Villarreal CF, a Spanish football club, has played in European football since 2002, in the Intertoto Cup, UEFA Cup, Champions 3️⃣ League, Europa League, Europa Conference League and UEFA Super Cup. The club won their first Europa League title in 2024.
History 3️⃣ [ edit ]
2005–06 UEFA Champions League [ edit ]
The 2005–06 season brought the club considerable European success and recognition, due 3️⃣ to their consistent performances in the Champions League. In the qualifying round stage, Villarreal controversially defeated English side Everton with 3️⃣ a 4–2 aggregate score with two 2–1 victories. In the group stage, Villarreal were to be in the same group 3️⃣ as Portuguese champions Benfica, French club Lille, and England's Manchester United. Remaining undefeated throughout the group stage, Villarreal were twice 3️⃣ victorious (1–0 each against Benfica away and Lille at home) and earned four draws, including two scoreless draws with Manchester 3️⃣ United. They topped their group and progressed to the knock-out stages along with Benfica. The club progressed to the quarter-finals 3️⃣ in their Champions League debut by defeating the Scottish club Rangers 3–3 on the away goals rule (a 2–2 draw 3️⃣ in Glasgow and a 1–1 draw at home gave the Spanish side one more away goal than their opponents).
El Submarino 3️⃣ Amarillo drew Italian giants Inter Milan in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The first leg was played at the 3️⃣ San Siro on 29 March 2006, where Villarreal's Diego Forlán scored inside the first minute of the match, but Villarreal 3️⃣ lost 2–1 as Inter took a lead to the return leg at El Madrigal on 4 April. Villarreal, however, continued 3️⃣ their unbeaten home record in the Champions League after winning the second leg 1–0 to qualify for the semi-finals on 3️⃣ the away goals rule (the tie ended 2–2 on aggregate, but because of Forlán's goal in Milan, Villarreal advanced). During 3️⃣ that game, left-back Rodolfo Arruabarrena turned a back header from Juan Román Riquelme free kick past Inter goalkeeper Francesco Toldo 3️⃣ to score the decisive goal of the tie. In the semi-finals, Villarreal narrowly lost out to Arsenal on a 1–0 3️⃣ aggregate scoreline following Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann's save of Riquelme's last-minute penalty.
2008–09 Champions League [ edit ]
The club automatically qualified 3️⃣ for the 2008–09 Champions League after finishing second in La Liga the previous season. They drew Manchester United, for the 3️⃣ second consecutive campaign; Celtic; and Aalborg BK. They made a good start by holding current European champions United to a 3️⃣ goal-less draw at Old Trafford, a third 0–0 draw in a row against the English giants. A first win was 3️⃣ sealed on 30 September by beating Gordon Strachan's Celtic 1–0 at El Madrigal, courtesy of a Marcos Senna free-kick. On 3️⃣ 21 October, during a Champions League match against Aalborg, they won 6–3. The Spaniards went through to the knock-out stage 3️⃣ after drawing 2–2 with Aalborg in Denmark and drawing goalless once again against Manchester United, though they lost to an 3️⃣ already eliminated Celtic in the last group stage match.
In the knock-out stage, they faced Panathinaikos, who left Villarreal with a 3️⃣ 1–1 away advantage, despite this the Greeks were to lose 1–2 in Athens. Villarreal reached the quarter-finals for the second 3️⃣ time in two tries, and were once again paired with Arsenal. The first leg saw a 1–1 draw by a 3️⃣ free-kick by Marcos Senna, equalised by an Emmanuel Adebayor volley. Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie secured a 3️⃣ 3–0 win for Arsenal on the return, knocking Villarreal out of the tournament.
2009–10 Europa League [ edit ]
For the 2009–10 3️⃣ season, Villarreal competed in the Europa League, defeating NAC Breda of the Netherlands by a 2–9 aggregate victory in a 3️⃣ qualifier. They shared Group G with Levski Sofia, who they defeated 1–0 in the opening game, and with Lazio and 3️⃣ Red Bull Salzburg. They came second in that group, behind Red Bull. Consequently, Villarreal was drawn against VfL Wolfsburg (who 3️⃣ had dropped out of the Champions League) in the round of 32. Playing at home first, Villarreal secured a 2–2 3️⃣ draw, but in the return leg at Wolfsburg's Volkswagen Arena, Villarreal would succumb to defeat by a 4–1 scoreline.
2010–11 Europa 3️⃣ League [ edit ]
Despite finishing outside of a European qualifying spot in the domestic league, Villarreal was given a place 3️⃣ in the qualifying round of the Europa League after UEFA determined that Mallorca's financial irregularities precluded them from taking part 3️⃣ in the tournament.
A 5–0 home win and a 2–1 away win against Dnepr Mogilev qualified them for the group stage. 3️⃣ Villarreal suffered an early setback following a shock 2–0 loss in their away fixture against Dinamo Zagreb. Despite this, however, 3️⃣ wins against Dinamo, Club Brugge and PAOK saw them top their group.
After beating Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen and Twente in the 3️⃣ knockout phases, Villarreal qualified for the semi-finals to face tournament favourites Porto. After taking a 1–0 lead at the Estádio 3️⃣ do Dragão, Porto made a remarkable turnaround that ended in a 5–1 defeat for Villarreal. Although Villareal won the second 3️⃣ leg with a 3–2 win, Porto's first leg goals saw them advance to the final to eventually defeat Braga, finishing 3️⃣ as champions. Giuseppe Rossi finished as the tournament's second top goalscorer with eleven goals, behind Porto's Radamel Falcao.
Beginning of the 3️⃣ 2024s: The European Fairytale [ edit ]
Having missed Europe during the 2024–20 season after finishing 14th in La Liga, Villarreal 3️⃣ played their first European match of the decade on 22 October 2024, beating Sivasspor 5–3 at home in the Europa 3️⃣ League. They would finish first in their group, ahead of Qarabağ, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Sivasspor, before knocking out Red 3️⃣ Bull Salzburg 4–1 on aggregate, Dynamo Kyiv 4–0 on aggregate, Dinamo Zagreb 3–1 on aggregate and Arsenal 2–1 on aggregate. 3️⃣ On 26 May 2024, Villarreal beat Manchester United 11–10 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the final, winning not 3️⃣ only their first major trophy but also their first European trophy (excluding the UEFA Intertoto Cup). This win granted Villarreal 3️⃣ a place in the 2024–22 UEFA Champions League group stage and to the 2024 UEFA Super Cup, which they lost 3️⃣ to Chelsea 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.
On 14 September 2024, Villarreal played their first UEFA Champions League match 3️⃣ in the group stage since 2011, a 2–2 draw to Atalanta. With three wins, one draw and two defeats, they 3️⃣ managed to finish second of their group and qualify to the round of 16. In the knockout phase, Villarreal played 3️⃣ Juventus in the round of 16, and knocked them out after drawing 1–1 at home before winning 3–0 away. Villarreal 3️⃣ then played Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, and knocked them out as well after winning 1–0 at home and drawing 3️⃣ 1–1 away, reaching their best record in the competition, the semi-finals, as they did in the 2005–06 season. Unfortunately for 3️⃣ Villarreal, their fairytale ended at this stage of the competition, by losing 5–2 on aggregate to Liverpool.
Overall record [ edit 3️⃣ ]
Accurate as of 14 December 2024
Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.
Matches [ edit 3️⃣ ]
