Chelsea complicating Romeu deal

Valencia are the favourites to land Chelsea defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu this summer. Chelsea and their new manager, Jose Mourinho, have conveyed to Romeu that his services will not be needed next year (harsh thing to say but good for us) since they already have many players competing for that same position. Our Sergio Canales is a good friend of Romeu and according to him, Romeu is very interested in building himself at Valencia. The deal is expected to be finalized in the next week. However, Chelsea is making the deal complicated. They are requesting a € 1 million loan fee and no purchase option. On top of that, they also want Valencia to pay Romeu's wages for the year which are about € 2 million per year. What at an outrage! Talk about unreasonable.

Braulio Vasquez is hoping to change this by bringing up two things:

 1) Romeu is still recovering from an injury and 

 2) He hasn't had first team action in a long time. 

Using these two arguments, Braulio is hoping to convince Chelsea with one of two ideas:

1) No loan fee/purchase option but will pay the wages or 

2) If Chelsea insist on the loan fee, it will be deducted from the purchase price should Valencia choose to activate the purchase option.

Romeu is currently valued between € 6.5-7.5 million.

Miroslav Dukic interested in signing Antonio Rukavina

Our new manager , Miroslav Dukic wants to reunite with his Countryman at Valencia. Antonio Rukavina played under Dukic last season at Real valladolid so Dukic knows him very well. The Serbian international who plays as a right back last season played 36 games for Valladolid scoring 1 goal. The 29 year old is currently valued at around £3M.

Last season Valencia leaked lots of goals which cost them Champions league spot ultimately. Infact Valencia defense conceded altogether 54 goals in La Liga only. Valencia were very poor on the road(away from home). So  coach wants to strengthen defense straight away. The coach himself being a defender sees need for reinforcement in this department .

We have good right back in Portuguese Joao Pereira. Antonio barragan is our back up right back. But coach wants to create a healthy competition in the squad inorder to get best out of his players.

Rukavina is a good crosser of the ball. He is also good at holding onto the ball and blocking it. However, his weaknesses are areal duels and tackling. 

If Dukic really wants to sign player from his former club, I hope it is Patrick Ebert. I like the German winger very much. He is very strong in set pieces. He is good crosser of the ball too. He likes to cut inside and shoot. He is deadly in the counter attacks. If Dukic could convince 26 year old German to sign for Valencia, it would be a real coup. He is currently valued at around £3.5 M.

Adil Rami set to leave for Napoli

Valencia CF defender Adil Rami is set to leave Valencia and join Italian team Napoli. Napoli new coach is Valencia's former coach Rafael Benitez, who is interested in Adil Rami and wants to help Valencia CF financially.

The first Napoli offer was about 9 to 10 million euros, and Valencia CF would like to get 14 million euros for its best defender currently, with 12 million being reasonable if some bonus clauses are put in.
Valencia CF wants to sell Adil Rami so they get as much as possible right now, since he still has a long contract and if they wait till next season he may become even cheaper.

Valencia Pre-season 2013

Pre-season 2013

With the FIFA Confederations Cup finished, the players are just finishing up with their vacations and will return for this year's pre-season. Training for this will begin on July 8th. Similar to last year, the team will play pre-season games in Germany. These games aren't exactly against big-name teams but I think last year's German pre-season avoided us the fate of Barcelona and Real Madrid against German teams as we did relatively well against Bayern Munich. The matches are as follows:

Date                           Opponent                                        Venue
14 July 2013                Karlsruher                                       Karlsruhe, Germany
17 July 2013                Waldhof Mannheim                          Mannheim, Germany
20 July 2013                Stuttgart                                         Ludwigsburg, Germany

Next is a rather interesting competition. Guinness will host an International Champions Cup this year. This competition includes the following clubs: AC Milan (Italy), Chelsea (England), Everton (England), Inter Milan (Italy), Juventus (Italy), LA Galaxy (USA), Real Madrid (Spain), Valencia (Spain). We got some really tough competition here. It will be a good test for the new coach. I like to be optimistic but I don't think we'll win.
Regardless, here is how the fixtures go for us:

Date                             Opponent                                      Venue
27 July 2013                 AC Milan                                        Valencia, Spain
4 August 2013              Chelsea/Inter Milan                          New York City, USA
6/7 August 2013           TBD                                                Miami USA

The rest depends on how we do in the above games, but here is the match bracket so you get an idea.

