The club was founded on 10th March 1923 by a group of football fans in Vila-real
Villarreal CF is 94 years old today! Founded on 10th March 1923 by a group of football fans in Vila-real, pharmacist José Calduch Almela was one of the main driving forces in the club’s foundation. Although the team did not play official matches until the following decade, at that time ‘Club Deportivo Villarreal’ was starting to develop the identity that the club is still known by today. In fact, one of the primary decisions was to purchase some land for the team’s football pitch; the chosen grounds were known as the El Madrigal and nowadays it is one of the oldest stadium’s in the top flight, the Estadio de la Cerámica. Today the Yellows are enjoying good health and have established themselves in sixth place in the LaLiga Santander table.
Since the club’s beginnings, Villarreal CF has played 17 seasons in the First Division, even finishing as runners-up in the 2007/08 season. In Europe, the Yellows reached the Semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League in their first time participating in the competition, eventually getting knocked out by Arsenal (2005/06 season). The Yellow Submarine has played European football, including the current season, for 11 seasons now (13 counting the Intertoto Cup). Incredible.
The footballer to have played the most official matches for Villarreal CF is the current club captain Bruno Soriano, who recently surpassed another club legend, Marcos Senna. Villarreal’s top goal scorer in history is Giuseppe Rossi (82 goals, 22 of them from the penalty spot). The Italian-American striker scored 54 goals in LaLiga (13 penalties), 7 in the Copa del Rey (1 penalty), 5 in the Champions League (1 penalty) and 16 in the Europa League (7 penalties).
What’s more, this very season has brought with it another historic moment for Villarreal CF: the inauguration of the stadium’s new name, the ‘Estadio de la Cerámica’. On Sunday 8th January 2017, Villarreal CF unveiled the new name for its stadium, which from then on would be known as the ‘Estadio de la Cerámica’, as a symbol that identifies and is representative of the province of Castellón, proudly becoming an ambassador for one of the best products the region produces and a showcase of this extraordinary material. In addition, with this new initiative, the club has generated a new source of revenue as many ceramic tile companies from the province decided to join the project as partners, obtaining brand presence in various advertising spaces in the stadium and, with that, the corresponding national and international visibility. The companies that form part of the ‘Estadio de la Cerámica’ are: PAMESA, PORCELANOSA, ARGENTA CERÁMICA and TORRECID as the Main Sponsors; and TAU CERÁMICA, BESTILE, ESMALGLASS-ITACA and COLOROBBIA as Official Sponsors.
To find out everything you need to know about the history of Villarreal CF, visit the history section of our official website: Villarreal CF History.
