Vicente Rodríguez: “La Liga 2004 is very special. It was a fantastic season”

Valencia CF former player and current ambassador, Vicente Rodríguez, has spoken to VCF Media today to remember a special day. 20 years ago, Valencia CF won LaLiga with him in the team and was the first title of the historic treble.

Match against Sevilla FC 2004

"Listening to your narration gave me goose bumps. Those were beautiful moments. It was 20 years ago, but look at how much the city remembers it, people remember it with great affection. The difficult thing in soccer is to win titles and, above all, the LALIGA, which is very complicated because there are very good teams and players in all the teams. It is very difficult to compete with teams with the economic level of Real Madrid CF or FC Barcelona and we did it and beat them".

Goal against Sevilla FC at the Sánchez Pizjuan stadium

"I remember the play very much. It was very nice, a very good combination, it hit Sergio Ramos in the back, I faced the goal, Javi Navarro crossed, there was a hole for a shot, normally I like to cross it, but there was little space and I decided to hit it at the near post and it went in. The match was very difficult, whenever you go to the Sánchez Pizjuan against Sevilla FC, they make things very difficult for you. There was a lot of rivalry, we were playing for the league and after scoring that 0-2 we were calm".  

Winning the 2004 League

"It has a lot of value and even if the years go by it will continue to have a lot of value because we competed against teams that had a lot of economic muscle, with important players. We had a very compact squad and we were able to compete with them on a level playing field and win.

Individual season

"It was my best year, a very good year on an individual and collective level. 100% of the players gave a great performance and when you put together a compact block with important players, we were able to compete with them on a level playing field.

Legends of the Treble match

“It was a very nice day for the people, for us too. In addition to the match, being with teammates we hadn't seen for many years, it was a joy to tell anecdotes from that season. We had a very nice day. Unfortunately, I couldn't play because I'm not well, I've had several operations on my hip and my foot, but I had a great time, we all enjoyed it, and so did the fans”.

Best Valencia CF in history

“I'm very proud to have lived through those years, to have shared a dressing room with Baraja and the other members of the squad. I'm very happy to have achieved all that with Valencia CF. As a kid you dream of one day making your debut at the Camp de Mestalla, but not winning titles like this, winning two leagues, a UEFA... that's very difficult, not even in my best dreams. We were able to achieve it and I feel very proud to have been part of that squad and to have spent 12 seasons at my Club, in my team and the one I have been a part of all my life. Also the one that was my father and my son. I couldn't ask for more”.

End of the 23-24 season

“We must not give up, we must fight to the end. It's difficult, it's not easy, Real Sociedad and Real Betis have a certainly important advantage, but while there's life, there's hope. There are still 12 points left and we have to fight until the end. Real Sociedad and Real Betis may not win all their matches and Valencia CF have a schedule that is not easy, but they have shown that they have what it takes to compete against everyone”.