Historically one of the biggest clubs in the world in terms of number of associates (registered paying supporters), with around 50,000 season ticket holders[4] at their peak, the club began to decline in the mid-2010s. Singaporean billionairePeter Lim acquired the team in 2014.[5][6]
The club was established on 5 March 1919 and officially approved on 18 March 1919, with Octavio Augusto Milego Díaz as its first president; incidentally, the presidency was decided by acoin toss. The club played its first competitive match away from home on 21 May 1919 against Valencia Gimnástico, and lost the match 1–0.
Valencia moved into theMestalla Stadium in 1923, having played its home matches at the Algirós ground since 7 December 1919. The first match at Mestalla pitted the home side against Castellón Castalia and ended in a 0–0 draw. In another match the day after, Valencia won 1–0 against the same opposition. Valencia CF won the Regional Championship in 1923, and was eligible to play in the domesticCopa del Rey cup competition for the first time in its history.
Players of Valencia celebrating after having won the 1941 Copa del Rey final
TheSpanish Civil War halted the progress of the Valencia team until 1941, when it won the Copa del Rey, beatingRCD Espanyol in the final. In the 1941–42 season, the club won its first SpanishLa Liga championship title, although winning the Copa del Rey was more reputable than the championship at that time. The club maintained its consistency to capture the league title again in the 1943–44 season, as well as the 1946–47 league edition. They would conclude their decade of success by winning the 1949 Copa del Rey; this meant Valencia ended the decade with a record of three La Liga and two Copa del Rey titles. This success would help cement the club's name in Spanish football.
In the 1950s, Valencia failed to emulate the success of the previous decade, even though it grew as a club. A restructuring of Mestalla resulted in an increase in spectator capacity to 45,000, while the club had a number of Spanish and foreign stars. Players such asSpanish internationalAntonio Puchades andDutch forwardFaas Wilkes graced the pitch at Mestalla. In the 1952–53 season, the club finished as runners-up in La Liga, and in the following season, won the Copa del Rey, then known as the Copa del Generalísimo.
While managing average league form in the early 1960s, Valencia had its first European success in the form of theInter-Cities Fairs Cup (the forerunner to theUEFA Cup), defeatingBarcelona in the final of the1961–62 edition. Thefollowing edition of the tournament pitted Valencia againstCroatian clubDinamo Zagreb in the final, which the Spanish side also won. Valencia reached a third consecutive Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final in thefollowing season, but this time were defeated 2–1 by fellow Spanish clubZaragoza.
1970s to early 1980s: More domestic and European glory
Former two-timeEuropean Footballer of the Year award winnerAlfredo Di Stéfano was hired as Valencia coach in 1970, and immediately inspired his new club to their fourth La Liga championship and first since 1947. This secured Valencia its first qualification for the prestigiousEuropean Cup, contested by the various European domestic champions. Valencia reached the third round of the1971–72 competition before losing both legs toHungarian championsÚjpesti Dózsa. In 1972 the club also finished runners-up both in La Liga and the domestic cup, losing to Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, respectively. The most notable players of the 1970s era includeAustrian midfielderKurt Jara, forwardJohnny Rep of theNetherlands andArgentinian forwardMario Kempes, who was consecutivelyLa Liga top scorer in 1976–77 and 1977–78. Valencia would go on to win the Copa del Rey again in the 1978–79 season, and also capture theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup the next season, after beatingEnglish clubArsenal in the final, and theEuropean Super Cup againstNottingham Forest thanks to theaway goals rule, with Kempes spearheading their success in Europe.
In 1982, the club appointedMiljan Miljanić as coach. After a disappointing season, Valencia was in 17th place and facedrelegation with seven games left to play. Koldo Aguirre replaced Miljanić as coach, and Valencia barely avoided relegation that year, relying on favorable results from other teams to ensure their own survival. In the 1983–84 and 1984–85 seasons, the club was heavily in debt under the presidency of Vicente Tormo. The club finally hit rock bottom when it was relegated at the end of the 1985–86 season, and riven with internal problems such as unpaid player and staff wages, as well as poor morale. The club was relegated for the first time after 55 years in Spanish top-flight football.