Finally, Valencia will host the Trofeo Naranja (Orange Cup) like it has been doing almost every year since 1959. We have won this Cup 25 times since 1959. This year, like last year, consists only of one game.

Date                            Opponent                                        Venue
10 August 2013            Olympiacos (Greece)                         Valencia, Spain

And that's how the pre-season is looking so far. I hope we do well and that the new coach can work well with the team to give us something to look forward to for the 2013-14 season.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

More Transfers and Rumors...

Transfer Rumors:

As you all should know, the transfer window for the summer has officially opened; and I must say Braulio Vasquez has moved rather slowly. He has already let five planned signings be taken by other clubs. The first is Vitolo (winger) from Las Palmas who is a former teammate of Jonathan Viera. There were hopes that the two would link up again at Valencia but Sevilla beat us to him. The second is Benat Extebarria (midfielder) of Real Betis, who was recently signed by Athletic Bilbao. The third being former Valencia player Andres Palop (goalkeeper), who was signed by Bayern Leverkusen. The fourth being Tomas Pina (midfielder) and lastly Giovanni Dos Santos (forward), both from recently relegated Real Mallorca. Both of them are almost certainly going to recently promoted Villareal, unless the transfer market lives up to its unexpected nature.

Tottenham recently increased their bid for Soldado to about £17 million. In response, Valencia has reiterated that they will only accept a £25.5 million bid (the release clause). Tottenham is a bit hesitant to meet that figure and hopes to take advantage of our financial situation to negotiate the price. As for Soldado, he really hopes to stay in Valencia (we do too) but seems open to a move to the English Premier League.

On a positive note, Miroslav Djukic has plans to include our home-grown striker Paco Alcacer in the first team this year and will not loan him to Getafe. In addition, one source recently reported that we are edging Liverpool FC in the battle for highly-rated Sporting Lisbon defender Tiago Ilori. We have also stepped up the chase for Chelsea defender Oriol Romeu as well as Barcelona winger Gerard Deulofeu, both on loans. However, both Chelsea and Barcelona could end up selling, according to some reports. The former's price is yet undeclared, but Barcelona are demanding € 12 million for their player, which is well beyond our current capacity. If we could negotiate the price or take him on loan, it would be great.

Here are some further transfer rumors:

Rumours:

Incoming:

1. Philipp Hosiner (Forward): 24 year old Austrian striker who currently plays for Austria Wien in the Austrian Bundesliga. Very impressive goal scoring record and cheap. He was the third top scorer in all of Europe in the 2012-13 season, with 32 goals (behind Messi-42 and Ronaldo-33). He managed this in only 36 games. Some might say that it is because the Austrian Bundesliga is less challenging than the other leagues, however he seems capable of taking on the Spanish League to me. He also has 2 goals in 3 games for the Austrian national team. According to the reports, we will only push for this signing or any other strikers for that matter, if we end up selling Soldado.

Cost: € 2.5 million
Main competition: Hoffenheim (Germany)

2. Abel Aguilar (Midfielder): 28 year old Colombian midfielder, on loan with Deportivo La Coruna from Hercules. You might remember him for scoring Deportivo's last minute equalizer in that exciting 3-3 draw with Valencia. To be honest, I don't see why we would want him. He managed 3 goals and 3 assists only in 28 games with the team. He also is not regularly called for the Colombian national team. He was almost taken by Granada but told them to wait since he really wants to move to Valencia. At this point, he seems to be the alternative to Oriol Romeu. The latter should be attainable and is considerably better so I see no need for Aguilar.

Cost: € 3 million
Main competition: Granada FC (Spain), Deportivo La Coruna (Spain)

3. Daniel Aranzubia (Goal Keeper): 33 year old Spanish goalkeeper who currently plays with Deportivo La Coruna. Very experienced keeper with over 400 caps for clubs and country. First goal keeper to score from open-play in La Liga history. Kept 7 clean sheets in 35 games last year, conceding 66 goals in La Liga (1.88 goals per game). Guaita kept 6 clean sheets in 14 games last year, conceding 15 goals in La Liga (1.07 goals per game) while Diego Alves kept 5 clean sheets in 24 games last year, conceding 39 goals in La Liga (1.625 goals per game). Aranzubia seems to be our replacement for Diego Alves. I have seen him play and he does have many good saves, however its difficult to tell how he will do. The stats make him look inferior to our keepers but that might be due to Deportivo's defense. 

