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