Valencia CF

Looks like the winning ways are back at the Mestalla, courtesy of a 3-1 victory against Real Betis.

That’s our first victory at home since late November and it’s about time. Who would have thunk at the beginning of the season that it would take THIS LONG for us to win a game at the Mestalla in the middle of the season … absolute lunacy. Anyways, that’s the way it is.

David Villa scored twice and added an assist, showing critics that his long dry spell may finally be over. Unfortunately, there was a controversial moment late in the 1st half when Villa appeared to handle the ball before laying it off to Silva for the assist and goal.

Well, nothing comes easy these days. At least we won. With the victory, we’re in 9th place with 33 points, 1 point from Racing Santander and a place in next season’s UEFA Cup, 8 points from Atletico Madrid and a spot in the Champions League.

So all is NOT lost. There’s still a lot to play for …

Meanwhile, Villa could be gone, with England a prime landing spot.

With Chelsea and Spurs both chasing a forward, El Guaje has fuelled the fires of speculation by stating that a move to the Premier League is an exciting prospect.

Villa said of the idea to Sky Sports, “I am happy at the interest within the Premier League and this is my dream if I leave Spain.”

Meanwhile, embattled Valencia sporting director Miguel Angel Ruiz said, “If we receive a formal offer, we’ll study it.”

So that’s why he’s playing well.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: If he wants to leave, LEAVE. With the money we get from his sale, we’ll buy two talented youngsters who actually want to be here. Good luck in England because you’ll need it, Mr. Villa. The Premier League isn’t La Liga. You won’t be allowed acres of green to dance and do cross-overs. He’ll learn that soon enough …

And more news, as word’s leaked that Ronnie Koeman wants to ax even more Valencia players. According to the news today, Tintin wants to ax Mora, Miguel, Caneira, Sunny, Edu, Baraja, Morientes, Zigic, Mata, Vicente.

So basically, half the squad.

If this is true, someone needs to talk sense into the man. Why get rid of Mata, who’s looked pretty impressive the past few weeks?

What about Sunny, the talented midfielder who’s been given zero chances by the Dutch maestro? Miguel, Baraja and Morientes, I understand. But Zigic? Vicente? Edu?

C’mon …

Maybe he’s serious about this … maybe they’re intending to sell Villa and the rest of the squad, cash in these valuable assets and make a run at some new talent, completely overhauling the squad?

These are tricky times at the Mestalla and Valencia have truly reached a fork in the road.

On one side, a run at the Champions League. On the other, a path straight into oblivion.
Who knows where Mr. Koeman, Mr. Ruiz and Juan Soler are leading us?

I hope they know what they’re doing. By all indications, the jury is still out …

Scratch that fuzzy homecoming for wayward striker Miguel Angel Angulo.

Yesterday’s news saw the scraggly-haired forward playing in a practice match.

Tongues started wagging, with pundits saying maybe Coach Ronnie Koeman had changed his mind. Maybe he was giving the three fired players (Angulo, David Albelda and Santi Canizares) another chance after all. Maybe he’d seen the light.

Nope.

Today, ‘Tintin’ let the world know he’s not the kind of guy who’ll change his mind.

“He (Angulo) only played a practice match,” Koeman said. “The decision is made and anyone that knows me knows I’m not going to change (the decision).”

So that’s that.

Case closed. Time to move on.

I only hope this guy knows what he’s doing.

Remember back in the day when I called for QQ’s head? Well, you get what you asked for. Intertoto Cup, here we come!

Today’s wire has a news story about the ‘return’ of broken-hearted striker Miguel Angel Angulo. I say ‘return’ because it’s not really a comeback, more of a ‘you’re there, so wanna play?’

Maybe it’s not significant that Angulo played a heavy part in yesterday’s first team training session and practice match. Maybe it means absolutely nothing that the striker wore the number 11 jersey and played well.

But what if it does mean something? Is he back? What about David Albelda and Santiago Canizares? Are they far behind?

I doubt it. Angulo kept his mouth shut more or less, only saying that his heart was broken over being fired by Ronald Koeman.

Albelda and Canizares were more vocal in their disapproval of coach Koeman’s directives. Albelda went as far as to sue the Turian club, claiming his place on the national squad for Euro 2008 would be in jeopardy if he couldn’t play regular first-team football.

I doubt Angulo’s participation suggests any of the three are back. I think it’s more a matter of numbers. David Villa, Raul Albiol, the injured David Silva and Carlos Marchena were all with the national team for their friendly against France yesterday (along with Albelda, who saw some action for the first time in ages). Angulo was probably just hanging out, kicking balls against the wall when Koeman ruffled his stringy hair and said, ‘C’mon, lad. Have a kick with us.’

Sad, but true. Don’t expect any of these guys back anytime soon.