Cost: € 2 million
Main competition: Real Betis (Spain)

Outgoing:

1. Jonas: Previously linked with Tottenham, now he is being called by Sao Paulo (Brazil). Despite expressing his desire to stay, the club might sell him due to the economic situation that has been further hurt by not making the Champions League. In addition, with Paco Alcacer rumored to rejoin the first team, there is simply no room for four strikers. Even if Soldado gets sold, Jonas is not the same threat as Soldado. Even though he rescued as many times with some goals, he also let us down a lot. I would have liked him to stay but I don't see him staying.

Offer: € 6 million (could be sold for more)

2. Diego Alves: As mentioned previously, a replacement is being planned for him. It would've been great to keep two good keepers but since one of them must go, it was decided that it would be Diego Alves. Italian club AS Roma has bid for him and hopes to get him for a cheap price. Other clubs like Manchester City are also interested but only AS Roma has negotiated a price so far.

Offer: € 2 million (too little in my opinion)

Next Season:

We need to be more active on the transfer market so we don't lose great signings like Vitolo, Benat and Dos Santos especially not to our rivals. I really hope we finish up signing Romeu and Deulofeu quickly. I think the former is a versatile and solid player. The latter will link up will with the likes of Juan Bernat and Paco Alcacer since they are all part of the successful Spanish U-20 side. In addition he will brings the pace of Piatti and is a good finisher. Our big names (Rami, Soldado) are again being targeted by many other clubs. While the former seems certain to go, I hope we keep Soldado since he is our target man. I hope whatever we do, will make us serious competitors next year.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Transfers and Rumors

Transfers and Rumors!!!

Transfer window for this summer will open tomorrow. But Valencia has already digged into the transfer market and has bought 2 or 3 players already. Though not of the highest quality but squad players. Valencia are suffering financially so do not  expect us to spend big.We would be rather selling our prized assets then buying to balance the book. After loosing on Champions league spot we tend to loose $30M odd money. So we will be looking for cheap signings. We hope to hold on to our best players this summer.

NOW we will look on some of the transfers that has already happened till date.

INS

1. NELSON VALDEZ (STRIKER): We have purchased NV from Russian Club Rubin Kazan for reported fee of 2.64 M Pounds. NV who spent last season on loan at Valencia has impressed Valencia officials to buy him permanently. The Paraguay forward last season played 28 games scoring all together 6 crucial goals.   The 29 year old is basically seen as backup to our main striker Roberto Soldado (if he stays obviously). He said he is happy with the role.

2.MICHEL HERRERO: (MIDFIELDER): He started his professional career with Valencia B side. After first team opportunity hard to come by, Michel quickly jumped the ship and signed a 3 year contract with our local rival Levante UD in last year June  After being impressed with his performance , Valencia has quickly exercised the buyback clause that is around 369k
pounds. Last year 24 year old 

played 51 games scoring 8 goals. He is a promising young player but i dont see him starting games in La Liga this season. However, he will be used in CUPs and Europa league.

3. JAVI FUEGO (D. MIDFIELDER): He used to play for Rayo Vallecano. Valencia has signed him on free as his contract with Rayo expired. He was good for Rayo, but i think he is an average player who will be used as backup to Dani Parejo. He is a good ball player, interceptor and tackler. I hope he proves me wrong and turns out to be a gem.

DEPARTURES:

1. TINO COSTA: He has left Valencia CF for Russian Club Spartak Moscow for reported fee of 6.16 M pounds. Valencia needs to balance their accounts so he was sold. I think it was good decision in the end. He was an average player. Other than his set pieces there was nothing more he could offer. Dani Parejo is better than him.

2.DAVID ALBELDA: Goodbye to the legend. Every start has its end and this is it. It was emotional and sad decision but life goes on.Age was getting better of him. After brief meeting with new manager Miroslav Djukic both the parties decided it was best time to part company.

RUMORS:

  COMING:

1.ROMEU: As i have already told you, he is a good player. We should sign him at all cost.

2.ALMUNIA: Who is he? Seriously, Almunia? I dont think he is good enough for our reserve team. Please stay away man. Go find clubs in segunda. Former Arsenal man is in mid thirties and probably past his prime. So no to him.

