Spanish La Liga is highly dominated by two big clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, apart from those two clubs, there are also some other great clubs who sometimes could steal a title from them. One of the Spanish League club that can break the domination of Barcelona and Real Madrid is Valencia, a team that was established in 1919.
Valencia is regarded as a strong contender for Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga competition. Not just offering tough rivalry, Valencia was even able to steal two La Liga titles from Madrid and Barcelona in the 21st century. Who are the best players of this club? Here's the list:
15. Ruben Baraja
Ruben Baraja is a former defensive midfielder from Spain who played for Valencia from 2000 to 2010. This player is considered a central midfielder who has complete skills, in which he could participate in offense and defense equally well. Baraja was given a role as a leader in the Valencia's midfield line after Gaizka Mendieta was transferred to Lazio. Throughout his career, he scored 41 goals and played in 262 matches for Valencia.
14. Ricardo Penella Arias
Ricardo Penella is one of the most loyal players ever to play for Valencia. He played from 1976 to 1992. Ricardo Penella is known as a very strong sweeper and he helped Valencia win a Cup Winner's trophy and a Copa del Rey trophy. Throughout his career, he played as many as 446 times and scored three goals. He ended his career in a Spanish minor league club, Castellon, in 1993.
13. Gaizka Mendieta
Speaking about the best midfielder, Mendieta is one of the greatest ever to play for Valencia. Besides being known as a hard worker, Mendieta also often scored goals from long-range shot. He was trusted to be Valencia's captain from some matches and was also praised for his great set-pieces taking ability. Unfortunately, after moving from Valencia in 2001, his performance drastically declined. He failed to shine with Lazio and Middlesbrough as he was hit by prolonged injury and spent most of his time on the bench as a substitute player.
12. Amedeo Carboni
Carboni is one of the best Italian left-backs in Spanish La Liga. He played for Los Che for nine years, from 1997 to 2006. During this period, Carboni capped 245 times. Together with Pellegrini, Ayala, and the goalkeeper Santiago Canizares; Carboni managed to make Valencia's defense to be one of the strongest in the world. As Valencia's player, Carboni won La Liga title twice.
11. David Silva
David Silva is the player who was raised and trained by Valencia youth academy. Before becoming one of the world's best players, Silva Valencia played for six years for this team, from 2004 to 2010. He is known as an attacking midfielder who is very creative, fast, and quite prolific in scoring. Silva was also instrumental in bringing the Spanish national team won two Euro trophies and one World Cup title.
10. Waldo Machado
Waldo is a retired Brazilian striker who is known for his great scoring ability. Prior to joining Valencia, Waldo played for Fluminense and scored 314 goals from 403 appearances. He moved to Valencia in 1961 and became part of this club for eight years. He did not win any prestigious trophy for Los Che, but his scoring record (160 goals in 296 matches) makes Waldo is recognized as one of the greatest Valencia striker of all time.
9. David Villa
David Villa is a Spanish striker who won a lot of prestigious awards in the period 2000 to 2010. This player won many titles, both at club level and in the national team. Before joining Barcelona, Villa played for Valencia from 2005 to 2010. In Valencia, Villa scored 108 goals in 166 appearances. During his five-year career in Valencia, Villa always becomes the club's top scorer. Considering this fact, it is not surprising that Barcelona was willing to pay quite a high transfer fee to sign Villa from Valencia.
8. Carlos Marchena
Carlos Marchena is an anchor midfielder who had an important role in maintaining the stability of the team's defense and attack. During his career, he did not particularly stand out on the pitch, but he contributed a great deal in a variety of accomplishments achieved by Valencia. Marchena played for Valencia from 2001 to 2010. In addition to playing as a defensive midfielder, Marchena also sometimes positioned as a central defender, especially at the later period of his career.
7. Pablo Aimar
Aimar is a creative playmaker from Argentina who made most of Valencia's matches enormously enjoyable. Dubbed as the next Diego Maradona, Aimar was purchased from River Plate with a very high fee, Aimar proved his quality by winning various trophies and achievements for the club. During his period playing for Valencia from 2001 to 2006, Aimar presented two La Liga titles and a UEFA Cup trophy. If he were not regularly hit by a prolonged injury, I'm sure Aimar could certainly win more titles and awards.
6. Mario Kempes
Mario Kempes was one of the most important players who led Argentina win the World Cup 1978. At the moment, Kempes was also in his top form with Valencia. Playing from 1977 to 1982 for Los Che, Kempes became the top scorer of La Liga twice. In total, the striker scored 116 goals in 184 appearances. Although his individual performance was very amazing, unfortunately he failed to win any La Liga title.
5. Fernando Gomez
Fernando Gomez is a former attacking midfielder from Spain who holds the all-time appearances record for Valencia. Gomez played in the period 1983-1998, and played in 542 matches. Unfortunately, in the 15 years of his career with Valencia, Gomez did not win any prestigious title. Gomez even had to play in the second division after Valencia was relegated in the 1985-1986 season.
4. Miguel Angel Angulo
Miguel Angel Angulo was a versatile player. His original position was an attacking midfielder, but he could also play as a striker, right-back or right-winger. He played for Valencia for 13 years, from 1996 to 2009. Although Angulo rarely got chances to become a starter player, he maintained quite consistent forms. He even often saved Valencia from defeats by scoring last-minutes goals or creating assists that led to goals. In total, Angulo scored 43 goals in his 313 appearances for Valencia.
3. Roberto Ayala
Ayala is one of the strongest South American defenders of all time. He holds the record for a player who captained the Argentine national team the most, with a total of 63 matches. He played for Valencia from 2000 to 2007, presenting two La Liga titles and a UEFA Cup trophy. The best individual achievement ever achieved by Ayala was when he named as the UEFA's Club Best Defender of the Year in the 2000-2001 season.
2. Santiago Canizares
Canizares is a retired Spanish goalkeeper who is known as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of Valencia. Failed to shine at his home club, Real Madrid, Canizares moved to Valencia in 1998. It was proven to be a good decision because Canizares managed to show his true quality at Valencia. He played for Valencia in the period 1998-2008. During that period, Canizares won three Zamora Trophies, an annual award given to the La Liga's best goalkeeper.
1. Mundo
Mundo (Edmundo Suarez) is a retired Spanish striker who holds a record as Valencia's top goal-scorer of all time, with a total of 260 goals. This player played for Los Che from 1939 to 1950, and he helped Valencia win La Liga titles three times and became the top scorer of the competition twice. During his best year, Mundo was known as a very strong striker who has high shooting power. After retirement, he coached Valencia for four seasons, from 1964 to 1968.