Arturo Tuzón was named the new club president, and he helped steer Valencia back to La Liga.Alfredo Di Stéfano returned as coach in 1986 and Valencia wonpromotion again following the 1986–87 season. Di Stéfano stayed on as coach until the 1987–88 season, when the team finished in 14th position in La Liga.Bulgarian forwardLuboslav Penev joined the club in 1989, as Valencia aimed to consolidate their place in La Liga. In the1988–89 La Liga season, Valencia finished third, which would signal their competitiveness going into the 1990s.
In the1989–90 La Liga season, Valencia finished as runners-up to Real Madrid, and thus qualified for theUEFA Cup.
Guus Hiddink was appointed as head coach in the 1991–92 season, and the club finished fourth in the League and reached the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. In 1992, Valencia officially became a Sporting Limited Company, and retained Hiddink as their coach until 1993.
Valencia would struggle for the next two seasons, but the1998–99 La Liga season would signal the start of one of the club's most successful periods in their history; they lifted their first trophy in nineteen years by winning the1998–99 Copa del Rey underClaudio Ranieri, and also qualified for theUEFA Champions League.
2000s: Valencia returns to the top of Spanish and European football
Valencia started the 1999–2000 season by winning another title, beatingBarcelona in theSpanish Super Cup. Valencia finished third in the league, four points behind championsDeportivo La Coruña, and level on points with second-placed Barça. The biggest success for the club, however, was in the Champions League; for the first time in its history, Valencia reached theEuropean Cup final. However, in thefinal played inParis on 24 May 2000,Real Madrid would beat Valencia 3–0.
The final would also be Claudio López's farewell, as he had agreed to sign for Italian sideLazio; also leaving was Farinós forInter Milan and Gerard for Barcelona. The notable signings of that summer wereJohn Carew,Rubén Baraja,Roberto Ayala,Vicente Rodríguez, and Brazilian left-backFábio Aurélio. That season Valencia also boughtPablo Aimar in the winter transfer window. Baraja, Aimar, Vicente, and Ayala would soon become a staple of Valencia's dominance of the early 2000s in La Liga.
Valencia started the championship on the right foot and were top of the league after ten games. After the Christmas break, however, Valencia started to pay for the top demand that such a draining competition like the Champions League requires. After passing the two mini-league phases,Héctor Cúper's team eliminated English sidesArsenal in the quarter-finals andLeeds United in the semi-finals, reaching thefinal for the second consecutive year. In the final match againstBayern Munich, played inMilan at theSan Siro on 23 May,Gaizka Mendieta gave Valencia the lead by scoring from the penalty spot right at the start of the match. GoalkeeperSantiago Cañizares then stopped a penalty fromMehmet Scholl, butStefan Effenberg drew Bayern level after the break thanks to another penalty. After extra time, the match went to a penalty shoot-out, where aMauricio Pellegrino miss gave Bayern Champions League glory and dealt Valencia a second-straight defeat in the final. Valencia went on to slip to fifth place in La Liga and out of the Champions League positions for the 2001–02 season. Going into the final league match, Valencia only needed a draw at theCamp Nou against Barcelona to seal Champions League qualification. However,Los Che lost to Barcelona 3–2, with a last minute goal completing ahat-trick fromRivaldo, resulting in Barcelona qualifying for the Champions League ahead of their side.
Valencia president D. Pedro Cortés resigned for personal reasons and left the club in July, with the satisfaction of overseeing the club win the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup, as well as reaching two successive Champions League finals. D. Jaime Ortí replaced Cortés as president and expressed his intention of maintaining the good form that had made the club so admired on the European circuit. There were also some changes in the team and staff.Rafael Benítez, after helpingTenerife to promotion, replaced Héctor Cúper after the latter became the new coach at Inter inItaly. Among the playing squad, Gaizka Mendieta,Didier Deschamps,Luis Milla, andZlatko Zahovič left, whileCarlos Marchena,Mista,Curro Torres,Francisco Rufete,Gonzalo de los Santos, andSalva Ballesta all arrived.