3.TIAGO LLORI: Highly rated Sporting defender has been linked with a move to Valencia as a possible replacement to  Rami who is expected to leave.The center back has impressed this season and has attracted a lot of suitors.Liverpool are also monitoring the situation closely. He has  potential to be a great player. He has $3M  odd release clause. So we should sign him.

4.GERARD DEULFEU: After Barca has decided to send their young star in loan every clubs in Spain, England and Germany want this player. Valencia is also linked with this rising star. But i dont think we will be able to land him.

5.GIOVANI DOS SANTOS: Six or seven teams are in race to sign the Mexican star according to Real Mallorca president. Valencia is confident in signing him. Mallorca has accepted 8 M euro offer from LA Galaxy, only for Dos Santos to turn down the move. Valencia have reportedly bid 4 M euro, but Mallorca view as insufficient. He is a quality player. We should sign him at all costs.

6.KEVIN GAMEIRO: PSG striker is looking for more playing time after failing to break into PSG's starting lineup. He currently behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ezequiel Lavezzi in the picking order. He is a good player and would give good competiton to Soldado. 

GOING:

1. RAMI: Targeted by Napoli, Arsenal, Man City and host of other European clubs.He wants to go so we should cash in by selling him. 

2.SOLDADO: Targeted by Tottenham, PSG, and other clubs. He has expressed desire to stay with Valencia. We shouldnt sell him. Team should be built around him. He is our best player. He should be retained at all cost.

3. DIEGO ALVES:  He has been currently linked with a move to AS Roma  and Man city. We expect him to leave because we cant keep two good keepers.

4.FERNANDO GAGO:  Sell him, sell him, sell him. He has his heart set on move back to Argentina. We dont need half hearted players.

5.ALY CISSOKHO: He is a decent player. A defensive minded player is linked with a move to Liverpool. I think we should keep him. If we play Jermey in center back then we will need him in left back. He would be a good cover if Jermey gets injured.

6. VICENTE GUAITA: Valencia have made it clear that VG is up for sale according to insidespanishfootball.com. He is a long term target for Barca as a replacement for Victor Valdes. WTF? if we are going to sell our two best keepers who are we going to buy? Almunia? Jesus, save Valencia.

7. PABLO PIATTI: Piatti has been transfer listed by Valencia. He has been seen as  surplus to requirement in Valencia. I dont know but as we need money we should sell him.


So there are lots of players who has been linked in and out of the club. We are in financial trouble so i dont expect any big name signings in this summer. But i do hope we sign Dos Santos and Romeu and a center back too. Main problem now is to retain our best players. Big Vultures are hovering over us. They will obviously want to take advantage of our financial problem. So i hope the players we sign turn  out to be very good.

amunt valencia!!!

Romeu to Valencia?

21 year old spanish midfielder, Oriol Romeu has been linked with a move to Valencia. The youngster who graduated from Barca academy currently plies his trade in England with Chelsea FC. Romeu who has 2 years left in his contract is unsure of his future at Chelsea under new manager Jose Mourinho. It is certain Romeu will be a fringe player under Mou. He may welcome move to other clubs for more playing time.

Valencia CF are in a serious need of a defensive midfielder after key midfielders Tino Costa and David Albelda left the club. After losing out on Champions league spot to Real Sociadad on last day of the season, Valencia are in some sort of financial problem. So a season long loan deal and option to buy would be a good deal. 21year old  is a good player in the mould of Sergio Busquets. He can also play in center back position which would be a bonus.

He had a good first season under manager Andres villas Boas. But after being hit by knee injury in his second season he could not get much playing time. So he may be interested in a move to Valencia CF.

It could be a good deal for both the parties.

New Valencia CF Kit 2013-14

Valencia CF introduced the new dresses for the season 2013/14 a couple of days ago. The home kit will be the traditional black and white kit as has been in the past several years, the away kit will be orange in color with black and white stripes in the middle at an angle.

I like the new kits, they are simple and easy on the eyes with some good lines and features that make them interesting and cool.

Jermey Mathieu signs contract extension until 2017

Jermey Mathieu who was earlier linked with a move to Barcelona has committed future with Valencia CF. He   has signed a contract extension until 2017.  29 year old said that he wants to end his carrier at Valencia and contract renual was an easy decision.

