By Tom Fordyce

They won't sell as many replica shirts in the Far East, and the average football fan would struggle to name more than half their starting line-up.

Valencia celebrate their Uefa Cup win

But are Valencia a better team than Arsenal, Milan or Real Madrid?

With the Primera Liga title already in the bag, their Uefa Cup final win over Marseille last week sealed the greatest season in the club's history.

On the domestic front, no team in Spain could get close to them, including rejuvenated Barcelona and highly vaunted Real.

And this is a team in the truest sense. While there are undoubted stars - Roberto Ayala in defence, Vicente in midfield, Mista up front - each member of the side has played his role in the club's success.

The only outfield players not to score this season are left-backs Fabio Aurelio and Amedeo Carboni, and even they both have excuses.

Aurelio has hardly been a regular, while the 39-year-old Carboni cannot be expected to overlap like a teenager.

Hard work brings results

While Valencia have scored as many goals as Madrid, they have also conceded just 26, the fewest of any Spanish champion in the last 30 years.

"The key to our success is hard work and humility," says captain David Albelda.

"We don't think we are superior to anyone else, but we are determined to continue improving."

So who can compare with the Valencia of 2004? Certainly not Real, nor any other team from Spain. The league table tells us that much.

Benitez has moulded Valencia into a well-organised unit

Arsenal can hold up their unbeaten league record and argue a certain superiority on the basis that Valencia have lost six games in La Liga.

Arsenal also finished second in the Premiership last season, whereas Valencia finished fifth a year ago.

And some would argue that being seconds from reaching a Champions League semi-final is a greater achievement than winning a weaker competition like the Uefa Cup.

But Valencia's is not a one-off success. In winning two trophies in one season they have shown a stamina and single-mindedness that Arsene Wenger's side could not quite match.

In the last four years they have also won another Spanish title and the Copa del Rey and reached successive Champions League finals - all this while losing managers Claudio Ranieri to Chelsea and Hector Cuper to Inter Milan.

What of Italian teams?

Milan took the Serie A title after winning the Champions League 12 months ago, but were thrashed 4-0 by Deportivo in this season's competition.

That title win was also their first in five years. Second-placed Roma failed to make it past Villarreal in the fourth round of the Uefa Cup and third-placed Juventus went out of the Champions League at the first knockout stage.

Germany's new champions Werder Bremen weren't involved in European competition this year at all.

Threat from the west

Of this year's Champions League finalists, Monaco are only third in the French league.

Which leaves us with one outstanding candidate - Porto.

Should Jose Mourinho's men triumph on Wednesday, their superior European/domestic double would trump that of Valencia.

The Portuguese league may not be as competitive as La Liga, but winning the Uefa Cup does not compare with a Champions League trophy.

Whatever happens, Valencia may have the better chance of staying strong. While Mourinho seems certain to leave Porto, Valencia are hopeful they can keep their manager Rafael Benitez despite potential interest from Liverpool.

"Where are the limits for this team? The limits depend on our opponents and it depends on the limits you set yourselves," says Benitez.

"We will aim for more titles and set different goals."

Goalkeeper Santiago Canizares agrees. "We don't envy English or Italian teams," he says. "Valencia will have a good team for the next few years."