Villarreal to play in a European competition for the tenth time
Including next season, Villarreal has been in the Spanish First Division for 16 seasons, while competing for a European trophy during 10 of them. Having won the UEFA Intertoto Cup against Dutch side SC Heerenveen in 2003, Villarreal was qualified to play in the UEFA Cup the following season. The experience resulted in a tremendous performance, defeating several clubs. Valencia CF eventually broke the spell in the Semi Finals with a controvertible penalty kick from Mista that gave Valencia the (1-0) aggregate win.
Valencia CF would eventually go and win the UEFA Title as well as the League Title. The Intertoto Cup was also won the next year, this time against Atlético Madrid, and it granted once again the right to compete for the UEFA Cup the following season. This time, the Dutch were able to stop Villarreal from making another Semi Final appearance. Where seven European clubs couldn’t put a stop to the Yellow run, AZ Alkmaar did just that in the Quarter Finals.
First Champions League Appearance
After finishing in third place in the 2004-2005 season, Villarreal was granted the right to compete in the Champions’ League the following season. A journey through the competition of the most important European clubs resulted in a yellow sensation. Before being able to make a mark on the competition, Villarreal had to win one match in the qualifying stages. Everton was swept aside (4-2), which resulted in the Yellow Submarine going through to the Group Stage. Manchester United, Lille and Benfica all finished beneath Villarreal, as the Submarine entered the Knockout Phase as leader of the group. Glasgow Rangers and Internazionale have tried to shut Villarreal down, but were both defeated on away goals. Eventually, Arsenal ended the run for the Yellows in the Semi’s after a rather unlucky (1-0) defeat.
Return to the UEFA Cup
In 2007-2008, Villarreal returned to playing in the UEFA Cup. In the Round of 32, Villarreal was defeated by Zenit St Petersburg, who went on to win the edition.
The Submarine falls against Arsenal
Villarreal got to listen to the Champions’ League anthem again in 2008-2009, after having ended the previous season in second place with 77 points. This time, the Runners-up were immediately selected into the Group Stage, where Aalborg, Celtic and (again) Manchester United were awaiting. Nine points proved to be enough to finish second and for the second time in a row, Villarreal was through to the Knockout phase. After Panathinaikos was defeated, Villarreal locked eyes with their earlier English opponent. Arsenal, once again, put a stop to the tremendous run with a (1-1) draw in Spain and a (3-0) victory in London.
First ever UEFA Europa League
The first edition of the ‘Europa League’, ended for Villarreal in the Round of 32 against VFL Wolfsburg (3-6). The Yellow side had shown their form with victories in the qualifying stages against NAC Breda and in the Group Stage against Lazio and Levski Sofia, but fell in the next round to the Germans. A year later, Villarreal was close to reaching their first ever European Final. After having finished off Dnepr Mogilev, PAOK, Dinamo Zagreb, Club Brugge, Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen and FC Twente with impressive numbers, FC Porto was awaiting in the Semi Finals. Due to a poor second half in Do Dragão, Villarreal lost the first leg (1-5). The (3-2) victory in El Madrigal a week later didn’t change anything.
The ‘Group of Death’
The Champions’ League of 2011-2012 featured Villarreal once more, after a fourth place finish in the previous season. Villarreal had one opponent to beat in the qualifying stages to reach the Group Stage. Giuseppe Rossi (2) and Carlos Marchena scored against Danish side Odense at El Madrigal (3-0) for a comeback victory after losing (1-0) on Danish grounds. Partially due to an unlucky draw, the Group Stage was the final destination. Bayern Munich, Napoli and Manchester City left Villarreal with zero points and two goals after six matches.
The Submarine, back to the UEFA Europa League
Villarreal needed just the one season after the promotion to the top flight to secure a spot in the Europa League. The Submarine finished in sixth place and was in the Group Stage of the Europa League after brushing Astana from Kazakhstan aside. Eleven points and fifteen goals were accumulated in the six matches it played Mönchengladbach, Zürich and Apollon Limassol, which was clearly enough to reach the Knockout phase.
Red Bull Salzburg, who had scored 21 goals in the Group Stage, was paired up with Villarreal but wasn’t up for the test. A (2-1) home victory, followed by a (1-3) victory in Austria resulted into earning a spot in the Round of 16, where the only other Spanish competitor was linked to Villarreal. Sevilla was victorious in both matches and is currently the favorite to win the edition for the second year in a row.
After securing the sixth place again this season, we will see Villarreal competing in next year’s Europa League.