If you’d like to read more about this debate, check out this article from Goal.com that argues the finer points of the case.

In other news, the club’s looking to take disciplinary actions against loaned-out midfielder Manuel Fernandes and defender Miguel for their involvement in a nightclub incident in which two police officers were allegedly attacked. Good grief!

Manuel’s gone. Miguel’s getting quite pudgy off the paella and whiskey sours he’s drinking at Vivir Sin Dormir. The punishment’s going to be handed out Tuesday, according to Valencia vice president Rafael Salom. The real punishment would be if these guys played for Valencia next season.

Manuel’s too moody, although very talented. And Miguel’s lost it, growing as fast as Ronaldo did in the Galactico days. Better to say goodbye to these two lads, no matter if they were right or wrong in the alleged incident.

This weekend, it’s Real Betis at the Mestalla. Should be a win based on how we’ve been playing lately.

But nothing’s guaranteed in the Land of Koeman. Not even the expulsions of Angulo, Canizares and Albelda. Stay tuned …

In the euphoria of watching my first African Cup of Nations match (Ghana-Nigeria was one of the best football matches I’ve seen in some time) and the New York Giants winning the Super Bowl (WOW!), I didn’t get to watch our beloved Valencia.

But great to see they won 2-0 over Real Valladolid, goals by David Villa (finally!) and Juan Mata. This should take some of the pressure off coach Ronald Koeman, who looked to be headed for the exit a week ago.

From what I read, we played counter attack and hit them for the two goals in the second half. Not easy against a Valladolid side who hadn’t been beaten at home since early October.

The win leaves us four points from a UEFA Cup spot, in 9th place on 30 points. We’re 9 behind Villarreal for the 4th-place spot and a Champions League invite.

In other quick shots, Morientes is back after almost 2 months away and David Silva was knocked around in practice with the national team. Good news and bad news.

In the last bit of happy news, David Albelda’s back. With the national team, not with our beloved.

“It means a lot to me to get the chance to enjoy playing again,” he told Marca.

“Yes, it is strange to not be playing with your club and that is apparent for me. However, I have already gone over a month without it and I am starting accept the fact that I won’t play.”

At least he’s back. And at least he’s smiling again. Good to see the captain playing again …

Wish I had more time, so here’s a short one …

I thought we played sufficient against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. We weren’t great, but we weren’t bad.

Silly first goal, with the ball rolling in off Cleber’s leg. A goal is a goal, though …

Great shot by Mata for our second. Beautiful pass by Banega to the young striker, who rifled it past Falcon for the deciding tally.

Still, although the midfield looked strong (despite errant passes all over the field), our defense is such utter crap.

Helguera is done. The guy can’t even clear a ball off his line. Too often, he’d gift the ball to the Atleti attackers because he couldn’t kick the ball out of his zone.

Miguel is fat. Albiol is still kind of raw and I’m not convinced by Caneira.

Still, we lost but we’re through … and who do we get?

Barcelona.
Fun fun.

I strongly believe Ronnie Koeman’s going to go all out in this tie. He’s going to want to beat his old employers and bring Valencia something from this wretched season. I still see us in the final. I’m confident. Besides, Barca’s going to be concentrating on the league and on the Champions League. They can give this one to us, right? ‘Maletin’ anyone? (Look that one up. I haven’t the time to explain what a ‘maletin’ is right now. Basically, it’s a suitcase full of money, given by a team to another to … help them out … Phil Ball of Soccernet.com fame did a wonderful article a few years back on it … tried to find it but again, haven’t the time).

For all of you in Valencia or planning to go to the Turian capital, the second leg is March 19th, the final day of the wild Las Fallas festival. I had the pleasure of going a few years back and I STRONGLY recommend it.

I was lucky to see Arsenal play Valencia in the Champions League the last day of that year’s festival (called ‘La Nit de Foc,’ the night of fire when the giant papier-mâché structures are burnt to a crisp), a John Carew double sending our boys to the quarters in dramatic, heart-stopping action. The stadium went wild, the city reveled in the last day of the ceremonies, dancing in the streets, drinking wine, setting off firecrackers and burning the large Fallas down to the ground all around the city.

Those were the days, huh?

Let’s see if Mr. Koeman can conjure up some old Fallas magic against his former squad.

Lots to say today.

First off, we really need a victory tomorrow against Atletico Madrid. I’ll be at my local to cheer the lads on. If you’re around, please make sure to come.

This is a tide shifting match. Should we lose, I can honestly see the morale sinking even more, the play bottoming out (even more) and coach Ronald Koeman being sacked. I truly believe his job is on the line the next few weeks.

Reports say we’re in the running again for Jose Mourinho. That’s BS. Why would he come to the sinking ship that is Valencia when he didn’t come to us months ago when we were in a more stable position? That’s not going to happen. Don’t listen to this garbage spewed by the English rumor mill.

