Villarreal Club de Fútbol,S.A.D., usually abbreviated toVillarreal CF, is a Spanish professionalfootball club based inVillarreal, in theCastellón province of eastern Spain, that plays inLa Liga, the top flight ofSpanish football.
Founded in 1923, the club spent much time of its history in the lower divisions of Spanish football and began in La Liga in 1998. In the 21st century, Villarreal gained some league stability, although they sustained relegation in 2012, rebounding the next year and then remaining in the top division to date. The club made its first appearance in theUEFA Champions League in 2005, with its best result being the semi-finals in 2006 and 2022. Villarreal also appeared in theUEFA Europa League during this time, and won the competition in 2021 by defeatingManchester United in thefinal, clinching their firstmajor trophy.
The club is nicknamedEl Submarí Groguet orEl Submarino Amarillo (Yellow Submarine) due to its yellow home kit, and due to being a low-profile team compared toReal Madrid,Barcelona,Atlético Madrid, and regional rivalsValencia. They play their home games at theEstadio de la Cerámica,[1] and have been touted as an example of a small but successful club.[2]
Club Deportivo Villarreal was founded on 10 March 1923 "to promote all sports especially Football." The stadium was rented for 60pesetas a month and ticket prices were set at half a peseta for men and a quarter of a peseta for children. Women were granted free admission.[3] On 17 June 1923,Castellón, a modern rival of the club, played the first match against a club named afterMiguel de Cervantes. On 21 October of that year, Villarreal played their first game ever, playing against Castellón.[3] Villarreal started off with a kit of white shirts and black shorts, reflected in their first badge.[4]
Villarreal entered regional competitions within the Spanish football pyramid from 1929 to 1930 onwards. The 1934–35 season saw the team lose toCartagena when a win would have seen them promoted to the nationwide Second Division.[3] The following season saw Villarreal win the First Division of the region before the outbreak of theSpanish Civil War.[3]
When the war finished in 1939, the club played again in the Second Division of the region.[3] However, CD Villarreal was dissolved in the early 1940s, and in 1942, CA Foghetecaz, an acronym for the club's founders (Font,Gil,Herrero,Teuler,Catalá andZaragoza), was one of several clubs established in its place. On 25 August 1947, the new club joined the Valencian Football Federation and in 1950 renamed itself as CAF Villarreal, where the F stood for Foghetecaz.[4]
The name changed again to the current Villarreal CF in June 1954, with a badge similar to the present one.[4] They finished seventh and then fourth twice in the First regional league before being promoted to the Tercera Liga (Third Nationwide) as champions in 1956. They were relegated in 1960–61 after finishing 14th.[3]
The club adopted their present badge in the middle of 1966.[4] In 1966–67, Villarreal returned to the Tercera as champions. In 1970, they reached the national Segunda for the first time.[3] After narrowly avoiding relegation in their first season, they were relegated the following season. In 1975–76, they were relegated from the Tercera to the Regionals, but were promoted back again the next season. In 1986–87, Villarreal were promoted to the Segunda Liga B.[3] In 1990, they finished 18th and were relegated back to the Tercera.
There were back-to-back promotions as the club returned to Segunda B and finished second, earning promotion to Segunda A for the first time. From 1992 to 1997, Villarreal were often in low or mid-table positions, but reached the play-offs in 1997–98 by finishing fourth.[5] The two-legged play-off was againstCompostela. Villarreal hosted the first leg which was a 0–0 draw, but the second leg at the home of theGalician team was a 1–1 draw, thus Villarreal were promoted on theaway goals rule.
Villarreal'sLa Liga debut started with a match against reigningEuropean championsReal Madrid at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium on 31 August 1998 where they lost 4-1 despite taking the lead after 3 minutes.[6] The first home game was againstCelta de Vigo[5] the week after. Because of a difficult season, Villarreal were relegated to theSegunda División for the1999–2000 season, but by finishing third, they were then promoted back to the Primera División.
After finishing seventh on their return to the Primera, Villarreal finished in 15th place for two-straight seasons.[5] Villarreal competed in theUEFA Intertoto Cup in the middle of 2002, defeatingFH of Iceland,Torino of Italy, andTroyes of France. They lost in the final to compatriotsMálaga, 2–1 on aggregate.[7]
In the middle of 2003, they defeated the Dutch teamHeerenveen in the final of the Intertoto Cup, thereby qualifying for theUEFA Cup. In their major European debut, Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, losing to neighbours and eventual championsValencia. In the league, Villarreal finished in eighth place. In the middle of 2004, Villarreal retained the Intertoto Cup, beating compatriotsAtlético Madrid onpenalties after the final finished 2–2 on aggregate. This qualified them to the UEFA Cup. They lost in the quarter-finals of the2004–05 UEFA Cup to Dutch sideAZ, losing 3–2 on aggregate. During the same season, Villarreal finished in third place in La Liga, earning the club their first direct qualification to a European tournament, theChampions League. The club's centre-forwardDiego Forlán won thePichichi Trophy for top scorer in the league, with 25 goals.
