Editing Villarreal CF (section)

===1998–2012: La Liga and European debuts===
Villarreal's [[La Liga]] debut started with a match against reigning [[UEFA Champions League|European champions]] [[Real Madrid CF|Real Madrid]] at the [[Santiago Bernabéu Stadium]] on 31 August 1998 where they lost 4-1 despite taking the lead after 3 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Real Madrid vs Villarreal - La Liga 1999: all the info, lineups and events |url=https://www.besoccer.com/match/real-madrid/villarreal/199914404 |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=besoccer.com |language=en |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407215519/https://www.besoccer.com/match/real-madrid/villarreal/199914404 |url-status=live }}</ref> The first home game was against [[RC Celta de Vigo|Celta de Vigo]]<ref name="autogenerated3" /> the week after. Because of a difficult season, Villarreal were relegated to the [[Segunda División]] for the [[1999–2000 Segunda División|1999–2000 season]], but by finishing third, they were then promoted back to the Primera División.

[[File:Van Persie Free Kick cropped.jpg|thumb|320x320px|[[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal FC]] vs Villarreal CF [[2008–09 UEFA Champions League]] quarter-finals]]
After finishing seventh on their return to the Primera, Villarreal finished in 15th place for two-straight seasons.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> Villarreal competed in the [[UEFA Intertoto Cup]] in the middle of 2002, defeating [[Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar|FH]] of Iceland, [[Torino F.C.|Torino]] of Italy, and [[Troyes AC|Troyes]] of France. They lost in the final to compatriots [[Málaga CF|Málaga]], 2–1 on aggregate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.villarrealcf.es/principal_n.php?nombreModulo=contenido&idcontenido=21&idsubmenu=9&idmenu=113&idsubmenu=164|title=Villarreal C.F.&nbsp;– Web Oficial<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=4 October 2011|archive-date=24 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024233021/http://www.villarrealcf.es/principal_n.php?nombreModulo=contenido&idcontenido=21&idsubmenu=9&idmenu=113&idsubmenu=164|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the middle of 2003, they defeated the Dutch team [[SC Heerenveen|Heerenveen]] in the final of the Intertoto Cup, thereby qualifying for the [[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cup]]. In their major European debut, Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, losing to neighbours and eventual champions [[Valencia CF|Valencia]]. In the league, Villarreal finished in eighth place. In the middle of 2004, Villarreal retained the Intertoto Cup, beating compatriots [[Atlético Madrid]] on [[Penalty shoot-out (association football)|penalties]] after the final finished 2–2 on aggregate. This qualified them to the UEFA Cup. They lost in the quarter-finals of the [[2004–05 UEFA Cup]] to Dutch side [[AZ Alkmaar|AZ]], 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, the [[UEFA Champions League|Champions League]]. The club's centre-forward [[Diego Forlán]] won the [[Pichichi Trophy]] for top scorer in the league, with 25 goals.

Villarreal defeated the English Premier League's [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] in a play-off for the [[2005–06 UEFA Champions League|Champions League]] group stages. The group saw Villarreal go undefeated, drawing both games against [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] and achieving a draw and a win each against [[Lille OSC|Lille]] of France and [[S.L. Benfica|Benfica]] of Portugal. The win over Benfica was away and both teams advanced to the last 16.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.villarrealcf.es/principal_n.php?nombreModulo=contenido&idcontenido=25&idsubmenu=9&idmenu=115&idsubmenu=168|title=Villarreal C.F.&nbsp;– Web Oficial<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=4 October 2011|archive-date=24 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024233028/http://www.villarrealcf.es/principal_n.php?nombreModulo=contenido&idcontenido=25&idsubmenu=9&idmenu=115&idsubmenu=168|url-status=live}}</ref>

