Valencia All-Time Team for Foreign Players.

Rainer Bonhof and Mario Kempes

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia,
Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Atletic Bilbao, 
Deportivo La Coruna  Real Sociedad,
Real Betis, Real Zaragoza, Espanyol
Valencian Community

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club.  The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.


Valencia is among the most successful clubs in Spain. Valencia has won six Spanish League titles, eight Copa del Rey titles, one Supercopa de España, and one Copa Eva Duarte. In European competitions, they have won two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, and one UEFA Intertoto Cup. They have also reached two consecutive UEFA Champions League finals (2000 and 2001). Valencia were also members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs and since its end has been part of the original members of the European Club Association. In total, Valencia have reached seven major European finals, winning four of them.

Kurt Jara and Salif Keita 

Team  
GK: Diego Alves  (Brazil)
Having begun his career at Atlético Mineiro in Brazil, he spent most of it in Spain with Almería and Valencia, making 269 La Liga appearances during the decade he played in Spain, during which time he stopped a record 23 penalty kicks. In 2017 he returned to Brazil, and won several honours with Flamengo, including the Copa Libertadores in 2019. He played 10 times for Brazil between 2007 and 2010.

GK: Neto (Brazil)
Neto began his career with Atlético Paranaense.  From 2011 to 2015, he played for Fiorentina. He joined Juventus in 2015, mainly as a back-up to starter Gianluigi Buffon, but appearing in all of the club's games in both of their victorious Coppa Italia campaigns.   In 2017 he joined Valencia.  Since 2010, he was a part of Brazil's player pool, but he never made his international debut until 2018.  At the time of writing, he has a single cap.

GK: Giorgi Mamardashvili (Georgia)
Mamardashvili spent much of his youth years at Dinamo Tbilisi. After signing a professional contract with this club, he was loaned to other Erovnuli Liga teams for three seasons before his transfer to Valencia in 2021. He has quickly established himself as a first-choice shot-stopper, becoming the first ever Georgian goalkeeper in the Spanish top tier. He led Georgia to the 2024 European Championship Finals, winning several Man of the Match in the tournament.

RB: Jocelyn Angloma (France) 
Jocelyn Angloma was a member of the great Marseille team of the early 1990's.  He won the UEFA European Cup in 1993, the first ever for a French club.  He later played for Valencia and reached the Champions' League Final twice. He was a member of the French team at both Euro 1992 and 1996.  In 2006, Angloma came out of retirement to play for his native région, Guadeloupe, and help them qualify for the 2007 Caribbean Nations Cup.

Jocelyn Angloma

RB: Miguel (Portugal)
Miguel started his career with local C.F. Estrela da Amadora as a winger in 1999.  He then spent 5 seasons playing for Benfica from 2000 to 2005.  He was switched from the winger position to a rightback. From 2005 to 2012, he played for Valencia.  Last the international level, he was capped 59 times.  He went to Euro 2004 and 2008, ands then the 2006 and 2010 World Cup Finals.

CB: Nicolás Otamendi (Argentina)
Nicolas Otamendi played mainly for Vélez Sarsfield and Porto in his early career, winning eight major titles with the latter including three national championships and the 2011 Europa League. In 2015, he signed for Manchester City from Valencia.  He also captained Benfica. He was a member of World Cup squad in 2010.  He won the 2021 Copa América, then triumphed in the 2022 World Cup, playing every minute for Argentina. In 2024, Otamendi secured a second consecutive Copa América title.

CB: Miroslav Djukic (Yugoslavia)
Miroslav Djukic spent 14 years of his professional career in Spain, notably for Deportivo de La Coruña and Valencia, winning six major titles for the two clubs combined. In 1994, while playing for Deportivo, Đukić missed a penalty kick in the game's last minute (eventual 0–0 draw). As a result FC Barcelona were crowned champions instead of Deportivo La Coruna. He had 48 caps and  played at Euro 2000 for Yugoslavia.

CB: Mauricio Pellegrino (Argentina)
Pellegrino played for Vélez Sarsfield from 1990 to 1999, winning four Primeira División championships and the 1994 Intercontinental and Libertadores Cups. From 1999 tom 2005, he played for Valencia. He played in both Champions' League Finals in 2000 and 2001 while winning the UEFA Cup winning team in 2004.  He later played for Liverpool and Alves.  Internationally, he earned two caps.

