Valencia CF vs Cordoba CF Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Cordoba CF Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 25.09.2014; 22:00 CET

5th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Nuno Santos and Albert Ferrer

Valencia CF will be hosting Cordoba CF at the Mestalla  tonight and will look to continue with its winning form that spans for 3 matches so far. All three of the last three matches Valencia CF has won with 3 goals scored and tonight the team will be looking to repeat the feat.

This matchday is played in mid week, so the coach will be looking to rest some of the player and in the press conference yesterday he said that he will be making some changes, though didn't specify who or how many. Ruben Vezo has not been called up for this match, so he's been given a rest, this means Mustafi will most likely make his first debut for Valencia CF and this will be his chance to shine and possibly win a place in the starting eleven.

I think the team will mostly be the same, I've understood Nuno to be one who wants and prefers consistency and stability, so while we will see some changes tonight, its likely to be 2 or 3 changes and not more. I think Gaya might be given rest and Orban starting in his place, possibly Parejo being given rest as well. Possibly change goalkeepers as well and give Yoel a try.

Cordoba CF have been quite terrible so far in the season, the biggest threat for them has been Valencia CF loaned player Fede Cartabia who has scored two goals for them and has been one of the most threatening players. He would not be able to play against Valencia CF though due to a clause in the loan deal, so Valencia CF won't have to worry about that and is going to have an easier time on the right flank at the back.

I'm expecting a tight match even though Cordoba CF have been very weak so far, but they would be looking to find their break tonight and are likely to defend with full force and try and get at least one point from this match. I hope Valencia players are fully concentrated though and don't take Cordoba CF lightly.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Alves, Yoel.
Defenders: Barragán, João Cancelo, Otamendi, Mustafi, Gayà, Orban.
Midfielders: Javi Fuego, Zuculini, André Gomes, Dani Parejo, Roberto Ibáñez, Feghouli, Filipe Augusto, Carles Gil.
Forwards: Piatti, Paco Alcácer.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-3-3
Line-up: Yoel; Barragan, Mustafi, Otamendi, Orban; Fuego, Gomes, Zuculini; Feghouli, Paco, Piatti.
Tactics: Low defensive line, own half pressure, midfield triangle, short passing, offside trap, deep laying defensive midfielder.

Match Predictions:
Valencia CF 1-0 Cordoba CF
Valencia CF players have consistently scored goals this season in every case so its expected this to be the case tinight as well, but since the team will be somewhat tired from the previous match just few days ago and Cordoba CF are likely to park the bus in front of goal I'm expecting only one goal.

The defense will be changed with Mustafi and very likely Orban in for Vezo and Gaya, but I expect the threat to be small from Cordoba and for Valencia CF to keep a clean sheet.

Getafe CF 0-3 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF achieved its 3rd win of the season in 4 matches, drawing only against Sevilla in the opening match of the season, but winning all of the rest with big goal-scoring differences. Even though the play hasn't always been impeccable, the goals and results have been there and that is ultimately what matters.

Maybe I've been too critical in the past of the midfield, maybe I expect too much, regardless I want the team to play. I think right now the play might still not be top of the line, but there is no denying that we have a top level attack and so far very stable and secure backline and through which we are getting very good results.

This match was no different as Paco Alcacer shone again and scored the first goal for Valencia CF just in the 7th minute, assisted by Rodrigo Moreno. This was the jumping board for the team and instantly the better play began, Valencia CF mostly controlling the match and pace of the game and it all paid off in the 20th minute when Andre Gomes scored after a lovely one two pass with Paco Alcacer who's been in superb form this season.

This was also one of Andre Gomes better matches, though he still has a lot to improve on and especially learn how to retain the pass better, though he seems to me he functions better in a more advanced and attacking position.

The match leveled off soon after and both teams were fighting for possession, neither team winning in that department and Getafe having more shots and attacks overall, but very weak ones and all of their shots I believe coming outside of the penalty area and not being threatening at all.

The second half started and for most of it it was the same play, mostly battle in the midfield, Valencia CF creating few more dangerous chances and Getafe having shots from far ranges towards goal.

Ultimately Feghouli came in for Paco and was soon after brought down in the penalty area, with the referee pointing to the penalty spot. Rodrigo Moreno took it and scored the third goal to put this match to rest and get Valencia CF into cruise control to finish off the match. Things won't be so simple though as Rodrigo did a clumsy challenge, but hardly for a yellow card, but the referee deemed it horrible enough for a yellow, which was his second of the match and that meant automatic red card.

Anyways Valencia CF managed to sway off Getafe's attacks and in truth Getafe never really came close to scoring, most of their chances were really poor and non threatening.

Technical Details:
Getafe: Guaita; Valera (Arroyo, min. 75), Alexis, Naldo, Escudero; Sammir (Baba, min. 57), Juan Rodríguez; Hinestroza, Sarabia (Ivi, min. 60) Diego Castro; Lafita.
Valencia: Diego Alves; Barragán, Rubén Vezo, Otamendi, Gayá; Javi Fuego; Piatti (Orban, min. 85) Parejo (Augusto, min. 80), Andre Gomes; Rodrigo; Paco Alcácer (Feghouli, min. 60).

Goals:
Paco Alcacer 1-0, 7 min.
Andre Gomes 2-0, 20 min.
Rodrigo Moreno 3-0, 72 min.

