In total, Valencia have reached seven major European finals, winning four of them. Valencia were founded in 1919 and have played their home games at the 55,000-seater Mestalla since 1923.
Current stars of the game to have graduated in recent years include Isco, Jordi Alba, Juan Bernat, José Gayà, Carlos Soler, Ferran Torres and Paco Alcácer. ==History== 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 a coin 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 CF moved into the Mestalla stadium in 1923, having played its home matches at the Algirós ground since 7 December 1919.
V-4342-2003 ==References== ==External links== Official website Valencia CF at La Liga Valencia CF at UEFA La Liga clubs Football clubs in Valencia Copa del Rey winners G-14 clubs Association football clubs established in 1919 1919 establishments in Spain League of Legends teams FIFA (video game series) teams UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winning clubs UEFA Cup winning clubs UEFA Super Cup winning clubs Segunda División clubs
In total, Valencia have reached seven major European finals, winning four of them. Valencia were founded in 1919 and have played their home games at the 55,000-seater Mestalla since 1923.
The club played its first competitive match away from home on 21 May 1919 against Valencia Gimnástico, and lost the match 1–0. Valencia CF moved into the Mestalla stadium in 1923, having played its home matches at the Algirós ground since 7 December 1919.
Valencia CF won the Regional Championship in 1923, and was eligible to play in the domestic Copa del Rey cup competition for the first time in its history. ===Emergence as a giant in Spanish football=== The Spanish Civil War halted the progress of the Valencia team until 1941, when it won the Copa del Rey, beating RCD Espanyol in the final.
Following those years of mismanagement, the playing squad was cut significantly in terms of quality and Lim's ownership has faced strong criticism in Valencia. ==Stadium== Valencia played its first years at the Algirós stadium, but moved to the Mestalla in 1923.
It is also renowned for its steep terracing and for being one of the most intimidating atmospheres in Europe. On 20 May 1923, the Mestalla pitch was inaugurated with a friendly match between Valencia and Levante UD. A long history has taken place on the Mestalla field since its very beginning, when the Valencia team was not yet in the Primera División.
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 the Spain national football team for the first time in 1925.
Back then, this stadium could hold 17,000 spectators, and in that time, the club started to show its potential in regional championships, which led the managers of that time to carry out the first alterations of Mestalla in 1927.
The club maintained its consistency to capture the league title again in the 1943–44 season, as well as the 1946–47 league edition. In the 1950s, the club failed to emulate the success of the 1940s, even though it grew as a club.
Valencia CF won the Regional Championship in 1923, and was eligible to play in the domestic Copa del Rey cup competition for the first time in its history. ===Emergence as a giant in Spanish football=== The Spanish Civil War halted the progress of the Valencia team until 1941, when it won the Copa del Rey, beating RCD Espanyol in the final.
In the 1941–42 season, the club won its first Spanish La Liga championship title, although winning the Copa del Rey was more reputable than the championship at that time.
Once the Valencian pitch was renovated, the Mestalla saw how 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.
The club maintained its consistency to capture the league title again in the 1943–44 season, as well as the 1946–47 league edition. In the 1950s, the club failed to emulate the success of the 1940s, even though it grew as a club.
The club maintained its consistency to capture the league title again in the 1943–44 season, as well as the 1946–47 league edition. In the 1950s, the club failed to emulate the success of the 1940s, even though it grew as a club.
Valencia was again present in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final in the 1963–64 season, but was defeated 2–1 by Real Zaragoza from Spain. Former two-time European Footballer of the Year award winner Alfredo Di Stéfano was hired as coach in 1970, and immediately inspired his new club to their fourth La Liga championship and first since 1947.
The club maintained its consistency to capture the league title again in the 1943–44 season, as well as the 1946–47 league edition. In the 1950s, the club failed to emulate the success of the 1940s, even though it grew as a club.
In the 1950s, the Mestalla was restructured, which resulted in a capacity increase to 45,000 spectators.
