Big names who have represented both Valencia CF and Villarreal CF

The upcoming Valencian Community Derby will inject even more emotion into Matchday 24 of this LALIGA EA SPORTS season. Looking at the dugouts, not only will two of the most tactically interesting coaches in the competition be taking each other on, but there is an interesting dynamic given that each one used to represent the other club. As for those on the field, as many as 70 players have worn both jerseys over the years. 

A recent player to have represented both clubs is Gonçalo Guedes, the Portuguese attacker who was on loan at Villarreal CF from Wolves in 2023/24 and who had previously spent five seasons at Valencia CF. Another is Francis Coquelin, the midfielder who was previously at Valencia CF before moving to the team from Castellón in 2020. 

Similarly, there are two other ex-Valencia CF players who also followed that road north to join Los Groguets, but who are still members of the current squad. One is Raúl Albiol, who was once in the youth academy of Valencia CF and who came through at the club. After continuing his career elsewhere, he later embarked on an adventure with Villarreal CF in 2019 and has been there for over five years already. Then there’s Dani Parejo, who landed with El Submarino Amarillo in 2020 as part of an eye-catching transfer. Curiously, they both helped lead Villarreal CF to the semi-finals of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League, the club’s second appearance in the final four following their run in 2005/06, even eliminating Bayern Munich in the quarters.

A trend that goes back many years

The idea of moving between the clubs is nothing new, as many footballers have played for both sides over the years. Looking at some of the other most high-profile cases, another that jumps out is that of David Albelda, who spent a couple of seasons on loan at Villarreal CF at the start of his career before becoming a key player for Valencia CF during their successful spell at the start of the 20th century. Miguel Ángel Angulo also had a brief spell with Villarreal CF in 1996/96, at a time when he was coming through at Valencia CF, where he is now the B team coach. Similarly, Carlos Marchena, who was an assistant coach during Rubén Baraja’s first year in charge of Valencia CF, spent two years with Villarreal CF after leaving Valencia CF in 2010. 

Spooling even further back, there are players such as Robert Fernández, who went back and forth between both clubs and who spent four years at Villarreal CF from 1995 onwards, playing with the club when they debuted in LALIGA EA SPORTS. Around that same time, centre-back Pepe Serer, who’d spent two years on Valencia CF’s books, also signed with Villarreal CF. 

Familiar faces on the benches 

It’s not only footballers who have travelled between these two clubs, as several coaches have managed both Valencia CF and Villarreal CF over the years. Current coach of El Submarino Amarillo, Marcelino García Toral, is actually the last manager who won a title with Valencia CF, the 2018/19 Copa del Rey won against FC Barcelona. Unai Emery is another who was in charge at both, as he was at Valencia CF between 2008 and 2012 before he coached Villarreal CF from 2020 to 2022, winning the Europa League with the club from Castellón. Moreover, the current Valencia CF coach Carlos Corberán was at Villarreal CF for six years, first coaching in the academy and then as an assistant. Now, he too returns to the Estadio de la Cerámica.