Valencia CF 2-1 Olympiacos CFP Match Report

Valencia wins the first trophy of the season. Although not a major trophy by any standards, it will provide a confidence boost for the league which will start next Saturday against Malaga at the Mestalla. The game featured new striker, Helder Postiga's, debut while also allowing Guardado, Fede and Canales to make a return from injury.

The first half began in a great fashion with Valencia dominating as they had been for the past few games. It only took 7 minutes for the first goal to come in. Banega found Postiga in the box with a through ball but his shot was saved by the keeper and the rebound fell back to Banega who had no problem in slotting past the keeper. Valencia continued their strong play but couldn't get another in the midst of Olympiacos's counterattacks. Diego Alves had a great role in stopping the counterattacks by making amazing saves when needed. Close to half-time, Bernat was side-lined with an injury but that wasn't going to stop Valencia when in the 41st minute they grabbed a second goal. Viera found provided the ball for Banega on the left flank who then drove the ball across the penalty box all the way to Postiga on the far end who finished it from close range.

The second half-featured the substitution of every player with the exception of Postiga. The performance was worse than the first half and Djukic expressed his unhappiness with the play in the second half. The chances that were made were terribly wasted, possession was lost quickly and the overall confidence was lower. The coach introduced two more substitutions by bringing on B-team player Chumbi and Guardado for Postiga and Cissokho respectively. A good chance was missed by Jonas about mid way through the second half when he hit the cross bar from point-blank range. The team would pay for this when, in the 84th minute, a cross was made by Olympiacos and an unmarked David Fuster calmly finished past Guaita. Olympiacos would grab a second goal a while later, only to be called offside but only by a fraction. Valencia managed to hold on to the lead for the remainder of the game and winning the match.

The Man-of-the-Match award was presented to Ever Banega at the end of the game and Ricardo Costa lifted the trophy. Djukic expressed that he was impressed with the first half but was disappointed with the rest of the game. He promised to iron out the mistakes before the league game.

Valencia CF (2): Alves, Bernat, Rami, Costa, Periera, Fuego, Banega, Michel, Viera, Fede, Postiga
Substitutes: Guaita, Cissokho, Guardado, V.Ruiz, Mathieu, Barragan, Romeu, Parejo, Canales, Jonas, Ibanez, Chumbi,

Olympiacos CFP (1): Roberto; Maniatis, Papazoglou, Fejsa, Mitroglou; Holebas, Medjani, Siovas, Campbell, Domínguez,Weis. 
Substitutes: Megyeri, Manolai, David Fuster, Machado, Saviola, Samaris, Fetfatzidis, Salino



AMUNT VALENCIA!!!

Valencia CF vs Olympiacos CFP Match Preview

Valencia return to the Mestalla for their last pre-season match in the annual local event known as the Trofeu Tronja (Orange Cup). The cup is this year, as with recent years, will consist of only one fixture. Valencia have won this cup, which it hosts every year, 25 times. Olympiacos finished 1st in the Greek League last year and thus are the reigning champions of Greece. However, their pre-season hasn't been the greatest. Out of the 6 games they played, they have won 2, lost 4 times and drew once. Valencia come into this game with a 1-0 victory against Everton in the USA. Youngster Alcacer is out with injury, while Fede, Canales and Guardado return to action after an injury. This game might also feature new signing, Helder Postiga although I think Jonas will start since the new striker hasn't had enough time to practice with the team.

Another win should be expected in this game if Valencia play as consistent with their last two games. It is important to finish off the pre-season on a high note since the first league game against Malaga is only in a week's time.

Match Date: August 10th, 2013
Match Time: 20:00 GMT
Venue: Mestalla, Valencia

You are welcome to post your predictions below.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!

Official: Postiga signs for Valencia

The 31 year old Portuguese international has finally signed for Valencia after an agreement was reached a few days ago. Postiga passed his medical and signed a 3 year deal with Valencia for a fee of 3 million euros plus 365,000 euros should he score 15 or more goals this season. In addition, his now former club, Real Zaragoza will take 20% of future transfer fees of the player.

The new striker will take the number 9 jersey previously held by former ace striker Soldado. However, we are still expecting the other striker promised by the Vasquez to complete the attack line this season. Postiga is Valencia's fourth signing this transfer window after Javi Fuego, Oriol Romeu and Michel. Here are some of his highlights of the past year, as was posted on the Valencia website, if you want to check him out.

 

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!

Everton FC 0-1 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia finish off their ICC Guinness Championship by a deserved victory against Everton to clinch the fifth place in the championship. As was expected, Djukic fielded a line-up that featured 10 changes from the great match against Inter with the exception being Viera, who started the game in Ever Banega's position. The game also featured Mestalla B players Ibanez and Salva Ruiz both of whom put a lot of effort to prove their worth to Djukic. Despite all the changes, the game plan was the same, keeping possession. What caught my attention is that Valencia were fighting for every ball up relentlessly all through the game. It was like they were playing a Champions League match. Seriously, I haven't seen this much drive in the players in a long time despite this being a match for fifth place.

The first half started with alternating chances for both teams and an early booking for Barragan. When Valencia settled though, they dominated the possession and Viera was outstanding in controlling the pace of the game. He played with such confidence and flair, linking up with everyone all around the field. One couldn't even tell he played 90 minutes against Inter, only 2 days before.

With the first half ending in a 0-0 deadlock, Djukic gave Viera a rest and brought in Michel. The impact of the substitution showed as early as the 53rd minute. Jonas's run cleared space outside the box for Cissokho to cross the ball to Michel who controlled and volleyed it past the stunned Everton keeper. There were dangerous opportunities for Everton and Valencia but none could capitalize, and this could have very well been a 2-3 or 3-4 scoreline. Highlights are at the bottom.

* means substituted in/out

Everton FC (0): Robles, Stones, Distin, Jagielka, Oviedo, Deulofeu*, Gibson*, Naismith*, Barkley, Fellaini, Anichebe*
Substitutes: Howard, Osman*, Hibbert, Heitinga, Pienaar, Baines*, Jelavic*, Kone, Gueye, Coleman, Vellios, Duffy, Alcarez, Mirallas*

Valencia CF (1): Guaita, Barragan, V.Ruiz, Mathieu, Cissokho, S.Ruiz*, Parejo, Viera*, Romeu, Ibanez, Jonas*
Substitutes: Diego Alves, Periera, Rami, Costa, Bernat*, Michel*, Banega*, Fuego, Feghouli, Alcacer

Helder Postiga - Agreement Reached

Report just came in that Helder Postiga will be a Valencia player this season with an agreement finally reached between the three parties. The negotiations were seemingly deadlocked with Real Zaragoza asking for 4 million euros and Valencia not willing to pay more than 3 million euros. However, now the agreement has been reached for a 3 million euro transfer plus variables (20% more if Postiga scores a certain number of goals). All that's left is deciding the player's wages, undergoing the medical and the player's signature before he is presented at the Mestalla. He will not be joining the squad in the USA but will probably be available for the Orange Trophy match against Greek club Olympiacos. The agreement for the transfer consists of 3 year deal. With the transfer about 98% certain at this point, he will be Valencia's 4th signing after Michel, Oriol Romeu and Javi Fuego.

