During summer the club transferred out 13 players and bought several players such as right back Defender Jocelyn Angloma[1] from Internazionale, centre-back Defender Miroslav Đukić[2] from Deportivo La Coruña, left back Defender Amedeo Carboni,[3] midfielder Marcelinho Carioca (lasting just 6 months) and Romário returned from Flamengo only to be injured in pre-season and left the team in December. The squad started poorly with three consecutive losses and Jorge Valdano was sacked being appointed Claudio Ranieri[4] as new manager in October. Meanwhile, the bad streak of results prompted President Paco Roig to quit the job after three years in charge, and later the shareholders appointed Pedro Cortes (former President in 1986) as its new chairman. After a chaotic first half of the campaign, the squad improved its performance in the second part of the campaign thanks to Ranieri's team handling to boost the upcoming midfield youngstars Gaizka Mendieta, Miguel Angulo, Francisco Javier Farinos and Forward Adrian Ilie[5] who arrived to the club in late December and scored 12 goals.
The team finished in a disappointing 9th spot in League being qualified to the next UEFA Intertoto Cup. Also, in the Copa del Rey, the squad was defeated in two legs by FC Barcelona being eliminated in eighthfinals.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.