Player Ratings:
Diego 6.5 - Had two or three saves from long range shots, other than that he wasn't tested.
Barragan 6 - Average performance from the right back, went forward to a great extent, but unfortunately it didn't relate to much and was otherwise good in defense.
Vezo 6 - Good performance, came forward often to make a block or mark someone and was largely successful.
Otamendi 6.5 - Dealt easily with Getafe attacks, covered nicely few times for Gaya when he was forward and was generally solid overall.
Gaya 6.5 - Didn't have the kind of impact as in some of the previous matches, but was overall solid and was very involved in the play from defense, midfield to attack. Went forward to a great extent and helped Piatti a ton.
Fuego 5.5 - We've come to expect this type of standard performance from Fuego, as he pretty much sat deep at the back and defended, very rarely getting involved in midfield play.
Parejo 6 - Was better than the last few games and didn't lose the ball nearly as much, providing good outlet in the middle of the park.
Gomes 6.5 - Similar performance to Parejo's with the difference than Gomes generally operated more forward. Scored the second goal after a beautiful one two with Paco.
Moreno 7.5 - Would have been man of the match if it wasn't for his red card, even if it was very harsh. Great performance overall, assisting the first goal and then scoring the third from a penalty.
Paco 7.5 (MOTM) - Scored a great poachers goal to open the scoring for Valencia CF and then showed his vision and quick thinking by doing a lovely one-two with Gomes, assisting Gomes goal. Was a dangerous throughout the match and had a very action performance.
Piatti 6 - Wasn't a threat directly, but his pace and running always leads to being surrounded by players, which in turn makes space for the other players. Was involved in several attacks and combined well with Gaya.
Subs:
Feghouli 6 - Responsible for gaining the penalty, even though some would argue it wasn't really a penalty. Overall had few runs on the right flank and was generally active and useful in his time on the pitch.
Felipe N/A - Not enough time, but slotted well for Parejo and didn't make any mistakes.
Orban N/A - Not enough time

Man of the Match: Paco Alcacer
Flop of the Match: None
Best offense: Rodrigo Moreno
Worst offense: Antonio Barragan
Best defense: Nicolas Otamendi
Worst defense: None
Best possession: Rodrigo Moreno
Worst possession: Javi Fuego

Getafe CF vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Getafe FC vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Stadium: Alfonso Perez

Date: 22.09.2014; 20:45 CET

4th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Cosmin Contra and Nuno Santos

Valencia CF is meeting Getafe FC tonight at the Alfonso Perez stadium in Getafe, looking to secure its third win this season and continue the good start to the season. So far Valencia CF drew against Sevilla in the first match of the season, but went on to win the following matches.

Even though the wins were big, the play wasn't as stellar as the results showed, the team often struggling in midfield and frequently loosing the ball and allowing the opposition quick and dangerous counter attacks.

While the defense has been solid so far, its only a matter of time one of those midfield mistakes be taken advantage of and converted into goals. So coming into tonight's match the team had better ironed out the mistakes and improved in the midfield if Valencia CF is to have a win against Getafe CF.

Valencia CF coach Nuno said that he is going to start the same team he's been starting all season and he won't make any changes, which I like, I like to see continuity when the team is obviously getting results, though he also should be afraid to make small changes to fit more against the opponents. I get it that Valencia CF needs to play its own football and not think too much about the opposition, but sometimes tactical decisions are very important in order to win especially against stubborn teams.

Getafe FC on the other side only have 3 points so far, but since its so early in the season it doesn't mean much and they can turn out to be really good and end up in the top 6, we just don't know this early in the season, but Valencia CF can use Getafe's current poor form to their advantage and achieve a victory. 

Getafe CF acquired Vicente Guaita and Michel Herrero this summer from Valencia CF, so its possible that they will be fielding two former Valencia CF players tonight. Alexis also a former Valencia CF player is also still playing for Getafe CF. 

They sold Miguel Angel Moya this summer to Atletico Madrid, who was also a former Valencia CF player, though at the time he was second position to goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Alves, Yoel.
Defenders: Barragán, João Cancelo, Vezo, Otamendi, Mustafi, Gayà, Orban.
Midfielders: Javi Fuego, André Gomes, Dani Parejo, Feghouli, Filipe Augusto, Carles Gil.
Forwards: Piatti, Rodrigo, Alcácer.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-3-3
Line-up: Alves; Barragan, Vezo, Otamendi, Gaya; Fuego, Gomes, Parejo; Feghouli, Paco, Piatti.
Tactics: Low defensive line, own half pressure, midfield triangle, short passing, offside trap, deep laying defensive midfielder

Match Predictions:
Getafe CF 1-2 Valencia CF
Getafe CF is in a bit of a slump right now, while Valencia CF is on a high and mostly in great form, so I expect Valencia CF to take advantage of Getafe's poor form and be able able to secure a victory. I still think the midfield is going to have mistakes and its likely for Getafe to take advantage of some poor pass or something and score a goal. I'm thinking Valencia CF will win, but Getafe CF are going to score a goal.

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Valencia CF 3-1 RCD Espanyol Match Report

Valencia CF continued with the good start to this season with another rather big win, but the result is a bit misleading, similar to last game. While Valencia CF won 3-1 over Espanyol, it was a rather lucky win as the linesman ruled a perfectly legitimate goal offside and damaged Espanyol. At the time the results was only 1-0 for Valencia CF, so if the goal stood it could have been a different match.

I think that offside call saved Valencia CF, just as Espanyol were becoming more dangerous and overallValencia CF has to improve rather drastically. Valencia's midfield is just terrible, they all play like individuals, rather than a team and no one is really available to receive a pass. Misplaced passes, lost possession, complete lack of understanding, etc... are just some of the midfield problems.

We are winning these games based on luck and individual strength of the players, rather than good team play or things of that nature and sooner or later the luck will leave and players won't always be in great form, the team play will have to improve if the team is to finish top 4.

I hope Nuno understands that the midfield is terrible and works specifically in that area to try and improve it. Its clear that the team is very good defensively, we also have the talent up front with Paco and Rodrigo able to score goals, Negredo is also a proven goalscorer so we have the canons up front as well, but its the midfield that is holding back our game. Its a major weak spot right now and Nuno needs to change something, before this weakness is exploited by better teams.

I liked what I saw from the defense, its very solid and generally secure, with Otamendi impressive with his blocks and tackles, but then having a blunder later in the game where he kept the ball too long and was fought off of it, that could have easily cost us the game as well, Valencia CF was very lucky.

Vezo was error free though, he didn't make any mistake, Barragan was very solid defensively providing good blocks and interventions and Gaya was very good as well, though this was his weaker performance this season, hopefully he has amazing performance in the next games like before.

