Join the Euro 2012 Fantasy league

Hi there. I've set up a custom league at Uefa Euro 2012 fantasy league for all you Valencia CF fans. All you need to do is log into your uefa.com account or create an account if you don't have one already.

Join automatically: http://en.euro2012fantasy.uefa.com/my-leagues/35532/join/?autojoin-code=151523-35532

Or join manually: http://en.euro2012fantasy.uefa.com/
The Code to join the league is: 151523-35532

Houston Dynamo vs Valencia CF

THE MATCH

The Houston Dynamo and Valencia CF will play on May 31 in the fourth edition of the BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup. Valencia will be the second European club that the Dynamo have played and the first from Spain's Liga BBVA.

“We are honored and privileged to be hosting such a prominent international soccer club in Valencia,” Dynamo president Chris Canetti said. “Their participation in this match helps bring major credibility to the tradition we are building in this event. We expect that the local soccer community will come out in strong support of this match, the first of its kind in our new stadium.”

Partial proceeds from the match will benefit Junior Achievement, an organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness and financial literacy. In the fall, Dynamo Charities and BBVA Compass will work to create a Business in Sports program with Junior Achievement to help foster and create future entrepreneurs.

In addition, Dynamo Charities and BBVA Compass will hold a food drive on the day of the BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup, with all donations benefiting the local Star of Hope shelter.

Source: http://www.houstondynamo.com/valencia
In Europe time: 01:30CET (1:30 A.M.), 01.06.2012

Valencia CF transfers so far so good

Valencia CF transfers so far have been amazing with the club bringing 3 new players for a total of 6 million euros.

To find out the latest transfers before they even happen head over to the TRANSFERS page.

Jonathan Viera was signed early this month for a fee of 2.5 million euros. He joins from UD Las Palmas and is one of the biggest talents in Spain right now, many considering him to be the next Silva. He has a direct style of play and while not as technically skilled as Silva, he has flair and more strength and brute force. Great signing for Valencia CF and a talent for the future.

Andred Guardado signed a personal deal with Valencia CF over 6 months ago and will become a Valencia CF player officially on 01.07.2012 when his Deportivo La Coruna contract is officially over, but he is for all intense and purposes a Valencia CF player right now. This means he comes for free and after his best season as a player. He scored 11 goals and provided 12 assists for Deportivo this season. He is a great dribbler with amazing speed and acceleration and has also been representing Mexico since 2005 as well. He featured heavily in the golden cup win in 2011.

Joao Pereira comes from Sporting Lisbon for a fee of 3.5 million euros and at the height of his career. For defenders the years from 28 to 32 are the best and so Pereira comes at such a time. He is an explosive players with great attacking prowess, fast and powerful with great crossing ability. He lacks a bit in the defensive department and sometimes tends to forget himself in attack, but is a powerhouse in attack, while with good defensive tactics he can be reliable in defense as well. On one on one situations he tends to be quite good.

Andres Guardado confirms he is coming to Valencia CF

Andres Guardado confirmed that he is coming to Valencia CF while celebrating Deportivo La Coruna's return to the Spanish premier league or La Liga if you will.

Not that we didn't know for at least 6 months, but its nice to have the official confirmation now.

Soldado left out of Spain's squad for Euro 2012

Soldado left out of Spain's Euro 2012 squad in an unbelievable decision by Del Bosque that has the mediocre Pedro who had the worst season get in, as well as Torres who couldn't even get ahead of 34 years old Drogba and even youngster Daniel Sturidge at Chelsea.

It is now official, Del Bosque has no clue what he is doing and should be sacked immediately after the Euro 2012. He even picked Negredo over Soldado in what is a terrible decision that's shocked the whole world.

I don't see anyone defending his decision to remove Soldado and all over the media and fan sites people are furious over this ridiculous decision.

Jordi Alba did make it though, but I think the decision to leave out Soldado would and should cost Del Bosque his job and probably the title.

