Villarreal: the Yellow Submarine that has sunk Italian clubs before

Napoli travel to the Estadio de la Cerámica to face a club whose European record against Serie A sides is one of the best in the competition - though not against Napoli, who have already beaten them when it counted.

by Gennaro SanninoSunday 11 October, 10:25 CET· 4 hours ago

Villarreal CF vs RCD Mallorca LALIGA — Foto: FotosLaLiga · CC BY-SA 4.0

Villarreal were founded on 10 March 1923 in Vila-real, in Castellón province, and play their home matches at the Estadio de la Cerámica. The president is Fernando Roig Alfonso and the head coach is Iñigo Pérez. The club reached Primera División for the first time in 1998 and recorded their best-ever league finish in 2007-08, second behind Real Madrid and ahead of Barcelona.

Villarreal's European pedigree outweighs their size. They won two Intertoto Cups, in 2003 and 2004, and the Europa League in 2020-21, making them one of the very few European clubs to have lifted a UEFA trophy without ever winning their own league. In 2005-06 they reached the Champions League semi-final, eliminating Inter in the quarter-finals (1-2 in Milan, 1-0 at home) before losing to Arsenal - a tie remembered for Juan Román Riquelme missing a penalty three minutes from the end.

Why Villarreal haunt Italian clubs

Villarreal have a striking record against Italian football: in 24 European meetings with Serie A clubs they have won 10, lost 7 and drawn 7, a balance firmly in their favour. Napoli is the opponent they have faced most often of all, six times, ahead of Roma (4), Lazio (3), and Juventus, Atalanta and Inter (2 each). The only Italian side Villarreal have never managed to beat is Fiorentina. That alone explains why, whatever the circumstances, a trip to face the Yellow Submarine has never been a comfortable one for an Italian club in Europe.

Where Napoli can hurt them

The most direct precedent involves Napoli themselves. In 2011-12, Villarreal - coming off years of strong Champions League finishes - got past a qualifying round against Odense and reached the group stage, only to finish bottom with zero points, losing all six matches against Napoli, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. It is proof that, at the competition's highest level, the Spanish club have already paid a price specifically against Napoli - a precedent worth recalling on the eve of Tuesday's game.

Villarreal's European history is more intimidating than their size would suggest. But that same history shows that when Napoli have faced the Yellow Submarine at a moment that mattered, Napoli have already beaten them. On Tuesday 13 October at 21:00 CET (20:00 UK, 15:00 ET) at the Estadio de la Cerámica, it is a different Champions League, a different team, a different era - but the real precedent favours Napoli.