Valencia CF

Valencia Club de Fútbol, founded on March 18, 1919, is a Spanish professional football club based in Valencia. The team competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football, and has played 91 of 95 top-division seasons. The club holds fifth place in the all-time Spanish football ranking, having been third until 2016 and fourth until 2025. Valencia plays its home matches at Mestalla Stadium, which opened in 1923 and currently seats 49,430 spectators. A move to the new Nou Mestalla, with a capacity of 70,044, is expected in 2027.

Valencia has won six La Liga titles, eight Copa del Rey trophies, and two UEFA Super Cups. In European competition, the club reached back-to-back UEFA Champions League finals in 2000 and 2001. The IFFHS named Valencia the World's Best Club in 2004. The club was a member of the G-14 group and is an original member of the European Club Association.

The club's youth academy, the Acadèmia, has produced stars like David Silva, Jordi Alba, Isco, Ferran Torres, and Lee Kang-in. Four Valencia players were part of Spain's 2010 World Cup-winning squad: David Villa, Carlos Marchena, David Silva, and Juan Mata. The club has around 50,000 season ticket holders at its peak, though membership declined after Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim acquired the team in 2014.[edit]

Valencia CF was founded in 1919 by a group of fans who split from local club FC España. The team quickly rose through Spanish football, earning promotion to La Liga in 1931. The club won its first Copa del Rey in 1941, followed by La Liga titles in 1942 and 1944. The 1940s also saw the emergence of legendary players like goalkeeper Ignacio Eizaguirre and forward Mundo.

The club's golden era came in the late 1990s and early 2000s under coaches like Claudio Ranieri, who led the team to a Copa del Rey in 1999, and Héctor Cúper, who took Valencia to two consecutive Champions League finals in 2000 and 2001, losing to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively. Rafael Benítez then guided the club to two La Liga titles (2002, 2004) and a UEFA Cup victory in 2004, capping a historic season where Valencia also won the UEFA Super Cup.

Since Peter Lim's takeover in 2014, the club has faced financial struggles and declining on-field performance. After finishing fourth in La Liga in 2015 and 2016, Valencia slipped to mid-table. In 2019, the club won its eighth Copa del Rey under Marcelino García Toral, beating Barcelona in the final. However, instability followed, with multiple managerial changes. In 2022, under José Bordalás, Valencia reached the Copa del Rey final but lost to Real Betis. The club currently aims to rebuild under coach Carlos Corberán, appointed in 2024.[edit]