I don't think the defense will change anytime soon based on the performances so far and in fact its likely to get even stronger as the understanding between Vezo and Otamendi grows. I know people want to see Mustafi play, so do I, but we shouldn't tinker with a winning formula and Vezo and Otamendi should start as long as we are conceding minimal goals. If that changes, then give Mustafi a chance.

I've already written about the midfield, this is the reason I wanted Enzo Perez or someone of his quality to join in midfield so we could have a more stable game, more organized game. Hopefully our midfield improves though, if not we can bring in some reinforcements in the winter, though I'd like to give the young players we brought in midfield few chances before we make any purchase.

I think the biggest issue is that Parejo and Gomes are too similar, if I was to describe it, its like playing with two Iniesta's at Barcelona. You need a Xavi type player and we don't really have him, we we are playing two players who are the same in play style and they are crowding each other and doing the same thing.

Technical Details:
Valencia: Diego Alves, Barragán, Vezo, Otamendi, Gayá, Javi Fuego, André Gomes, Parejo, Piatti (Carles Gil, m.82), Rodrigo (Feghouli, m.67) and Paco Alcácer (Robert, m.87).
Espanyol: Kiko Casilla, Javi López, Colotto, Álvaro, Arbilla, Víctor Sánchez (Cañas, m.78), Abraham (Lucas, m.46), Salva Sevilla, Stuani (Caicedo, m.65), Montañés and Sergio García.

Goals:
Pablo Piatti 1-0, 7 min.
Daniel Parejo 2-0, 63 min.
Paco Alcacer 3-0, 73 min.
Sergio Garcia 3-1, 90 min.

Player Ratings:
Diego 6 - Had nothing to do most of the game, but was forced to make few saves and did well. Couldn't save a late game penalty though.
Baragan 6 - Good match for Baragan, defensively solid, making few good tackles and blocks. Didn't provide much going forward though.
Vezo 6.5 - Error free performance and good understanding with Otamendi.
Otamendi 6.5 - Had several crucial interceptions and blocks, though had one huge mistake that could have resulted in a goal had Espanyol finishing been better.
Gaya 6.5 - His "weakest" performance this season, but this was still very good. Solid defensively, went forward as much as possible and provided few crosses, but wasn't very effective in attacking sense.
Fuego 6 - Gave away a last minute penalty with a very nave foul in the penalty area. Provided good defensive cover though, but as always he was invisible in the middle of the park and serves more as a fifth defender than a midfielder.
Parejo 5 - If the linesman wasn't blind his mistake could have costed VCF the game as Espanyol would have equalized to 1-1. Wasn't his only big mistake either. Scored the second goal, but apart from that it was a very poor performance.
Gomes 4 - I swear him and Parejo compete who would be the worst player. Lost the ball so many times I can't even count that much. Apart from the one action he started that lead to the first Valencia goal it was a very poor performance.
Moreno 7 (MOTM) - Lively performance as he provided the assist for Piati's goal and was generally a threat throughout the match.
Paco 6.5 - Scored the third goal to secure the match and was generally good, finding himself in few dangerous positions.
Piatti 6 - Scored the first goal for Valencia CF, but apart from that he was rather invisible on the pitch. Had few runs, but lost the ball all the time.
Subs:
Feghouli 6.5 - Instant thereat down the right side and provided the assist for Paco's goal. Combined well with Parejo and Barragan in his short time on the field and is close to his best form judging by this performance.
Gil N/A - Not enough time
Robert N/A - Not enough time

Man of the Match: Moreno
Flop of the Match: Gomes
Best offense: Moreno
Worst offense: Gomes
Best defense: Vezo
Worst defense: None
Best possession: Feghouli
Worst possession: Parejo and Gomes

Valencia CF vs RCD Espanyol Match Preview

Valencia CF vs RCD Espanyol Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 14.09.2014; 17:00 CET

3rd matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Nuno Santos and Sergio Gonzalez

Valencia CF had several players who featured for their national teams, making his debut for the Spanish national team was Paco Alcacer who scored a goal on his debut and will be feeling confident and motivated after such a dream like debut.

Joao Pereira featured for Portugal and as always was good, providing good attacking threat and good defending, even though he is still out of the squad against Espanyol, it seems like Nuno won't be counting on him seriously and I wonder why the club didn't sell him in the summer if they are going to waste his talents like this.

Ruben Vezo also was called up for Portugal though he didn't feature, Andre Gomes made his debut though and had an okay game, nothing to brag home about, but it was a fine start for him.

Just after the last match against Malaga CF, Valencia CF brought in Alvaro Negredo from Manchester City, though he is injured and won't be available at least until another 10 or more days. He should come back from injury within two weeks, though he is likely not going to start until he is fully fit, so quite long ways until his full recovery.

The team would be looking to build on its successful start to the season and try to win against RCD Espanyol who've been playing some poor football and find themselves at the bottom at the table, though after only 2 matches I wouldn't count them out and they will be looking to bounce back with a surprise win against Valencia CF.

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Alves, Yoel.

Defenders: Barragán, João Cancelo, Vezo, Otamendi, Mustafi, Gayà, Orban.

Midfielders: Javi Fuego, Zuculini, André Gomes, Dani Parejo, Roberto Ibáñez, Feghouli, Filipe Augusto, Carles Gil.

Forwards: Piatti, Rodrigo, Alcácer.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):

Formation: 4-3-3

Line-up: Alves; Barragan, Vezo, Otamendi, Gaya; Fuego, Gomes, Parejo; Feghouli, Paco, Piatti.

Tactics: Low defensive line, own half pressure, midfield triangle, short passing, offside trap, deep laying defensive midfielder.

Match Predictions:

Valencia CF 2-1 RCD Espanyol

I think its going to be a tough game, even though Espanyol have only 1 point, they haven't been a push over and will be looking to get a win or at least a draw against Valencia CF in order to get their season back on track, while Valencia CF has been very solid at the back, the forward line has also been scoring goals, but the team has had big problems in midfield and in order for VCF to win against Espanyol these problems need to be over and the midfield should be secure and concise.