CB: Roberto Ayala (Argentina)
Roberto Ayala captained Argentina for 63 times, a record.  He is also the second cap record holder for Argentina with 115 caps.  He went to three World Cup Finals: 1998, 2002 and 2006. He was best remembered for winning the UEFA Cup with Valencia. He also played for Real Zaragoza in Spain, Milan and Napoli in Italy and River Plate in his native Argentina.

LB: Amedeo Carboni (Italy)
Amedeo Carboni played for a number of Italian clubs before joining Roma in 1990. He stayed there for 7 seasons mainly as a starter before he went to Valencia in 1997.  With Valencia, his team made it to the Champions' League Finals twice and won the UEFA Cup/League Double in 2003/2004.  He played 9 seasons with them.  He represented Italy at the European Championship in 1996, where he earned two of his 18 caps for Italy. 

Amedeo Carboni

LB: Fábio Aurélio (Brazil)
Fábio Aurélio started with Sao Paulo in Brazil before heading to Europe.  He started with Valencia in 2000. He was a part of the great side that won two La Liga and the 2003-2004 UEFA Cup.  He moved to Liverpool in 2006 where he played until 2012. He returned to Brazil after his stint with Liverpool. He was called up to play for Brazil's senior team, but never made a single appearance due to injuries.

DM/RB: Rainer Bonhof (Germany)
Rainer Bonhof was the youngest member of the World Cup winning team in 1974.  He assisted in Gerd Muller's winning goal at the Final.  He also played at Argentina 1978 and a part of Euro 1980 winning team.  He played with Borussia Mönchengladbach.  He joined Valencia in 1978, which prompted the DFB to remove their ban on selecting foreign based players for the national team.

DM: Mazinho (Brazil)

Mazinho played with Vasco da Gama, Palmeiras and Vitória in his homeland, with Lecce and Fiorentina in Italy, and with Valencia, Celta de Vigo and Elche in Spain. He was a three-time winner of the Campeonato Brasileiro with Vasco da Gama and Palmeiras. He received the Brazilian Silver Ball award in 1987 and 1988.  Wth Brazil, he was capped 39 times between 1989 and 1994. He won the World Cup in 1994 and the Copa America in 1989.
DM/CM: Éver Banega (Argentina)
Banega started his career with Boca Juniors, and signed with Valencia in 2008 where he remained for several years, appearing in 162 official games and winning the 2008 Copa del Rey. After joining Sevilla in 2014, he conquered consecutive Europa League trophies. He got his first cap in 2008, but was not selected for both 2010 and 2014 World Cup Finals.  In total, he played 65 times for Argentina.

AM: Pablo Aimar (Argentina)
Aimar started his senior career at River Plate in 1996.  From 2001 to 2006, he starred for Valencia, helping the club to reach the 2001 Champions' League.  Then, he played Real Zaragoza for two seasons before joining Benfica. He played for them between 2008 and 2013.  For Argentina, he earned 52 caps. He represented Argentina at the 1999 and 2007 editions of the Copa América, at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, and at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Pablo Aimar

AM/LW: Kurt Jara (Austria)
Jara started his career with FC Wacker Innsbruck before moving to Valencia CF in 1973. After two seasons in La Liga he joined MSV Duisburg where he spent five seasons and reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals in 1979. After another season in Germany with FC Schalke 04, he finished his career with Grasshopper. He earned 59 caps. He was a participant at the 1978 and 1982 World Cups.

AM/CM/LB: Leonardo (Brazil)
Throughout his club career, he played for Flamengo, São Paulo, Kashima Antlers, Valencia, PSG and Milan.  He won Copa Libertadores and International Cup with Sao Paulo.  At Milan, he became an international star during the 1990's.   He was capped 55 times.  He went to USA 1994, but was suspended after elbowing Tab Ramos in the quarterfinal against the USA.  He also played in France 1998.

LW: Kily Gonzalez (Argentina)
Kily started his career with Rosario Central which he would represent in three different spells.  He played for Boca Juniors before moving to Spain in 1996 where he appeared for Zaragoza and Valencia. Valencia reached the final in 2000 and 2001. He also spent three years in Italy with Inter Milan. For Argentina, he was capped 56 times.  He went to the 2002 World Cup Finals.