Valencia CF accept Fenerbahce offer for Topal

Turkish media report that Valencia CF has accepted the 8 million offer by Fenerbahce for Mehmet Topal. But reports could actually be wrong as the Fenerbahce president wasn't clear with his words and it could actually mean that they signed Tino Costa which would be more logical as Tino Costa wanted to leave and Valencia CF sporting director Braulio Vazquez said they would listen to offers for him.

So to me it seems that Fenerbahce have probably signed Tino Costa, and not Mehmet Topal as that would leave us with only one defensive midfielder in Albelda who is in the retiring years now and Maudro is not likely to sign a contract extension, so it makes no sense to tell Topal, unless they plan to bring in Bruno Soriano which as I've written previously is a possibility.

Valencia CF season 2011/12 awards

Valencia has ended the season in 3rd place in the Spanish premier league and is directly going to the Uefa Champions League without having to go through one qualifier.

So who was the best summer signing for Valencia CF and who was the best player through this whole season, how do we come to such a conclusion!? Do you look at the official statistics, personal ratings, overall skill, team work all of the above or a mix of some.

Well I'll be looking at the official statistics, my own ratings I give to the players and just generally assessing who did better with the amount of playing time he got.

Best Valencia CF signing for the 2011/12 season

The three runners for the best signing in the 2010/11 season are: Diego Alves, Victor Ruiz and Adil Rami


Diego Alves came as a big reinforcement from Almeria, after a season of goalkeeper injuries and still 4 goalkeepers available who didn't know their future. Eventually only Guaita remained and Diego Alves because the second goalkeeper. Diego Alves became the reserve as Guaita was given the reign, following his previous amazing season, althiugh Guaita would get injured and Diego Alves took over the first position. He was instant success and carried over from Guaita with no problem, although some fans were questioning his abilities at crosses and turth be told his goal kicks were terrible, often giving the ball away or ending up outside.
Really where Diego shone was in the Champions League after Guaita's return and he had a point to prove as he was second in La Liga, but Emery gave him the reign in the other competition and Diego performed exceptionally, getting interest from some of the big clubs and the attention of the Brazilian national coach as well, who called him up to the national team.

Victor Ruiz came as a celebrated defensive reinforcement with his defensive play known from his Espanyol days and people were confident he will excel. Victor Ruiz did not disappointing and alongside Adil Rami formed a formidable partnership that produced excellent results. Victor Ruiz'es speed and fast reaction time coupled with Adil Rami's strength kept the goal safe. While his start was amazing, the second half of the season was rather rocky for Ruiz as he got injured and when he came back from injury he wasn't the same. Some from lack of fitness, other from lack of form and playing time, he started making many mistakes. Ultimately Ruiz had a great season and knowing the circumstances in which he faltered its hard to blame him.

Adil Rami was singed from Lille six months before the summer, but he only came in the summer and so he is qualified as a new signing in the 2011/12 season. Adil Rami was the big reinforcement, the guy supposed to fix our defensive problems and while I was not convinced, all of the fans seemed certain. He started in an amazing fashion, similarly to Ruiz as they formed a great partnership and were rock solid at defense. Rami's strength and physicality made him a force in the aerial battle and hard to beat past. As Ruiz, Adil Rami started weaker in the second half of the season and coupled with his regular mistakes and lapses of concentration he was becoming a liability.

Towards the end he got partnered with Ricardo and his games improved, managing to close out a what was overall a great debut season for Rami.

The best summer signing is: Diego Alves
Diego Alves had tough competition in Guaita and it would be details and preference on who is actually better, but he held his own. He excelled in the Champions League, did great replacing Guaita when he was injured, made some fantastic and exciting saves and most importantly did not make too many mistakes. He also improved his goal kicks and distribution and is a pretty big asset for Valencia CF. He beat out the likes of Ruiz and Rami as they both made some glaring individual mistakes and their form dropped significantly towards the end. Plus at only 3 million euros he was a steal.