Well, we mentioned a while ago that Postiga is not worth the money that is being spent on him, be it 3 or 4 million. He is past his prime and 30 years old. So...what is the club thinking signing him for 3 years???!!! However, it seems he will play a role similar to Nelson Valdez. The striker to replace Soldado is yet to be decided though and Braulio is now looking at strikers in Germany and Belgium after the English clubs refused to let loan or sell their strikers. Well, there you have it. We can only hope that he can fulfill his role properly and be worth his money.


AMUNT VALENCIA!!!

Everton FC vs Valencia CF Match Preview

The 5th place match in the ICC Gunniess Championship is tomorrow. Valencia take on the sixth place team of the 2012-2013 Barclays Premier League. Valencia come into this game full of confidence after thrashing Inter Milan 4-0 in what was a great all-round performance from the team. While Everton seems like a step-down from the previous two teams we faced, Inter Milan and AC Milan, they remain a strong team. They eliminated the current Serie A Champions in the first round in a 1-1 draw that they won on penalties. Then they lost to Real Madrid by one goal in a competitive match that ended 1-2.

If we play the same way we did against Inter, I think Everton won't stand a chance. However, most of the team played the full game against Inter, with the exception of Alcacer who was substituted by Jonas at  half-time. Hopefully, we won't see any signs of fatigue on the players since they need to be able to play every 2-3 days when La Liga, Copa del Rey and Europa League take place in the same time interval. However, I won't be surprised to see the coach field a different team since this the point of the pre-season is to give everyone a chance to impress. This game will show if the team can be consistent in its performance. If you haven't seen any of the previous matches, I encourage you to do so (I can provide links if needed).

Match date: Wednesday, August 7th, 2013
Match time: 1:00 GMT
Venue: Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Florida

My Prediction: 
Everton FC 0-2 Valencia CF

You are welcome to post your prediction in the comments below :)

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!!!!!

Valencia CF 4-0 Inter Milan Match Report

Well, we were talking of a scoring problem this pre-season but there was no shortage of goals tonight. Djukic promised a win this game and so Valencia have won and in style too. Inter Milan were dominated in every area of the pitch. It wasn't a one-player standout performance, each player from Valencia deserves a lot of credit. Valencia pressured Inter Milan, giving them no time and the ball and dominated possession and shots on goal.

The first goal of the game came as early as the 7th minute when Banega, who had just missed a free kick by miles, shot from even further out and scored a screamer from about 30-yards out! The second goal came in the 34th minute when Viera decided to try his luck from far out and found the net with the help of a slight deflection.

The second half featured the only substitution of the match for Valencia with Alcacer coming off for Jonas. The substitution paid off in the 56th minute when a Viera through ball found Jonas who rounded the keeper and a defender and sort of ran the ball into the net. Inter Milan tried desperately to get back into the game with lots of substitutions but to no avail. Just when the game seemed over Valencia bagged another goal. Joao Periera found Feghouli in the box who then laid it off for Jonas's shot which was saved by the substitute keeper only to be slotted in by Viera for his second of the match.

Valencia linked up well everywhere on the field. Pereira and Feghouli worked brilliantly on the right while on the other end Bernat and Viera did just the same. Meanwhile, Banega, Fuego and Michel dominated the midfield possession and sent pinpoint passes every direction. While these players contributed amazingly to the attack, they were quick to stop any Inter Milan chance with everyone getting back. Rami and Costa were rock-like in the center of defense letting almost nothing past them while Diego Alves kept a deserved clean-sheet. Highlights are at the bottom as usual.

* - means subsituted in/out

Valencia CF (4): Alves, Bernat, Costa, Rami, Pereira, Michel, Fuego, Banega, Viera, Feghouli, Alcacer*
Substitutions: Guaita, Lopez, Victor Ruiz, Barragan, Mathieu, Cissokho, Romeu, Parejo, Salva Ruiz, Jonas*, Ibanez.

Inter Milan (0): Handanovic*, Andreolli, Chivu, Juan Jesus, Nagatomo, Guarin*, Cambiasso, Kuzmanovic, Pereira, Palacio*, Belfodil.
Substitutions: Castellazzi*, Carrizo, Icard, Jonathan*, Ranocchia, Mbaye*, Alvarez, Capello, Olsen*, Laxalt.

Well deserved victory for Valencia. If we continue playing this way, we will be tough competitors in the Spanish League, Copa del Rey and Europa League. Djukic proved that we can beat the bigger teams

Match Highlights:
1st Half Highlights
2nd Half Highlights


AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Valencia CF vs Inter Milan Match Preview

After the loss in the first round of the ICC Guinness Championship against AC Milan (2-1), Valencia had to play the loser of the Chelsea-Inter Milan game. Thus, tomorrow Valencia will now take on Inter Milan, the local city rivals of AC Milan. Inter Milan come into this match with a loss of 2-0 to Chelsea in a game that they were out-performed by Chelsea in a lot of aspects. Inter Milan finished 9th last season while AC Milan finished 4th. So, in theory this match should be relatively easier.

However, we will go into this game with Paco Alcacer and Jonas as the only forwards, following Roberto Soldado's move to Tottenham. Youngster Fede who showed promise against AC Milan as well as Guardado are out with injuries. Hopefully, the win that Valencia deserve for their efforts so far in the pre-season won't elude them. With the lack of firepower, we might struggle again to score a goal. With the move for Helder Postiga not working and likely abandoned, we will not be able to buy a new striker and send him to the USA in time. The only goals so far in the pre-season came from midfield players Viera and Parejo. Hopefully Paco Alcacer along with Jonas will step up their game to make up for that this time.

So far, we have seen Valencia improve gradually game after game but no win despite great play. If we win this game, we will play Everton and if we lose we will play Juventus. However, Inter Milan is still a great club and will be no walk in the park. Djukic proved in the last game against AC Milan that we can compete against big name clubs, now he has to show that we can win against them too.

Match Date: August 4th, 2013
Time: 20:00 GMT
Venue: Metlife Stadium, New York City

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!!!!

Helder Postiga is a bench warmer at best

Helder Postiga is hailed as the replacement for Roberto Soldado and Valencia CF had reached a personal agreement with him early, in case Soldado left and now that that happened, Postiga is the replacement for Soldado.

Reality is that Helder Postiga is a bench warmer at best, he is really terrible at scoring goals, he is slow, he lacks technique and he is 30 years old, he is certainly not getting any younger and sure as hell hasn't proved that he is of high quality in the past either.

Not only can he not replace Roberto Soldado, but he can't even replace Nelson Valdez and even Paco Alcacer is better than him even this young.