From 1999 up until the end of the 2004 season, Valencia had one of their most successful periods in the club's history. With a total of two La Liga titles, aUEFA Cup, a Copa del Rey, and a UEFA Super Cup in those six years, no less than five first class titles and two Champions League finals had been achieved.
During Valencia's domestic and European dominance of the early 2000s, ArgentineRoberto Ayala had been a key component in their defense
That first match against fellow title rivals Real Madrid produced a significant and important victory. This was followed by a record of eleven consecutive wins, breaking their existing record set in the 1970–71 season, which was also the club's La Liga title win underAlfredo Di Stéfano.
After a defeat inA Coruña againstDeportivo on 9 December 2001, the team had to overcomeEspanyol at theEstadi Olímpic Lluís Companys to avoid further backsliding behind the league leaders. at half-time, Valencia were 2–0 down, but a comeback in the second half saw them win 3–2.
In the second part of the season, Benítez's team suffered a temporary setback after losing 1–0 at theSantiago Bernabéu to Real Madrid, but in the coming six matches they recovered from this defeat and achieved four victories and two draws.
In one of these crucial games against Espanyol, Valencia were trailing 1–0 at half-time and down a player as well following the dismissal of Carboni. However, after a second half brace from Rubén Baraja, they would achieve a 2–1 comeback win. Furthermore, Real Madrid's defeat at theAnoeta toReal Sociedad left Valencia with a three-point lead at the top of the table.
Valencia's final game of the season was on 5 May 2002 atLa Rosaleda againstMálaga, a day that has gone down in Valencia's history. The team shut itself away inBenalmádena, close to the scene of the game, in order to gain focus. An early goal from Roberto Ayala and another close to half-time from Fábio Aurélio secured Valencia a fifth La Liga crown, 31 years after their last title win.
The 2002–03 season was a disappointing one for Valencia, as they failed in their attempt to retain the La Liga title and ended up outside of the Champions League spots in fifth, behindCelta Vigo. They were also knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by Inter Milan on away goals. The 2003–04 season saw Valencia trailing longtime leaders Real Madrid. In February, with 26 matches played, Madrid were eight points clear at the top of the table.[7] However, their form severely declined in the late stage of the season, and consecutive losses in their last five games of the campaign allowed Valencia to overtake them and claim the title, their second in three seasons. The club also added the UEFA Cup to this success, defeatingMarseille 2–0 in thefinal.
In the summer of 2004, manager Benítez decided to depart Valencia, stating he had had problems with the club president; he would soon become head coach ofLiverpool. He was replaced by former Valencia coachClaudio Ranieri, who had recently been sacked byChelsea. Despite lifting theEuropean Super Cup after defeatingUEFA Champions League winnersPorto, his second reign at the club was a disappointment; Valencia harboured realistic hopes of retaining their La Liga crown but, by February, found themselves in seventh place. Valencia had also been knocked out of the Champions League group phase, with Ranieri being sacked promptly in February. The 2004–05 season ended with Valencia outside of the UEFA Cup spots.
In the summer of 2005,Getafe coachQuique Flores was appointed as the new manager of Valencia and ended the season in third place, which in turn gained Valencia a place in the Champions League after a season away from the competition. The 2006–07 season was one with many difficulties; a campaign which started with realistic hopes of challenging for the title was disrupted with a huge list of injuries to key players, as well as internal arguments between Flores and new sporting directorAmedeo Carboni. Valencia ended the season in fourth place and were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Chelsea 3–2 on aggregate, after they had knocked out Italian champions Inter in the second round. In the summer of 2007, the internal fight between Flores and Carboni was settled, with Carboni being replaced by Ángel Ruiz as the new sporting director of Valencia.