Villarreal defeated the English Premier League'sEverton in a play-off for theChampions League group stages. The group saw Villarreal go undefeated, drawing both games againstManchester United and achieving a draw and a win each againstLille of France andBenfica of Portugal. The win over Benfica was away and both teams advanced to the last 16.[8]
The club then drew 3–3 againstRangers of Scotland in the Last 16, advancing on away goals due to a 2–2 draw atIbrox. In the quarter-finals, Villarreal beatInternazionale on away goals after finishing 2–2 on aggregate. The club bowed out in the semi-finals againstArsenal, losing 1–0 away atHighbury.Juan Román Riquelme had apenalty saved byJens Lehmann in the home game, which finished 0–0. Arsenal went on to lose in the final inParis to another Spanish club,Barcelona. Villarreal finished seventh in La Liga, which only earned an Intertoto Cup position.
Chart of Villarreal CF league performance 1929–present
Villarreal contested the Intertoto Cup in the middle of 2006 and was knocked out in its first game, toMaribor of Slovenia. The first leg was lost 2–1 at home and the away game was a 1–1 draw.[9] The team finished 5th in La Liga and qualified for theUEFA Cup. Villarreal gained their best-ever league position in 2008, finishing second to Real Madrid by eight points, and also reached the last 32 inthat season's UEFA Cup. After defeatingBATE Borisov of Belarus in a play-off, the team won Group C unbeaten.[10] Their group opponents wereFiorentina of Italy,Mladá Boleslav of Czech Republic,IF Elfsborg of Sweden, andAEK Athens of Greece.
In the last 32, Villarreal were defeated by eventual championsZenit Saint Petersburg, losing the first leg 1–0 in Russia to aPavel Pogrebnyak goal. The second leg was won 2–1 by Villarreal atEl Madrigal, but Zenit advanced on away goals.
The club automatically qualified for the2008–09 UEFA Champions League by finishing second in La Liga the previous season. They drew Manchester United, for the second consecutive campaign,Celtic, andAalborg BK. They made a good start by holding current European champions Manchester United to a goal-less draw atOld Trafford, a third 0–0 draw in a row against the English giants. A first win was sealed on 30 September by beatingGordon Strachan's Celtic 1–0 atEl Madrigal, courtesy of aMarcos Senna free-kick. On 21 October, during a Champions League match against Aalborg, they scored six goals to three. The Spaniards went through to the knock-out stage after drawing 2–2 with Aalborg in Denmark and drawing goalless once again against Manchester United. In the last group stage match, they lost to an already-eliminated Celtic.
In the knock-out stage, they facedPanathinaikos, who left Villarreal with a 1–1 away advantage, but lost 1–2 inAthens. Villarreal reached the quarter-finals for the second time in two attempts, and were once again paired with Arsenal. The first leg saw a 1–1 draw by aMarcos Senna free kick, equalised by anEmmanuel Adebayor volley.Theo Walcott,Emmanuel Adebayor, andRobin van Persie secured a 3–0 win for Arsenal on the return, knocking Villarreal out of the tournament.
Despite finishing outside of a European qualifying spot in the domestic league, Villarreal was given a place in the qualifying round of the2010–11 UEFA Europa League after UEFA determined thatMallorca's financial irregularities precluded them from taking part in the tournament.
A 5–0 home win and a 2–1 away win againstDnepr Mogilev qualified them for the group stage. Villarreal suffered an early setback following a shock 2–0 loss in their away fixture againstDinamo Zagreb. Despite this, however, later wins against Dinamo,Club Brugge andPAOK saw them top their group.
After beatingNapoli,Bayer Leverkusen andTwente in the knockout phases, Villarreal qualified for the semi-finals to face tournament favouritesPorto. After Villarreal took a 0–1 lead at theEstádio do Dragão, Porto made a remarkable turnaround that ended in a 5–1 defeat for Villarreal. Although Villarreal won the second leg 3–2, Porto's first leg goal total saw them advance to the final on aggregate, where they beatBraga to be crowned champions.Giuseppe Rossi finished as the tournament's second top goalscorer with 11 goals, behind Porto'sRadamel Falcao.
Last match of the 2012–13 season game againstUD Almería. Finally, Villarreal won and were promoted to La Liga.Deportivo de La Coruña vs. Villarreal C. F.
