Valencia CF

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Valencia has won six La Liga titles and finished as runners-up six times, as well two Segunda División titles, eight Copa del Rey trophies, one Spanish Super Cup, and one Copa Eva Duarte. In European competitions, they have won two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, and one UEFA Intertoto Cup. They have also reached two consecutive UEFA Champions League Finals in 2000 and 2001. The club was champion of the Small Club World Cup in 1966, and runner-up in 1955, despite not having FIFA world title recognition, and fourth in the Latin Cup of 1953. In 2004, the IFFHS named Valencia World's Best Club. Valencia were also members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs and since its end has been part of the original members of the European Club Association.

In Their Own Story

The competitive history of Villarreal B is marked by a consistent progression through Spain's diverse football tiers. Over its existence, the team has accumulated significant experience across various levels: five seasons in Segunda División and eleven seasons in Segunda División B, reflecting their frequent presence in professional brackets. They have also spent four seasons each in Primera Federación (formerly Primera División RFEF), Tercera División, and Categorías Regionales. Beyond domestic leagues, the club expanded its horizons by successfully applying to enter the England-based Premier League International Cup for three consecutive campaigns: 2014–15, 2015–16, and 2016–17. The team achieved a major milestone in this international arena when they won the tournament in 2016, defeating PSV in the final. This Under-23 competition featured a squad primarily drawn from the B side, supplemented by players from the C Team and the Juvenil group.

Reader's Guide

The club maintains a youth academy, known as 'Acadèmia'. Products of the academy include players such as Miguel Tendillo, Ricardo Arias, Fernando Gómez, Andrés Palop, Javier Farinos, Raúl Albiol, David Albelda, Vicente Rodríguez, Gaizka Mendieta and David Silva. Current stars of the game to have graduated in recent years include Isco, Jordi Alba, Paco Alcácer, Juan Bernat, José Gayà, Carlos Soler, Ferran Torres, Lee Kang-in, Cristhian Mosquera, and Javi Guerra. Historically one of the biggest clubs in the world in terms of number of associates, with around 50,000 season ticket holders at their peak, the club began to decline in the mid-2010s. Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim acquired the team in 2014.

Did You Know?

• Valencia has won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup twice, in 1961–62 and 1962–63.
• Four Valencia players were part of the Spanish national team that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup: David Villa, Carlos Marchena, David Silva and Juan Mata.
• The club was established on 5 March 1919 and officially approved on 18 March 1919, with Octavio Augusto Milego Díaz as its first president.
• Valencia moved into the Mestalla Stadium in 1923, having played its home matches at the Algirós ground since 7 December 1919.

Foundational Structure and Identity

Villarreal Club de Fútbol "B" is a Spanish football team based in Villarreal, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1999, it is the reserve team of Villarreal CF and plays in Primera Federación – Group 2, holding home games at Estadio de la Cerámica, with a 23,008-seat capacity.

Regulatory Constraints and Pyramid Dynamics

Unlike in other nations such as England, reserve teams in Spain play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However, reserve teams cannot play in the same division as their senior team. Therefore, the team is ineligible for promotion to the division in which the main side plays. Also, if the main team is relegated to the division in which its reserve side played in the prior season (which happened in 2011–12), the reserve team is automatically relegated to the division below the main team. Reserve teams are also no longer permitted to enter the Copa del Rey.

International Youth Competitions

Villarreal successfully applied to compete in the 2014–15, 2015–16 and 2016–17 versions of the England-based Premier League International Cup. They won the tournament in 2016, beating PSV in the final. Most of Villarreal's players in this Under-23 tournament have been drawn from the B side with some additions from C Team and the Juvenil group.

Historical Trajectory and League Progression

The team has spent 5 seasons in Segunda División, 4 seasons in Primera Federación/Primera División RFEF, 11 seasons in Segunda División B, 4 seasons in Tercera División, and 4 seasons in Categorías Regionales.