On 29 October 2007, the Valencia board of directors fired Flores after a string of disappointing performances, and caretaker managerÓscar Fernández took over on a temporary basis until a full-time manager was found, rumoured to be eitherMarcello Lippi orJosé Mourinho. A day later, Dutch managerRonald Koeman announced he would be leavingPSV Eindhoven to sign for Valencia. However, Koeman's appointment failed to lead to improvement; in fact, Valencia even went on to drop to the 15th position in the league, just two points above the relegation zone. Despite their poor league form, Valencia would still go on to lift the Copa del Rey on 16 April 2008, following a 3–1 victory over Getafe at theVicente Calderón. This was the club's seventh Copa title. Five days later, one day after a devastating 5–1 league defeat in Bilbao, Valencia fired Koeman and replaced him withVoro, who would guide Valencia as caretaker manager for the remainder of the season. He went on to win the first match since the sacking of Koeman, beatingOsasuna 3–0. Voro would eventually drag Valencia from the relegation battle to a safe mid-table finish of tenth place, finally ending a disastrous league campaign forLos Che.
Highly ratedUnai Emery was announced as the new head coach of Valencia on 22 May 2008. The start of the young manager's career looked to be promising, with the club winning four out of its first five games, a surge that saw the team rise to the top position of the La Liga table. Despite looking impressive in Europe,Los Che then hit a poor run of form in the league that saw them dip as low as seventh in the standings. Amid the slump emerged reports of a massive internal debt at the club exceeding 400 million euros, as well as that the players had been unpaid for weeks. The team's problems were compounded when they were knocked out of the UEFA Cup byDynamo Kyiv on away goals. After a run where Valencia took only five points from ten games in La Liga, an announcement was made that the club had secured a loan that would cover the players' expenses until the end of the year. This announcement coincided with an upturn in form, and the club won six of its next eight games to surge back into the critical fourth place Champions' League spot. However,Los Che were then pushed down to sixth place in the league following defeats to top four rivalsAtlético Madrid andVillarreal in two of their final three games, meaning they failed to qualify for the Champions League for a second successive season.
Over the course of 15 seasons and 481 official matches from 1997 to 2013, as well as serving as team captain, defensive midfielderDavid Albelda became one of the most recognisable players of Valencia CF.[8]
No solution had yet been found to address the massive debt Valencia was faced with, and rumors persisted that top talents such asDavid Villa,Juan Mata, andDavid Silva could leave the club to help balance the books. In the first season of the new decade, Valencia returned to the Champions League for the first time since the 2007–08 campaign, as they finished comfortably in third place in the2009–10 La Liga standings. However, in the summer of 2010, due to financial reasons, David Villa and David Silva were sold to Barcelona andManchester City, respectively, to reduce the club's massive debt. Despite the loss of two of the club's most important players, the team was able to finish comfortably in third place again in the2010–11 La Liga for the second season running, although they would be eliminated from the Champions League by German sideSchalke 04 in the round of 16. In the summer of 2011, then-captain Juan Mata was sold toChelsea to further help Valencia's precarious financial situation. It was announced by club presidentManuel Llorente that the club's debt had been decreased and that the work on the new stadium would restart as soon as possible, sometime in 2012.
