How many times has Villarreal reached a Champions League semifinal?

Villarreal pulled off the big surprise of the Champions League quarterfinals, eliminating Bayern Munich 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in Germany, with an agonizing goal by Nigeria's Samuel Chukwueze.

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For the Spanish team, this is only their third appearance in the direct knockout phase of the Champions League and after beating Bayern, they equaled their best-ever progress.

How many times has Villarreal played in the Champions League semifinals in its history?

After Villarreal eliminated Bayern, they reached the semifinals for the second time in their history. The other time they reached that round was in the 2005/2006 season when Arsenal won and left the team then coached by Pellegrini without the final.

It should also be noted that in 2009 they were also in the quarterfinals, but Arsenal prevented Villarreal from reaching the semifinals for the second time in their history.

What was Villarreal like that season?

Villarreal's first participation in the Champions League was also its most successful, with a team with a Latin American flavor: six Argentines (Juan Román Riquelme, Rodolfo Arruabarrena, Juan Pablo Sorín, Gonzalo Rodríguez, Luciano Figueroa and Mariano Barbosa), two Uruguayans (Sebastián Viera and Diego Forlán), one Bolivian (Juan Manuel Peña) and one Mexican (Guillermo Franco), in addition to the naturalized Brazilian Marcos Senna. And all led by a Chilean, Manuel Pellegrini.

Villarreal's unexpected breakthrough was to come to an end in the semifinals against Arsenal. But not without a fight. In the first leg, it was again a 1-0 defeat, while in the second leg the Spaniards had several chances to take the lead, including the memorable penalty that Jens Lehmann saved from Riquelme to ensure the Gunners' qualification (they would go on to lose in the final to Barcelona). Farewell to the dream, but no one would ever erase that glorious chapter in the history of the Valencian club.

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