Marcos Antônio Senna da Silva (born 17 July 1976), known as Senna, is a retired professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He was mainly known for his passing range and long-range shooting and was also a penalty specialist. H ...

free-kick. On 21 October, during a Champions League match against Aalborg, they scored six goals to three. The Spaniards went through to the knock-out stage after drawing 2–2 with Aalborg in Denmark and drawing goalless once again against Manchester United. In the last group stage match, they lost to an already-eliminated Celtic. In the knock-out stage, they faced

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

, who left Villarreal with a 1–1 away advantage, but lost 1–2 in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. Villarreal reached the quarter-finals for the second time in two attempts, and were once again paired with Arsenal. The first leg saw a 1–1 draw by a

free kick, equalised by an

Emmanuel Adebayor Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (; born 26 February 1984) is a Togolese former professional footballer who played as a striker. During his career, he played for English clubs Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace, as well as ...

volley.

Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented England at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012 and won 47 caps, scoring eight goals. Walcott currently appears as a cl ...

, and

Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional association football, footballer who is the head coach of Eredivisie club Feyenoord. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and was ...

secured a 3–0 win for Arsenal on the return, knocking Villarreal out of the tournament. Despite finishing outside of a European qualifying spot in the domestic league, Villarreal was given a place in the qualifying round of the

2010–11 UEFA Europa League The 2010–11 UEFA Europa League was the second season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 40th edition overall including its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. It began on 1 July 2010, with ...

after UEFA determined that

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

's financial irregularities precluded them from taking part in the tournament. A 5–0 home win and a 2–1 away win against Dnepr Mogilev qualified them for the group stage. Villarreal suffered an early setback following a shock 2–0 loss in their away fixture against

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

. Despite this, however, later wins against Dinamo,

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

and

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

saw them top their group. After beating

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

and

Twente Twente ( , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Germanic people ...

in the knockout phases, Villarreal qualified for the semi-finals to face tournament favourites

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

. After Villarreal took a 0–1 lead at the

Estádio do Dragão The Estádio do Dragão (; ') is an all-seater football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the third-largest football stadium in Portugal. Designed by Portugue ...

, Porto made a remarkable turnaround that ended in a 5–1 defeat for Villarreal. Although Villarreal won the second leg 3–2, Porto's first leg goal total saw them advance to the final on aggregate, where they beat

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

to be crowned champions.

Giuseppe Rossi Giuseppe Rossi (; born 1 February 1987) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward. Born in the United States, Rossi spent most of his career in Europe with Villarreal CF, Vi ...

finished as the tournament's second top goalscorer with 11 goals, behind Porto's

Radamel Falcao Radamel Falcao García Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Categoría Primera A club Millonarios F.C., Millonarios. Nicknamed "El ...

2012–present: relegation and European glory

On 13 May 2012, Villarreal were relegated from La Liga after defeat to

. Following a horrendous season, the club suffered a shattering tragedy when Manolo Preciado, appointed as Villarreal's new manager on 6 June 2012, died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

later that day. Following their relegation, there was a mass exodus of players at the club, with star players such as

Borja Valero Borja Valero Iglesias (; born 12 January 1985) is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He began his career with Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid but did not have any impact with its first team, a ...

, Diego López,

and Nilmar leaving the side. After one year in the Segunda División, Villarreal were promoted back to La Liga on the final day of the season after finishing the year second after champions

Elche Elche (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

. The team began its new tenure in the top flight by winning its first three games; the winning streak ended with a tie against Real Madrid at El Madrigal, though the team was undefeated until falling to

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

1–0 on the seventh matchday of the season. The Yellow Submarine finished the 2013–14 campaign in sixth, thus qualifying them for next season's

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. In 2014–15, Villarreal again finished the year in sixth, enough to secure direct qualification to the

group stage. In the 2015–16 season, Villarreal led La Liga for the first time during the sixth and seventh weeks, before falling to fifth place the following week. The club ended the season in 4th place and thus advanced to the

2016–17 UEFA Champions League The 2016–17 UEFA Champions League was the 62nd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 25th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pla ...

playoff round. The club progressed to the semi-finals of the 2015–16 Europa League, but were knocked out by

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. Villarreal won the first leg 1–0, but lost 3–0 in Liverpool and 3–1 on aggregate. In 2019–20, Villarreal finished fifth, earning a place in the

2020–21 UEFA Europa League The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League was the 50th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 12th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. Villarreal defeated Manchester United i ...