So I don't know what Salvo is thinking or lack thereof, but Postiga is not the kind of replacement that fans want for Soldado. The kind of replacement for Soldado would have to be in him prime at about 25-26 years old, that has scored 10+ goals in a lower level club consistently and each season and has shown quality that he can play at a higher level.

And let me tell you, if Valencia CF does not bring a proper replacement for Soldado than say goodbuy to Europa league playing as well, at best we are going to see Valencia CF competing for positions 8-10. You have to have very strong team to complete at the top, you have to have especially a striker that can score 15-20 or more goals to be able to complete for Champions League spot.

With Sevilla getting Kevin Gameiro from PSG after the sale of Negredo to City they have done good business with the purchase of Kevin Gameiro, Atletico Madrid sold Falcao for over 55 million euros and got David Villa for 4 million euros from Barcelona, amazing business.

Why couldn't Salvo talk and negotiate with Villa who I'm sure would have loved to come back to Valencia CF, especially when Soldado was 95% sure to leave. He would have been an amazing replacement for Soldado at just 4 million euros.

Now Zaragoza are demanding 4 million for Helder Postiga and I'm supposed to believe Villa and Postiga are at the same level? Postiga is worth at most 2 million euros in order to warm the bench.

The reason Soldado left...

As Soldado was waiting for his plane to arrive to take him to England where he will play for Tottenham, he gave an interview which I found interesting. In this interview, Soldado explains vaguely why he left the club. After thanking everyone (fans, teammates, the club, staff) and wishing them luck Soldado said the following:

"The reason for my departure is that I do not trust the project. The president has said many lies, to me personally by phone the times I talked to him. I think there should be normalcy and stability and I have not had. "

Soldado then called the club president, Salvo, a liar and blasted him for "leaking information". Soldado continues by saying:

 "You have published many things. I think it is your fault because you leaked it and that has done much harm to me, my agent, my family ...I'm hurt that you could have done everything as clearly as possible, with sincerity, and he has not told the truth in many things. "

Finally Soldado surprisingly says that he did not want to leave by saying:

"Every time I said I wanted to stay at Valencia I've said so because I believed it at the time, but in football things change from one day to another. I apologize because I committed to fulfill my contract on many occasions but on the way I have crossed a stone (Salvo) in which I do not believe, as you do not believe in something it's best to stay away if possible. "

The club immediately hit back and said that Soldado was upset because the transfer was made more difficult than it should've been but they felt like they were entitled to keep their best player. This doesn't address any of the accusations. The president was not available for response though. 

As to the specific reason, Soldado said:

 "I will not give specific reasons why I'm hurt because no benefit. I do not want to hurt anybody. " Then, however, he added: "I hope I'm wrong and this president will mark an epoch and is the one that wins titles with Valencia, I have to wish good luck to him and to valencianismo because together is very strong and I and my family are going to have this club in my heart. "

So, if you want to blame anyone for Soldado's departure, its the president, according to Soldado. I tried to dig up a specific reason but it could have something to do with a court case Soldado was involved in recently, I'm not too sure though. Anyway, I was quite upset while reading this news. To think that our best player lost faith and left because of the president. It really is a shame.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!

Official: Roberto Soldado transfers to Tottenham

Its official, Roberto Soldado is now a Tottenham FC player as the club announced on their official website. The deal was brewing for a long time, from last year even when Valencia CF rejected Tottenham's offers, with Soldado content on staying as well, but this year with the difficult financial situation from not being in the Champions League and Tottenham willing to pay the 30 million release clause the deal has been made.

Tottenham had a bit of pressure from Liverpool FC and decided to step up their pursuit of Soldado and meet the release clause of 30 million euros. Roberto Soldado is said to be earning about 5 million euros salary at Tottenham, way more than he was getting at Valencia CF.

I wish him good luck in his new club and hope Valencia CF find the proper and suitable replacement for him.

Fede renews contract with Valencia CF

The youngster Fede who came in from the B team to train with the first squad this preseason has really impressed everyone in Valencia CF, from the staff to the coach and as such Valencia CF decided to offer him a new improved contract that would keep him with Valencia CF till 2017.

As you know Valencia CF has lost several youth players, most importantly Isco for not offering them better contracts with high release clauses, so they obviously didn't want to repeat the same mistake with Fede.

I'd say he is one of the most prospering youngsters in the squad, his pace, shooting ability and composure for such an inexperienced and young player are tremendous. If he can just be consistent he can easily displace some established first team players and bench them.

In the Market for Firepower!!! (Updated again)

With Soldado nearing his exit, Valencia are in the market for replacements. It has been said that Valencia will get two new strikers, think of it as replacing each of Nelson Valdez and Soldado. The problem is everyone else is also looking for strikers and everyone is raising prices to protect their strikers. Long-time Valencia target Kevin Gameiro signed for Sevilla recently, further reducing our options. Brazilian and Fluminese striker Fred is seemingly in the process of renewing his contract and expressed his desire to stay in Brazil to give him a better chance of making the World Cup squad.  A bid for Atletico Madrid's Adrian was rejected recently. And lastly, Pablo Osvaldo has rejected a move. The following is a current list of strikers who are linked with Valencia this past week.

Candidates to replace Nelson Valdez:

1. Helder Postiga: The 30-year old Portuguese and Real Zaragoza striker is looking for a new club following the relegation of Real Zaragoza. He seems the most likely to come in and is expected within the next few days after ascertaining the departure of Soldado. Some reports say an agreement has already been established. He has 23 goals in 70 games for Zaragoza and 26 goals in 61 games for Portugal.

Price: 3-4 million euros
Competition: Malaga (Spain)

2. Sergio Garcia de la Fuente: He was wanted by Sevilla until they signed Kevin Gameiro. He has 15 goals in 73 appearances for Espanyol.

Price: 3-4 million euros
Competition: None

3. Marco Borriello: His current club, Roma, has no future plans for the 31-year old and did not include him in the pre-season. He has 11 goals in 47 games for Roma.

Price: 7 million euros
Competition: Malaga (Spain)



Candidates to replace Soldado:

1. Javier Hernandez: The 25 year old Mexican international had a successful season for Manchester United despite being at the bottom of the pecking order behind Rooney and Van Persie. He scored 33 goals in 77 games for Manchester United and 35 goals in 53 games for Mexico. With Guardado to help in convincing him, there is a good chance of signing him, however due to his high price a loan deal is most likely. In addition, it depends on whether or not Rooney leaves since that will give him an idea of the playing time he will be getting.

Price: 22 million euros
Competition: None

2. Olivier Giroud. The 26 year-old French international also had a very good season playing for Arsenal. Since Arsenal has been trying to buy a new striker, Luis Suarez, there has been concern over how much playing time he will get. He has 11 goals in 34 appearances for Arsenal as well as 3 goals in 19 games for France.