Once the Valencian pitch was renovated, the Mestalla saw how 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.
In the 1952–53 season, the club finished as runners-up in the La Liga, and in the following season, the club won the Copa del Rey, then known as the Copa del Generalísimo. ===European successes=== While managing indifferent league form in the early 1960s, the club had its first European success in the form of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (the forerunner to the UEFA Cup).
That project resulted in a stadium with a capacity of 45,500 spectators, that eventually saw destruction by a flood in October 1957 that arose from the overflowing of the Turia River.
Nevertheless, the Mestalla not only returned to normality, but also some more improvements were added, like artificial light, which was inaugurated during the 1959 Fallas festivities. During the 1960s, the stadium kept the same appearance, whilst the urban view around it was quickly being transformed.
In the 1952–53 season, the club finished as runners-up in the La Liga, and in the following season, the club won the Copa del Rey, then known as the Copa del Generalísimo. ===European successes=== While managing indifferent league form in the early 1960s, the club had its first European success in the form of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (the forerunner to the UEFA Cup).
Nevertheless, the Mestalla not only returned to normality, but also some more improvements were added, like artificial light, which was inaugurated during the 1959 Fallas festivities. During the 1960s, the stadium kept the same appearance, whilst the urban view around it was quickly being transformed.
In the 1961–62 season, Valencia beat FC Barcelona in the final.
Moreover, the ground held its first European matches, with Nottingham 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 1962–63 edition of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final pitted Valencia against Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb, which the Valencians also won.
Valencia was again present in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final in the 1963–64 season, but was defeated 2–1 by Real Zaragoza from Spain. Former two-time European Footballer of the Year award winner Alfredo Di Stéfano was hired as coach in 1970, and immediately inspired his new club to their fourth La Liga championship and first since 1947.
Moreover, the ground held its first European matches, with Nottingham 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.
Valencia was again present in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final in the 1963–64 season, but was defeated 2–1 by Real Zaragoza from Spain. Former two-time European Footballer of the Year award winner Alfredo Di Stéfano was hired as coach in 1970, and immediately inspired his new club to their fourth La Liga championship and first since 1947.
The most notable players of the 1970s era include Austrian midfielder Kurt Jara, forward Johnny Rep of the Netherlands and Argentinian forward Mario Kempes, who became the La Liga topscorer for two consecutive seasons in 1976–77 and 1977–78.
This was followed by a record of 11 games won consecutively, breaking the existing one set in the 1970–71 season, the season they had last won the La Liga title under Alfredo Di Stéfano. After a defeat in A Coruña against Deportivo on 9 December 2001, the team had to win against RCD Espanyol in the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys to prevent falling further behind the league leaders.
Valencia reached the third round of the 1971–72 competition before losing both legs to Hungarian champions Újpesti Dózsa.
In 1972 The club also finished runners up both in La Liga and the domestic cup, losing to Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, respectively.
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.
In the summer of 1973, more goal seats, which meant the elimination of fourteen rows of standing terraces, were added to provide comfort.
The most notable players of the 1970s era include Austrian midfielder Kurt Jara, forward Johnny Rep of the Netherlands and Argentinian forward Mario Kempes, who became the La Liga topscorer for two consecutive seasons in 1976–77 and 1977–78.
The most notable players of the 1970s era include Austrian midfielder Kurt Jara, forward Johnny Rep of the Netherlands and Argentinian forward Mario Kempes, who became the La Liga topscorer for two consecutive seasons 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 the European Cup Winners' Cup the next season, after beating English club Arsenal in the final, with Kempes spearheading Valencia's success in Europe. ===Stagnation=== In 1982, the club appointed Miljan Miljanić as coach.
Valencia would go on to win the Copa del Rey again in the 1978–79 season, and also capture the European Cup Winners' Cup the next season, after beating English club Arsenal in the final, with Kempes spearheading Valencia's success in Europe. ===Stagnation=== In 1982, the club appointed Miljan Miljanić as coach.