During the2012–13 season,Ernesto Valverde was announced as the new manager, but after failing to qualify for the Champions League, he stepped down and was replaced byMiroslav Đukić. On 5 July 2013,Amadeo Salvo was named as the new president of the club. Almost a month after Salvo was named president, on 1 August, Valencia sold star strikerRoberto Soldado to English clubTottenham Hotspur for a reported fee of €30 million. Đukić was sacked six months into the2013–14 season after just six wins in his first sixteen matches, Valencia's worst start to a season in fifteen years.[9] He was replaced byJuan Antonio Pizzi on 26 December 2013.[10] Under Pizzi, Valencia reached the semi-finals of theUEFA Europa League, where they lost to eventual winnersSevilla on away goals, and finished eighth inLa Liga despite a disastrous start to the season.[11][12]
In May 2014, Singaporean businessmanPeter Lim was designated by the Fundación Valencia CF as the buyer of 70.4% of the shares owned by the club's foundation.[13][14] After months of negotiations between Lim andBankia (the main creditor of the club), an agreement was reached in August 2014.[15] Juan Antonio Pizzi was unexpectedly sacked as head coach and replaced byNuno Espírito Santo on 2 July 2014.[12][16] Later, Salvo revealed in an interview that hiring Nuno was one of the conditions Lim had insisted on when buying the club. This raised eyebrows in the media because of Nuno's close relationship with the football agentJorge Mendes, whose first-ever client was Nuno.[17][18] Lim and Mendes were also close friends and business partners.[19] Regardless, Nuno's first season was a successful one. Notable signings includedÁlvaro Negredo,André Gomes andEnzo Pérez, who had just won thePlayer of the Year in thePortuguese Primeira Liga.[20][21][22] Valencia finished the2014–15 season in fourth place, achieving Champions League qualification with 77 points, just one point ahead of Sevilla after a dramatic final week where they defeatedGranada 4–0.[12][23]
On 2 July 2015, Amadeo Salvo resigned from his post as the executive president of Valencia, citing personal reasons. He was a popular figure among the fans.[24] On 10 August 2015,Nicolás Otamendi was sold to Manchester City for £32 million andAymen Abdennour was signed fromMonaco for £22 million as his replacement.[25][26] Valencia defeated Monaco in theChampions League play-off round with a 4–3 aggregate victory.[27] However, Valencia had a poor start to the2015–16 league season, winning only five out of thirteen matches and failing to progress from theChampions League group stage. The fans were also increasingly concerned about the growing influence of Jorge Mendes in the club's activities.[28] On 29 November, Nuno resigned as manager and formerManchester United defenderGary Neville was hired as his replacement on 2 December.[29][30] Valencia went winless for nine matches before earning their first win under Neville in a 2–1 victory at home against Espanyol.[31] On 30 March 2016, Neville was sacked after recording the lowest win percentage in La Liga history for a Valencia manager with minimum of five matches, winning just three out of sixteen games. He was replaced byPako Ayestarán, who had been brought in by Neville as the assistant coach just one month prior.[32][33] Valencia finished the season in twelfth place.
In the summer of 2016, André Gomes andPaco Alcácer were both sold to Barcelona andShkodran Mustafi was sold to Arsenal, whileEzequiel Garay and former Manchester United playerNani were brought in.[34][35][36][37][38] Pako Ayestarán was sacked on 21 September 2016 after four straight defeats at the beginning of the2016–17 season. FormerItaly national team head coachCesare Prandelli was hired as his replacement on 28 September.[39] However, he resigned after just three months on 30 December, claiming the club had made him false transfer promises.[40] Days later, on 7 January 2017, Valencia sporting directorJesús García Pitarch also resigned, saying he felt like he was being used as a shield for criticism by the club and that he could not defend something he no longer believed in.[41][42]Voro was named caretaker manager for the fifth time until the end of season, with Valencia in 17th position and in danger of relegation.[43] However, results improved under Voro and he steered Valencia clear off relegation, ultimately finishing the season in 12th place.[44] On 27 March, Mateu Alemany was named the new director general of Valencia.[45]
Chart of Valencia CF league performance 1929–present
The club also announced club presidentLay Hoon Chan had submitted her resignation and that she would be replaced byAnil Murthy.[46] After rumors arose of Lim's attempts at selling the club, Murthy assured the fans and local media that Valencia was a long-term project for both him and Lim, and they would not consider selling the club.[47][48] For the following season, former Villarreal coachMarcelino was named the new manager on 12 May.[49]