. The team went on a memorable run, advancing to the

after knocking out

2–1 on aggregate. Facing favoured

, Villarreal held them to a 1–1 draw after extra time and then won 11–10 in a penalty shoot-out, winning the club's first ever major trophy. Domestically, they finished seventh, supposedly qualifying for the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League. However, courtesy of their triumph, Villarreal switched their next year's participation in the inaugural Conference League to the 2021–22 Champions League. At the start of the 2021–22 season, Villarreal competed in the

2021 UEFA Super Cup The 2021 UEFA Super Cup was the 46th edition of the UEFA Super Cup, an annual football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. The match ...

against Chelsea in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, which ended a 1–1 draw after extra time, but Chelsea managed to win 6–5 in the penalty shootout as captain

Raúl Albiol Raúl Albiol Tortajada (born 4 September 1985) is a Spanish professional association football, footballer who plays as a central defender. He spent most of his career with Valencia CF, Valencia, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid and Villarreal CF, Vi ...

saw his penalty saved by Chelsea goalkeeper

Kepa Arrizabalaga Kepa Arrizabalaga Revuelta (born 3 October 1994), often referred to simply as Kepa, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Chelsea. After progressing through Athletic Bilbao's youth academy, Arrizabalaga be ...

. That same season, Villarreal progressed to the semi-finals of the Champions League after knocking out

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

in the round of 16 and

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

in the quarter-finals, before losing 5–2 on aggregate to Liverpool.

Rivalries

Villarreal has supported a long rivalry with Castellón for geographical reasons, since both are from the

province of Castellón Castellón (); co-officially in ) is a province in the northern part of the Valencian Community. It is bordered by the provinces of Valencia to the south, Teruel to the west, Tarragona to the north, and by the Mediterranean Sea to the east. T ...

. They also rival

, since the two had been the most competitive teams of the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

; this clash is called the "

Derbi de la Comunitat The Derbi de la Comunitat ("Derby of the Community"), or the Valencian Country Derby, is a regional football rivalry in Spain between La Liga clubs Valencia CF and Villarreal CF. Separated by , historically the clubs maintained a friendly relations ...

Records

* Villarreal's biggest league win at home was by a five-goal margin, achieved on four occasions. The club recorded 5–0 home victories against

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

(1998–99 La Liga), RC Celta de Vigo, Celta Vigo (2002–03 and 2016–17 La Liga), and CD Tenerife, Tenerife (2009–10 La Liga). The most goals Villarreal scored in a league game was six, in a 6–3 home win against Racing de Santander, Racing Santander during the 2003–04 La Liga season. * The club's largest away league wins were a 5–1 victory at UD Las Palmas, Las Palmas during the 2000–01 La Liga season, a 4–0 victory at Real Sociedad in the same division during the 2004–05 season, and 4–0 and 5–1 victories at RC Celta de Vigo, Celta Vigo and Levante UD, Levante, respectively, both during the 2020–21 La Liga season. * The club's first major trophy was won in 2021 with a penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final.

Club colours

The club's famous yellow kit dates back to 1947. With the new season fast approaching, the son of the then Villarreal president travelled to Valencia to purchase replacements of the club's official kit of white shirts and black shorts. Discovering that the shop had neither in stock, he instead bought the only color that they did have, which happened to be yellow. The players agreed that the shirts were suitable, although they weren't keen on the black shorts, so the president's son travelled to Castellón and purchased a batch of white shorts. The players voted that they should be dyed blue. After remaining as the club's official kit for some time, the yellow shirts and blue shorts combination was last worn in the 2002–03 La Liga, 2002–03 season, and the club has since sported all-yellow kits. Away colours have been navy blue. From 2005 to 30 June 2011, the shirt sponsor was "Aeroport Castello", an airport. The current shirt sponsor is Pamesa, a ceramics company. From the 2016–17 season, the kit has been made by the Spanish company Joma, having previously been produced by the Chinese company Xtep and Puma AG, Puma of Germany, among others.

Honours

Domestic

* Tercera División ** Winners: 1969–70 Tercera División, 1969–70

European

** Winners: 2020–21 UEFA Europa League, 2020–21 *

** Winners: 2003 UEFA Intertoto Cup, 2003, 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup, 2004

Season to season

* 26 seasons in

* 10 seasons in

* 4 seasons in Segunda División B * 23 seasons in Tercera División

In Europe

:''Accurate as of 14 March 2024''

UEFA club coefficient ranking

Nickname and mascot

The team is nicknamed ''El Submarino Amarillo'' (the Yellow Submarine) because of their yellow strip. The mascot (named ''Groguet'', "Little Yellow") is characterised as an anthropomorphic submarine. He made his debut on 26 October 2001 and was named on 13 December that year by a local 12-year-old, Javier Fuster Almela, following a province-wide competition open to under-15s.

