Notable Players
Due to being a lower-league club for most of their history, very few Villarreal players have played at international tournaments. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, one Villarreal player was selected in Spain's squad, the Brazilian-born midfielder Marcos Senna. Mexican forward Guillermo Franco was selected for his country, who were elmiminated by Argentina, whose squad included his teammates Juan Pablo Sorín and Juan Román Riquelme.
For UEFA Euro 2008, Villarreal contributed three players to Spain's team, which won the tournament. Marcos Senna was joined by winger Santi Cazorla and full-back Joan Capdevila. The only other Villarreal player in the tournament was Nihat Kahveci, a striker for Turkey, who reached the semi-finals.
In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, another triumph for Spain, only Capdevila kept his squad place from two years previous. Central defender Diego Godín played for Uruguay, who finished forth. The striker Nilmar was in the Brazil squad which reached the quarter-finals. The tournament's Best Player and Best Goal awards were given to Diego Forlán, another Uruguayan, who played for Villarreal between 2004 and 2007 before joining Atlético Madrid, where he was employed at the time of the tournament.
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