After a successful first season under Marcelino, the club secured fourth place in La Liga and a return to the Champions League. In Marcelino's second season, Valencia again finished fourth and also reached the semi-finals of theUEFA Europa League. On 25 May 2019, Valencia won theCopa del Rey, their first trophy since 2008, upsetting league winners Barcelona 2–1 in thefinal.[50]
Both Marcelino and sporting directorMateu Alemany, who were credited as the architects of this success,[51] were fired on 11 September 2019 after the former publicly criticized Lim.[51] He was replaced by the ultimately unsuccessfulAlbert Celades, who was sacked due to poor results, while sporting directorCésar Sánchez resigned that same season,[51] making it six different managers and another six sporting directors by 2020.[52]
For the 2020–21 season, managerJavi Gracia was hired. He was put in charge of a team full of prospects and reserves after the club failed to sign any players during the summer transfer window,[53] but sold key players such as captainDani Parejo.[54] Local wonderkidFerran Torres was also sold toManchester City for a price deemed half his market value.[5] Overall, Valencia sold players worth 85 million euros in order to rebalance the club's books.[55] At the beginning of the season, the club was unable to pay the salaries to the remaining players.[56] After six seasons under Peter Lim's ownership, Valencia had accumulated losses of 323 million euros,[57] In the following years, the playing squad was cut significantly in terms of quality and Lim's ownership has faced strong criticism in Valencia.[5][55][58]
In the 2021–22 season,José Bordalás was hired as head coach, following his five-season tenure with Getafe.[59] Valencia reached theCopa del Rey final final in Bordalás' first season in charge, but lost toReal Betis on penalties following a 1–1 draw.
In June 2022, Anil Murthy left after reportedly insulting the club's owner. Peter Lim's sons became club directors and Lay Hoon Chan returned as the club President.[60]
Valencia played its first years at the Algirós stadium, but moved to theMestalla in 1923. In the 1950s, the Mestalla was restructured, which resulted in a capacity increase to 45,000 spectators. Today it holds 49,430 seats, making it the fifth largest stadium in Spain. It is also renowned for its steep terracing and for being one of the most intimidating atmospheres in Europe.[61]
On 20 May 1923, the Mestalla pitch was inaugurated with a friendly match between Valencia andLevante UD.
A long history has taken place on the Mestalla field since its very beginning, when the Valencia team was not yet in thePrimera División. Back then, this stadium could hold 17,000 spectators, and at that time, the club started to show its potential in regional championships, which led the managers of the time to carry out the first alterations of Mestalla in 1927. The stadium's total capacity increased to 25,000 before it became severely damaged during the Civil War; the Mestalla was used as a concentration camp and a junk warehouse. It would only keep its structure, since the rest was a lonely plot of land with no terraces and a stand broken during the war. Once the Valencianpitch was renovated, the Mestalla stadium in which the team managed to bring home their first title in 1941.
During the 1950s, the Valencia ground experienced the deepest change in its whole history. That project resulted in a stadium with a capacity of 45,500 spectators, that eventually saw destruction by aflood in October 1957 that arose from the overflowing of theTuria River. Nevertheless, the Mestalla not only returned to normality, but also some more improvements were added, like artificial light, which was inaugurated during the 1959Fallas festivities.
During the 1960s, the stadium kept the same appearance, while theurban view around it was quickly being transformed. Moreover, the ground held its first European matches, withNottingham Forest being the first foreign team to play at the Mestalla, on 15 September 1961.
From 1969, the expression "Anem a Mestalla" ("Let's go to the Mestalla"), so common among the supporters, began to fall into oblivion. The reason of this was due to a proposed name change of the stadium to honor Luis Casanova Giner, the club's most successful president. Giner admitted he was completely overwhelmed by such honour, but requested in 1994 that the original name of Mestalla remained.
In 1972, the head office of the club, located in the back of the numbered terraces, was inaugurated. It consisted of an office ofavant-garde style with a trophy hall, which held the founding flag of the club. In the summer of 1973, more goal seats, which meant the elimination of fourteen rows of standingterraces, were added to provide comfort. Club management also considered the possibility of moving the Mestalla from its present location, to land on the outskirts of the town, before deciding against it.
