Kily González: "I'd give everything to play in the Champions League again"

Kily González' name is synonymous with the Champions League for Valencia CF, having gone down in history as the scorer of the club's very first goal in the competition. A brace from him against Glasgow Rangers back in 1999 marked VCF's maiden strikes in the current format of the European Cup competition, but the Argentine also formed part of the team that played in two consecutive finals.

"When Valencia CF qualified for the Champions League for the first time, I was lucky. It was the first time that the club, the city and the players had been in that competition, and we were going up against clubs with much more experience in it," González told UEFA in a recent interview.

"I remember what it was like to play our first game in Valencia. The expectations were high and the city was buzzing," he recalls. "Right from the start, hearing the Champions League anthem, was something unique. I feel enlightened to have been able to experience these situations, and that's no exagerration."

Kily González' made 35 appearances for Valencia CF in the competition, scoring seven goals along the way.

"The Champions League is 'the' competition. It's really magical. When you talk to me about the Champions League, so many things come to mind. It was completely different to the other competitions in which I played."

The club reached the final in their first campaign, in 1999/2000, playing Real Madrid in an all-Spanish affair. Despite adverse 3-0 final result, the Argentine remembers the positives from the trip to Paris.

"What I take away from it was that I enjoyed myself," he explains. "Obviously there's the sadness at not having been able to win that magnificent trophy, which would have been ideal, but this is football. It was amazing. I would give everything to be able to play a Champions League game again."