It was chosen as the national team's group venue when Spain staged the 1982 FIFA World Cup, and at the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona.
In the 1983–84 and 1984–85 seasons, the club was heavily in debt under the presidency of Vicente Tormo.
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.
Alfredo Di Stéfano returned as coach in 1986 and Valencia won promotion 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 forward Luboslav Penev joined the club in 1989, as Valencia aimed to consolidate their place in La Liga.
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 CF officially became a Sporting Limited Company, and retained Hiddink as their coach until 1993. Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, fresh from winning the 1994 FIFA World Cup with the Brazilian national team, became manager at Mestalla in 1994.
It was chosen as the national team's group venue when Spain staged the 1982 FIFA World Cup, and at the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona.
In 1992, Valencia CF officially became a Sporting Limited Company, and retained Hiddink as their coach until 1993. Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, fresh from winning the 1994 FIFA World Cup with the Brazilian national team, became manager at Mestalla in 1994.
The anthem had its official presentation on the anniversary of the club on 21 September 1993. ===Crest=== Valencia and the Balearic Islands were conquered by King James I of Aragon during the first half of the 13th century.
In 1992, Valencia CF officially became a Sporting Limited Company, and retained Hiddink as their coach until 1993. Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, fresh from winning the 1994 FIFA World Cup with the Brazilian national team, became manager at Mestalla in 1994.
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.
The club's earlier successes continued to elude it, although it was not short of top coaching staff like Luis Aragonés and Jorge Valdano, as well as foreign star forwards like Brazilian Romário, Claudio López, Ariel Ortega from Argentina and Adrian Ilie from Romania. ===The 2000s: Valencia returns to the top of Spain and Europe=== Valencia started the 1999–00 season by winning another title, the Spanish Super Cup, beating FC Barcelona.
Among the playing squad, Gaizka Mendieta, Didier Deschamps, Luis Milla, and Zlatko Zahovič left, while Carlos Marchena, Mista, Curro Torres, Francisco Rufete, Gonzalo de los Santos, and Salva 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.
They have also reached two UEFA Champions League finals in a row, losing to La Liga rivals Real Madrid in 2000 and German club Bayern Munich on penalties after a 1–1 draw in 2001.
The club's earlier successes continued to elude it, although it was not short of top coaching staff like Luis Aragonés and Jorge Valdano, as well as foreign star forwards like Brazilian Romário, Claudio López, Ariel Ortega from Argentina and Adrian Ilie from Romania. ===The 2000s: Valencia returns to the top of Spain and Europe=== Valencia started the 1999–00 season by winning another title, the Spanish Super Cup, beating FC Barcelona.
However, in the final played in Paris on 24 May 2000, Real Madrid beat Valencia 3–0. It was also Claudio López's farewell, as he had agreed to sign for the Italian side Lazio, also leaving was Farinós for Internazionale and Gerard for Barcelona.
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 10 games.
They have also reached two UEFA Champions League finals in a row, losing to La Liga rivals Real Madrid in 2000 and German club Bayern Munich on penalties after a 1–1 draw in 2001.
Valencia went on to slip to fifth place in La Liga and out of Champions League contestation for the 2001–02 season.
This was followed by a record of 11 games won consecutively, breaking the existing one set in the 1970–71 season, the season they had last won the La Liga title under Alfredo Di Stéfano. After a defeat in A Coruña against Deportivo on 9 December 2001, the team had to win against RCD Espanyol in the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys to prevent falling further behind the league leaders.
Furthermore, Real Madrid's defeat in Anoeta to Real Sociedad left Valencia with a three-point lead at the top of the table. The final game of the season was at La Rosaleda to face Málaga CF, on 5 May 2002, a date that has gone down in Valencia's history.
An early goal from Roberto Ayala and another close to half-time from Fábio Aurélio assured them their fifth La Liga title, 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, behind Celta de Vigo.