Best Valencia CF player in the 2011/12 season

The three runners for the best player award are: Roberto Soldado, Jordi Alba and Jonas Goncalves


Roberto Soldado won last year's best summer signing and so by that virtue alone it should have been known that he is going to be a major factor this season and he was. Roberto Soldado is the club's top goalscorer again with 16 goals in La Liga and 27 goals in all competitions. Contrary to the last season Roberto Soldado actually started the campaign in good form scoring 3 goals in the 'first' match and becoming most consistent throughout the middle of the season with goals in several matches, culminating with being called to the Spanish national team and scoring a hat trick on his debut. It is actually towards the end of the season that his form dropped and the goals dried up, but one can argue that the whole team was shutting down towards the end. Overall it was another successful season for Soldado, but he will be looking and hoping to increase his goal tally in La Liga.

Jordi Alba overtakes Guaita as this season runner for best player mostly because Guaita was injured for a long time. Jordi Alba is also third on my player ratings beating out non other than Guaita for the third spot. But not only that, Jordi has had a breakout season and has been making the left back position his own, while Mathieu has either played left wing or has been inconsistent. Jordi Alba has been consistent, reliable and safe at the same time and while he is not an attacking wizard or close, his strength lies in his calmness, consistency and on average good crosses. His performances have earned him a call up to the Spanish national side and he is likely to be the starting left back for Spain, which says a lot. Barcelona are also after him and this speaks volumes about Jordi's quality. Having 5 assists and scoring 3 goals in La Liga don't hurt either.

Jonas Goncalves fought off Adil Rami, Sofiane Feghuoli and Ever Banega to be in the running for best player  as Rami was not consistent, Feghuoli stats were more lacking and Banega simply did not play enough to be able to judge him completely. Jonas arrived from Gremio for 1.2 millions a real steal for anyone's standards. Last year I had him close to the bottom in the player ratings and his performances were poor, but this season he has been an integral part of Valencia CF and has started most of the matches. 

Jonas has scored 9 goals and provided 6 assists in La Liga or 23 goals and 10 assist in all competitions, no small feat by any standards. So while his play on the ball is mostly limited, he has shown to have great creativity and quick thinking to create chances. 

The best Valencia CF player is: Jordi Alba
Last season Juan Mata won this prestigious award from me and got sold to Chelsea, who then went on to win the Champions League with Mata's help and he was the second best chances creator, behind another former Valencia CF player Silva in the Premier League. These two were also top assistors in the Premier League, so by Jordi Alba winning best Valencia CF player this season, will he have the same faith and be sold to Barcelona and go on to win trophy's? 

It was a very tough choice, some players didn't even get in the running due to extraordinary circumstances, but Jordi Alba deserves this more than anybody else.  He is still very young, only 23 years old and while he shows amazing play, he still has so much more potential. Last season he showed flashes of his potential and skill, but this season he has become consistent and reliable and has attracted interest from top clubs like Barcelona, not to mention he is now a standard player for the Spanish team, a giant task for any player. Obviously a long term player for Valencia CF to build a team around.

The worst Valencia CF player for 2010/11 season

The three runners for the worst player of the season are: Miguel Brito, Aritz Aduriz and Tino Costa.


Miguel Brito has been a star in the last two season and not in a good way. He has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, from shooting in Disco clubs, to running over old ladies to fights at clubs, to coming late at training it has been a disaster after a disaster. He actually started the season great and made a commitment to work hard and focus on the sporting matters this season, but that didn't last too long. After an injury he got back to his old ways and sufficive to say he hasn't played ever since. While not a bad player, his off field semantics and unprofessional attitude make him a prime target for the worst player. 

Aritz Aduriz has had a bad season, even worse than his last. Last season he at least started well and was quite useful in a dozen of matches, but this season every time he's been given a chance, he

s failed to use it. His goal scoring tally in La Liga is 7 goals a rather modest number and in all competitions he has scored a total of 9 goals. He is also once again, similarly to last season towards the bottom of my rankings.

Tino Costa did exceptionally well last season when he first came to Valencia CF, competing for the best summer signing and being edged out by Roberto Soldado. What a difference a year makes though as this season he's been a shadow of his former self with terrible performances, lazy performances in training and some altercations with Unai emery over his attitude. Simply put Tino Costa is the opposite of what he was last season. His performances have been erratic, unreliable and outright terrible.

