Valencia Club de Fútbol reached a sad milestone on Tuesday by surpassing its worst streak without European competition. The club has now gone 2,374 days, since March 10, 2020, without participating in a continental tournament, according to data collected by the newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
The team's last European appearance was that Champions League night at Mestalla, where they fell 3-4 to Atalanta in the round of 16. That match marked the end of an era and the beginning of a decline that has now become the longest period without European football in the club's history. The previous negative record stood at 2,373 days, recorded between 1983 and 1989.
The current situation represents the seventh consecutive season in which Valencia Club de Fútbol has not played in European competitions. This fact takes on an even more worrying dimension when contrasted with the trajectory prior to owner Peter Lim's arrival. In the seventeen seasons before his acquisition, the Valencian club qualified for Europe on sixteen occasions.
However, in the twelve years since Lim took control of the club, the team has only managed to access continental tournaments in three seasons. Manager Carlos Corberán, who currently leads the team, recently acknowledged that "ha iniciado la temporada con solo un punto sumado en cuatro partidos". This European drought coincides with an especially complicated sporting moment.
The present of Valencia Club de Fútbol in the domestic championship is no more encouraging. The team occupies last place in the La Liga standings with only one point obtained after four matchdays. Their record shows zero wins, one draw and three defeats, with a goal difference of -8 after scoring just once and conceding nine.
This situation leaves the Mestalla side eleven points behind the leader, Barcelona, a considerable gap at this early stage of the tournament. Fans can check the team's complete evolution on our standings page, which reflects this complicated situation. The team's performance in these early stages has been the worst in its recent history.
The combination of factors is multiple and complex. The lack of continuity in sporting projects, constant changes in the dugout, and a questionable transfer policy have diminished the team's competitiveness. Valencia Club de Fútbol finished last season in the bottom position of the table, which already anticipated the structural problems that are now manifesting more harshly.
The club has spent seven consecutive seasons competing in the top category without achieving the European objective, something that contrasts radically with its historical tradition. For decades, the team from the capital of the Turia region was a regular in continental competitions, even reaching two consecutive Champions League finals at the beginning of the 21st century. That greatness now seems very distant.
The calendar offers no respite to Valencia Club de Fútbol. The next commitment will be this Friday, September 11, against Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán stadium. The Andalusian team currently occupies sixth position in the table, which represents an additional challenge for a Valencian side that urgently needs to react.
Supporters can follow the team's complete planning in our fixtures section, where all scheduled matches are detailed. This trip to Sevilla represents an opportunity to cut the bad streak and start accumulating points to move out of the relegation places. Corberán's team will seek their first victory of the season in Andalusia, a result that would boost the morale of a squad in need of confidence. The senior squad, whose members can be consulted in the team section, must demonstrate its ability to react to a critical situation.
