Villarreal · History

Villarreal Club de Fútbol is a soccer club from the city of Villarreal, founded on March 10, 1923. The "groguets" have played for 20 seasons in the First Division, 23 in the Third Division, four in the Second Division B and 10 in the Second Division. During their 97-year history, the Submarines have managed to be runners-up in the 2007/2008 season, reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, where they lost to Arsenal (2005/2006), and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League (2005/2006), where they lost to Arsenal (2005/2006). The club won the Intertoto Cup in 2003 and 2004 and took part in European competitions for a total of 13 seasons (three in the Champions League and 10 in the Europa League).

Josep Calduch Almela

Josep Calduch Almela was born on March 9, 1900 in Villarreal. From a family of merchants and farmers, he was the second son of Vicente Calduch Solsona who, along with his brothers, formed the second generation of the family of pharmacists. After finishing secondary school in Castellón de la Plana, Josep went to Barcelona to study Pharmacy, where he discovered his great love of soccer, first for Espanyol and then for Barcelona. Back in Villarreal, he inherited the Calduch pharmacy, located in the city's Plaza Mayor, from his father and brought with him a new project.

On the morning of March 10, 1923, Josep gathered his friends at the pharmacy to tell them about the idea of forming a soccer club. That meeting gave birth to the "Club Deportivo Villarreal", as it appears in the Founding Charter. In order to play matches, they had to buy "10 hectares of land planted with carob trees" from the Beltrán family, near Calvario. Their first kits were white shirts and black shorts, colors they kept until 1946, when they changed to yellow.

 

The beginnings

It wasn't until August 21, 1923 that Villarreal played their first match against Red Star of Castellón. From then on, the team from Castellón began to take part in the regional championships. During the 35-36 season and after being proclaimed champions, Villarreal faced Cartagena in the fight for promotion to the Second Division, but the 5-0 defeat suffered by the Cartagena team in the first leg prevented the Castellón team from returning to the final game (3-1).

 

Civil war and re-founding

The following season, Villarreal were proclaimed Primera Regional champions, but the outbreak of the Civil War (1936-1939) put an end to the sporting competition. With the end of the war and the return to the Segunda Regional, Club Deportivo Villarreal was forced to disappear in 1942.

Even so, soccer didn't disappear in the city. The different peñas organized championships which were played on the town hall field, El Madrigal. In 1946, a group of these young fans decided to federate the "Club Atlético Foghetecaz", named after the initials of its members. Manolo Vilanova was in charge of buying the new team's equipment and he did so with just one difference to the traditional ones: the shirts were no longer white but yellow.

It wasn't an easy start for the team, which came from the lowest categories and played in different groups in the Second Regional Division. During its four years of existence, it achieved great footballing success, including promotion to the First Regional Division in the 50-51 season. In June 1954, after a great season, the board decided to change the name to the current one, "Villarreal Club de Fútbol".

 

On the road to the top

Villarreal CF, as it is known today, made its debut on September 12, 1954 in the First Regional League against Acero (0-0). It was during the 1955-1956 season, under Abelardo Rico, that the club achieved promotion to the Third Division on the last matchday after beating Albalat 4-1. Their stay in the category lasted five seasons, after which they returned to the First Regional Division. In the 1966-1967 season, together with Abelardo Rico, they regained their place in the Third Division.

It was time to continue growing. After the next three seasons in the bronze category, Villarreal came first in Group V and climbed up to the Second Division. After losing to Unión Popular Langreo, the yellow team faced Bilbao Athletic in a very even game, in which both teams won 2-1 at home and which had to be decided on July 7, 1970 at the Santiago Bernabé;u. The 2-1 win over the Basques ensured their promotion to the silverware category of Spanish soccer.

 

The reawakening

After two seasons in the Second Division, Villarreal were relegated again. It was a difficult few years for the Yellows, who played in the regional categories and the third division until the turning point came. With Pascual Font de Mora at the helm, Villarreal were promoted twice in two years: Segunda División B (90-91 season) and Segunda División (91-92 season). Their return to the silverware 20 years later was brilliant, as they finished second and managed to play in the promotion play-offs.

 

First division debut

The summer of 1997 marked the beginning of a new era for Villarreal. Fernando Roig arrived at the club to make it grow and take it to the top within two years. But the goal came sooner than expected. The Submarino were promoted to the First Division in their first season. A season in which the top two were promoted and the bottom two were relegated directly, leaving a promotion where the third and fourth-placed teams from the second division could win a place in the first division against the third and fourth-placed teams from the first division. Villarreal drew goalless with SD Compostela in the first leg at El Madrigal and then drew 1-1 away from home to secure promotion.