The worst Valencia CF player is: Miguel Brito

While Aritz Aduriz and Tino Costa had a bad season, they were at least somewhat useful and could be relied upon to at least show up. With Miguel Brito this just hasn't been the case. One can forgive one season of bad behavior, but two seasons of the outmost terrible behavior can't be overlooked. Miguel has basically been a passenger with Valencia CF as he hasn't helped the team in any ways and has been taking things way too lightly and nonchalantly.

There can be no doubt that Miguel Brito is the worst Valencia CF player for the 2011/12 season.

Revelation of the season: Sofiane Feghuoli
Biggest disappointment of the season: Daniel Parejo


Season 2010/11 awards

Official: Valencia CF sign Joao Pereira

Valencia CF has reached an agreement with Sporting Clube de Portugal for the transfer of right back Joao Pereira, who becomes new Valencia player for the next three seasons plus an option for a fourth season.

The transfer fee is 3.5 million euros and is basically a steal from Sporting. Joao Pereira said he was "very happy to come to a big club like Valencia and a league as competitive and demanding as the Spanish." For its part, the sporting director of Valencia CF, Braulio Vazquez, said he was "very satisfied with the recruitment of a player who is fixed in its selection, which has completed a great season and reaching the club with great ambition and its full football "

Joao Pereira wasn't the first choice for Valencia CF as the club tried to sign Van Der Wiel for two months, but failed to reach an agreement over the transfer fee with Ajax, they also looked at Mathieu Debuchy, but Lille wasn't willing to sell before the Euro 2012 and Valencia CF went with the third and cheapest option of Joao Pereira.

Portland 0-1 Valencia CF - Match Report

Valencia CF win their first match  out of two on the US tourney with a goal by Aritz Aduriz in the first half of the match.

Soldado all but certain to feature on Euro 2012

Yesterday Barcelona's doctor reported that Villa is not ready to play for Spain, which was followed by David Villa himself on twitter saying that he tried to be ready, but ultimately is not 100% fit to play for Spain.

This will all but cement Soldado's place in Spain's squad for Euro 2012 and would also probably mean that Torres will also be called to the squad as Villa is gone. So with two slots open chances are looking great and only if Del Bosque decided to bring back Pedro from Barcelona and pick Negredo over Soldado will Soldado not feature.

So far Roberto Soldado has trained for few days with Spain, alongside Jordi Alba.

Espanyol wants Chori Dominguez

Espanyol is interested in Chori Dominguez as they look to strengthen their squad for the coming season. They lack most in the attack and so they have identified Chori Dominguez as the perfect reinforcement.

While I know most would cheer at this idea, it is said that Pellegrino is a fan of his compatriot Chori and is looking to integrate him into the Valencia CF squad.

Fenerbahce to buy Mehmet Topal?

Spanish website Superdeporte reports that Turkish club Fenerbahce has a 7 million offer ready for Valencia CF defensive midfielder Mehmet Topal and is their prime target to get this summer.

Mehmet Topal didn't play too many matches this season and his quality dropped down a bit from last season, and the fact that he is from Turkey means that he wouldn't be too opposed to leave Valencia CF.

Turkish offer for Tino Costa

Spanish radio station "Nou" claims that as of now an unnamed Turkish club has offered 6 million euros for Tino Costa. This is probably true, as radio station Nou have been pretty accurate in all of their reports.

Tino Costa has said that he will be looking for offers as he was not pleased this year with his playing time, although I wish he'd actually his performances and how bad they were this years, instead of blaming everyone else for his weakness and bad play.

Anyways he is probably going to reject any offer coming from Turkey as he is hoping to get an offer from France from Lille, Sochaux or Montepellier.

Valencia CF offers Maduro a contract extension

Superdeporte reports that Valencia CF have offered Hedwiges Maduro a two years contract extension. Maduro is right now in Holland working with his national team and has said that he wants to continue somewhere where he'll get more playing time so he doesn't loose his chances for playing for Holland.

Hedwiges Maduro is going to make a decision in at most two weeks and we'll see what his decision will be, but don't be surprised if he decides to leave, although so far no team has shown interest for him.