FW/RW: Faas Wilkes (Netherlands)
Faas Wilkes was one of the first Dutch player to play aboard.  In 1949, he joined Inter Milan, where he had the best of his career.  He also had a great career with Valencia..  He was considered to Netherlands' best player until the emerge of the Golden Generation of the 1970's. He was capped 38 times scoring 35 goals.  He was banned from the national team between 1949 and 1955 because KNVB did not select professional players. He was Netherlands' all-time leading scorer until 1998.

FW: Mario Kempes (Argentina)
Mario Kempes was the hero of Argentina's 1978 World Cup victory.  He was the Golden Boot and Golden Ball winner in that Finals. He was also the South American Footballer of the Year: 1978. He also went to the World Cup Finals in 1974 and 1982. He played for many clubs in his career.  Before his European career began, he played with Rosario Centrel.  In 1976, he moved to Valencia.  With Valencia, he was the league's top scorer twice, winning the Cup Winners' Cup in 1980.

Mario Kempes

ST: Waldo Machado (Brazil)
Waldo was best known for his time at Fluminense, being top scorer in the former club's history by scoring 314 goals in 401 matches between 1954 and 1961.  In 1961, he joined Valencia, winning the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1962 and 1963.  He won the Pichchi Trophy in 1967. He also played one season with Hércules CF.  He was capped 5 times for Brazil in 1960, being a part of the squad that won the 1960 Taça do Atlântico.

ST: Claudio Lopez (Argentina)
Claudio Lopez started with Racing Club and started his European career with Valencia. He helped the club to reach the Final of the Champions' league in 2000. In 2004, Lazio paid 35 million for him, but injuries limited his career there.  He also played for America in Mexico, Kansas City Wizards and Colorado Rapids in MLS.  He earned 55 caps for Argentina.  He played in both 1998 and 2002 World Cup Finals.

Claudio Lopez 

ST: Predrag Mijatović (Montenegro)
At club level, Mijatović played for six different clubs: Budućnost Podgorica, Partizan, Valencia, Real Madrid, Fiorentina and Levante. He is best remembered for scoring the winning goal against Juventus as Real Madrid won the 1998 Champions' league, its first title since 1966.  He played 73 times for Yugoslavia.  In 1997, Mijatović was runner-up for the Ballon d'Or, behind Ronaldo and ahead of Zinedine Zidane. He played in the 1998 World Cup Finals.

ST: Lyuboslav Penev (Bulgaria)
Penev's first professional team was CSKA Sofia.  In 1989, he joined Valencia,w here he spent 6 seasons.  He played a season with Atletico Madrid, where he won the Double in 1996.  Later, he played with SD Compostela and Celta Vigo. Penev represented Bulgaria in 1996 European Championship in England and in the 1998 World Cup Finals. He could not take part in the 1994 World Cup, as he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer.

ST:  Salif Keita (Mali) 
Salif Keita was voted African Footballer of the Year in 1970.  He found stardom almost everywhere he played.  His best stints were with Saint-Étienne, Marseille, Valencia and Sporting Portugal.  With AS Saint-Étienne, he won three consecutive Ligue 1 titles, including the double in 1968 and 1970. He was selected by the Confederation of African Football as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years.

Salif Keita 

Honorable Mention

Timo Hildebrand (Germany), Renan (Brazil), Shkodran Mustafi (Germany), Jérémy Mathieu (France), Guillermo Villagrá (Argentina), Gabriel Paulista (Brazil), Higinio Ortuzar (Chile), João Cancelo (Portugal), Zlatko Zahovič (Slovenia), John Carew (Norway), Johnny Rep (Netherlands), Lyuboslav Penev (Bulgaria), Héctor Núñez (Uruguay), Darío Felman (Argentina), Adrian Ilie (Romania).

Squad Explanation
-- This team was created in. 2019.  I redid it in October,  2024.

-- Jocelyn Angloma, Roberto Ayala, Palbo Amar. Amedeo Carboni, Mario Kempes, Claudio Lopez and Waldo were on my Valencia All-Time team.