It is a good move by Valencia because Jermey is a versatile player. The Frenchman can play in left back, left wing and this season he also played in center back position.

Miroslav Djukic to be next Valencia CF coach

Ernesto Valverde came at the press conference last night and confirmed to reporters that he is no longer going to be the coach of Valencia CF. He said that he told the team that just before the match so he could motivate them, weird logic eh, but either way now Valencia CF is looking towards Miroslav Djukic to become the new coach as he has rejected extending his contract and has publicly stated that he would love to coach Valencia CF.

Reports from earlier also confirm that the club was talking to him for a while now, covering all angles if Valverde left and as such the negotiations with Djukic would go alot faster and we should know within few weeks if he is the new Valencia CF coach.

I like him as a coach, he is a very disciplined coach with good defensive background, but has an overall good understanding of gameplay, while his downside is that he lacks experience with bigger clubs and hasn't had any real major success as a coach.

Either way I don't see Valencia CF doing good at all for the foreseeable future. Now with the club being out of the Champions League they lose so much money and they would have to trim down on the first team salaries which means some players would have to leave and third grade replacement will be brought in to keep the treasury balanced. Unless some major billionaire invests in the club this summer I'm expecting things to just slowly but surely go downhill.

Valencia CF will not play in the Champions League

Valencia CF lost its place in the Champions League in the last match of the season. Valencia CF lost the match convincingly and for good measure Jonas got himself a red card to make sure a comeback would be virtually impossible.

Valencia CF managed in the 88th minute to reduce the lead to 4-3, but it was too little too late. This is the first time in over 4 years where Valencia CF will have to play in the Europa league where there is a lot less money and prestige.

This season started bad enough with a series of bad results under former coach Pellegrino who was sacked, and Valverde brought in. While Valverde has improved the team a bit and brought better results, it just wasn't good enough with the culmination tonight. Valencia CF could have secured the Champions League spot earlier, but throughout the season the team lost games which had to be won, couple that with some sold games by referees to the big two teams Real Madrid and Barcelona which Valencia CF had basically won 3 of them and you have the disappointment in the end.

The club is still in debt as well and I don't see any real solution to the problems. Its probably going to continue slipping and falling off the radar. I have a very bad feeling for next season and with the situation as it is right now I don't even think the team can challenge for top 6 positions next season.

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

PSG vs Valencia CF Match Preview

PSG vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Stadium: Parc des Princes

Date: 06.03.2013; 20:45 CET

Round 16, fixture 2, Champions League

Coaches:  Carlo Ancelotti and Ernesto Valverde

Paris Saint German

PSG is coming to this match after a 1-0 loss to Remis in the French league, though with a 2-1 lead into this match from the first leg which was played in Valencia at the Mestalla and now they are playing at home with a big advantage. PSG are going to be coming confident into this match that they can go through to the next round of the competition and they would be right to think so, with Valencia CF failing to trouble them even at its own home grounds, while the past two matches in the Spanish league haven't been in their favor as well, dropping 4 points.

PSG coach Carlo Anceloti is a very experienced coach and has lead many clubs in the Champions league throughout his career, so he going to know how to set up the team, though he lost his key player Zlatan Ibrahimovich in the last match against Valencia CF due to him earning a red card, and so his team is weakened by this, so its likely Kevin Gameiro will start, who was a target for Valencia CF two summers ago, but decided to join PSG and since then hasn't featured much at all.

PSG squad: to be announced...

Technical Details PSG FC (probable setups):
Formation: 4-4-2
Line-up: Sirigu; Jallet, Alex, T.Silva, Maxwell; L.Moura, Matuidi, Chantome, Beckham; Lavezzi, Gameiro.
Tactics: Low defensive line, own half pressure, high frequency wing attacks, short passing.

Valencia CF

Valencia CF are also coming to this match after a disappointing match on the weekend in which the team lost the three points in the last minutes of the match due to a slip by Jeremy Mathieu in defense. That and the previous draw means that Valencia CF has hit a weak period, but will be hoping to put the past two disappointing matches behind with a win over PSG.

Valencia Cf coach Ernesto Valverde knows its going to be a tough task to win against PSG, especially at their stadium, but will be hopeful because their main player Ibrahimovich is out for this match and they also have some other important players missing through injury or suspension. Their defense has also been a bit weaker recently and there is little cover for the first eleven.

