Villarreal were promoted to the top flight in Spanish football after drawing with Compostela (1-1)
Today, 24th May 2016, marks the 18th anniversary of Villarreal’s first promotion to the top flight of Spanish football. The feat was achieved in the Multiusos de San Lázaro stadium, where the Submarine knocked out Compostela in the promotion playoffs. In fact, the Sant Pasqual festivities were coming to an end and it was a cold night in Vila-real, but a wonder goal from Alberto Saavedra completely changed the scenes in the city from La Plana Baixa region of the Catellón province. On 24th May 1998, Villarreal secured their promotion to the top flight after surprising Santiago de Compostela with a 1-1 draw which sent the Submarine up 18 years ago today.
The Yellows did well to get a goalless draw in the first leg giving them the advantage going into the game in Compostela –who were at that time still serving in the First Division- to make the dream come true in the Multiusos de San Lázaro stadium. It was the team from the Castellón province who were the first to get on the score sheet with a great left-footed strike from outside the box by the Sevilla native, which ended up counting for promotion. The Submarine were made to suffer to hold onto their lead though. In the 75th minute, Chiba equalised for the Galicians and almost gave Yellows fans a heart attack, which only turned into euphoria as the referee blew his final whistle.
From then on, Villarreal CF have played in the top flight of Spanish football for 16 seasons and in 10 of those have also played in European competitions. In addition, in the 2015/16 campaign, Marcelino García Toral’s side qualified for the playoffs of the UEFA Champions League after finishing in fourth place in LaLiga, so the Yellows’ records will keep increasing, with 17 seasons in the First Division and 11 of those playing in Europe as well. Brilliant.