Valencia CF players 2011/12 season ratings

Here are the ratings for all players over the season. Note that I failed to watch and/or rate the players at all matches, so this year the ratings aren't as telling for the players performance as last year. Also remember that some players have played only one or few games, so high score with few games doesn't mean anything.

Still though its a pretty good measurement and I will be taking these ratings, statistical data, other ratings and deep analysis to come up with the best player this season.

I've also put up a poll to gauge the public opinion on who is the best player and so far the poll results are very equal.

Valencia CF - USA tourney

Valencia CF will have a tour of the USA that will be held from 25.05 to 01.06 this year. Valencia CF is going to play two friendlies on this tour against Portland and Houston Dynamo.

Valencia CF sporting director Braulio Vazquez said that this trip is very important and with it Valencia CF will be expanding its market to the USA and later to Asia expanding both these markets.

Host of Valencia CF in the USA will be former Valencia CF player Mario Kempes who now works for the sports network ESPN.

Players traveling to the USA tourney:

•  D. Alves
•  Guaita
•  Barragán
•  Miguel
•  Joel
•  Dealbert
•  Victor Ruiz
•  Pardo
•  Mathieu
•  Albelda
•  Portu
•  Tino Costa
•  Dalmau
•  Pablo
•  Carles Gil
•  Piatti
•  Parejo
•  Jonas
•  Aduriz

Andres Guardado travels to Valencia

Spanish website Joranda reports that Andres Guardado has been given time off to come to Valencia. While not certainly known the exact reasons, it is widely believed that he has come to Valencia CF to finish up the last details of his contract with Valencia CF.

It was reported for more than half a year now that Guardado has signed a contract with Valencia CF and that he'd join the team first thing, so the fact that he has traveled to Valencia is not surprising.

Adnres Guarado's contract with Deportivo La Coruna officially expires on 30 June, so therefore he probably can not become a Valencia CF player earlier. So far it is looking certain that he has indeed finalized any details about his contract and is a safe bet that he'll become a Valencia CF player in a month or two.

Valencia CF interested in Raul Garcia

Rumors are flying is Spain that Valencia CF is interested in Raul Gracia who was playing for on loan for Osasuna this season, but is owned by Atletico Madrid. Raul Gracia was considered big talent few years back and Valencia CF lost the bid to get him to Atletico Madrid, but he hasn't shown the kind of games Atletico expected from him and with the arrival of few new players last season they loaned him out.

He's so far excelled at Osasuna and seems Valencia CF is interested of acquiring his services or maybe Valencia CF is playing this tactically trying to lover the cost of Borja Valero who Valencia CF also wants to sign.

Valencia CF season 2012/13 dress introduced

Valencia CF officially introduced the new season 2012/13 dress. The new dress is white with 4 thin black stripes around it at the front, nice looking V at the neck piece and the sponsors are nicely implemented. The shorts are black with white stripes at the bottom and the socks are white with thick black stripes at the top.

Overall the dress is looking good and especially the shirt. We have yet to see how the away dress will look and the third dress, if there is a third dress that is.

Jonathan Viera passes medical

Jonathan Viera passed the medical exam today and officially became a Valencia CF players. He signed a contract that would have him stay at Valencia CF for 5 years.

He said that he always wanted to play for some of the big clubs in Spain and that his wish had been fulfilled by coming to Valencia CF.
He said that its going to be hard for him here with all the competition to play, but that he came here to improve and become even better player.
He mentioned that he talked to David Silva as he helped him to make the decision to join Valencia, and that Silva has some good advice for him on how to succeed in Valencia.

Poll Results for Mauricio Pellegrino

So I have the results for our latest poll, about Mauricio Pellegrino. Overwhelmingly with 51% of the vote "Risky choice" was the answer, out of a total of 72 votes.

 

Mauricio Pellegrino?

Good choice  30.56%  (22 votes)  

 

Bad choice  5.56%  (4 votes)  

 

Risky choice  54.17%  (39 votes)  

 

Don't know  9.72%  (7 votes)  

 

 

Total Votes: 72

Dealbert, Bruno and others leaving Valencia CF

The season is over and its time for the usual summer transfers and moves. In Valencia CF we have few players that will be leaving this summer as free agents and these are Angel Dealbert, Bruno Saltor, Miguel Brito and very likely Hedwiges Maduro, while Aritz Aduriz is looking likely to be sold and Jordi Alba is a mystery and will depend if Barcelona get Gareth Bale.

So right now Valencia CF is looking for a new right back and has been looking for some time now with the choice between Mathieu Debuchy and Joao Pereira. Since Dealbert has confirmed he is leaving this season, we are looking at additional center back to replace him with Alberto Botia from Sporting Gijon the prime target as his team has been relegated and he would be the perfect replacement as a young and talented player, but that can sit on the bench.

Miguel Brito is most certainly a done deal, although we haven't heard much about it from the club or anything from the player, and then here is Maduro who would like to get more first team football and will probably be moving back to Holland. Most likely we are going to bring in a replacement for Maduro who can compete for first team football and that player is Bruno Soriano from Villarreal who have now been relegated and are going to be selling some of their best players this season due to the relegation, but from financial reasons as well.

Aritz Aduriz has said that he will talk to the club about his future, but it is known that the team is looking to replace Aduriz, but only if they find a suitable replacement. If Aduriz leaves he will most likely go to Atletico Bilbao or in the Premier League.
The name mentioned to replace Aduriz is Oliver Giroud, but he is likely to cost too much and has offers from other clubs as well ans his price can only skyrocket after the Euro 2012, unless of course France embarrass themselves once again, which is highly unlikely.

Villarreal relegated, Bruno on target to become Valencia CF player

And this is it. The Spanish Premiera Division is officially over and we are literally minute or two away from the crowning of the deserved winners Real Madrid.

The good news of some are devastating news for others and Atletico Madrid winning over Villarreal 1-0 and going to the Europa League for a chance to defend their title is devastating news for Villarreal as they are being relegated, after they were fighting for top 6 spots last year. How things can change in one year and so drastically.

This opens up the door for Valencia CF to come in and swoop Bruno Soriano on the cheap and as a very good replacement to Maduro as well, who is going to be on his way out this summer.

Premier League fantasy Valencia CF fans group

The Premier League is over and here is the Valencia CF group that I've started.Congratulations to Night Elf who managed River Plate on winning the first season of valencia cf fans fantasy premier league group.

I finished 8th and its a decent result, I especially started off very strong, but fizzled out because of my bad choices for captains.

Johnnie Walker with Drunken Bastards finished dead last in what was a close call battle with Siva's CSK.

#	Team	Manager	GW	TOT
	1	River Plate		0	2,005
	2	AmuntLosche		0	2,002
	3	Aimar's Assassins		0	1,897
	4	Anfield Soldiers		0	1,857
	5	AMUNT VALENCIA!		0	1,811
	6	LosChé77		0	1,765
	7	Pickup's Team		0	1,729
	8	Valencia CF		0	1,723
	9	Weird_Fishes		0	1,713
	10	BK Bollrullers		0	1,687
	11	Syriansk Valencia		0	1,641
	12	FC Chopsticks		0	1,638
	13	Валенсия C.F.		0	1,621
	14	Valencia CF		0	1,618
	15	PWND FC		0	1,597
	16	LA Reds		0	1,596
	17	AmuntValencia		0	1,547
	18	Beating Chastards		0	1,535
	19	CSK		0	1,336
	20	Drunken Basterds FC		0	1,334

Real Sociedad 1-0 Valencia CF - Player Ratings

Diego 6 - Had 2 good saves, but couldn't do much about the goal. Didn't have too much to do.
Bruno 5.5 - Wasn't troubled at the back at all, but he still failed to go forward often and when he did, wasn't at all threatening.
Costa 6 - Solid defensively and dealt with everything Sociedad could throw at him. Not at fault for the goal.
Dealbert 5.5 - Was slow to react for the goal and could have made a difference if he was more reactive. Did well with few challenges.
Alba 6 - Mixed bag performance, in some cases he did very well and in others rather poor.
Maduro 6 - Had one crucial intervention in defense and generally dealt with Sociedad's midfield, but nothing to brag home about.
Tino 5.5 - Not too influential, mixed bag with the corners, one decent free kick towards the end and rather uninventive passing sums up Tino's performance.
Feghuoli 7.5 (MofM) - Best performer of the night, before being substituted by Emery early on in the second half. Had some nice accurate crosses, linked up play with Bernat and Pablo and popped up in dangerous positions.
Bernat 6 - Was quite good for his time on the pitch and caused Sociedad quite a few problems. Made few amateur mistakes, but that's just the process of learning. Good overall showing.
Pablo 5 (FotM) - Started really bad, missing passes, loosing the ball, making the wrong decisions. Improved a bit in the second half, but ultimately a failed performance.
Aduriz 5 - Missed a sitter in the first half where he could have sit, order coffee, drink it and decide where to shoot, he decided to lob and utterly failed at that with the ball going out. Had two decent headers, but quite ineffective.
Subs:
Jonas 5 - Wasn't too involved, had two shots that did nothing. Poor performance.
Piatti 5.5 - More involved than Jonas and had few nice plays and sort of one-twos, ran at Sociedad's defense, but ultimately didn't achieve much.
Paco N/A - Not enough time, although if he was introduced sooner or even started instead of Aduriz, I feel like he would have probably scored a goal, as his running was pretty intelligent and dangerous.

I was right about Barcelona and La Liga

Before the start of the 2011/12 season I wrote an article titled "Valencia CF will destroy FC Barcelona"and while this was to gain attention more than anything, I was right about the premise about Barcelona's fall this season and everything happened exactly as I wrote. David Villa got to a really bad start and then got injured long term, Xavi started well, but finished bad, Puyol was riddled with injuries and wasn't at full form even when fit, Inesita predictably didn't perform to his best when without Xavi, Pedro turned out to be a flop just like Bojan Krkic and the arrival of Cesc Fabregas actually turned out to hurt Barcelona more than help.

I know many are now probably wondering what in the hell am I talking about? How has Cesc arrival been bad for Barcelona?

Well thing is I knew about Cesc possible arrival before I wrote the article and I knew it is a high possibility, but I knew that ultimately it won't make a difference, because I knew about Guardiola's wish to play "total football" or have the whole team be basically midfielders, but I knew that this will also be his downfall as it would only crowd the midfield and hinder Barcelona's own play and style. I knew it Guardiola would play Cesc alongside Xavi and Iniesta and Busquets and I knew that he will be playing the 3-4-3 often this season and this is why I wrote the article confident about it, whether Cesc arrived or not.

I also predicted that Valencia CF would come closer to Barcelona and Real Madrid and this was actually the case in the first half of the season. What exactly happened in the second half I am still not exactly sure, but point is this was still a more successful season that last year for example as we went further in the Copa and Europa League, than in recent years. While Valencia did not destroy Barcelona, it did come out as equal on 3 occasions and some may argue even better in at least one.

I also predicted that Real Madrid would win La Liga and that is now confirmed.

Stay tuned for end of season awards and choosing of our best player this season, best newcomers and worst player of the season.

Valencia CF interested in Joao Pereira

Spanish club Valencia CF is interested in securing the services of Sporting's Lisbon right back Joao Pereira (28) and is reportedly ready to offer up to 6 million euros for the player.

Joao Pereira is 28 years old and has played for Sporting Lisbon since 2010, joining the Portugal national team at the same year and appearing 13 times for Portugal.

Valencia CF sporting director Braulio Vazquez confirmed Valencia's interest in Joao Pereira, but said they'll wait until Valencia CF new coach Mauricio Pellegrino to have the last say and he will be able to choose between few players for that position with the biggest names being Joao Pereira and Mathieu Debuchy.

Jinko Solar extends contract with Valencia CF

Chinese solar company Jinko Solar has extended the collaboration with Valencia CF until 2014. Jinko Solar became Valencia CF sponsor this year at the start of the second half of the season and with Valencia's good showing in the Europa League Jinko Solar has decided the exposure is big to extend the contract for two more years.

Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente said that this is a great collaboration, he said he was sure Valencia CF will keep improving and growing together with Jinko Solar.
Jinko Solar Spanish director of marketing Arturo said that Valencia CF is one of the best and most known clubs in Europe, has huge fanbase of millions of people and it made sense to continue the collaboration.

Mauricio Pellegrino is Valencia CF new coach

Former Valencia CF player Mauricio Pellegrino will be Valencia CF new coach, according to few Spanish websites. Now while this isn't official, its very likely this is the case.

Pellegrino played for Valencia CF from 1999 to 2005, being in the team that reached two Champions League finals and of course from year 2000 pairing Ayala as the back and winning two Spanish League titles.

He had a short stint at Liverpool, but it didn't turn out well and he ended his career one year later at Alaves.

He has worked as a coach since 2007 coaching one of Valencia's youth teams, and then in 2008 joining Rafael Benitez as assistant at Liverpool and then Inter.

Official: Jonathan Viera joins Valencia CF

Its official, Jonahtan Viera is a Valencia CF player. Valencia CF and UD Las Palmas have reached an agreement over the transfer of attacking midfielder Jonathan Viera for a price of 2.5 million euros.

The transaction includes a payment schedule that begins with the release of one million euros to sign the contract. During the season 2012/2013, Valencia will face paying another million euros. The remaining 500,000 euros paid in two installments, € 250,000 each, the first two times the club reach the Champions League over the next five years, or in case of transfer.

Jonathan Viera is 22 years old attacking midfielder who started his career at UD Las Palams B team, but in just two years was promoted to the senior team where he has played two years and scored 15 goals for that time.

The agreement will be officially announced at a press conference in few days.

Valencia CF interested in Oliver Giroud

Valencia CF is interested in Montepellier attacker Oliver Giroud who is one of the top scorers in the French league with 19 goals scored, but who also has 8 assists and is considered an overall great player who can score and create opportunities.

Valencia CF plans to sign a new striker in the summer, as its likely that Aritz Aduriz will leave as he has not shown the kind of games that the club officials expected and in down is scoring as well.
Oliver Giroud is 1.92 meters and is considered the perfect replacement as he is good in the air, but possesses good technical ability as well.

Valencia CF is said to be prepared to offer up to 10 million euros for the player and not a penny more, while also having good alternatives if they fail to reach an agreement with Montepiller for the price of the player.

Valencia CF 4-0 Osasuna - player ratings

Guaita 5 - Not tested at all. I think he only had to make 2 easy saves.
Barragan 6 - Not troubled defensively at all and went forward to good extend, linking up nicely with Pablo.
Rami 6 - Easy match for Rami as he wasn't troubled and dealt with what little came his way nicely.
R. Costa 6 - Same as Rami. Dealt with what little had to deal with nicely.
Alba 8.5 (MotM) - Amazing play by Alba and one that attracts big sides like Barcelona to him. Great offensive display with blistering fast movement, good crosses and great link up play with Piatti. Provided one assist and involved in all but one of the goals.
Albelda 5.5 - Not troubled defensively, although he broke up few Osasuna attacks. Generally a useful asset and assisted with the passing in midfield.
Tino Costa 5.5 - A bit more offensive, some decent crosses, but wasn't instrumental in the play or the win.
Pablo 7.5 - Great performance tonight for the under pressure winger and performances like this help bring the confidence in him. Good crosses and play with Barragan on the side, caused Osasuna problems throughout.
Jonas 6.5 - Reserved performance in the first half, wasting some good chances, similar play in the second half until he found himself in the right place at the right time on two occasions and scored two goals.
Mathieu 5 - Probably played more defense this match, but didn't offer anything and wasn't challenged at the back. Replaced early and justifiably by Piatti.
Soldado 5 (FotM) - Had two decent chances, but failed to convert them into goals. Generally slow and clumsy, he is obviously out of form.
Subs:
Piatti 7.5 - Great performance from the little Argentinian, amazing link-up play with Alba on the left and started off two of the actions that lead to goals and provided the assist to the third goal.
Aduriz 7.5 - Changed the game. Was there to score the first goal and that changed the game completely. Scored one more and involved with the fourth goal.
Parejo 5 - Didn't have much time to influence the game and actually failed to do so. If it was up to him Valencia would have probably drawn.