Valencia CF is coming to this match with a weakened defense as well with Rami and R. Costa both out with injuries and Valverde will once again be forced to play Mathieu as central defender, partnering Ruiz.

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Vicent Guaita, Felipe Ramos.
Defenders: Joao, Barragán, Víctor Ruiz, Mathieu, Cissokho.
Midfielders: Albelda, Éver, Piatti, Dani Parejo, Tino Costa, Guardado, Feghouli.
Forwards: Jonas, Canales, Valdez, Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Diego; Joao, Ruiz, Mathieu, Guardado; Albelda, Parejo, Feghouli; Banega, Jonas; Soldado.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, own half pressure, medium frequency wing attacks, mixed passing.

Valencia CF vs Levante UD Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Levante UD Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 02.03.2013; 22:00 CET

26th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Ernesto Valverde and Juan Ignacio Martínez

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a hard fought draw in the last league match against Real Zaragoza, managing to come back from behind after the team went down 2-0 and manage to secure a very important draw, even though there was a chance to win as well, ultimately 2-2 draw was a good and fair result.

Tonight against UD Levante the team is going to look to get a better result and that means a win, which would enable Valencia CF to escape Levante and few other clubs that are close behind Valencia CF and possibly even reach 4th place, of course if Malaga looses, which as of late they haven't been performing to the best of their ability.

This is a very important match as it is a city derby and both clubs have been fierce rivals, because both are the region Valencia CF and Levante has always been sort of the second club and now with them in the first division for couple of years now and even challenging Valencia CF it has turned into a big rivalry between the  clubs.

Valencia CF is going into this match without Adil Rami and Ricardo Costa who are both injured, although Ricardo Costa is said to be ready for the match against PSG in the champions league. Ever Banega and Aly Cissokho are suspended though due to yellow cards and so after a longer period both Jonathas Viera and Antonio Barragan are joining the squad. 

With the PSG match also just several days away the coach may also want to keep some of the players fresh, so we may see Soldado on the bench and I believe the coach is going to choose Guaita to be on goal, so that Diego plays in the Champions League, since the last match against PSG Guaita was rather poor.

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Vicent Guaita.

Defense:  Joao Pereira, Antonio Barragán, Víctor Ruiz, Jeremy Mathieu.

Midfield: David Albelda, Tino Costa, Daniel Parejo, Jonathan Viera, Sofiane Feghouli, Juan Bernat, Pablo Piatti, Andres Guardado.

Forward:  Jonas Goncalves, Sergio Canales, Nelson Haedo Valdez, Roberto Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Line-up: Guaita; Joao, Ruiz, Mathieu, Guardado; Albelda, Tino Costa, Parejo; Piatti, Valdez; Jonas.

Tactics: Medium defensive line, own half pressure, medium frequency wing attacks, mixed passing.

Result prediction:

Valencia CF 3-2 Levante UD

These matches can go either very few goals or a big goal fest and since the last match was rather calm and with little goals, I think this one is going to be with many goals, especially since Valencia CF is missing its key defenders and I believe Valcerde is going to position the team to win this match, so Levante are going to fight back and I see many goals in which Valencia CF will just edge out Levante UD.

Raul Albiol to return to Valencia CF?

Its no secret that Manuel Llorente and for that matter the whole board of Valencia CF would like to see Raul Albiol back at Valencia CF as he is a Valencianista, played for the club for most of his life and has not found a regular starting place at Real Madrid, in fact almost every other player has been preferred over him to start matches.

For Llorente he wants to increase the Spanish and especially Valencian players in the club, as the fans have not been very happy with so few Spanish players and so he is determined to bring Spanish players in the club next summer and Raul Albiol is big part of his plans.

As you know Raul Albiol hasn't featured much in Real Madrid at all and while he wasn't too keep on returning last season to Valencia CF, recently he has given signals that he may be open to coming back to Valencia CF. Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente has talked to his agent numerous times and reports have it that the last time they talked, Albiol's agent told them that he would like to return to Valencia CF.

Of course he has a long term contract with Real Madrid and he is not likely to come cheap. Valencia CF has good relationship with Real Madrid as the club has purchased several players from them in the past few seasons and also sold them Albiol. This means Real Madrid are not going to push for the absolute most they can get and would likely take about 8-10 million for Raul Albiol, of course assuming Raul Albiol would be serious about joining Valencia CF.