I think our defense is strong enough to prevent cheap goals, but with the midfield shaky and losing the ball in dangerous positions often I could see Espanyol scoring one goal. I think Valencia CF is going to score more goals though and be able to win the match 2-1.

Juan Mata back to Valencia CF?

Reports from England are increasing that Juan Mata may leave Manchester United at winter and join Valencia CF, as he is seen as surplus to requirements after the arrival of Di Maria, with the other forward positions covered by Rooney, RVP and Falcao.

Reports suggest the new Manchester United coach changed his mind about Juan Mata after the arrival of Falcao and seems to now prefer someone faster and pacier as opposed to Mata's slower style of play.

Valencia CF are currently still not owned by Peter Lim, though things are progressing good and the final ownership change should happen within 10 days, after that is complete Valencia CF will be in a position to bring Juan Mata in the winter transfer market for 30-35 million euros.

As you all know the deal for Enzo Perez fell through and that was a deal worth 30 million euros, so Peter Lim is still looking for potential signings to strengthen the club even more and Mata could fit the bill.

Would you guys like to have Juan Mata back at Valencia CF, or do you prefer another player or strengthening on another position?

Arsenal interested in Paco Alcacer

English Premier league club Arsenal is interested in bringing Paco Alcacer to their ranks, their manager Arsene Wenger is known for finding and bringing young talents to the club and developing them into great players and he's set his eyes on Valencia's Paco Alcacer.

Paco Alcacer had a great debutante season, scoring over 15 goals in all competitions in just half a season, since that is when he was given a chance by Valencia's former coach Pizzi. He has also started this season on a positive note, as well as scoring in his debut for the Spanish national team against Macedonia.

Suffice to say he is seen as one of the best talents in the world and with his current buyout clause at only 20 million euros he is seen as a bargain.

Its not just Arsenal that are interested in him either, other English clubs are interested in Paco, as well as few other clubs from other leagues.

Fortunately though Valencia CF is working on a new contract for Paco that would keep him in Valencia CF till 2019 and even more importantly raise his buyout clause over 50 million euros.

Valencia CF sign Alvaro Negredo

Its official, Valencia CF have signed Alvaro Negredo on a 1 year loan deal, with a purchase clause at the end of the loan deal.

The deal was brokered through just one hour before the transfer deadline and its said that Valencia CF will have to dish out between 25 and 30 million euros for the player at the end of his loan deal.

I personally think this guy is way overpriced and having played for one of our biggest rivals in Sevilla and scored so many goals against Valencia CF, I'm not excited at all for this signing, in fact I wish it didn't happen.

Yeah, he is a great player, but at 29 he isn't becoming any younger and what would this mean for Paco and Rodrigo, two very young and very promising players, at least one of which will have to sit on the bench so that Negredo can play.

So not excited at all for this signing, I think 25 or 30 million euros is way too much and at best he is worth 15 million euros.

Tell me what you think about this weird signing.

Official: Filipe Augusto on loan at Valencia CF

Valencia CF have signed 21 year old Rio Ave FC midfielder Filipe Augusto on a one year loan in the last hours of the transfer market. Both the deals for Enzo Perez and Fredy Guarin fell apart and the club needed a replacement quick. There were rumors that Kuzmanovic and Moutinho were also targeted today but in the end Valencia CF decided to trust Nuno's instinct and stick with Augusto.

Augusto has a Portuguese passport so it won't take up any non-EU spots on the team. Which means now with the departure of Jonas, we have 2 non-EU spots left unoccupied (only Otamendi has one).

With this signing, the transfer market is now closed and it ends the ingoing and outgoing operations.

Arrived (10): Yoel (loan), Cancelo(loan), Mustafi (8 million), Orban (4 million), Filipe Augusto (loan), Andres Gomes (loan), Rodrigo de Paul (4 million), Zuculini (loan), Rodrigo (loan), Negredo (loan)

Total Spent: 16 million euros

Also Gaya and Roberto Ibanez promoted to the first team.

Left (20): Guaita (free), Cissokho (2 million), Senderos (loan end), Ruiz (loan), Rami (4 million), Costa (terminated), Mathieu (20 million), Bernat (11 million), Banega (2 million), Guardado (loan), Romeu, Fede (loan), Keita (contract end), Michel (loan), Viera (2 million), Pabon (5 million), Jonas (terminated), Postiga (free), Araujo (loan), Vargas (loan end)

Total earned: 46 million euros

Dani Ramirez and Carlos Akapo were added to the Mestalla B team

Net: 30 million euros earned

What do you think of this transfer window? Successful or not?

Official: Postiga contract terminated

Valencia CF have announced the termination of Helder Postiga's contract in an official statement on their website. He was almost immediately signed by Deportivo La Coruna on a one year deal having agreed to lower his salary.

In other news, Filipe Augusto from Rio Ave FC has been rumored to be in Valencia CF to sign for the club after the deals for Guarin and Perez fell apart.

Fredy Guarin deal with Inter breaks

Valencia CF and Inter Milan failed to reach an agreement over the transfer of Fredy Guarin and since the transfer window closed in Italy, Guarin remains an Inter Milan player and Valencia CF looks like it will remain without a 5th midfielder that Nuno wanted.

With the transfer of Enzo Perez failing previous as well, Valencia CF set their sights on Inter's Fredy Guarin, but the clubs failed to reach an agreement. Inter wanted 20 million in addition to the 2 million euros they get for the loan dead, while Valencia CF was prepared to offer them 15 million at most.

Further disagreement seemed to be when they money will be paid, with Inter wanting to receive some of the money this year, while Valencia CF wanted to loan Guarin for one year, pay 2 million for the loan and then based on a clause purchase the player at the end of his loan.

Official: Jonathan Viera transfers to Standard Liege

Its official, Jonathan Viera has transferred to Standard Liege on a full transfer reportedly in the region of about 2 million euros.

