Valencia 2002

Coach: Rafa Benítez

Rafael Benítez's Valencia won La Liga in 2001-02, the club's first Spanish title in over three decades, a triumph that followed back-to-back Champions League final defeats in the two previous seasons — losses to Real Madrid in 2000 and Bayern Munich on penalties in 2001 — that had threatened to define this talented Valencia generation as perennial nearly-men. Gaizka Mendieta had been the creative heartbeat of both losing final campaigns before departing for Lazio, but Benítez, newly appointed, rebuilt the side's identity around defensive solidity and efficient, direct football, with Rubén Baraja and Vicente providing goals and energy from midfield positions. The league title, secured with matches to spare, was celebrated as vindication for a squad and a club that had come agonisingly close to European glory twice running without reward. Benítez went on to win a second La Liga title with Valencia two seasons later alongside a UEFA Cup, cementing this early-2000s Valencia side as the strongest in the club's modern history and launching Benítez's reputation as one of European football's most promising young coaches, directly leading to his subsequent move to Liverpool.