Price: 16 million Euros
Competition: None

3. Fernando Torres: The 29-year old Spanish striker hasn't lived up to expectations at Chelsea, and with the club set to buy Wayne Rooney, Torres could be looking for a way out. Valencia have expressed their interest to the player's agents and are apparently willing to spend no more than 29 million euros on the striker (Soldado will be sold of 30 million). If this transfer was to go through Villa and Torres would've switched clubs in which they recognized. Torres has shown sparks of his old self at times and is said to be regaining his form. He was the top scorer in Euro 2012 and The 2013 Fifa Confederations Cup. He has 15 goals in 82 for Chelsea and 36 goals in 106 for Spain.

Price: 23 million euros
Competition: Barcelona (Spain), Liverpool (England)

4. Salomon Kalou: The 27 year-old Ivorian currently plays for Lille. With a release clause of only about 3.5 million euros, West Ham have triggered it and are in the process of convincing the player. However, reports state that Valencia are trying to snatch the player away from their grasp. He has 14 goals in 28 games for Lille and 21 goals in 57 games for Ivory Coast.

Price: 3.5 million euros
Competition: West Ham United (England)

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!!

Soldado To Tottenham done deal

The inevitable moment has occurred. We were bound to lose our star player as we have done the past few years losing the likes of Villa, Silva, Mata, Isco and Alba. Now its Soldado's turn. Despite Amadeo not budging from the 30 million euro release clause, it's happened. A few days ago Soldado reportedly handed in a transfer request to the club meaning he will accept the transfer. At first Tottenham were reluctant to pay the amount but after the AC Milan game there were more talks. Cadena SER, a Spanish media source, announced that an agreement has been reached and that amount will be paid.  The only thing that remains, other than Soldado's signature, is deciding the method of payment which is likely to be 2 lump sums of 15 million euros, one now and the other after August the 3rd. However, this matter is trivial and shouldn't take that long to solve.

It's no secret that Soldado is Valencia's best player and any striker to replace him will have to fill a huge gap. Soldado has been a leader at Valencia and was our main and, sometimes, only threat. His absence was noted in the Milan game but as the coach has said, Valencia is beyond any one player and that the club's greatness lies in its ability to be consistent even after losing top players. Whether you agree with that or not, sulking about it won't help and Valencia will have to move on as usual. Wish Soldado all the best, good luck and thanks for everything.

Here is a video of Soldado's 2012-2013 season to remember the great year he had for Valencia. This video is not mine but all credit goes to ScoutNation.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!! GRACIAS SOLDADO!!!!

Valencia CF 1-2 AC Milan Match Report

The first win eludes Valencia again in this pre-season under new coach Miroslav Djukic. Los Che played an amazing game but were just short by losing 1-2 to AC Milan at the Mestalla. The coach expressed earlier that the pre-season consisted of "experiments" and that the game against Milan will show the difference and indeed it did despite the result.

Miroslav Djukic re-introduced Rami into the starting line-up this game despite the transfer speculation and some controversial comments surrounding the player. Mathieu was reverted back to his left-back position. Valencia started the game with good pressing and maintaining possession of the ball. Mathieu was causing several problems for the opposing defense with his usual forward runs and crosses. However, at around 19 minutes into the game, a Milan attack found Guaita making an unnecessary tackle and the referee awarded a penalty to Milan. Fortunately, Guaita made up for his mistake by saving Robinho's penalty and Rami quickly put the ball out. However, Robinho also made up for his mistake two minutes later when a through ball found him at the edge of the penalty box and he managed to slot it past Guaita. There was chances for both sides till the 39th minute when a failed clearance by Feghouli found a Milan player who laid it off for De Jong who stunned everyone by scoring from outside the box to the top-left of Guaita.

The second half featured a goal-keeping change followed by almost complete Valencia domination in terms of possession and chances. This paid off in the 53rd minute when Jonas brilliantly lobbed the ball over the Milan defence which Alcacer controlled and then set up Dani Parejo who had no trouble beating the keeper at that range. The coach then made a couple of substitutions bringing on youngsters Michel, Viera, Bernat and Guardado. However Guardado was immediately injured and substituted for youngster Fede. After the goal, Fede and Bernat caused all sorts of problems for the Milan defense. Valencia created chances up to the last minute of added time (4 minutes) but missed some close chances.

The absence of Soldado as well as the dependence on him were felt in this game. Alcacer seemed shaky the whole game and only gained confidence after his assist which is a positive. The midfield also is taking part in the offensive, getting in some shots on goal. The coach demonstrated something important in this game which is that Valencia can compete against bigger sides.  In fact, Valencia deserved the win without a doubt but it wasn't meant to be. Despite being a friendly both sides gave it their all. I think Mathieu, Banega, Rami, Bernat and Fede showed great promise in this game. On the other hand, Guaita was the flop for me. This team has shown tremendous improvement and I think will have a great season. You can see the highlights below (provided by VCF Play).

* means substituted out/in

Valencia CF (1): Guaita*, Joao, Rami, Costa, Mathieu*, Banega*, Parejo*, Fuego*, Jonas*, Feghouli, Alcacer
Substitutions: Diego Alves*, Barragan, V.Ruiz, Cissokho, Fede*, Michel*, Romeu*, Viera*, Bernat*

AC Milan (2): Abbiati*, Constante, Mexes, Bonerta, Antonini, Nocerino*, Robinho*, De Jong*, Boateng, Poli, Petegna*
Substitutions: Gabriel*, Zaccardo, Niang, El Shaarawy*, Cristante*, Muntari*, Emanuelson*

Highlights: Valencia 1-2 AC Milan Match Highlights

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!

Soldado to transfer to Tottenham FC

Valencia CF striker Roberto Soldado is almost certain to transfer to Tottenham Hotspur FC after a long and drawn out saga. Tottenham are said to be desperate and don't want to lose to Liverpool FC on Soldado, as that will put the management in hot water with the fans and thus since the disagreement with Valencia CF is only over 5 million euros, they are willing to pay the 30 million buyout clause.

The striker has accepted Tottenham personal terms and will be one of the highest paid players in Tottenham, earning in the range of 5 million euros per season, way above the 2.5 million euros Roberto Soldado gets at Valencia CF right now.

So unless there is some last minute change of plans, expect Valencia CF to lose Roberto Soldado and as we've written so far Valencia CF have few replacements lined up in Fred, Postiga and few others.

Is there life after Soldado? Possibly, but it will all depend on which reinforcement/s we bring in. I'd like Roberto Soldado to stay obviously, he still has at least 3 more years of top level performances, at the very least I'd like him to stay this season, but right now he is 99% likely to leave.

Valencia CF vs AC Milan Match Preview

Tomorrow Valencia CF will meet AC Milan at the Mestalla stadium in a preseason tournament that includes the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus, Chelsea FC, etc... This will be the first match of the tournament and in order for Valencia CF to go through they would need to beat AC Milan as its an elimination tournament, instead of group stages and should Valencia CF win they will face the winner of the match between Chelsea FC and Inter Milan.

The previous three preseason friendlies didn't go Valencia's way even even though one may say the new coach Djukic was testing stuff and trying out different strategies, its still negative to loose or only manage to draw especially against considerably weaker opponents.