But what’s apparent after president Juan Soler ‘gave up’ his power today (more on that later) is that Valencia really want this Copa Del Rey. It’s the only cup we can win this season, the year’s saving grace after all the muck we’ve been through.

You better believe that the squad needs to come out all guns blazing tomorrow. Because another lackluster performance at the Vicente Calderon coupled with some draws or weak losses in the next few weeks and we’ll see Mr. Koeman walk the plank.

It’s do-or-die time for the Dutch handyman.

Speaking of Koeman, he’s not a happy camper these days. Not only is his job in jeopardy, not only is his sparkling blond hair turning gray but he’s angry at the journalists that swarm the Mestalla, claiming they’re raising a ruckus for no reason.

“If a team has a bad run of results then fair enough, but I cannot see how I can be blamed for making two changes when players were injured,” he said, talking about Vicente and David Silva, both unavailable for tomorrow’s match.

“That is what the press have done and they have done it in bad faith.”

Can’t blame him there. The man’s under enormous pressure.

Seeing the press act like it does in Valencia and seeing how the fans react to the squad remind me of the professional sports teams in New York, where I reside.

If a team is doing badly here, the fans let them know it. They’ll boo, they’ll yell profanities, they’ll even throw objects at them! I’m not advocating violence, but I can understand the temptation.

People pay their hard-earned money to be entertained by their favorite teams. When they’re not, they have cause to yell and boo. I’m not sure I understand this oft-mentioned opinion that the clubs should be coddled or made to feel good for simply trying.

This is professional sports, not day care. At the end of the day, these athletes make an inordinate amount of money at our expense. They live lavish lives because we spend our money to watch them play.

I understand the booing, I understand the hankie-waving towards Ronald Koeman and the cries of ‘Koeman Vete Ya!’ It’s tough being a fan and watching the honest yet unemotional play of this Valencia club. Expectations were high. Fans are disappointed.

Speaking of disappointment, Juan Soler has been a huge disappointment since he took over the club in 2004. Today, he gave up day-to-day duties of running the club to three chiefs. The one we need to know about is Rafael Salom, who is now running the sporting side.

This doesn’t mean Soler is gone, that sporting director Miguel Angel Ruiz is fired. What it means is that Soler is now focusing on other things, like lining his fat pockets with even more money (building the new stadium, for example).

It also doesn’t mean he’s selling his shares. The team’s PR man went as far as to say that won’t happen.

Still, this is a move to distance himself from the mess he’s created. How I wish this guy would sell and leave …

Let’s hope for a victory tomorrow. Boo them all you want, but I’d sure like to see them do something worthwhile this season besides fight to stay in La Liga.

Let’s at least try to win the Copa Del Rey!!!

We’re in trouble. Serious trouble.

I didn’t watch the match, but caught the last half commentary online.

Wow. This isn’t good.

We haven’t won a league game in nine matches, since November 10th.
We haven’t scored in 4 home matches, equaling our worst streak since 1993-94.
We’re in serious trouble. 11th place. Still 5 points from the drop zone, thanks to Recreativo’s 3-1 loss to Getafe.

And the Mestalla faithful have lost it, calling for Koeman’s head (Koeman Vete Ya!) much like they called for QQ’s earlier this season.

It’s total and complete chaos in Valencia right now.
We’re a bull running around a small Valencian town, un toro embolado shrieking through the streets destroying everything and everyone it sees.

There’s no direction, there’s no relief in sight and there’s no help coming. We’re in deep, deep trouble.

Silva as central midfielder?
Arizmendi as right back? (All indications were that he was horrible.)
Maduro playing the entire match while Albelda sits and wastes his talents?

We’re in so much trouble right now. And what are we going to do? Fire Koeman?
He’s not leaving, people. Even he said so today after the match …

‘I’m not going to run out of here after two months. I’m not thinking of leaving now or next Wednesday or at the end of the season. I can’t talk about other decisions. My obligation is to work and analyze the matches. I’m not quitting.’

Firing Koeman or wanting him to quit isn’t the solution, anyways … do we really want another guy to come in here and try to fix this mess? Our third coach of the season?

I think the problem lies with Soler. This guy has GOT to go. He’s made horrible decisions since he’s been here.

He’s now equaled the time former president Jaime Orti was here and he’s got nothing on our former leader. He’s made bad transfers, hired awful coaches and mired the team in further debt.

The problem doesn’t lie in Koeman, Albelda, Canizares and the rest (although they’re obviously partly to blame).

The problem lies in the mis-management at the top.

Juan Soler, you have to go. Soler VETE YA!

But even then, what are we doing this season? Where are the solutions coming from?

We’re in serious trouble. I fear for our beloved.

