"We've reaped the reward for all our hard work of the last season," coach Quique Sanchez Flores said after Tuesday's 3-0 victory at the Mestalla.

"The club has regained the prestige we needed and we have also ensured that we will receive an important economic boost. We're back where we belong."

Valencia overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit against the Austrians thanks to first-half goals from Fernando Morientes and David Villa and a late strike from midfielder David Silva.

"It was a vital game for us," said Morientes, who joined Valencia from Liverpool during the close season. "We needed to win after the first leg, but in the end everything went as planned."

Valencia, who reached the final of the Champions League in 2000 and 2001 and won the UEFA Cup in 2004, missed out on European competition last season but will now join Barcelona and Real Madrid in the group phase of the continent's elite club competition.

There was no such luck, however, for Osasuna who missed out after a late goal from Hamburg SV midfielder Nigel de Jong wiped out the Navarrans' early lead and put the German side through on away goals.

"It was a very tough defeat to take, especially as the game was so even and there was so much at stake," said Osasuna coach Jose Angel Ziganda.

But Ziganda was determined to see the bright side of the defeat for a team that equalled its best ever result in the Primera Liga with a fourth place finish last season.

"The team was fantastic in all senses," he said. "In terms of attitude, effort and play we were able to match a big side like Hamburg. I'm really proud of the players."

The draw for the Champions League group phase takes place in Monaco on Thursday.