David Albelda: The Capitan

He played a total of 574 games in a Valencia CF shirt and spent 42.502 minutes on the pitch wearing the club’s colours with pride. In his fifteen seasons at Valencia CF. He turned into a legend, a myth.

Albelda was an integral part of the best Valencia CF in history, the team who won two league titles in 2001/02 and 2003/04, as well as a European Supercup (2004). The unforgettable homegrown player grew up into an emblem for Mestalla and a historic club’s captain and a life devoted to the club.

Born in the Valencian region the team’s number ‘6’ was promoted into the first team in the 1997/98 season but a severe injury kept him sidelined. After serving two loans with Villarreal CF he returned for good in the 1999-2000 season. He was a bastion of valencianismo, a proof of what being part of Valencia CF means. He is the eternal captain who led the team into the club’s most glorious era.

Albelda played a major role in the Valencia CF squad who was crowned La Liga champions in 2002 and 2004 named ‘best in the world’ in 2004 and when the fans picked him to feature in the best world XI.

There are not enough words to describe how incomparable he was as a player. He was a midfielder with an impeccable vision and capable of being always in the right place to retrieve the balls. He was a number one, a perfect connection combined with tactical discipline, leadership, personality, charisma, and ability to command which gave, as a result, one of the  Valencia CF best midfielders of all time.

His records as a VCF player are incredible. Albelda is the third player with the highest number of appearances with Valencia CF, a total of 351. Besides he is the player with the highest number of wins in First Division, 178 triumphs in total. A Spanish international, he won 51 caps for the country, representing it in two South Korea and Japan World Cups, as well as at the Euro 2004 in Portugal. In addition, he also won a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

He is currently a LaLiga ambassador and a third-tier side coach at Azteneta UE where he has picked up one draw and one loss so far this season in his new footballing stage as a head coach.