Players

Current squad

Reserve team

Out on loan

Player records

Most appearances

''Competitive, professional matches only. Bold indicates player is still active at club level.'' .

Goalscorers

''Competitive, professional matches only. Bold indicates player is still active at club level.'' .

Current technical staff

, - , Head coach , , Marcelino García Toral, Marcelino , - , Assistant coach , , Rubén Uría , - , Technical assistant , , Sergio García , - , Goalkeeping coach , , Borja Fernández
Marc Ramírez , - , Fitness coach , , Ismael Fernández
Mario Segarra , - , Analyst , , Bruno Uría
Pablo Manzanet
Pepe Alcaide
Pier Luis
Miguel Ángel Muñoz , - , Delegate , , Xisco Nadal , - , Director of medical services , , Héctor Usó , - , Doctor/Medical Services , , Enrique Soriano , - , Nurse/Medical Services , , Sergio Broceño , - , Physiotherapist , , Axel Tirado
Josep Rochera
Nacho Fornás
Salva Bartomeu
Ferran Romero
Josep Caballero , - , Rehab fitness coach , , Alberto Torres
José Luis Villarroya
Adrián Beltrán , - , Massage therapist , , Juan Hernández , - , Field delegate , , Luis Jiménez , - , Equipment manager , , Adrián Ortells
Jorge Garrido , - , Sporting director , , Jorge Rodríguez , -

Coaches

* :es:Osman Bendezu, Osman Bendezu (1 July 1992 – 15 March 1993) * :es:Carlos Simón Server, Carlos Simón Server (18 March 1993 – 26 February 1995) * Fidel Uriarte (27 February 1995 – 29 October 1995) * David Vidal (5 November 1995 – 30 June 1996) * Javier Subirats (1 July 1996 – 27 January 1997) * José Antonio Irulegui (2 February 1997 – 31 May 1999) * Francisco García Gómez, Paquito (1 June 1999 – 30 June 1999) * Joaquín Caparrós (1 July 1999 – 4 October 1999) * Francisco García Gómez, Paquito (5 October 1999 – 30 June 2000) * Víctor Muñoz (1 July 2000 – 11 September 2002) * Benito Floro (17 September 2002 – 23 February 2004) * Francisco García Gómez, Paquito (24 February 2004 – 30 June 2004) * Manuel Pellegrini (1 July 2004 – 30 June 2009) * Ernesto Valverde (1 July 2009 – 31 January 2010) * Juan Carlos Garrido (1 February 2010 – 21 December 2011) * José Francisco Molina (22 December 2011 – 18 March 2012) * Miguel Ángel Lotina (19 March 2012 – 1 June 2012) * Julio Velázquez (1 July 2012 – 13 January 2013) * Marcelino García Toral, Marcelino (15 January 2013 – 10 August 2016) * Fran Escribá (11 August 2016 – 25 September 2017) * Javier Calleja (25 September 2017 – 10 December 2018) * Luis García (footballer, born 1972), Luis García (10 December 2018 – 29 January 2019) * Javier Calleja (29 January 2019 – 20 July 2020) * Unai Emery (23 July 2020 – 24 October 2022) * Quique Setién (25 October 2022 – 5 September 2023) * Pacheta (9 September 2023 – 10 November 2023) * Marcelino García Toral, Marcelino (13 November 2023 – present)

Women's football

References

External links

*
Villarreal CF
at

Villarreal CF
at UEFA {{DEFAULTSORT:Villarreal Villarreal CF, La Liga clubs Football clubs in the Valencian Community Association football clubs established in 1923 1923 establishments in Spain Segunda División clubs UEFA Europa League winning clubs UEFA Intertoto Cup winning clubs

History

1923–29: early years

1929–98: time in lower divisions

1998–2012: La Liga and European debuts

2012–present: relegation and European glory

Rivalries

Records

Club colours

Honours

Domestic

European

Season to season

In Europe

UEFA club coefficient ranking

Nickname and mascot

Players

Current squad

Reserve team

Out on loan

Player records

Most appearances

Goalscorers

Current technical staff

Coaches

Women's football

See also

References

External links