-- Valencia reached back-to-back Champions League Final in 2000 and 2001.  Claudio Lopez, Mauricio Pellegrino, Miroslav Đukić, Pablo Aimar, Kily Gonzalez, Amedeo Carboni, Jocelyn Angloma, Fabio Aurelio and Roberto Ayala played on those teams.

-- In 2019, Marca created an ideal Best XI for Valencia for their centenary celebration. Their lineup was as followed: Santiago Canizares, Ricardo Aries, Roberto Ayala, Quincoces, Ruben Baraja, David Albelda, Jose Claramunt, Antonio Puchades, Fernando, Mario Kempes and Mundo.  The newspaper also held a fan poll to determine the greatest All-Time team as voted by fans.  The following players emerged as the top choices: Santiago Canizares, Quique Flores, Mauricio Pellegrino, Roberto Ayala, Amedeo Carboni,

David Albelda, Gaizka Mendieta, Pablo Aimar, David Silva, David Villa and Mario Kempes.

-- In 2024, ESdiario ranked the top 10 players for Valencia in the following order: 1) Mario Kempes, 2) Antonio Puchades, 3) Mundo, 4) David Villa, 5) Rubén Baraja, 6) Waldo, 7) Gaizka Mendieta, 8) Santiago Cañizares, 9) Roberto Ayala and 10) Fernando.  Mario Kempes and Waldo were the only foreigners on the list.

Goalkeepers

-- All three of goalkeepers on my Valencia All-Time team were Spaniards.  So I had to select three new goalkeepers.

-- Diego Alves was among the best in La Liga during his prime.  He was definitely underrated.  He was capped by Brazil 10 times in the period he played for Valencia.  Neto was a starter for two seasons while he was here.  He was also capped once for Brazil while as a Valencia player.

-- Timo Hildebrand was very well-known during his spell with Stuttgart.  However, his decline also began with Valencia.  In 2019, I took Renan (Brazil) as my third goalkeeper.  He was mainly used as a backup in Valencia, but he took over from Timo Hildebrand.  By 2024, Giorgi Mamardashvili broke the team record with his 60th consecutive appearance in La Liga as a starter.  His steak would end with 69 matches.  He easily took the third spot.

Giorgi Mamardashvili

Defenders

-- Jocelyn Angloma, who reached the Champions' League Final twice with Valencia, would be my top pick for rightback.  Miguel departed from Valencia and professional football under a controversial circumstance, but in his prime, he was one of the best fightbacks in La Liga.

-- Like Angloma on the right, Amedeo Carboni would be the undisputed selection on the left.  He was selected by most lists as one of Valencia's greatest players. Fábio Aurélio (Brazil) was the obvious choice for the backup position.  He was a top leftback in La Liga in his prime.  João Cancelo also spent time here.

-- Roberto Ayala helped Valencia to win the UEFA Cup in 2004.  He was the Man of the Match in the Final against Marseille. Amedeo Carboni and Palbo Aimar were also selected here from that team.

Nicolás Otamendi had a significant impact in his single season, despite his short tenure here.  He was named in the La Liga Team of the Year. 

-- Both Miroslav Djukic and Mauricio Pellegrino were named on honorable mention on my Valencia All-Time team.  Pellergrino was voted by the fans in a poll conducted by Marca as a member of Valencia's All-Time Best XI.  Naturally, they became undisputed on this all-foreign team.  Nicolás Otamendi had a significant impact in his single season. He was named in the La Liga Team of the Year.  Despite his short tenure here, he took the last central defender position over Jérémy Mathieu. Matthieu started as a leftback before switching to the centerback position.  He was a fan favorite who later became the captain of the team.  

-- In 2019, I actually took Emiliano Moretti as my 4th centerback. He began his career at Lodigiani and was signed by Fiorentina in 1998. In 2004, he joined Valencia, where he won the Copa del Rey in 2007–08. In 2009, he returned to Italy where he spent four seasons with Genoa. In 2013, he joined Torino. Internationally, Moretti represented Italy at the youth levels. On 18 November 2014, at the age of 33, he became the oldest player to debut for the Italy national football team, playing as a starter in a friendly against Albania.