The 2003–04 season saw Valencia trailing the longtime leaders Real Madrid.
Valencia CF was an official partner of Panasonic Toyota Racing in 2003 until 2008 to commemorate Toyota as their shirt sponsor.
Among the playing squad, Gaizka Mendieta, Didier Deschamps, Luis Milla, and Zlatko Zahovič left, while Carlos Marchena, Mista, Curro Torres, Francisco Rufete, Gonzalo de los Santos, and Salva 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.
Valencia had now been La Liga champions twice in three seasons. In the summer of 2004, coach Rafael Benítez decided to leave the club, stating he had had problems with the club president; he would soon become manager of Liverpool.
The 2004–05 season ended with Valencia outside of the UEFA Cup spots. In the summer of 2005, Getafe CF coach Quique 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 2004–05 season ended with Valencia outside of the UEFA Cup spots. In the summer of 2005, Getafe CF coach Quique 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 a season with many difficulties, a season which started with realistic hopes of challenging for La Liga was disrupted with a huge list of injuries to key players and internal arguments between Flores and new Sporting Director Amedeo Carboni.
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 manager Óscar Rubén Fernández took over on a temporary basis until a full-time manager was found, rumoured to be either Marcello Lippi or José Mourinho.
In the first season of the new decade, Valencia returned to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2007–08 season, as they finished comfortably in third in the 2009–10 La Liga season.
Although on 16 April 2008, Valencia lifted the Copa del Rey with a 3–1 victory over Getafe at the Vicente Calderón Stadium.
Voro would eventually drag Valencia from the relegation battle to a safe mid-table finish of 10th place, finally ending a disastrous league campaign for Los Che. Highly rated Unai Emery was announced as the new manager of Valencia on 22 May 2008.
On 25 May 2019, Valencia won the Copa del Rey their first trophy since 2008, upsetting FC Barcelona in the final. Both Marcelino and sporting director Mateu Alemany, who were credited as the architects of this success, were fired on 11 September 2019 after the former publicly criticized Lim.
The ground also provided a temporary home for Castellón and Real Madrid for European games due to stadium development. ===New stadium=== The 2008–09 season was to have been the last season at the Mestalla, with the club moving to their new 75,000-seater stadium Nou Mestalla in time for the 2009–10 season.
Valencia CF was an official partner of Panasonic Toyota Racing in 2003 until 2008 to commemorate Toyota as their shirt sponsor.
In the first season of the new decade, Valencia returned to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2007–08 season, as they finished comfortably in third in the 2009–10 La Liga season.
The ground also provided a temporary home for Castellón and Real Madrid for European games due to stadium development. ===New stadium=== The 2008–09 season was to have been the last season at the Mestalla, with the club moving to their new 75,000-seater stadium Nou Mestalla in time for the 2009–10 season.
In 2009, Valencia CF became an official partner of former 250cc team Stop And Go Racing Team and later in 2014 Valencia CF also became official partner of Aspar Team in MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 classes, respectively. ==E-Sports involvement== In June 2016, Valencia opened an E-Sports division with presences in Hearthstone, Rocket League and League of Legends – in the last case, they joined Beşiktaş, Santos, Schalke and PSG in acquiring League teams.
However, in the summer of 2010, due to financial reasons, David Villa and David Silva were sold to Barcelona and Manchester City, respectively, to reduce the club's massive debt.
But, despite the loss of two of the club's most important players, the team was able to finish comfortably in third again 2010–11 La Liga for the second season running, although they were eliminated from the Champions League by German side Schalke 04 in the Round of 16.
In the summer of 2011, then-current captain Juan Mata was sold to Chelsea to further help Valencia's precarious financial situation.
It was announced by President Manuel Llorente that the club's debt had been decreased and that the work on the new stadium will restart as soon as possible, sometime in 2012. ===Peter Lim's ownership=== During the 2012–13 season, Ernesto Valverde was announced as the new manager but after failing to qualify for the Champions League, he stepped down and was replaced by Miroslav Đukić.