With recent reports that Anzhi is interested in Adil Rami and his buyout clause falling significantly next summer Raul Albiol could be a replacement for Adil Rami, assuming Rami doesn't extend his contract with Valencia CF or doesn't want to leave, which would be really hard, especially if some big salary offer comes his way with a lot more richer clubs than Valencia CF.

Beñat Etxebarria to Valencia CF?

Real Betis midfielder Beñat Etxebarria has a contract agreement with them till 2014, but he has refused to extend his contract and will be leaving this summer. Last summer they got several offers of up to 10 million for him, but they rejected them all, but the following summer they will have no option but to look at offers as they don't want to loose him in 2014 for free.

Valencia CF is highly interested in Beñat Etxebarria and has already made contact with his representatives, trying to asses if he would like to join Valencia CF. Reports are that he would be interested in joining Valencia CF and while there hasn't been talks about salary he would be offered around 1.1 million euros, which would be over a million more of what he earns now.

Beñat Etxebarria is 26 years old and is one of Betis key players this season and last. He is a central midfielder the text book one and not a convert from attacking midfielder or defensive one. He has the playmaking skills, passing skills.

According to Spanish sources several clubs are interested in acquiring his services, including few clubs from England, German Wolfsburg is still interested in him and Atletico Madrid from Spain are interested in him as well, so Valencia CF really has tough competition to get him and will likely need to churn out the 10 million to get him.

This would of course mean that Parejo, Tino Costa or even Banega may leave. I don't think its going to be Banega as he has huge talent and can play even better than his recent showings, but one of Tino or Parejo is very likely to leave. First there is the money issue, as Valencia CF would need to get the money and while they are going to get around 10 million for Diego Alves that would only cover say going in for Iago Aspas.

Nelson Valdez becomes Valencia CF player

Nelson Haedo Valdez is officially a new Valencia CF player. Valencia CF purchased him for 3 million euros from Rubin Kazan with club officials impressed by his performances and the fact that he is a really down to earth and loyal player.

He was given a 2 year contract that will have him stay with Valencia CF until 2015. Nelson Valdez in a press conference stated that he is very happy that he has become a permanent player of Valencia CF and is looking forward to giving his all for his new club.

I like this decision as he has shown that he is useful to Valencia CF, but he also doesn't give problems for not being a starter. I think this is a smart decision, maybe the 3 million price was a bit on the high, but overall its a good deal.

Sofiane Feghouli to be sold in the summer

Sofiane Feghouli is set to be sold in the summer if an offer of 15 million euros or more comes to Valencia CF. The club has plans to bring in Iago Aspas from Celta Vigo, Víctor Machín Pérez Vitolo from Las Palmas,  Alejandro Arribas from CA Osasuna and obviously one more defensive midfielder as I don't see Gago staying and with Albelda almost certainly ending his stay at Valencia CF we need one more quality defensive midfielder or if Victor Ruiz is fully converted to that position then another defender for all of which the club would need at least 20 million euros, money which the club doesn't have. The likely option for defensive midfielder right now is Vicente Iborra from Levante for about 6 million euros, which is his buyout clause.

There could be a significant gain if the team goes through the round of 16 in the Champions League, but it wont be a game changer and from the now almost guaranteed sale of Diego Alves the club could cash in around 12 million if lucky, still at least 8 million short, most likely more.

The assessment right now is that Sofiane Feghouli is over rated and officials see Pablo Piatti, Vittolo and even Barnat on the right wing as more than able to replace Feghouli. Since Feghouli has garnered a lot of attention if he reaches a transfer fee of 15 million or more he will be sold.

Personally I think 15 million euros is decent enough of a price to sell him, I mean its a risk that he may improve even more and go on to be world class or he could stay at the current level or improve insignificantly and thus his sale won't be a big deal, but these things are always a gamble. Of course there is still a lot of time till the summer and things can certainly change.

Real Zaragoza 2-2 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF scrapped away with one point from what was a very competitive and difficult match against Real Zaragoza.

I knew the defense won't be on par for this match as Ricardo Costa and Victor Ruiz haven't played together too much and Ruiz was coming from a midfielder perspective in the past several matches and so that proved correct as Valencia CF conceded 2 goals, though there is a bigger problem right now and that is Ricardo Costa got injured during the match and had to be substituted.