Tomorrow night is the important test though and we'll see how good or bad Valencia CF really is. We'll see if this team can compete for Champions League spot or if the team is doomed to being mediocre with the terrible financial situation it is in.

Of course if Roberto Soldado is sold in the next couple of days, that would be another big blow to Valencia CF who so far has failed to bring in any really solid reinforcement to an already quite weak team, that only managed Europa league last season. So losing Soldado would be huge and something the team may not recover from, especially since he is one of the best strikers out there, certainly in the top 10 in the world and a very experienced striker at that as well.

I don't know what to expect from the match, the coach has said he will field a strong starting eleven and won't make too many changes in the course of the match, so I'm expecting them to play 100% to their ability, the question is, is that good enough?

If I had to analyse things the team is pretty much the same from last year, with Albelda and Tino leaving, while Javi Fuego and Michel arriving, I think its a decent exchange of players that doesn't make us weaker, as Javi Fuego even though he lacks experience, he is younger than Albelda and can give us more in terms of field coverage and playing time.

From the strikers only Nelson Valdez left and we may be lacking a ready replacement for Soldado, but at some point we either have to trust in Paco or just sell him or loan him again.

So I'd say we are quite equal in terms of skill, question is whether that is enough and if the team can actually challenge the bigger teams.

Pablo Piatti to leave Valencia CF

Pablo Piatti is set to leave Valencia CF and right now has three interested parties in French Stade Rennais, and two Spanish clubs that want to get him on a one year loan. Valencia CF president wants to sell Piatti so he can get the money and of course balance the budget, but at the same time he is reducing the quality and quantity of the squad.

I mean Pablo Piatti may not have turned out the second Messi fans hoped he will, but he hasn't been a complete disappointment either and I don't think we need to get rid of him this easily.

Chances are that Pablo Piatti will leave if Valencia CF reaches an agreement over the transfer fee with Stade Rennais.

Hélder Postiga is Roberto Soldado replacement?

Reports from Portugal claim that Hélder Postiga has reached personal agreement with Valencia CF and the two clubs are also very close reaching agreement over his transfer fee in the region of 3-4 million euros, so he can instantly replace Roberto Soldado if he transfers to Tottenham.

Obviously another player for the race for Soldado is Liverpool who are likely to lose Luis Suarez and would want to bring the best possible replacement for him, but right now Tottenham are in the front seat to sign Roberto Soldado and reports from England are coming out that the player and Tottenham have reached a personal agreement.

From what I can gather Roberto Soldado is very close to leaving and transferring to Tottenham and both clubs are now negotiating over the transfer fee, with Tottenham only willing to pay 25 million euros in three parts, while Valencia CF have offered 4 parts over a period of 2 years, but for 30 million euros.

Valencia line up Fred as Soldado replacement!!!

Valencia have recently rejected second bid from English club Tottenham which was said to be around €26 M plus €4 M add ons. Valencia do not want to part company with their star striker but as there is release clause in his contract ,if triggered Valencia can do nothing but accept the offer.
Valencia president ,Amadeo Salvo  has said time and again that Valencia are not willing to sell Soldado below his Release clause. Liverpool and Tottenham are really intetested in signing the player. There is a report that both the clubs are willing to pay the release clause. So Valencia are now looking for alternatives.
Fluminense hitman Fred has been seen as a ideal replacement for Spanish goal machine. Fred has experience of playing in Europe. He played for French club Lyon between 2005-2009.
It is unclear how much Fluminese would ask for the 29 year old striker but he would not cost much. He would be afforfable, if Valencia really want to sign him. He is also a target of Tottenham.
He came into light in last confederation cup, where he helped Brazil win the cup. He scored in the final against Spain and also won Silver Boot.
He is known for his physicality and eye for goal.

Tottenham send director to Valencia for Soldado

Tottenham's technical director has been sent to Valencia to discuss a move for Soldado. With three clubs now (Napoli, Tottenham and Liverpool) all willing and able to pay the clause, they are now trying to edge each other and win the race for Soldado. It's unclear yet whether Soldado would agree to any deal or remain at the club. However, the club has set August 3rd as a deadline for Soldado's transfer to pressure clubs to act decisively and give Valencia enough time to re-invest the money.

In other news, Valencia's Plan B for Soldado now includes bringing in, not one, but two strikers to replace Soldado. I already mentioned 30 year-old Helder Postiga of Real Zaragoza being one of the strikers. It appears that 26 year-old Kevin Gameiro of PSG will be the second. Other names are Hugo Almeida (Besiktas, 29 years old) and Lucas Barrios (Guangzhou, 28 years old).

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Cissokho to be loaned to Liverpool

I have said before that Cissokho was the target of many transfer rumours. Liverpool has stepped up their chase for the Valencia left-back and appear likely to get him on loan for a season. That's not all, Valencia will be kind enough to include a purchase option valued between $3-5 million euros. Cissokho has expressed his desire to stay a while back but the club appears willing to let him go.

For those who don't remember, Cissokho was purchased from Lyon for $4 million. He hasn't had many starts under Valverde which may have frustrated him. However, what is Valencia doing? The few times he has played, he has impressed. A great player who is very strong offensively and adds aggressiveness to the defense when he does get back. But if he leaves, we have 3 options to fill that spot: Bernat (recently converted to left-back by Spain U-20), Guardado or Mathieu. I can't comment on Bernat because I haven't seen him play that position. As for Guardado, I never liked his play especially as a left-back, it simply doesn't suit him. With Mathieu being used as a central defender, who is left? We will have to loan or buy a new left-back (which is what the club is planning to do) which will cost us about the same amount. And a purchase option that might be less than what we paid for him?  Look at Chelsea, they wouldn't give up Romeu except if the deal didn't include a purchase option despite the player being injured and not being used by the club. We're being far too lenient on the transfer market.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Valencia line up replacements

Many Valencia players have been linked away from Valencia due to its financial situation. The names that appear often are those of Soldado, Cissokho and Rami. Despite the first two expressing their desire to stay, Valencia have line up their replacements which signals either a doubt of their desire to stay or it shows the club's willingness to let them go. We'll see which one it is soon.

You may remember 24-year old Didac Vila from last year. He is currently on loan at Espanyol from AC Milan and plays left-back. He was originally the one to replace Jordi Alba and was all set for a loan move at the club last year. However, he failed his medical test and the loan move fell apart. Now Valencia line him as the replacement for Cissokho.

As for Soldado, the plan B is 30 year old Helder Postiga of Real Zaragoza. He currently has 23 goals in 70 games for Zaragoza and 26 goals in 61 games for Portugal. Despite having a wealth of experience at club and international level, he is a step down from Soldado. In addition, even if he succeeds, he is past the prime of his career and it won't be very long till we have to search for another striker.


What do you guys think of these two players as replacements? Good idea? Bad idea?


AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Napoli join race for Soldado

There have been a lot of interested clubs for Valencia's star player, Roberto Soldado. Up until now, most of the interest came from the English Premier League, specifically Liverpool and Tottenham, who in recent days expressed readiness to paying Soldado's termination clause of 30 million euros (expected very soon). Now Serie A club, Napoli, under the former Valencia coach, Rafael Benitez, has also joined the race for Soldado. Napoli has recently sold their ace striker, Edison Cavani, to the wealthy PSG for 63 million euros. As such, Napoli need a proven goal scorer to replace Cavani and their interest has found Soldado. With the cash that they just got, they have more than enough money to pay the buyout clause and an urgent need as well since the gap felt by Cavani is a big one and top strikers are being taken by other clubs.

So now, there are three clubs that might pay the clause and are able to do so. Only Napoli is in the Champions League between these clubs which may provide an extra incentive for Soldado. We stated time and time again that Soldado is our key player and that it is about time we keep our players. However, upon paying the buyout clause, the decision falls upon the player not the club. Let's hope his heart is in Valencia and not elsewhere.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!

VFB Stuttgart 1-0 Valencia CF Match Report

The third pre-season game and the final one in Germany ended in 1-0 loss. As with the first two games, the game there was plenty of positive play but with no result.

The first half began with rather sluggish play from Valencia. A defensive error in the 2nd minute of the game resulted in a corner. Stuttgart's Schwaab leaped, unchallenged, and thumped his header into the top-left corner past Guaita. After the goal, Valencia dominated possession and took control of the game with most of the play coming from the left flank where Cissokho and Piatti combined with Viera to create chances. The first real chance of the game for Valencia came at the 40th minute where a quick counter-attack left Stuttgart exposed at the back and needing to defend a 3 v 1 attack. However, a foul was forced resulting in a free kick which Viera took very well only to be saved by the opposing keeper.

The second half featured a full team substitution for Valencia. This half, more of the play came from the right flank where Feghouli made his presence felt right away. This gave him several chances at goal which he shot wide. Other notable players were Romeu and Michel who controlled the midfield. In the latter part of the second half, Stuttgart dominated and tested Alves a several times and came close to a second goal a few times.

The work Djukic is putting in is showing as the team has a more positive style of play. However, the main problem of attack remains with a few defensive errors to work out as well.

VFB Stuttgart (1): Ulreich, Saikai, Schwaab, Neidermeier, Rausch, Geutner, Boka, Maxim, Tornn, Ibisevic, Sararer
Substitutions: Kirschbann, Werner, Fasci, Rudiger, Leitner, Molinaro, Krist, Kheidera, Abdellaone, Traore, Hajnal   

Valencia CF (0): Guatia, Periera, R.Costa, Mathieu, Cissokho, Fede, Fuego, Parejo, Viera, Piatti, Alcacer.
Substitutions: Alves, Barragan, Rami, Delgado, V.Ruiz, S.Ruiz, Banega, Romeu, Michel, Feghouli, Jonas

A lot of promise has been shown over the past three games in Germany despite the results. Hopefully, we will see the improvement in a week's time against Milan where the full squad is available and the changes are made.

Match Highlights

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

VfB Stuttgart vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Tomorrow is the third match of the pre-season and the final one in Germany. The first two ended in disappointment, the first in 2-1 loss and the second 0-0, in what should have been very easy games against second and third division German teams. Tomorrow's game is against VfB Stuttgart, a first division German team that finished 14th in the table last season. However, compared to the previous two teams, it is a big step-up. This is also the last game before the Guinness ICC tournament which will start on the 27th of July against AC Milan at the Mestalla. Therefore, we must show improvement now or we won't stand a change against the bigger clubs in that tournament.

The coach will have had two games to work with, observe and fix up the team so far. The main problem right now is the finishing and hopefully we will see a huge improvement tomorrow. Last game we noticed a different style of play that is more positive and attacking. Hopefully we will see more of that or even an improved version of it.

This game WILL be televised so you can catch it on a stream online. The kick-off time is 15:00 GMT. I encourage everyone to watch this game to observe the new style of play and the new players in action.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Salvo trying to get rid of Pablo Piatti?

Valencia CF president is supposedly flying to Germany today and one of his primary objectives would be to convince Pablo Piatti to accept Ukrainian team Metalist offer. Pablo Piatti doesn't want to go to Ukraine and would like to be able to continue in Spain or in England, both options are out of the question right now as most Spanish teams are broke and English ones don't generally want small players in their ranks.

The Ukrainian team are said to be offering about 5 million euros for Pablo Piatti, quite lower than the 7.5 million Valencia CF paid for him to bring him from Almeria. Since his arrival he hasn't justified his price tag, but on the other hand the club did overpay for him.

I've always liked his play, its not amazing, but its fast and offensive and I think he's suffered due to the slow play of the midfield. I also think he could be best utilized as a second striker way more effectively where can can score goals, rather than on the wings.

I don't know, I think 5 million is a bit too little to sell him for, especially since we don't really have replacements. I mean who will replace Feghouli when he is injured and we all know Piatti plays best on the right side.

Valencia's Striker Problem

After the departure of Nelson Valdez and the squandering of goal opportunities in the second pre-season friendly against SV Waldhof Mannheim, Valencia are in the market for a new striker. The decision has been agreed upon by the Valencia management, sporting director and the coach. Valencia are looking for a low cost yet high profile striker to replace Valdez and compete with Soldado.

So you may ask what about Jonas and Alcacer? As for Jonas, one source recently indicated a return to Brazilian league to give him a better chance of making the squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Sao Paulo is rumoured to have made a bid for him and the club is willing to sell for the right amount. As for Alcacer, the coach expressed that he has a lot of faith in him and his abilities.

Lastly and most importantly, Soldado. With Liverpool striker Luis Suarez heavily rumored to leave, Liverpool will most likely move for Soldado. After the money, they would have more than enough money to meet his termination clause of 30 million euros. In addition, Tottenham's targets for the striker position are rapidly being taken by other teams which may force them to pay the 30 million euros. After that, the decision is Soldado's.

So what are the options? Most likely right now is 22 year-old Ruben Rochina of Blackburn Rovers (England). Doesn't exactly meet the criteria of "high-profile" as he has only 7 goals in 41 appearances for Blackburn. He is however "low-cost" with a price tag of 1.5 million euros, born in Valencia and was part of Valencia's youth system before being sold to Barcelona's youth system.

Here are some strikes we were linked to at one point or another in 2013. Expect hearing more of these players if Soldado is sold.

Name                   Club                                       Age              Price                                 Goals
Ilombe Mboyo        Gent (Belgium)                         26                5 million euros                  36 in 77 games
Philipp Hosiner      Austria Wien (Austria)               24                3.5 million euros               32 in 36 games
Sergio Garcia        Espanyol (Spain)                      30                3.5 million euros               15 in 73 games
Maxi Lopez           U.C Sampadoria (Italy)              29                5 million euros                  4 in 17 games
Kevin Gameiro       PSG (France)                          26                10 million euros                 19 in 59 games


So what do you guys think? Who should be sold/kept? Who should be bought if Soldado leaves? Do you agree with the decision to buy a new striker? Who would you like to see at the club?