Coach Ronald Koeman seems to think a winning streak in La Liga might catapult us into Champions League contention for next season … You think?? Sorry for being so condescending, but this has been such a long, frustrating season. It’s hard to know what to think about this squad from week to week anymore.

Here’s the thing. We haven’t won a match in La Liga in three and a half months. That’s a VERY long time. We’ve won five straight in the Copa Del Rey, so there’s a bit of confidence in the air ahead of tomorrow’s match against Almeria.

“We have to win the next five matches,” Koeman said. “It’s time to win in the Liga, because we are playing much better.” I agree there …

“The best remedy is to win a match. We’ve improved our play and I really enjoyed how the team played the other day. But our next opponent won’t be easy to defeat, because they will corner themselves. We’ll have to be strong.” I assume by corner he means defend?

The Dutch tactician has been dealt a blow, as captain Ruben Baraja will be out with injury for a month, but Koeman is confident that this will only motivate the other players to step up and take responsibility.

“Injuries are another thing. We are worried, because we’ve lost an important player,” admitted Koeman.

“But we have others to keep on going. He’ll be out three or four weeks. We have more than one leader. That’s how it should be, especially when you have experienced players on the pitch. We won’t have Baraja, but we’ll have some other players.”

“My job is to prepare every match. We can’t think about anything else. We are focused on winning our next game and then we’ll see what happens. I always trained that way.”

We defeated Almeria 2-1 the last time we faced them.

Am I asking for too much by wanting a decisive, well-played victory?

PLEASE???

**NEWSFLASH: I’m still working on this penya thing. I am confused about a few things, so if anyone in Spain can help out, please e-mail me at cesarman@yahoo.com. Thanks!**

Former coach Quique Sanchez Flores did well in the 6 games after the devastating 3-0 loss to Villarreal to open the season.

Recreativo-Valencia 0-1
Valencia-Getafe 2-1
Betis-Valencia 1-2
Schalke 04-Valencia 0-1
Valencia-Valladolid 2-1
Almería-Valencia 1-2

Now if you remember those matches, we didn’t play so hot in all of them.
But we did come out with the maximum 15 points and a victory against Schalke 04 in Germany in the Champions League.

The trouble started on October 3, a 2-1 loss to Chelsea in Europe that sent us on a slide. 4 games later and QQ was gone.

Now current coach Ronald Koeman faces the same schedule, sans the Europe bit of course. And he thinks we shouldn’t be talking about the 15 points QQ garnered, because that would put too much pressure on the team.

Pressure? How about being 5 points from the relegation zone?

I can’t say I blame the guy. He’s trying to build something here and doesn’t need any comparisons to his predecessor, no matter how rubbish he was. Still, let’s hope the pressure of getting to Europe or doing well is enough to spur the team on. Almeria are a mere point behind us, at 26 points in the 10th spot in La Liga. We need points and we need to continue to play as well as we did against Atletico. But like, score more …

Anyways, small news bites:

- No Jo Alves this season. The CSKA striker’s staying with Moscow for now. Apparently the Russian squad wanted too much money. “We rejected Valencia’s offer and Jo will stay in CSKA”, Russian director Evgeny Giner said.
I didn’t see the need for him, anyways. Defender, anyone??

- Ruben Baraja’s hurt. Out for 3-4 weeks. Anyone surprised? He’s so fragile. Hurt almost every other match. Again, why did we let Albelda go and keep this guy?

- Albelda. He’s still here. Will this saga ever end? The transfer window closes in a few days and it looks bad for the Valencia captain. I really hope they can settle this and allow this guy the chance to play so he can qualify for the national team come Euro ‘08. What a shame and what a disgrace by Valencia if he doesn’t.

- Pablo Hernandez. Who’s he? Beats me. But he’s coming back from Getafe to strengthen our midfield. He’s supposedly a very good player and been garnering some flirtatious glances from other Spanish powerhouses.
Now why are we getting rid of Sunny? And what about Montoro, who looked decent enough? The midfield’s a position Koeman wants to improve.

Still, I wonder why we haven’t bid for any defenders.

Imagine 35 mates together in loving harmony & FC BARCELONA
die hard fans. Each also with a life long dream, to put on their footy
uniforms, grab a ball & run onto “Camp Nou” to play a 90 minute
match & score that winning goal. That dream is now possible for the
“economical” price of only 40,000€.

Fc Barcelona has announced to Spanish press that they will make
available their ground from the 11th of May until the 19th of July
for thoses companies or groups wishing to “rent” “Camp Nou” for
a kick around. The 40,000€ is for a group of 35 people, but that can
be rise to 50 people for 49,000€ that also includes a refree, megaphone
announcements, photographer, official diploma & uniform to take home.

The idea comes from the Barça Marketing Dept. & adds another
income source for the club. SFS thinks this will create a trend with other
clubs.

What do you think, shall we get together , call our mates & play a
match?