There was talk that Viera would be loaned out to some Spanish club, but I guess ultimately it was decided between the player and club to sell him to another club.

He never really got a chance to prove himself at Valencia CF, always being loaned out after good preseasons for no apparent reasons. I don't know if he wasn't very good at training or maybe he was hard to work with, but regardless he now joins Standard Liege on a two year deal.

Valencia CF is still working on bringing in another attacker and central midfielder, which is likely going to be Negredo and Guarin.

Also Jonas will also leave and he will become a free agent, said to join Sevilla FC and link up with his former coach Unai Emery.

Valencia CF reach agreement for Alvaro Negredo

Valencia CF have reportedly reached an agreement for 29 year old Manchester City striker Alvaro Negredo. All that's left is the official confirmation which will probably happen soon as Manchester City are looking to bring in a replacement striker, which looks like it will be Falcao.

The deal appears to be a one year loan with a mandatory purchase option at the end at a value of 25 million euros. Similar type to deal to Yoel Rodriguez. This means that Valencia CF would buy him at the end of the season at a value that is equal to the value with which he was purchased from Sevilla.

Again, this is not official but very likely at this point.

Jonas on the other hand has already said good-bye to his team mates and looks like he will leave via a contract termination. 

As for the all important box-to-box midfielder, Valencia CF have entered deep negotiations with Inter Milan for 28 year old Colombian Fredy Guarin. Valencia CF has reportedly had a bid rejected earlier in the transfer window but have come back for him since Enzo Perez didn't work out for them. Valencia CF is trying to get him for 12-15 million euros. That being said, some sources say that the Enzo Perez deal is still on the cards and Benfica are willing to agree to this deal. However, there was no farewell or an emotional sending off in the game he has played today.

Anyways, tomorrow is the last day of the transfer window and everything will be made official by then.

Any thoughts on Negredo? Fredy Guarin vs Enzo Perez?

Valencia CF 3-0 Malaga CF Match Report

Valencia CF win against Malaga CF, but the score may be a little misguiding as the team struggled against Malaga CF and were the weaker team until Malaga were reduced to 10 players. Mostly the midfield failed as they failed to contain Malaga and to keep possession, though the defense, especially Vezo had few slip ups that could have easily cost us the game.

As the match started Malaga instantly had a chance as Vezo made a mistake and the ball fly by him, forcing Alves into a weird position, but luckily it didn't results in a goal.

Diego Alves was forced to save once again, again from a mistake by Vezo, though Barragan also allowed a lot of space as they both failed to cover a shot by one of Malaga's attackers.

Valencia CF were making many mistakes and most of the players kept losing the ball or giving away possession through bad passes. There were few good moments, for example Feghouli had few good runs on goal, Gaya and Piatti were combining well on the left flank and causing problems, but it wasn't until Malaga were reduced to 10 players that Valencia CF began playing better.

I got to say I wasn't satisfied with the play even with a man advantage, as Malaga seemed dangerous and had urgency in their play, while Valencia's play was sloppy and riddled with mistakes.

The positive is that individual performance is amazing from certain players, Paco and Piatti had great solo performances, Gaya was absolute beast, not one bad cross, all his crosses were precise and dangerous and his runs always caused problems, while keeping up defensively as well.

Diego Alves was in good form once again and made several great saves, Otamendi was solid at the back and Feghouli showed signs of his old self, significantly improving over the past few matches.

The big letdown and big worry for me right now is the midfield. 3 games now(including preseason) it has been very poor and the duo of Parejo and Gomes haven't clicked together, its like they both are playing on different teams. Fuego is so bad at creating play and receiving the ball, he might as well not play when Valencia CF have possession. Sure he works hard defensively and breaks down attacks before they start, but he plays in a bubble and is never available for passes, always extremely deep at the back.

The midfield was run over by a Malaga team that finished 11th last season and even had 2 red carded players from last match, Valencia CF desperately need the midfielders to improve and Enzo Perez would be a great addition if we can still get him. I know there are major troubles now, but whether he comes or some other great midfielder, its clear as day that we need a solid central midfielder.

Overall lucky win, the red card basically secured Valencia CF the win, though I have to give it to the players individually for their performance. Gaya, Paco, Piatti and Alves were the standout performers, with Otamendi being overall very solid and secure and Feghouli showing some signs of life with a good enough performance.

Goals:
Paco Alcacer 1-0, 31 min.
Daniel Parejo 2-0, 45 min.
Pablo Piatti 3-0, 56 min.

Player Ratings:
Diego Alves 8 - Made several key saves and kept Valencia CF in the game and then later on in the lead and with a clean sheet.
Barragan 6 - Some good defending and then some bad defending. Too aggressive in the penalty area and could have easily given up at least 2 penalties with his aggressive defending. Decent contribution going forward.
Vezo 4 - His weakest performance so far, was caught out of position on few occasions and misplaced a pass once that almost resulted in a goal, if not for Alve's great goalkeeping.
Otamendi 7 - The more secure of the central defenders and was forced to cover for Vezo's mistakes, though he did a good job.
Gaya 8.5 (MOTM) - Absolutely super, just fantastic performance, way above any player on the field, looks to be one of the best players in the world in the not so distant future. Amazing defending, great crosses into the penalty area, amazing work all around.
Fuego 5 - Wasn't as influential in the back as his previous games, Malaga seemed to ran ragged in the midfield and constantly threaten goal when they were with 11 players on the field.
Gomes 5 - Quite isolated performance from the former Benfica player, wasn't able to get into the game and his contribution stopped at few interceptions and passes.
Parejo 5 - Not much better than Gomes, but he stayed because he is the captain now. Missed his penalty, though luckily scored from the rebound. Not very effective in midfield.
Feghouli 6 - Positive and reassuring performance from the Algerian, found himself in dangerous positions and was always out there and ready to push a counter attack and form an attack, had few penetrating runs and provided some decent passes. Much improved performance from last few games.
Paco 8 - This is the type of performance we expect from Paco, took a poachers goal after being released by Gaya and provided the assist for Piatti's goal.
Piatti 7.5 - Had a great game, was always a threat down the left side, always a willing runner, had few good runs dribbling past 2-3 players and of course scored an amazing goal from a pass by Paco.
Subs:
Zucolini 4 - Not much involvements after he came in, very anonymous performance, though to be expected. He arrived very soon in Valencia and this is his first game.
Carles Gil 5 - Had one good run, provided a decent cross and seemed like he had a decent enough contribution.
Robert N/A - No time to make an impact.

