As Llaneza envisaged, Villarreal are 100 points clear of Valencia in the Lim era | OneFootball

Villarreal have outstripped Valencia by 100 La Liga points in the Peter Lim era, mirroring Llaneza’s long-held aim for the club’s sporting project. They have finished above their neighbours in nine of the last 12 seasons, with the total since 2014 at 708 to 608, AS notes.

Llaneza accepted Valencia’s greater history, honours and fanbase, but believed Villarreal could surpass them on the pitch. He arrived from UD Puçol to a sparse El Madrigal of about 1,500, many on council-paid passes.

Fernando Roig later recalled finding only Llaneza and a typewriter, with club offices in a Caja Rural branch. Since then Villarreal have grown to 19,500 season-ticket holders, two training centres and La Cerámica, plus a Europa League and two Intertotos. Valencia still dwarf them, with more than 40,000 subscribers, a 70,000-seat Nou Mestalla rising and 23 domestic and European titles.

Marcelino García Toral has driven Villarreal’s ascent and kept Valencia competitive. Two of the only three seasons in the last 12 when Valencia finished above Villarreal came with him at Mestalla. Across seven top-flight seasons with him at either club, only once did the team without him finish higher, Valencia in 2014/15 under Nuno.

The other six campaigns went Marcelino’s way, four with Villarreal ahead of Valencia. He looks on course for a seventh, with Villarreal already toasting survival at La Cerámica in Llaneza’s tradition, while Valencia still have work to do. Llaneza’s final act was to seal a lasting reconciliation between the Roigs and Marcelino.

Source: AS