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Open commentary

Well former Valencia CF player Raul Albiol has signed with Napoli and was seen yesterday taking the medical exam after which he will become a Napoli player. Of course he will work under Rafael Benitez former Valencia CF coach and he is familiar with Raul Albiol's qualities.

Things didn't work out for him in Real Madrid and apart from the first season under Pellegrino, he didn't have good season, being 3rd and even 4th choice at Real Madrid in the past 2 seasons, so this move is obvious and possibly even one year late for him.

He is still a quality defender, though very slow and prone to mistakes in the air, but I'm sure he'd fit nicely at Napoli, plus Valencia CF is set to get about 400k euros from the transfer as well.

Now coming to Valencia CF, we played another disappointing preseason match against another German minnow team and this time we drew. There were some positives from it and that is that in the first half we played fast and exciting football with quite a bit chances and Viera and Parejo are showing great play.

Also we lack our main striker Roberto Soldado who surely would have put at least one of the chances in the back of the net and he is right now our best and star player. I'm also hopeful that Ever Banega can finally live up to his talent and be a rock in midfield, else we may need to sell him at the end of the season or even in the winter transfer market to be able to recoup some money on him.

I'm glad that we didn't loose someone important like Mathieu or Rami or obviously Soldado, but the transfer window is still young, so lets hope there won't be any surprises, especially after the team missed out on few potential signings.

As the preseason is progressing now I really can't gage much from the games and training sessions, especially since there is no streamed or televised matches so far and there hasn't been much of the competition either, so the first real test will be in two days against VFB Stuttgart and we'll see how we'll do there. Hopefully there will be a stream and the match will be played in a reasonable time when I can watch it.

SV Waldhof Mannheim 0-0 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia's second pre-season friendly ends in a disappointing draw.The first half had Valenci dominating in the number of opportunities, but they were all disappointingly, not taken.  Despite the coach substituting almost everyone at half-time, the end-result was the same. There were many terrible misses and wasted chances, the most notable being Jonas's when he blasts his shot high and wide despite having lots of room to shoot in the box.

In terms of the defense, there were 2 or 3 errors that resulted in some 1 on 1 opportunities for Mannheim but all were taken care of by either keeper or by a defender's quick response.

As mentioned earlier, Mannheim is of the third division in Germany and we really should've won at least 4-0 judging by the chances we had. On the positive, I like the new style of play which is notably different in being more attacking. You can watch the highlights below as provided by VCF Play, Valencia CF's official channel.

SV Waldhof Mannheim (0): Knodler, Muller, Geige, Huckle, Weimer, Zeric, Islamoglo, Dautaj, Ozturk, Franzin, Szimayer

Valencia CF (0): Alves, Periera, R.Costa, Mathieu, Cissokho, Fede, Parejo, Viera, Fuego, Piatti, Alcacer.

Substitutions: Guatia, Barragan, Rami, V.Ruiz, S.Ruiz, Feghouli, Romeu, Banega, Jonas, Michel

1st Half Highlights

2nd Half Highlights

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

From Liverpool with love?

Spanish Clubs are busy selling players day and night this transfer window. Some clubs like Sevilla are doing Overtime, thanks to their financial problem. La liga players are bought like a mango of summer season, Cheap but Tasty.
We have sold two players till now but we hope to sell more this summer( to balance the account ).

There is a report in English media that Liverpool have agreed terms with young Valencia sensation Pedro Chirivella. But Liverpool and Los Che are yet to agree on transfer fee. Merseyside club are willing to offer as much as £2M but Valencia want £3.6M which is also his release clause. However, if no deal is reached, then tribunal will set the final fee.

The young Midfielder rejected move to Barca few years ago, though Barca and Valencia had agreed over transfer fee.

The 17 year old is said to have agreed 4 year deal with liverpool, who will make around £260,000 a year which is unlikely to be matched by Valencia.

He is a vesatile player who can play as a Midfield Pivot, Creative Midfielder and Attacking Midfielder though he prefers deeper role.
He is tipped for the big thing and seen as a future star in Valencia. He has actively featured for Spain in U15, U 16, U 17 level.

There is also a report linking Liverpool with Valencia goal machine Roberto Soldado. Liverpool legend Jan Molby urges Liverpool to sign Valencia star R. Soldado. The legend believes that Soldado would be an ideal replacement for their wantaway striker Luis Suaraz. Suaraz's future is uncertain at Anfield as he has expressed his desire to leave club publicly. So Molby believes R. Soldado, who is a proven goal scorer could be a Marquee signing Liverpool fans are looking for this summer.

Valencia CF fixtures 2013-14

Valencia CF fixtures for 2013/14 are up on the fixtures page obviously and as you can see a new blog design as you all wanted, hopefully you like it, but if not I can always revert to the previous design. 

I'm working on the players pages right now as well and I'm expecting to have 10 players done within a week with the new players page. 

You may have also noticed the blog has two more writers Pawan and Gundam and consider this their official introduction since I've completely forgotten to do one before. 

Hopefully between 3 writers we can offload the workload and have the blog saturated with content and features and editorials about Valencia CF.

Also how do you like Valencia's transfers so far and what do you think about the next season? Do you like the transfers, do you hate them, do you think we are strong enough to challenge for the Champions League? I'm obviously going to be doing one of the prediction articles as usual later on and laying out my predictions about who is going to win the Spanish Primera title and where Valencia CF is going to finish.

I'd like to hear your thoughts in the comments.

SV Waldhof Mannheim vs Valencia CF Preview

Tomorrow is the second match of the preseason against German minnows SV Waldhof Mannheim who play in the Regional League Southwest, which is the 4th division in Germany. This is a very small team, with only about 2600 club members though a pretty old club, founded in 1907.

Valencia CF stumbled in its first obstacle against another German club who played in the second division and lost 2-1, will this match be different? Losing to this team though would be terrible, I mean it shouldn't happen even if all the players were joking around and playing at 50%.

Realistically this can be an opportunity for Djukic to try out different strategies and tactics and see how it works out, as well as asses the players fitness.

The match starts at 19:00 O'clock CET and so far no broadcast or stream for it.

Good Bye Nelson Valdez

Well, I wrote earlier this week about how he would be on his way out in the next few days and so the day arrives. Nelson Valdez has reached an agreement with Al-Jazeera (UAE club) for a fee of 3 million euros. He will leave the training camp in Germany on Tuesday to travel to the UAE. I'm a bit sad to see him leave so soon, he really came through for us in the short while he was here, scoring last minute goals as a "Super-Sub". He wasn't used much by Valverde and with the return of Paco Alcacer, that will make things even harder for him. Anyways, all the best to the 29 year old Paraguayan striker and thanks for everything.