Man of the Match: Gaya
Flop of the Match: Vezo
Best offense: Paco
Worst offense: Gomes
Best defense: Gaya and Otamendi
Worst defense: Vezo
Best possession: Gaya
Worst possession: Parejo and Gomes

Valencia CF vs Malaga CF Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Malaga CF Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalls

Date: 29.08.2014; 22:00 CET

2nd matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Nuno Santos and Javi Gracia

The new season is under way and Valencia CF is about to meet its second opponent Malaga CF. The first season match went relatively good, Valencia CF managed to get a draw with one man down and playing away at Sevilla against a top club that won the Europa league last season, so it was a success, though the team will be looking to get its first win today against Malaga CF.

Rodrigo De Paul is suspended for 4 matches following last match red card, very unjust ruling against Valencia CF, but there are replacements for him and Piatti was likely to be the starter anyways, while Gaya can also play as a winger, with Orban as left back covering. 

Anyways this is going to be an interesting match, I'm curious to see how the team has progressed and which team exactly will Nuno choose to go against Malga. Will we have Gomes and Parejo yet again paired in the midfield or will we see only one of them with Zuculini getting its first start? 

Malaga CF started its first season match with a win against non other than Athletic Bilbao, so they will be feeling confident having beat such a strong team who finished 4th last season and will be looking to build upon their success tonight at the Mestalla and get a win against Valencia CF.

Last season they finished 11th place on the table, actually not much further than Valencia CF, but this season its all up in the open and we are yet to see how good or bad Malaga is.

Judging from the last matches of both clubs, there is likely to be little goals, Valencia CF is having trouble scoring and creating many chances, Malaga seems to be the same, though both clubs played against strong opponents so might even see quite a few goals if the match opens up.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego Alves and Yoel Rodríguez
Defenders: Barragán, Cancelo, Vezo, Otamendi, Mustafi, Gaya, Orban
Midfielders: Fuego, Zuculini, André Gomes, Parejo, Robert, Carles Gil, Feghouli, Piatti
Forwards: Rodrigo, Paco Alcácer

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-3-3
Line-up: Alves; Barragan, Vezo, Otamendi, Gaya; Fuego, Parejo, Gomes; Piatti; Paco, Rodrigo.
Tactics: Low defensive line, own half pressure, midfield triangle, short passing, offside trap, deep laying defensive midfielder.

Match Predictions:
Valencia CF 2-1 Malaga CF
This is a difficult match to predict, but I think Valencia CF will win. I think the team is going to score two goals and put the pressure on Malaga CF. I think Valencia CF is going to keep more of the possession and dictate play, but Malaga will be dangerous from counter attacks and likely to score a late 2nd half goal after Valencia players relax due to winning 2-0.

LFP reject appeal for de Paul's four-match suspension

The LFP have rejected an appeal by Valencia CF to reduce the 4 match suspension of de Paul following his red card in the game against Sevilla. They have cited drawing blood from Aleix Vidal and him having to be substituted as a result, to keep the suspension at four.

I already said how unfair this was in the last post. I listed incidents that happened in the same weekend and were given a lesser punishment. Some got away for doing even worse things with no suspension. Even the referee's report which said there was no violent intent, the testimony of Aleix Vidal himself who said it was not deliberate, and the player's clean record up to his date weren't enough to reduce the ban by any amount.

 I don't know what the issue is, the foul wasn't so serious. The season just started and the refereeing has already come into question. Hopefully, there won't be future incidents like this. Outrageous.

Valencia CF remain firm that the decision is unfair and disproportionate. As such, they have decided to take the next step and seek the CAS, the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Maybe they will bring some sense into this and sort this out.

Jonas to stay?

Jonas has been given all transfer window to look for a club of his choice. He believes he can still find a club in Europe where he wants to continue his career and is against a move anywhere outside Europe. After four months of searching, he now says that he doesn't like any of the options that was presented to him. As such, he wants to see out the one year he has on his contract.

This doesn't sit well with Valencia CF who wanted at least 2 million euros for him and more importantly the non-EU spot that he occupies. Valencia CF have 3 working visas available currently occupied by Jonas and Otamendi. Vinicius had one but was loaned out, and de Paul got his EU passport. Valencia CF is still looking to bring in two more players in the last days of the transfer market. If Jonas stays, only one of the two players can be a non-EU player. Jonas has one of the highest wages on the team and the club wants to get some money for him. One source suggested that this could be an attempt from Jonas to pressure the club into letting him go for free, using the EU passport and his high salary to his advantage.

Any thoughts?

Valencia CF consider Kagawa as Enzo alternative

After negotiations for Enzo took a turn for the worse, Valencia CF have been looking at alternatives. A new name that has surfaced is 25 year old Japanese International and Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa.

Kagawa has fallen out of favor at Manchester United and Van Gaal does not have him in his plans this season. He hasn't impressed him and did not produce what Van Gaal required of him.

This deal could be interesting since Valencia CF could probably get him for a lot cheaper than Enzo Perez. Manchester United paid 16 million euros to bring him over from Borussia Dortmund. With him not fitting the plans of Van Gaal, and not producing anything spectacular this past season, Valencia CF could probably get him for less than 16 million euros.

While Kagawa isn't a typical box to box, more of an attacking midfielder (CAM/CF), he has been a crucial part of the Borussia Dortmund side that so famous for its counter-attacking football. As such, there is no doubt he will help in transition play and fast-paced breaks with his dribbling, vision and attacking prowess. He is capable of playing on the wings also, another versatile player, but to low effectiveness in that position with United. He is most effective playing through the center. His defensive contribution leaves a lot to be desired as well. That part needs work and I don't know if Nuno can get it out of him.