It was a difficult first season in the First Division for the Castellón club, who lost their status at the end of the season. Nevertheless, hard work and enthusiasm brought Villarreal back to the top flight after finishing third in the 1999-2000 season, a year in which the top three were promoted directly. Over the next four seasons, Villarreal achieved dream results, winning the Intertoto Cup in 2003 and 2004 and signing players who would go on to make the club's history, such as Juan Romero.The club signed players who went down in the history books, such as Juan Román Riquelme, Rodolfo Arruabarrena, José Manuel Reina, Santi Cazorla, Marcos Senna and Diego Forlán.

 

Golden years

The arrival of Manuel Pellegrini for the 2004-2005 season from River Plate marked a turning point. After a dream season, Villarreal finished third behind Barcelona and Real Madrid, with a total of 65 points, thus guaranteeing the Yellows' first appearance in the Champions League. The good soccer also rewarded striker Diego Forlán, who was proclaimed "pichichi" after scoring 25 goals and won the "Golden Boot".

The end of the European dream was bittersweet for Villarreal. After qualifying against Everton, Villarreal went on to beat their rivals until Arsenal crossed their path. Unbeaten group leaders, the Yellows faced Glasgow Rangers in the last 16 and Inter Milan in the quarter-finals. On the brink of the final, Arsenal were the opponents in the semi-finals, in which Villarreal narrowly lost at Highbury and were eliminated at El Madrigal, even after Riquelme missed a penalty.

The 2007-2008 season was the best in the history of the yellow team. The summer market was marked by the departure of Diego Forlán to Atlético Madrid and the arrival of striker Giuseppe Rossi and Diego López in goal. Despite taking part in all three competitions - La Liga, UEFA and the Copa del Rey, in which they lost in the quarter-finals to Barcelona - Villarreal finished the campaign in second place behind Real Madrid, proclaiming themselves the best away team and also managing to return, without qualifying, to the Champions League.

Arsenal were once again the worst nightmare of the European dream when they eliminated Villarreal in the quarter-finals during the 2008-2009 season. With the campaign over, Pellegrini's departure for Real Madrid was announced.

 

The tour of the second division

In the Champions League, but on their way to the second division. The 2011-2012 season was a difficult one for the Yellows. Falcao's goal on the last matchday at El Madrigal and Rayo Vallecano's win over Granada saw Villarreal drop to the silver category, in a campaign that saw three coaches: Juan Carlos Garrido, José Molina and Miguel Ángel Lotina. Thus, the loss of the category also dragged the reserve team down to Segunda B. However, hard work brought them back to the top.

After the sudden death of that season's coach, Manolo Preciado, Villarreal chose Julio Velázquez to manage the first half of the season and Marcelino García for the second half. A season in which the Submarino finished in second place with a total of 77 points and made a direct return to the First Division.

The comeback with Marcelino

After promotion, Villarreal managed to qualify for European competition for five consecutive seasons (2013 to 2018). After returning to the First Division, the yellow team had two consecutive dream seasons, in which they finished sixth and qualified for Europe. During the 2014-2015 season, Villarreal fell one step short of the Cup final, losing to Barcelona in the semi-finals, 3-1 at Camp Nou and 1-3 at El Madrigal.

The 2015-2016 campaign was the Asturian coach's last at the helm of Villarreal. To face the three competitions, he undertook an extensive squad renewal, signing players such as Roberto Soldado, Denis Suárez, Samu Castillejo, Cédric Bakambu, Leo Baptistao, Areola and Adrián López, among others. It's been a patchy campaign for the Yellows, who despite leading the LaLiga table on the opening day - for the first time in their history - have gone on a run of poor results, ending with six consecutive wins. The win at Mestalla last time out lifted the team to fourth place, leaving qualification for the Champions League wide open. It was a special season, in which the Submarino came close to a deserved European final in Basel, but the narrow victory at El Madrigal wasn't enough to stop Liverpool, who won 3-0.

 

The Submarine remains afloat

A few hours before playing the Champions League qualifier against Monaco, Villarreal announced the resignation of Marcelino on August 10, 2016 and the arrival of Fran Escribá a day later. Monaco's 1-2 and 1-0 victories left the Submarine out of the Champions League but, for another season, in the Europa League. A 2016-2017 campaign that Villarreal finished in fifth place, securing a European berth. During that year, El Madrigal was renamed "Estadio de la Cerámica" on January 8, 2017, before the game against Barcelona.

The start of the 2017-2018 season wasn't a pleasant one for the Castellón side, who suffered three defeats in their first six games, which led to Escribá being sacked by Javi Calleja, the Yellow's reserve team coach. Fifth place once again secured the European dream for the following season.

The following year was a year to forget for the Submarino. Javi Calleja was replaced by Luis García Plaza, who failed to achieve the objectives set, forcing the return of the madridista coach a month later. Results improved, but it wasn't until the 37th matchday, against Eibar (1-0), that Villarreal secured another season in the First Division.