Mestalla also hosted theSpain national football team for the first time in 1925. It was chosen as the national team's group venue when Spain staged the1982 FIFA World Cup,[62] and at the1992 Summer Olympics held inBarcelona. All of Spain's matches up to the final were held at Mestalla, as they won Gold.[63] Mestalla has been the setting for important international matches, has held several Cup finals, and has also been the home of Levante. The ground also provided a temporary home forCastellón andReal Madrid for European games due to stadium development.
The 2008–09 season was due to be the last season at the Mestalla, with the club intending to move to their new 75,000-seater stadiumNou Mestalla in time for the 2009–10 season. However, due to the club being in financial crisis, work on the new stadium has been heavily delayed.[64] On 10 January 2025, it was reported that construction for Nou Mestalla has resumed and is set to be completed prior to the 2027–28 season.[65]
Originally, Valencia's kit was composed of white shirts, black shorts and socks of the same colour. Through the years, however, these colours have alternated between white and black. The away kit has been shades of orange in recent years while third alternate kits have featured colors from the club crest—yellow, blood orange and blue.
To celebrate the club's 75th anniversary the then president Arturo Tuzón commissioned Pablo Sánchez Torella to compose an anthem for the club. This was apasodoble whose lyrics were later written by Ramón Gimeno Gil in theValencian language. The anthem had its official presentation on the anniversary of the club on 21 September 1993.
Valencia and the Balearic Islands were conquered by KingJames I of Aragon during the first half of the 13th century. After the conquest, the King gave them the status of independent kingdoms of whom he was also the king (but they were independent of Aragonese laws and institutions). The arms of Valencia show those of James I.
The unique crowned letters "L" besides the shield were granted byPeter IV. The reason for the letters was that the city had been loyal twice to the King, hence twice a letter "L" and a crown for the king.
There are several possible explanations for the bat; one is that bats are simply quite common in the area. The second theory is that on 9 October 1238, when James I was about to enter the city, re-conquering it from the Moors, a bat landed on the top of his flag, which he interpreted as a good omen. Following his victory, the bat were then added to the coat of arms.
In May 2013, it was reported thatDC Comics had started a legal case against the club, claiming that the new bat image design was too similar toBatman.[67] The club issued a statement clarifying that it had intended to use a revised version of its bat logo for a line of casual clothing and applied for permission from theOffice of Harmonisation of the Internal Market but the application was dropped after DC Comics filed anobjection, not a lawsuit.[68] DC Comics again filed a complaint with the EU's office of IP opposing the trademark application made by Valencia for itscentennial logo, claiming there is likely to be confusion with its Batman’s symbol.[69]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
LL. = La Liga;CdR = Copa del Rey;SC = Supercopa de España;UCL = UEFA Champions League;UCWC = UEFA Cup Winners' Cup;UEL = UEFA Europa League;UIC = UEFA Intertoto Cup;USC = UEFA Super Cup
Since May 2009, Valencia CF has had a training centre, this is the first multidisciplinary training center for a football club in Spain.[73]
The Training Centre Foundation Valencia CF "The Academy" offers university education,[74] classroom training, and online training related to sport and football (soccer).[75]
On the 90th anniversary of Valencia CF, the academy opened with the University of Valencia the first university course that studied the history of a football club, Valencia CF is the first football club in Spain to be an object of study in college.[77]
Valencia CF were also involved in motorsports such asFormula One,Super GT,MotoGP,Moto2,Moto3,250cc andFormula Nippon. Valencia CF was an official partner ofPanasonic Toyota Racing in 2003 until 2008 to commemorate Toyota as their shirt sponsor. Valencia CF also sponsored all Toyota-enginedFormula Nippon teams and alsoToyotaSuper GT teams in GT500 and GT300 cars. In 2009, Valencia CF became an official partner of former 250cc team Stop And Go Racing Team and in 2014 ofAspar Team inMotoGP,Moto2 andMoto3 classes, respectively.
In November 2020, Valencia CF eSports launched a team onArena of Valor in Thailand. The team consist of six Thai players, competing in the RoV Pro League competitions. They joined the local clubBuriram United FC, and after that, French clubParis Saint-Germain FC in acquiring AoV teams.[citation needed]
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