Any thoughts on Kagawa? 

Rodrigo de Paul banned for 4 games!

The Spanish FA committee has ruled that Rodrigo de Paul's penalty for his foul on Aleix Vidal in the game against Sevilla is a four game ban. Valencia CF is outraged by such a punishment calling it "disproportionate". The club is in the process of appealing the decision.

The committee has seen the action from de Paul as having a "violent" intent behind it. The referee of the game did include anything about violent intent in the report and the Aleix Vidal himself said that he didn't feel like de Paul had any intent, let alone a malicious one, in hitting him.

Honestly, I am really pissed out at this sanction. If they FA were being consistent I wouldn't mind much, but 4 matches really? Let me put this into more perspective. Here are some events that happened in the same La Liga week:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo pushes a player who was grappling him to the ground and hits him deliberately in his face -- not even a yellow card, no match ban.

2. Iniesta flails his arms almost identically as de Paul and knocks a player down -- yet again nothing

3. Elche attacker gets away and is clear to run straight at the keeper, Mascherano pulls him down -- red card and one match ban

4. Duda angrily pushes player to the floor during a stoppage of play, it was an off-the-ball incident -- red card and two match ban

5. Antunes can't catch up with a player so he slide tackles him from behind with no chance of getting the ball at all, it wasn't even close to his reach -- red card and one match ban

So what did de Paul do that deserved four matches? That's as much as all these incidents combined! Simply outrageous.

Nuno considers keeping Joao Perriera

With the arrival of Joao Cancelo, one of Barragan or Perreira was rumored to be on their way out. One week it would be Barragan in the news, the other it would be Perreira. Now, it appears Nuno wants to keep both.

Perreira already has three offers from Turkey, with the primary candidate being Besiktas. At first, Nuno was okay with letting go with Perreira. After seeing the game against Sevilla, Nuno became reluctant and has reconsidered that position. Remember, the goal started from Barragan's side. He now thinks the experience of Joao Perreira could come in handy. The Turkish club wants to have an answer soon since they are also exploring other alternatives. Perreira wants to stay in Spain or return to his homeland Portugal if he is to move.

Perreira is a good player and one of the more experience in the team, both at club and international level. However, he only has one year left on his contract and if we don't cash in now, he will go for free at the end of the year. The other option would be to renew his contract and I don't that is very likely at this point unless Barragan leaves. The club is going to have to make a decision soon since Barragan's contract also expires at the same time. So now, its back to square one with the right-back role up for grabs.

Any thoughts?

Enzo Perez deal approaching break down

Enzo Perez's name has been sounding for Valencia CF since the beginning of the transfer window. A deal was agreed upon from earlier in the year and all that was left was for Lim to be confirmed owner for the deal to go through. Benfica, however, have changed the conditions of the deal with Lim, something he absolutely hates when dealing with others, and demand 30 million euros instead of the original 25 million euros. The move comes as Benfica have lost a lot more star players than they intended with Valencia CF taking three of them. This has led to the frustration of fans. To respond to that, their President has reportedly promised fans that he won't back down from the release clause.

There was supposed to be a meeting scheduled today to try and push for a solution. However, it appears that even that was cancelled as negotiations have broken down. Valencia CF already have 4-5 alternatives according to reports. One newspaper mentioned two of them.

The first name was Asier Illaremendi of Real Madrid. He barely gets playing time for Madrid and is still young and would like an opportunity to earn playing time. However, it doesn't look like Madrid is willing to sell and the player himself appears to want to fight for his place.

The second name was one that was mentioned frequently. Filipe Augusto from Rio Ave FC whom Nuno worked for before coming to Valencia CF is the other name. Nuno seems to trust this player a lot and has great confidence in his abilities to succeed. The one EU spot we have remaining would need to be used if this transfer were to go through.

The names that people here in this blog suggested were Veloso and Obiang. There hasn't been anything on Veloso. There was one report on Pedro Obiang a week back, but I don't know if he is still being pursued.

Any thoughts?

Sevilla come back for Jonas

According to some reports in Spain, Sevilla want another player from Valencia CF after recently signing Ever Banega. Sevilla have been made shorthanded in offense with Kevin Gameiro out injured. As such, Unai Emery suggested Jonas as an alternative.

Jonas has been taking his time looking for a destination as he is insistent on playing in Europe. He has no place left in Valencia CF since he is way past his prime and his positions are occupied by upgrades to him. Plus he is carrying a valuable non-EU passport which Valencia CF wants to free up. He believes can get a few more years playing European football. Valencia CF have allowed him to search on his on for the deal he feels is best, but so far nothing. Valencia CF wanted around 2-4 million euros for his transfer. However, Sevilla want the player for free. They know Valencia CF is desperate to offload Jonas, as they were with Banega, and are looking to use the fact that the transfer market closes soon to their advantage in an attempt to pressure the move. Sunderland is also interested in the player.

Official: Guardado loaned to PSV

Andres Guardado has been loaned to Dutch club PSV according to an official statement made by Valencia CF on their website.

Guardado didn't have a place in the team anymore since there are better players in both his positions. Despite impressing at the World Cup, he has failed to impress his new coach enough. Therefore, he sought another club so he can carry forward the form he gained in the World Cup. The deal is a one year loan till June 2015 and there is no purchase option.

Official: Vinicius Araujo loaned to Standard Liege

Vinicius Araujo announced through social media his one year loan to Standard Liege in Belgium. Valencia CF also made an official statement on their website confirming the deal until June 30, 2015. The 20 year old striker is seen as a bet for the future and thus there doesn't seem to be a purchase option. This will be a good move for Araujo as he can adapt to European football in a club where he can be a starter. In the end, he couldn't find attractive offers in Spain since clubs were reluctant to take on a non-EU player. Some reports said that he is looking into his ancestry to see if he has any EU relatives, which helps him to apply for a EU passport in the future.