They were due to move into the new 75,000-seater Nou Mestalla in the northwest of the city in 2013, but the final move date has been postponed due to ongoing financial problems. Valencia is the fourth-most supported football club in Spain, behind Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid.
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 2013, Valencia sold star striker Roberto Soldado to English club Tottenham Hotspur for a reported fee of €30 million.
Miroslav Đukić was sacked six months into the 2013–14 season after just 6 wins in his first 16 matches, Valencia's worst start in 15 years.
He was replaced by Juan Antonio Pizzi on 26 December 2013.
Following his victory, the bat was added to the coat of arms. In May 2013, it was reported that DC Comics had started a legal case against the club, claiming that the new bat image design was too similar to Batman.
Under Pizzi, Valencia reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League, where they lost to eventual winners Sevilla on away goals and finished 8th in La Liga despite a disastrous start to the season. In May 2014, Singaporean businessman Peter Lim was designated by the Fundación Valencia CF as the buyer of 70.4% of the shares owned by the club's foundation.
After months of negotiations between Lim and Bankia (the main creditor of the club), an agreement was reached in August 2014.
Juan Antonio Pizzi was unexpectedly sacked as head coach and replaced by Nuno Espírito Santo on 2 July 2014.
Valencia finished the 2014–15 season in fourth place for Champions League qualification with 77 points, just one point ahead of Sevilla after a dramatic final week, defeating Granada 4–0. On 2 July 2015, Amadeo Salvo resigned from his post as the executive president of Valencia, citing personal reasons.
In 2009, Valencia CF became an official partner of former 250cc team Stop And Go Racing Team and later in 2014 Valencia CF also became official partner of Aspar Team in MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 classes, respectively. ==E-Sports involvement== In June 2016, Valencia opened an E-Sports division with presences in Hearthstone, Rocket League and League of Legends – in the last case, they joined Beşiktaş, Santos, Schalke and PSG in acquiring League teams.
Valencia finished the 2014–15 season in fourth place for Champions League qualification with 77 points, just one point ahead of Sevilla after a dramatic final week, defeating Granada 4–0. On 2 July 2015, Amadeo Salvo resigned from his post as the executive president of Valencia, citing personal reasons.
On 10 August 2015, Nicolás Otamendi was sold to Manchester City for £32 million and Aymen Abdennour was signed from Monaco for £22 million as his replacement.
However, Valencia had a poor start to the 2015–16 season, winning 5 out of 13 matches and failing to progress from the Champions League group stages.
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 3 out of 16 matches.
Valencia finished the season in 12th position. In the summer of 2016, André Gomes and Paco Alcácer were both sold to Barcelona and Shkodran Mustafi was sold to Arsenal, while Ezequiel Garay and former Manchester United player Nani were brought in.
Pako Ayestarán was sacked on 21 September 2016 after four-straight defeats at the beginning of the 2016–17 season.
In 2009, Valencia CF became an official partner of former 250cc team Stop And Go Racing Team and later in 2014 Valencia CF also became official partner of Aspar Team in MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 classes, respectively. ==E-Sports involvement== In June 2016, Valencia opened an E-Sports division with presences in Hearthstone, Rocket League and League of Legends – in the last case, they joined Beşiktaş, Santos, Schalke and PSG in acquiring League teams.
Days later, on 7 January 2017, Valencia sporting director Jesús 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.
On 25 May 2019, Valencia won the Copa del Rey their first trophy since 2008, upsetting FC Barcelona in the final. Both Marcelino and sporting director Mateu Alemany, who were credited as the architects of this success, were fired on 11 September 2019 after the former publicly criticized Lim.
He was replaced by the ultimately unsuccessful Albert Celades, who was sacked due to poor results, while sporting director César Sanchez resigned that same season, making it six different managers and another six sporting directors by 2020. For the season 2020–21, manager Javi Gracia was hired.
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