He was loaned from Rubin Kazan and then purchased in February 2013 for 3 million euros.Nelson Valdez has scored 6 goals in 28 appearances in La Liga for Valencia. He started 6 times and was subbed in 22 times.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Another Dos Santos...?

After losing out on Giovani Dos Santos to newly promoted club Villareal, Valencia set their sights on the next best thing, his 23-year old younger brother Jonathan Dos Santos. Also, home-grown in Barcelona's youth academy, JDS plays pretty much everywhere in the center of midfield (unlike his brother who plays on the wings). He currently plays for Barcelona's B-Team and has been eager to move up to the first team with little success.

To be honest, I don't see why we need another central midfielder (we have Canales, Parejo, Michel, Banega, Fuego, Romeu). That's two players per central midfield position. I don't know what the plan is with JDS but Real Sociedad also seems to be after the playmaker's signature. He seems to prefer Real Sociedad so that he can play Champions League football but seeing how close we came to signing his brother, anything can happen.

Jonathan Dos Santos is currently valued at £ 2.2 million.

Any thoughts?

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Karlsruher SC 2-1 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF lose their first preseason match to German Bundesliga 2 club Karlsruher SC, in what was the first test with the new coach and several new players.

Valencia CF mostly managed the possession in the game, but the ball was circled between the midfield and defense more so than midfield and attack and thus there was no good actions created from all that possession.

Karlsruher SC were able to take advantage in on few defensive mistakes by Valencia CF and scored two goals, the first one early in the 4th minute and the second one late in the 86th minute.

Karlsruher SC (2): Orlishausen, Klingmann, Gordon, Mauersberger, Yabo, Alibaz, Peitz, Mast, Hennings, Vitzthum y Van der Biezen. También jugaron Micanski, Torres, Nazarov, Schwertfeg, Vollath, Schiek, Mende and Schuster.

Valencia CF (1): Guaita; Joao Pereira, R. Costa, Mathieu, Cissokho; Parejo, Fuego; Piatti, Viera, Fede, Paco.
Substitutions: Alves, Barragan, Rami, Ruiz, Salva Ruiz, Romeu, Michel, Mario, Ibanez, Jonas.

Diego Alves to stay...

There has been a lot of debate in recent years about who should start from our two available and talented keepers, Diego Alves or Guaita. Since the club believed that they couldn't keep two good keepers in the midst of interest from other clubs, it was decided that one would pack their bags in the summer. Meanwhile, the former manager, Ernesto Valverde, opted for a rotation every couple of games between the two keepers. However, the new manger, Miroslav Djukic, has expressed that he will not follow the same system but will choose a starting keeper and a sub keeper. It seemed that the club was more likely to keep Guaita, since he is Spanish (the club has been criticized for not having enough Spanish players) and more importantly a product of Valencia's academy. All this seemed to point to the departure of Diego Alves with interest from Manchester City and AS Roma. However, Diego Alves and his agent expressed that the keeper is happy at the club and will stay. This could change if a good bid comes in later on, especially since the club is in debt. As of now, however, both of our talented keepers will stay but only one will start regularly (TBD) ending the debate once and for all.

So who would you like to be the starting keeper? Share your view in the comments below :)

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Nelson Valdez to leave in the next few days...

So far this year, we managed to clinch the signings of Nelson Valdez, Michel, Javi Fuego and Oriol Romeu. However, one of our signings wants to leave now and could be on his way out in the next few days. Nelson Valdez was loaned by the Valencia in the winter transfer window and has impressed the club enough in his few appearances to be bought by the club. However, he doesn't seem to be satisfied at playing a secondary role at the club with few appearances. In addition, with the return of the young home-grown talent, Paco Alcacer, he has even more competition for his position. He has therefore expressed his desire to leave in the midst of interest from Russian, Italian and MLS clubs.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Valencia to raid Mallorca B!!!

After loosing out on  Real Mallorca star Giovani Dos Santos , Valencia are trying to get at least something from relegated side. There are two Mallorca B  players who have attracted the interest of Los Che scouts.

Mallorca has confirmed that Valencia are interested in two of their players and Valencia have inquired about their availability.One is goalkeeper Yeray Gomez and the other one is striker Abdón Prats.

Valencia are very cautious in their transfer dealing right now. They want a loan move for both the players with option to make it permanent later on.

It is reported that Yeray will go to Valencia Mestalla ( Valencia B team) on loan. However, Prats will spend pre season with Mallorca first team and then decide his future.

Latest Reports are flying that we have already signed Yeray Gomez. Not confirmed though.

Stay tuned!!!

Official: Oriol Romeu is Valencia's Fourth Signing!!!!!

 After missing out on many transfer targets, the latest being Giovani dos Santos, Valencia finally complete their fourth signing - Chelsea defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu on loan. Despite some complications in the details of the loan deal, Superdeporte confirms that Romeu is a Valencia player for the year. The player is reportedly in Valencia to pass the medical test and to be officially presented at the Mestalla (date not specified but probably tomorrow). The player will then quickly join up with most of the squad in Germany (the rest is on vacation) to do some training before the first pre-season match against Karlsruher on 14 July 2013.

Romeu is Valencia's fourth signing after Nelson Valdez, Michel and Javi Fuego. He and Javi Fuego were brought in to replace the void left by the sale of Tino Costa and veteran David Albelda. The deal might include a purchase option and will involve paying his wages for the year.

Oriol Romeu is regarded very highly and appears to be a promising signing. Hopefully, he will meet and exceed our expectations and help Valencia to a successful season.

AMUNT VALENCIA!!!!

Valencia loose out on GDS!!!

It is sad to say but its true. Villareal have signed Mexican star for undosclosed fee. It is official he has signed 4 years contract with Yellow submarine. Our city rival were always ahead of us in GDS race.

Eventhough, Giovani was waiting for formal Valencia offer, why we didnt reacted is everyone's question now. I dont think we are going to get player of his quality in that price.

I was very optimistic that we could really pull this off. But this is what football is all about. Anyways, goodluck to GDS for his bright future.

Dos Santos Race Takes new twist!!!

It has been quite a while Valencia has been linked with Mexican international Giovani Dos Santos. GDS has already rejected offer from MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy, whose offer was accepted by Real Mallorca. Now the news is that Villareal has moved ahead of Valencia in GDS race. Mallorca president said that they have accepted bid from newly promoted Villareal side which is said  to be around €6m. Now only personal terms with the player needed to be finalised.

However, GDS is keen on transfer to The Mestalla. But Mallorca wants to sell him to Villareal as they have got concrete offer from Villareal. As Los Che are finacially deplated, they want a loan move for Giovani with a option to sign.However, Mallorca want to sell the player because even if they get promoted next season it is less likely GDS would want to swap Mestalla for Mallorca.

Guardado is trying to persuade GDS to sign for Valencia. It would be a great signing if we could pull this off. Former La Masia graduate is a technically gifted player. He can play as winger and attacker. He would be a great addition to already depleted squad.