On 13 May 2012, Villarreal were relegated from La Liga after defeat toAtlético Madrid. Following a horrendous season, the club suffered a shattering tragedy whenManolo Preciado, appointed as Villarreal's new manager on 6 June 2012, died of aheart attack later that day.[11] Following their relegation, there was a mass exodus of players at the club, with star players such asBorja Valero,Diego López,Giuseppe Rossi andNilmar leaving the side.[12]
After one year in the Segunda División, Villarreal were promoted back to La Liga on thefinal day of the season after finishing the year second after championsElche. The team began its new tenure in the top flight by winning its first three games; the winning streak ended with a tie against Real Madrid at El Madrigal, though the team was undefeated until falling toReal Betis 1–0 on the seventh matchday of the season. The Yellow Submarine finished the2013–14 campaign in sixth, thus qualifying them for next season'sEuropa League.
In2014–15, Villarreal again finished the year in sixth, enough to secure direct qualification to theEuropa League group stage. In the2015–16 season, Villarreal led La Liga for the first time during the sixth and seventh weeks, before falling to fifth place the following week. The club ended the season in 4th place and thus advanced to the2016–17 UEFA Champions League playoff round. The club progressed to the semi-finals of the 2015–16 Europa League, but were knocked out byLiverpool. Villarreal won the first leg 1–0, but lost 3–0 in Liverpool and 3–1 on aggregate.[13]
In2019–20, Villarreal finished fifth, earning a place in the2020–21 UEFA Europa League. The team went on a memorable run, advancing to thefinal after knocking outArsenal 2–1 on aggregate. Facing favouredManchester United, Villarreal held them to a 1–1 draw after extra time and then won 11–10 in a penalty shoot-out,[14] winning the club's first ever major trophy. Domestically, they finished seventh, supposedly qualifying for theinaugural UEFA Europa Conference League. However, courtesy of their triumph, Villarreal switched their next year's participation in the inaugural Conference League to the2021–22 Champions League.[15][16][17]
At the start of the 2021–22 season, Villarreal competed in the2021 UEFA Super Cup againstChelsea inBelfast, which ended a 1–1 draw after extra time, butChelsea managed to win 6–5 in the penalty shootout as captainRaúl Albiol saw his penalty saved byChelsea goalkeeperKepa Arrizabalaga. That same season, Villarreal progressed to the semi-finals of the Champions League after knocking outJuventus in the round of 16 andBayern Munich in the quarter-finals, before losing 5–2 on aggregate to Liverpool.[18]
Villarreal has supported a long rivalry withCastellón for geographical reasons since both are from theprovince of Castellón, with players even being threatened for transferring from one club to the other.[19] They also rivalValencia since the two have been the most competitive teams of theValencian Community; this clash is called the "Derbi de la Comunitat"[20] and has been heightened "since the Submarine won the race against his eternal rival and claimed the role of favourites in each encounter".[21]
Villarreal's biggest league win at home was by a five-goal margin, achieved on six occasions. The club recorded 5–0 home victories againstSalamanca (1998–99 La Liga),Celta Vigo (2002–03 and 2016–17 La Liga),Tenerife (2009–10 La Liga),Levante UD (2021–22 La Liga) andGirona FC (2025–26 La Liga).[22] The most goals Villarreal scored in a league game was six, in a 6–3 home win againstRacing Santander during the 2003–04 La Liga season.[23]
The club's largest away league wins were a 5–1 victory atLas Palmas during the 2000–01 La Liga season, a 4–0 victory atReal Sociedad in the same division during the 2004–05 season, and 4–0 and 5–1 victories atCelta Vigo andLevante, respectively, both during the 2020–21 La Liga season.[23]
The club's first major trophy was won in 2021 with a penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final.[24]
The club's famous yellow kit dates back to 1947. With the new season fast approaching, the son of the then Villarreal president travelled to Valencia to purchase replacements of the club's official kit of white shirts and black shorts. Discovering that the shop had neither in stock, he instead bought the only color that they did have, which happened to be yellow. The players agreed that the shirts were suitable, although they weren't keen on the black shorts, so the president's son travelled to Castellón and purchased a batch of white shorts. The players voted that they should be dyed blue.[25] After remaining as the club's official kit for some time, the yellow shirts and blue shorts combination was last worn in the2002–03 season, and the club has since sported all-yellow kits.[26] Away colours have been navy blue.
From 2005 to 30 June 2011, the shirt sponsor was "Aeroport Castello", an airport. The current shirt sponsor is Pamesa, a ceramics company. From the 2016–17 season, the kit has been made by the Spanish companyJoma, having previously been produced by the Chinese companyXtep andPuma of Germany, among others.
The team isnicknamedEl Submarino Amarillo (the Yellow Submarine) because of their yellow strip. Themascot (namedGroguet, "Little Yellow") is characterised as ananthropomorphicsubmarine. He made his debut on 26 October 2001 and was named on 13 December that year by a local 12-year-old, Javier Fuster Almela, following a province-wide competition open to under-15s.[28]
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.
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