So right now Valencia CF only has one central defender in Victor Ruiz and we need to see if R. Costa's injury is serious or if he can recover in several days.

The first half was equal for both teams, neither being able to control the game and create too many chances, though Real Zaragoza took the lead early on as they got a penalty awarded to them. Diego Alves for being known as penalty saver hasn't really shown his skills there and really hasn't saved any penalty.

Real Zaragoza would increase their lead in the 32nd minute through H. Postiga, though Valencia CF would be quick to respond and Jonas would score a goal in the 36th minute to keep Valencia's chances and give the team the belief that they can still get a decent result.

In the second half Ever Banega would replace Sergio Canales with just 7 minutes passed and Valencia CF would gain a stronger control of the ball which in turn did provide Valencia CF with few chances.

It would be Jonas again in the 69th minute who would equalize the score who managed to strike the ball and put in into the net.

Valencia CF would be able to score again in the 77th minute, but Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Leo Franco would come out of his goal and even penalty area and touch the ball with his hands which of course saved the goal, but he got a straight red card. From the resulting free kick Parejo would shoot accurately on goal, but the newly arrived keeper would save that.

Towards the very end Real Zaragoza would score, but the referee whistled foul on Diego Alves and save Valencia Cf the blushes. Ultimately I'd say a 2-2 result was fair and Valencia CF didn't deserve more with the play it showed for most of the match.

Technical details:
R. Zaragoza (2): Leo Franco, Movilla, Álvaro, H. Postiga, Apoño (Stefan, min. 46), Montañés, Fernández, José Mari (Alcolea, min. 82), Loovens, Abraham y Rochina (Oriol, min. 74).
Valencia CF (2): Alves, Cissokho, Albelda (Valdez, min. 80), Jonas, Feghouli, Soldado, Joao, Víctor Ruiz, R. Costa (Mathieu, min. 65), Dani Parejo y Canales (Ever, min. 52).
Goals: 1-0 Min. 4 Apoño (p.) 2-0 Min. 33 H. Postiga 2-1 Min. 35 Jonas 2-2 Min. 69 Jonas

Player Ratings:
Diego Alves 5.5 - Did have few decent saves, but this wasn't one of his best matches and as a penalty expert he sure hasn't given justice to his nickname.
Joao Pereira 6.5 - One of the most consistent player on the field with great striking potency and defended very well as well.
R. Costa 5.5 - Was a little insecure and his partnership with Ruiz looks shaky, though as time passed he got more confident and comfortable, but got injured in the second half.
Ruiz 5.5 - Not good defensively, caused the penalty, but he did provide the crucial header to Jonas who scored a goal from it and gets an assist to his name.
Cissokho 7 - Went forward to great extend, especially in the second half and also provided the cross for the first goal. Did well enough in defense as well.
Albelda 5.5 - Unfortunately failed to shield the defense good enough and was rather slow in midfield, having been overrun in the first half by Real Zaragoza midfielders.
Parejo 5.5 - Mixed bag performance with really inefficient first half and several mistakes throughout the match reminiscent of his bad form days of last season and early in this season.
Feghouli 5.5 - Was very ineffective in the first half and slightly better in the second half as Valencia CF took more control on the match and had few good crosses, but nothing major.
Canales 5 - I'd say a lacking performance from Canales who had the chance to really stand out and provide something more, but I think its still too early in his recovery for him to be giving 100% and would hope he doesn't start too much and is eased into action.
Jonas 7.5 - Was his usual self that doesn't do too much overall, with the added exception of being in the right places at the right times and scoring two goals. He should look to score more goals like this every time he plays.
Soldado 5.5 - Some reports say he provided the assist to Jonas, but to me it seemed like Soldado missed the ball or deliberately left it. Either way he wasn't a big threat in the match and apart from few good combinations further away from goal he didn't do much.
Subs:
Banega 6 - Brought in  more control when he came on and while he wasn't too directly involved he had a positive influence on the team and combined well in midfield.
Mathieu 6 - Good defensive performance and had one key interception and few won duels, had also a good header on goal that was saved. Overall a good comeback from the Frenchmen after a long injury.
Valdez N/A - Did not have time to make an impact and he didn't.