The club then drew 3–3 against [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] of Scotland in the Last 16, advancing on away goals due to a 2–2 draw at [[Ibrox Stadium|Ibrox]]. In the quarter-finals, Villarreal beat [[Inter Milan|Internazionale]] on away goals after finishing 2–2 on aggregate. The club bowed out in the semi-finals against [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], losing 1–0 away at [[Arsenal Stadium|Highbury]]. [[Juan Román Riquelme]] had a [[Penalty kick (association football)|penalty]] saved by [[Jens Lehmann]] in the home game, which finished 0–0. Arsenal went on to lose in the final in [[Paris]] to another Spanish club, [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]]. Villarreal finished seventh in La Liga, which only earned an Intertoto Cup position.
[[File:Villarreal Club de Fútbol league performance 1929-present.svg|thumb|317x317px|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, to [[NK Maribor|Maribor]] of Slovenia. The first leg was lost 2–1 at home and the away game was a 1–1 draw.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.villarrealcf.es/principal_n.php?nombreModulo=contenido&idcontenido=24&idsubmenu=9&idmenu=113&idsubmenu=167|title=Villarreal C.F.&nbsp;– Web Oficial<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=4 October 2011|archive-date=24 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024233208/http://www.villarrealcf.es/principal_n.php?nombreModulo=contenido&idcontenido=24&idsubmenu=9&idmenu=113&idsubmenu=167|url-status=live}}</ref> The team finished 5th in La Liga and qualified for the [[UEFA Cup]]. Villarreal gained their best-ever league position in 2008, finishing second to Real Madrid by eight points, and also reached the last 32 in [[2007–08 UEFA Cup|that season's UEFA Cup]]. After defeating [[FC BATE Borisov|BATE Borisov]] of Belarus in a play-off, the team won Group C unbeaten.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.villarrealcf.es/principal_n.php?nombreModulo=contenido&idcontenido=29&idsubmenu=9&idmenu=114&idsubmenu=172|title=Villarreal C.F.&nbsp;– Web Oficial<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=5 October 2011|archive-date=24 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024233033/http://www.villarrealcf.es/principal_n.php?nombreModulo=contenido&idcontenido=29&idsubmenu=9&idmenu=114&idsubmenu=172|url-status=live}}</ref> Their group opponents were [[ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina]] of Italy, [[FK Mladá Boleslav|Mladá Boleslav]] of Czech Republic, [[IF Elfsborg]] of Sweden, and [[AEK Athens F.C.|AEK Athens]] of Greece.

In the last 32, Villarreal were defeated by eventual champions [[FC Zenit Saint Petersburg|Zenit Saint Petersburg]], losing the first leg 1–0 in Russia to a [[Pavel Pogrebnyak]] goal. The second leg was won 2–1 by Villarreal at [[El Madrigal]], but Zenit advanced on away goals.

The club automatically qualified for the [[2008–09 UEFA Champions League]] by finishing second in La Liga the previous season. They drew Manchester United, for the second consecutive campaign, [[Celtic F.C.|Celtic]], and [[AaB Fodbold|Aalborg BK]]. They made a good start by holding current European champions Manchester United to a goal-less draw at [[Old Trafford]], a third 0–0 draw in a row against the English giants. A first win was sealed on 30 September by beating [[Gordon Strachan]]'s Celtic 1–0 at [[El Madrigal]], courtesy of a [[Marcos 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 faced [[Panathinaikos F.C.|Panathinaikos]], who left Villarreal with a 1–1 away advantage, but lost 1–2 in [[Athens]]. 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 a [[Marcos Senna]] free kick, equalised by an [[Emmanuel Adebayor]] volley. [[Theo Walcott]], [[Emmanuel Adebayor]], and [[Robin van Persie]] secured a 3–0 win for Arsenal on the return, knocking Villarreal out of the tournament.

[[File:Ozil_-_Flickr_-_Jan_S0L0_(7).jpg|thumb|300px|[[Real Madrid CF|Real Madrid]] vs. Villarreal in 2011]]
Despite finishing outside of a European qualifying spot in the domestic league, Villarreal was given a place in the qualifying round of the [[2010–11 UEFA Europa League]] after UEFA determined that [[RCD Mallorca|Mallorca]]'s financial irregularities precluded them from taking part in the tournament.

A 5–0 home win and a 2–1 away win against [[FC Dnepr Mogilev|Dnepr Mogilev]] qualified them for the group stage. Villarreal suffered an early setback following a shock 2–0 loss in their away fixture against [[GNK Dinamo Zagreb|Dinamo Zagreb]]. Despite this, however, later wins against Dinamo, [[Club Brugge KV|Club Brugge]] and [[PAOK F.C.|PAOK]] saw them top their group.

After beating [[S.S.C. Napoli|Napoli]], [[Bayer 04 Leverkusen|Bayer Leverkusen]] and [[FC Twente|Twente]] in the knockout phases, Villarreal qualified for the semi-finals to face tournament favourites [[FC Porto|Porto]]. After Villarreal took a 0–1 lead at the [[Estádio 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 beat [[S.C. Braga|Braga]] to be crowned champions. [[Giuseppe Rossi]] finished as the tournament's second top goalscorer with 11 goals, behind Porto's [[Radamel Falcao]].