# 2005–06 Villarreal CF season

The 2005–06 season was Villarreal Club de Fútbol's 83rd season in existence and the club's 6th consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. In addition to the domestic league, Villarreal participated in this season's editions of the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League. The season covered the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006.

## Season summary

Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, being knocked out by eventual runners-up Arsenal 1–0 on aggregate, with Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann saving a last-minute Juan Román Riquelme penalty, in the second leg, that would have taken the tie to extra time in front of Villarreal's home support.
Despite Villarreal's excellent form in Europe, the continental success was not translated to the domestic stage. Villarreal finished seventh, consigning them to Intertoto Cup football.

## Squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ESP | Javier López Vallejo |
| 2 | DF | ARG | Gonzalo Rodríguez |
| 3 | DF | ARG | Rodolfo Arruabarrena |
| 4 | DF | ESP | César Arzo Amposta |
| 5 | FW | URU | Diego Forlán |
| 6 | MF | ESP | Josico |
| 7 | FW | ESP | Antonio Guayre |
| 8 | MF | ARG | Juan Román Riquelme |
| 9 | FW | MEX | Guillermo Franco |
| 10 | MF | ESP | Roger |
| 11 | MF | ESP | Javier Calleja |
| 12 | DF | ARG | Juan Pablo Sorín |
| 13 | GK | URU | Sebastián Viera |
| 14 | MF | ESP | Héctor Font |
| 16 | DF | ESP | Quique Álvarez |
| 17 | DF | ESP | Javi Venta |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | MF | ITA | Alessio Tacchinardi (on loan from Juventus) |
| 19 | MF | ESP | Marcos Senna |
| 21 | MF | ESP | Santi Cazorla |
| 22 | DF | BOL | Juan Manuel Peña |
| 23 | FW | ESP | José Mari |
| 24 | DF | ESP | Josemi |
| 25 | GK | ARG | Mariano Barbosa |
| 26 | FW | ESP | Xisco Nadal |
| 29 | FW | ESP | Jony |
| 30 | DF | ESP | Carlos Alcántara |
| 31 | GK | ESP | Juan Carlos |
| 32 | MF | ESP | Javi Rubio |
| 35 | DF | ESP | Nino |
| 36 | FW | ESP | Óscar López |
| 44 | MF | ESP | Marquitos |
| 46 | MF | ESP | David Fuster |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 9 | FW | ARG | Luciano Figueroa (on loan to River Plate) |
| 15 | DF | NED | Jan Kromkamp (to Liverpool) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 20 | MF | ECU | Luis Antonio Valencia (on loan to Recreativo de Huelva) |

## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| La Liga | 28 August 2005 | 13 May 2006 | Matchday 1 | 7th | 38 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 50 | 39 | +11 | 036.84 |
| Copa del Rey | 4 January 2006 | 11 January 2006 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 000.00 |
| UEFA Champions League | 9 August 2005 | 25 April 2006 | Third qualifying round | Semi-finals | 14 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 9 | +3 | 035.71 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 54 | 19 | 22 | 13 | 62 | 51 | +11 | 035.19 |
Source: Competitions

### La Liga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Sevilla | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 54 | 39 | +15 | 68 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Celta Vigo | 38 | 20 | 4 | 14 | 45 | 33 | +12 | 64 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Villarreal | 38 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 50 | 39 | +11 | 57 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |
| 8 | Deportivo La Coruña | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 55 | |
| 9 | Getafe | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 54 | 49 | +5 | 54 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: La Liga

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | D | D | L | W | W | D | W | W | D | W | D | W | L | W | W | D | D | L | W | L | D | L | W | D | W | D | D | D | L | W | D | L | L | D | W | D | W |
| Position | 14 | 15 | 19 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 |

#### Matches
### UEFA Champions League
#### Third qualifying round
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | VIL | BEN | LIL | MUN |
| 1 | Villarreal | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| 2 | Benfica | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 8 | Advance to knockout stage | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Lille | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 6 | Transfer to UEFA Cup | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 6 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | — |