Vicente Guaita first choice for FC Barcelona

Valencia CF goalkeeper Vicente Guaita is the first choice for FC Barcelona as the replacement for Victor Valdez. Guaita hasn't featured prominently this season and has changed places with Diego Alves, but is still considered one of the top goalkeepers in Spain and his youth is reason why many clubs, including Barcelona want him as he can still improve.

FC Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta sees Vicente Guaita as the perfect replacement for Victor Valdez and the fact that he hasn't featured too much for Valencia CF makes him the perfect candidate as his transfer fee won't be too much and his salary is also on the low side, which going to FC Barcelona is likely to double, if not more.

Vicente Guaita has has that he is happy at Valencia CF, but that is likely nothing more than lip service as he hasn't featured much and his form has been dropping as result. Plus at FC Barcelona he is going to be the undisputed first choice and the big salary and the chance to win trophy's are all giant reasons to leave Valencia CF and I wouldn't blame him, he hasn't been first choice for a year and a half and his salary is very poor compared to even other Valencia CF players.

Valencia CF 2-1 Valladolid Match Report

Valencia CF score an important win this weekend and just in the nick of time as the match was just about to finish and goes closer to securing that 4th place that leads to the Champions League. Valencia CF still needs few more wins to secure 4th place and with fewer and fewer matches it has to win the next 3 in order to even have a chance. The crucial match will be against Malaga in two weeks time and a win against them could mean Valencia CF takes a significant lead over them, before facing Real Sociedad the 4th places team right now and scoring a win there as well would for the first time this season put Valencia CF in a good position to finish 4th and secure that Champions League spot.

This match against Valladolid started slow as most of the play was in the middle of the pitch with the occasional forwards runs for Valencia CF. The biggest action would come in the 20th minute from the left with Canales racing down the left wing and crossing the ball into the penalty area towards Soldado and Jonas. Then minute later Canales once again with a chance, but his shot was blocked and the rebound going to Soldado as well.

Jonas would poke here and there in the penalty area, but nothing concrete and then in the 31st minute Soldado heads the ball from a cross wide off the goal. Valencia CF had the initiative and ball control, but none of the players were creative enough to make something happen, with Canales and Jonas sporadically having decent chances.

Then in the 38th minute own goal by M. Balenziaga to put Valencia CF 1-0 up against Valladolid.

Towards the end Soldado would find himself with a good chances after a great pass by Feghouli, but his shot was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the few minutes to the half time break nothing happened and Valencia CF went into the break with a small 1-0 lead.

The second half started much like the first with slow play and mostly in the middle, though Valladolid did seem more active the starting 10 minutes, before falling back again and defending. Soldado would receive the ball in the penalty area in the 56th minute, but he was brought down and penalty awarded. He stepped up and took the penalty, only for his shot to be saved by the goalkeeper.

Valladolid would punish Valencia CF for the missed penalty and wasted chances and they would score an equalizer in the 70th minute with a goal by Oscar, after a fast counter attack by Valladolid on the left wing.

Ernesto Valverde would bring on Viera for Canales and Banega for Tino Costa and this would have a positive impact on the match as Valencia CF started playing with more urgency and Viera was providing good support and passes, especially the one to Soldado who only managed to shoot wide from the chance.

When all seemed lost and Valencia CF destined for another poor result and falling further behind in the fight for Champions League football, then after a failed attack by Valladolid, Ever Banega brought the ball out of Valencia's side, started a counter attack and gave the ball to Viera who ran on the right wing and his crossed found Jonas who headed the ball into the net to win the game for Valencia CF.

Player Ratings:
Guaita 5.5 - Rarely called into action and had very little chance to stop the goal.
Joao Pereira 5.5 - Went forward as he had very little to do defensively, but wasn't as effective as he usually is.
Rami 5.5 - Very little to do, but still made one or two mistakes.
Mathieu 5 - Out of position for the goal and had another blunder when he failed to head clear the ball, allowing a chance for Valladolid.
Guardado 5.5 - Rarely troubled at the back, but his forward arrays were limited and not dangerous.
Tino Costa 5 - Didn't contribute much to the match and apart from few defensive runs was ineffective. Had several poor shots from long range as well, killing off what could have been good actions.
Parejo 5.5 - Little better than Tino Costa and spread the ball better, but was also limited and played overall mediocre.
Feghouli 5.5 - Few runs down the right and few decent combinations with Joao, but that was it. I really wonder if Feghouli is our best right winger and if he is, we have poor competition.
Canales 6 - One of the more effective players on the field and most of the actions went through him, but didn't have they key pass to really make a difference.
Jonas 7.5 - Was very active throughout the match and was the main goal threat for Valencia CF, having few chances and shots from difficult positions. Scored the winner.
Soldado 5 - Poor performance by Soldado and I question his inclusion in the team, especially so soon after recovering from injury. Missed a penalty and scrambled few chances that went his way.
Subs:
Viera 7 - Great game by Viera, getting in on the action immediately and providing few very good passes, particularly one to Soldado, before providing the assist to Jonas for the goal.
Banega 5.5 - Was more involved in the match than Tino was and started the action that lead to the winning goal. Apart from that had few misplaced passes, but added more urgency to the game.
Valdez N/A - Too little time.

Official: Manuel Llorente resigns

Wow huge news this morning, Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente has resigned from his position effective immediately. It was known that he was on hard times and could have had challenge for the presidential position, but no one expected him to resign.

At a press conference Manuel Llorente officially confirmed his resignation and said that he thought a lot about the decision, but ultimately he knew he had no to little support in the management and thus decided to give the reign to someone else, rather than try and fight the opposition, as he said to help Valencia CF and for the club to make progress.

The new president will be Fernando Giner until the summer where elections will take place to choose the new president. José Antonio García Moreno, has also resigned from his status as vice president.

What turn of events, this was very unexpected and very sudden. If Manuel Llorente thinks that this is the way forward and it would ultimately benefit the club, I'm okay with it, but hopefully Valencia CF will get a new president that will be great and maybe even have a good plan, though that is very unlikely.

Jonathan Viera future uncertain

Jonathan Viera unsatisfied at Valencia CF

Joantahn Viera who arrived just last summer from Las Palmas is already uncertain about his future at Valencia CF, having been left out from the squad for most of the matches. In fact he hasn't featured in a match since early last year and most of his appearances have been substitutions with only about 10-15 minutes time.

Jonathan Viera is worried about his situation and has talked to his agent in order to inquire if his services are going to be needed or not. He's been told that he is going to be used more often and the coach Ernest Valverde talked to him this week, but we'll see if its just false promises of more playing time or if he will start featuring more.

Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente head already hurts with the problems around Juan Bernat and Adil Rami, so having one more unsatisfied player is not what he would want, especially if he is to be challenged this summer for the presidency, which we'll see what happens now that the Valencian government owns the club.

Juan Bernat thinking about leaving Valencia CF

Valencia CF youth player Juan Bernat has not been satisfied with the low amount of playing time he's been getting recently and is not satisfied with the situation. The last match Juan Bernat played was against Mallorca  in which he spend only 35 minutes as he was the sacrificial player in order to bring Ruiz, after Tino Costa red card.
Since that moment Bernat has not played even a single minute and usually Jonas has been starting on the left position, though Jonas is not a wide player and tends to go in the middle and run in the penalty area.

Juan Bernat has thus talked to Valencia CF coach Ernesto Valverde and has been told that he will get his chance and that he just needs to continue working hard.

Chances are and this is my personal understanding that Juan Bernat will be loaned out in the summer, as will Paco once again until they get a lot more experience and iron out their mistakes.

Adil Rami to leave if Valencia CF doesn't qualify for Champions League

Valencia CF central defender Adil Rami has threatened the club that he will leave if the team does not qualify for Champions League football. Adil Rami's transfer fee is reduced every year and he is looking to use this to  leave Valencia CF is the club doesn't play in the Champions League.

Valencia CF president and sporting direcotr Manuel Llorente and Braulio Vazquez want to extend Adil Rami's contract since they want to keep the Frenchmen at Valencia CF, but the negotiations have been complicated by Rami and can only conclude after the Spanish championship is over.

Braulio Vazquez will offer Adil Rami improved salary and more bonuses and extend his contract by 3 years with once again a diminishing value of the transfer fee. Adil Rami rejected a big salary offer from Russia in the summer though and the most important thing for him is the sporting conditions. 

Real Madrid was interested in him and may move in the summer to try and get him, of course the officials at Valencia CF are expecting this and are looking at several defensive options in Spain and abroad to replace Adil Rami is he leaves.

Aurelien Chedjou to join Valencia CF?

Valencia CF is interested in 27 years old  Cameroonian football player Aurélien Bayard Chedjou Fongang who currently plays for Lille and the Cameroon national team as a central defender.

Aurelien Chedjou has played for Lille for 5 years and his current contract lasts until 2016. He is currently valued at around 10 million euros, though with Lille being in a bad situation he could leave for cheaper. The player admitted that he has been in contact with Valencia CF and said he would like to play for Valencia CF.

His lower salary is what has attracted Valencia CF which is at 1.68 million Euros and he would love to play for a bigger club, especially one who constantly plays in the Champions League, though that is still currently just out of reach for Valencia CF, but hopefully it will make it.

There are few more teams interested in his services though and coupled with the high price could put Valencia CF out of the bid to buy him.

Valencia CF interested in Abdelaziz Barrada

Valencia CF is interested in young 23 years old Abdelaziz Barrada, sometimes known as just Abdel, is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays for Getafe CF in Spain, as a central midfielder.

Valencia CF sporting director Braulio Vazquez is looking for one more midfield addition and seems Abdelaziz Barrada as the perfect replacement for Tino Costa who is looking more and more likely will leave Valencia CF in the summer and move to France.

Abdelaziz Barrada can play as a central and attacking midfield, though is good defensively as well, so he can pretty much play at all of the positions in midfield, but he is mostly attack minded and would benefit from a defensive minded midfielder.

Valencia CF 3-0 Real Betis Player Ratings

Diego 6 - Standard match by Diego Alves who more and more seems like the more secure and better option for the goalkeeping spot. Didn't have too much to do, but in the few situations when he was called in he did good.
Joao 6 - Standard display form Joao who was secure at the back and forward to a great extent, though didn't have the penetration he usually has.
Rami 6 - Good game by Rami who seemed fit and capable, winning few tackles.
Mathieu 5.5 - Improved performance by Mathieu in the center of defense, though still lacks good positioning.
Guardado 6 - Went forward to a great extent supporting Jonas and often times acting as a winger, providing much needed width on the left wing.
Parejo 5.5 - Seemed ineffective and a bit tired maybe, opting for simple passes and to avid the ball as much as possible.
Tino Costa 5.5 - Similar play as Parejo, though a little bit more energetic and covered more space.
Feghouli 6 - Decent match by Feghouli, but once again nothing major or game breaking. Run a lot and tried to do stuff, but wasn't very effective.
Banega 5.5 - Run quite a bit and had falir when on the ball, making some interesting passes, but nothing key.
Jonas 6.5 - Had a great game once again and has been founding the back of the net a lot more often, played some important passes and was a good asset.
Soldado 6 - Did what he was supposed to do and scored a perfect penalty goal, which he was the creator of after being brought down in the penalty area.
Subs:
Valdez 5.5 - Did well for the time he had on the field, but nothing to talk home about.
Canales N/A - Helped create the last goal with a weird pass-shot, though it was an accident and didn't contribute much more.
Cissokho N/A - Not enough time

Valencia CF 2-2 UD Levante Match Report

17th minute a goal for Levante through Iborra who scored with a header, Guaita reacting poorly and failing to save in what should have been a normal casual save.
24th minute Guaita makes amends for his previous failing by saving from a long range shot by Barkero.
Just two minutes later Jonas scores after a chaotic scene in Levante's penalty area in which Jonas managed to get to the ball and just barely shoot it into the net to equalize the score at 1-1.

48th minute Soldado scores an amazing goal with a powerful volley on an assist by Feghouli who crossed from the right wing right to Soldado.
In the 63rd minute a wrongful offside decision and Valencia CF was denied a clear goal which would have pretty ended this match, but once again Valencia CF was damaged.

Few minutes later a good one-two play by Jonas and Canales with Jonas receiving the back ball and shoots, but it goes wide and once again Jonas shows how poor his shot is.
In the 70th minute Soldado shoots and unfortunately hits the bars, Levante escapes by the skin once again.

The unwritten rule in football of being punished for your misses comes again to hunt Valencia CF and a mistake by Mathieu allowed Barkero to score, thus equalizing the score at 2-2.

Player Ratings:
Guaita 4.5 - Not a good display for Guaita who made few mistakes and was insecure throughout the match.
Joao 6 - Was a constant menace down the right flank, going forward at every opportunity and did well defensively as well.
Ruiz 5.5 - Not the best showing and would want to do better in order to secure a starting spot.
Mathieu 4.5 - Caught off position few times and contributed to Valencia CF conceding two goals.
Guardado 5.5 - Good defensive showing and had few forward runs, but nothing major.
Feghouli 6 - Has moments of wonder where he will do great, but otherwise was too passive for long periods of time.
Parejo 6.5 - One of the best players on the field, spreading the ball great and being involved in the flow and control of the match.
Albelda 7 - Great showing for the veteran who covered superbly for the leaky defense and found himself supporting the forward players often time, unlike most of his games.
Jonas 7 - He is quite invisible most of the time, but was decisive when he had the ball, scoring the first goal and creating several chances and finding himself in good positions.
Canales 6 - Has lacked the level of creativity since getting back from his long term injury and tonight was no different, with a limited performance.
Soldado 6.5 - Got himself on the score-sheet and was generally a nuisance for the Levante defense.
Subs:
Tino N/A - Not enough time to make an impact
Valdez N/A - Not enough time
Viera N/A - Not enough time