Valencia 2000-01 Squad

The team

The 2000-01 Valencia squad stands among the most celebrated teams Spain has sent onto the continental stage. Representing Valencia, this was one of the defining sides of 2000s European football, the sort of team whose matches became must-watch occasions. Valencia reached the Champions League final that season, a campaign that still shapes how the club is remembered. The side was built on a clear spine: Santiago Cañizares behind a defence organised by Roberto Ayala, with Gaizka Mendieta setting the tempo through the middle.

Further forward, Gaizka Mendieta and Kily González gave the team its cutting edge, turning long spells of control into goals on the biggest European nights. There was depth to match the star quality, with the likes of Pablo Aimar and Rubén Baraja adding options across the pitch. Reassembled here, the lineup is a reminder of why this vintage still sets a standard that later teams chase. Set out in a 4-2-3-1, the XI captures the balance and ambition that made this Valencia team a benchmark of 2000s football — the players, the shape and the identity that made the vintage so hard to forget.