-- Guillermo Villagrá was a defender who born in Argentina of Spanish immigrants in Buenos Aries and played for Valencia in the 1930's.  He moved back to Spain when he was young. He could be considered to be Spaniard, but I honored him as the first Argentine-born player to don this jersey.  Higinio Ortuzar from the 1940's was the first player from Chile to play in Spain.

Midfielders/Wingers

-- Rainer Bonhof contributed to Valencia's victory at the 1980 Cup Winners' Cup.  He also had a good international reputation.  Even through he only spent two seasons in Valencia, he is an undisputed choice for the deep central midfielder for this team.

-- Éver Banega who would became famous while playing for Sevilla spent 6 seasons in Valencia. This team needed more central/defensive midfielders.  Didier Deschamps played only a handful games for the club.  He would not be a candidate.  I did not find much information of Mazinho's career in Valencia.  He seemed to have two solid seasons. And because of the lack of suitable midfielders, I decided to include him.

-- Palbo Aimar was playing liked the next big superstar from Argentina while with Valencia.  He was at one point among the best player in La Liga while playing for Valencia.  Many people ranked him as a Top 10 greatest ever player for Valencia. In the 2003-2004 season, he was a key player for Valencia as they won the Double.  

-- Zlatko Zahovič was a big star due to starring for Slovenia.  However,  he clashed with his manager Héctor Cúper during his time here.  Athrough he played in the Champions' league Final, his career was very limited in Valencia.  Instead, I took Kurt Jara.  

-- Leonardo was not known for his career in Valencia, but it was during this time that he became a regular on the national team.  He was the starting leftback for Brazil in the 1994 World Cup Finals, but he was a midfielder in Valencia.  In Valenica, Andre Gomes was an upcoming midfielder.  He spent a season here where his performance attracted the interests from many clubs before joining Barcelona. I wasn't supposed to consider the post-Valencia careers of players for this team selection, but I couldn't resist. Leonardo rose as one of the finest midfielders of his generation, whereas Andre Gomes gradually fell out of the spotlight.  So I selected the more famous Leonardo.  Leonardo also got into the team because the team did not have enough players.

-- The team lacks a good wide right attacker.  However, Faas Wilkes could play on the right side. He was the first foreign player who became a star for the club.  I would have taken him just for being that.  He was also one of the first Dutch footballer to be a star playing outside of the Netherlands.  In his first season at Valencia he scored 18 goals in 29 games.  However, in the remaining seasons his performance declined due to health issues.  He belonged to the forward section, but I would use his skills on the right side for this team. Aimar had also played on the right side before. Johnny Rep was a famous name, but the other strikers have done more for the club.

Faas Wilkes

-- Kily Gonzalez played in two consecutive UEFA Champions League finals (1999–2000, 2000–01) and was named in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2001. I nearly took Pablo Piatti.  He was named on the La Liga Team of the Year in the 2016-2017 season.

Forwards

 -- Waldo and Mario Kempes stand out as some of the top scorers in the history of the club. Waldo ranks as Valencia's second highest leading scorer. Mario Kempes, securing the third spot.  

-- Waldo wore the club's shirt for 9 seasons, during which he scored 160 goals in official matches.  In his first season, he scored 4 goals in a match against Barcelona. Mario Kempes was rated as Valencia's greatest ever player by many.  At Mestalla, Kempes won the Copa del Rey, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup as well as two consecutive Pichichis, scoring 24 and 28 goals in the 1976–77 and 1977–78 season.  In 1978, he also won the World Cup as the top scorer of the tournament.

Waldo

-- Claudio Lopez played in one of the most important eras for Valencia. I rated his career here higher than that of Adrian Llie and John Carew.

-- Salif Keita broke the racial barrier.  He was not only the first Black player who played for Valencia.  He was the only Black player playing in La Liga after it reopened to foreign players.  He was also a fan favourite. He was known as "La perla negra de Malí (The black pearl of Mali)" there.

-- Predrag Mijatović won the Spanish Player of the Year while playing for Valencia, but Lyuboslav Penev was mentioned as frequently as Mijatovic.  Penev played 6 seasons with the club.

-- Adrian Ilie was the last player cut.  He formed a great attacking partnership with Argentine Claudio López.  They were the top duo in Europe during their time here.  He won 55 caps for Romania, scoring 13 goals.  He played at the 1996 European Championship, 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship.  

Formation