Villarreal CF, a Spanish football club, has played in European football since 2002, in the Intertoto Cup, UEFA Cup, Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League and UEFA Super Cup. The club won their first Europa League title in 2021.
The 2005âÂÂ06 season brought the club considerable European success and recognition, due to their consistent performances in the Champions League. In the qualifying round stage, Villarreal controversially defeated English side Everton with a 4âÂÂ2 aggregate score with two 2âÂÂ1 victories. In the group stage, Villarreal were to be in the same group as Portuguese champions Benfica, French club Lille, and England's Manchester United. Remaining undefeated throughout the group stage, Villarreal were twice victorious (1âÂÂ0 each against Benfica away and Lille at home) and earned four draws, including two scoreless draws with Manchester United. They topped their group and progressed to the knock-out stages along with Benfica. The club progressed to the quarter-finals in their Champions League debut by defeating the Scottish club Rangers 3âÂÂ3 on the away goals rule (a 2âÂÂ2 draw in Glasgow and a 1âÂÂ1 draw at home gave the Spanish side one more away goal than their opponents).
El Submarino Amarillo drew Italian giants Inter Milan in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The first leg was played at the San Siro on 29 March 2006, where Villarreal's Diego Forlán scored inside the first minute of the match, but Villarreal lost 2âÂÂ1 as Inter took a lead to the return leg at El Madrigal on 4 April. Villarreal, however, continued their unbeaten home record in the Champions League after winning the second leg 1âÂÂ0 to qualify for the semi-finals on the away goals rule (the tie ended 2âÂÂ2 on aggregate, but because of Forlán's goal in Milan, Villarreal advanced). During that game, left-back Rodolfo Arruabarrena turned a back header from Juan Román Riquelme free kick past Inter goalkeeper Francesco Toldo to score the decisive goal of the tie. In the semi-finals, Villarreal narrowly lost out to Arsenal on a 1âÂÂ0 aggregate scoreline following Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann's save of Riquelme's last-minute penalty.
The club automatically qualified for the 2008âÂÂ09 Champions League after finishing second in La Liga the previous season. They drew Manchester United, for the second consecutive campaign; Celtic; and AaB. They made a good start by holding current European champions United to a goal-less draw at Old Trafford, a third 0âÂÂ0 draw in a row against the English giants. A first win was sealed on 30 September by beating Gordon Strachan's Celtic 1âÂÂ0 at El Madrigal, courtesy of a Marcos Senna free-kick. On 21 October, during a Champions League match against AaB, they won 6âÂÂ3. The Spaniards went through to the knock-out stage after drawing 2âÂÂ2 with AaB in Denmark and drawing goalless once again against Manchester United, though they lost to an already eliminated Celtic in the last group stage match.
In the knock-out stage, they faced Panathinaikos, who left Villarreal with a 1âÂÂ1 away advantage, despite this the Greeks were to lose 1âÂÂ2 in Athens. Villarreal reached the quarter-finals for the second time in two tries, and were once again paired with Arsenal. The first leg saw a 1âÂÂ1 draw by a free-kick by Marcos Senna, equalised by an Emmanuel Adebayor volley. Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie secured a 3âÂÂ0 win for Arsenal on the return, knocking Villarreal out of the tournament.
For the 2009âÂÂ10 season, Villarreal competed in the Europa League, defeating NAC Breda of the Netherlands by a 2âÂÂ9 aggregate victory in a qualifier. They shared Group G with Levski Sofia, who they defeated 1âÂÂ0 in the opening game, and with Lazio and Red Bull Salzburg. They came second in that group, behind Red Bull. Consequently, Villarreal was drawn against VfL Wolfsburg (who had dropped out of the Champions League) in the round of 32. Playing at home first, Villarreal secured a 2âÂÂ2 draw, but in the return leg at Wolfsburg's Volkswagen Arena, Villarreal would succumb to defeat by a 4âÂÂ1 scoreline.
Despite finishing outside of a European qualifying spot in the domestic league, Villarreal was given a place in the qualifying round of the Europa League after UEFA determined that Mallorca's financial irregularities precluded them from taking part in the tournament.
A 5âÂÂ0 home win and a 2âÂÂ1 away win against Dnepr Mogilev qualified them for the group stage. Villarreal suffered an early setback following a shock 2âÂÂ0 loss in their away fixture against Dinamo Zagreb. Despite this, however, wins against Dinamo, Club Brugge and PAOK saw them top their group.
After beating Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen and Twente in the knockout phases, Villarreal qualified for the semi-finals to face tournament favourites Porto. After taking a 1âÂÂ0 lead at the Estádio do Dragão, Porto made a remarkable turnaround that ended in a 5âÂÂ1 defeat for Villarreal. Although Villarreal won the second leg with a 3âÂÂ2 win, Porto's first leg goals saw them advance to the final to eventually defeat Braga, finishing as champions. Giuseppe Rossi finished as the tournament's second top goalscorer with eleven goals, behind Porto's Radamel Falcao.
Having missed Europe during the 2019âÂÂ20 season after finishing 14th in La Liga, Villarreal played their first European match of the decade on 22 October 2020, beating Sivasspor 5âÂÂ3 at home in the Europa League. They would finish first in their group, ahead of QarabaÃÂ, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Sivasspor, before knocking out Red Bull Salzburg 4âÂÂ1 on aggregate, Dynamo Kyiv 4âÂÂ0 on aggregate, Dinamo Zagreb 3âÂÂ1 on aggregate and Arsenal 2âÂÂ1 on aggregate. On 26 May 2021, Villarreal beat Manchester United 11âÂÂ10 on penalties after a 1âÂÂ1 draw in the final, winning not only their first major trophy but also their first European trophy (excluding the UEFA Intertoto Cup). This win granted Villarreal a place in the 2021âÂÂ22 UEFA Champions League group stage and to the 2021 UEFA Super Cup, which they lost to Chelsea 6âÂÂ5 on penalties after a 1âÂÂ1 draw.
On 14 September 2021, Villarreal played their first UEFA Champions League match in the group stage since 2011, a 2âÂÂ2 draw to Atalanta. With three wins, one draw and two defeats, they managed to finish second of their group and qualify to the round of 16. In the knockout phase, Villarreal played Juventus in the round of 16, and knocked them out after drawing 1âÂÂ1 at home before winning 3âÂÂ0 away. Villarreal then played Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, and knocked them out as well after winning 1âÂÂ0 at home and drawing 1âÂÂ1 away, reaching their best record in the competition, the semi-finals, as they did in the 2005âÂÂ06 season. Unfortunately for Villarreal, their fairytale ended at this stage of the competition, by losing 5âÂÂ2 on aggregate to Liverpool.
Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.