In other news, Jonathan Viera could also be headed for the same destination. Standard Liege is reportedly interested in the playmaker but nothing concrete yet. There is less than a week left in the transfer market and Valencia CF still has to sign a striker and a midfielder as well as find a destination for Viera, Postiga and Guardado.

Guardado is in the Netherlands currently negotiating the loan deal to PSV. Expect the deal to materialize soon.

Good luck to him and hope he comes back to impress!

Any thoughts?

Rufete says 'NO' to mercenaries

Rufete made some angry remarks recently about Valencia CF's position in the transfer market.

He complains that players (mainly forwards) that they had contacted a month and a half ago to join had denied them straight up. Those same players however, have come back now, a month and a half later, and ask about the possibility of joining the team. Rufete sees this as a sign that they want to be in Valencia CF only for the money. As such, he says he will sort through the players and decide who really wants to be in Valencia CF and who is the mercenary. He says they will take their time to decide since the ball is in his court now.

I don't know if Negredo or Llorente are part of those players but recently another name has resurfaced. Young striker Anthony Martial from AS Monaco who is 18 years of age is another transfer target. He is not very experienced but said to have great potential and will be much cheaper than the other two alternatives.

Any thoughts on Rufete's remarks? Mercenaries in general? Anthony Martial?

Guardado close to loan deal at PSV

Guardado looks to be close to a second loan spell at Dutch club PSV. Last year he was loaned to German club Bayer Leverkeusen and thought that he would earn a spot at Valencia CF following a successful World Cup campaign with Mexico. Nuno tried Guardado in what he believes is his best position in midfield but wasn't very impressed. And now, with the arrival of Zuculini and the another midfielder on the way (likely Enzo Perez), Guardado seeks playing time elsewhere. He believes that this is the only way so he can carry forward the momentum of his World Cup performances.

Guardado was left out of the squad today that faced Sevilla and is rumored to be traveling to the Netherlands on Monday to sign for PSV. With this move, Valencia CF lose more experience from the squad and will have an even squad age average out of all the La Liga teams (I think it is 24.5 now, including Guardado).

Any thoughts on Guardado? Good move or bad move?

Sevilla FC 1 - 1 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF start their La Liga campaign with a hard earned draw especially after being reduced to 10 man halfway through the second half. Lots of perseverance and work ethic was shown today along with a strong character to be able to achieve this result.

The game started with Valencia CF settling in quickly and testing Sevilla from the first minutes of the game. Parejo found Alcacer in the box, who pulled it across to find Piatti's run. The shot hit both posts but didn't cross the line. Sevilla remained on the back foot and were very nervous when their keeper Beto, left the field due to a pulled muscle. This was another boost for Valencia CF, as the substitute Barbaso was very shaky in goal. He would soon be dispossessed by Paco in his own box, but nothing materialized from that chance. Sevilla really started playing in the last minute of the first half and were rewarded with a goal, via Aleix Vidal (a Valencia CF summer transfer target) who failed to beat Alves in the first effort but was given a chance on the rebound and this time he scored.

Valencia CF started the second half positively but nowhere near the same level as the start of the game. This was the worst period of the game for Valencia CF in terms of possession, as it was given away very frequently through very sloppy passes (Parejo was a big culprit in this poor passing). Valencia CF got caught off guard again but luckily Vittolo fired it wide, missing a very good chance. Then Nuno brought on de Paul for Alcacer who had little to no supply since the beginning of the match. de Paul would take about 64 seconds to get himself red carded by the referee, a bit unfair IMO. I've seen it given as yellow more times than not.

Losing a player certainly didn't help the possession. Nuno brought on new signing Lucas Orban for Andre Gomes, which indicated a defensive style of play was to follow. However, there was no indication of that as Valencia CF fought back and pressured Sevilla back to their own half. For the last part of the game, it was as if Sevilla were the ones with a man down. In the last two minutes of regular time, Parejo linked up well with Rodrigo in a one-two. Rodrigo then picked out Otamendi in the box, whose deflected shot found its way to Orban who managed to head it into the net.

The most character in this game was shown by the defense. They held their own quite well and did well to shut down Sevilla's front line. In fact, barring them falling asleep near the end of the first half when the goal was conceded, there wasn't anything bad to say about them. The Vezo-Otamendi partnership is still as solid as it was during preseason. You would think that they have been playing alongside each other for well over the past three months. Gaya was superb again, he never fails to put on a performance. His crossing wasn't the best this game, but his forward runs gave trouble to the opposing defense, and somehow he never fails to track back to cover his defensive duties. Barragan had no attacking presence but he did well to stop Vittolo from getting creative or any ideas of doing anything.

Goals:

1-0 Aleix Vidal, 44'
1-1 Lucas Orban, 88'

Lineups:

Sevilla FC (1): Beto (Barbosa, 17'), Navarro, Carrico, Pareja, Coke, Krychowiak, Iborra (Luismi, 79'), Vittolo, Suarez, Vidal (Banega, 69'), Bacca

Valencia CF (1): Diego Alves, Barragan, Otamendi, Vezo, Gaya, Fuego, Parejo, Gomes (Orban, 82'), Piatti (Feghouli, 55'), Rodrigo, Alcacer (de Paul, 65')

Ratings:

Diego Alves 5.5 - untroubled for most of the game, could do very little about the goal. He saved the first effort but couldn't save the next.
Barragan 6 - solid defensive work and denied Vittolo the space to move around and cause trouble. Didn't help out in offense, no link between him and Rodrigo.
Vezo 7 - great performance and understanding between him and Otamendi. This was the main reason by Bacca was for the most part ineffective in offense. Good positioning and clearances, even helped out the midfield a few times.
Otamendi 6 - Finally started to settle properly into the team, good partnership with Vezo. Partly to blame for missing his tackle on Bacca in the lead up to the goal. Later, he selflessly threw himself in front of a Sevilla shot to maintain a 1 goal deficit.
Gaya (MOTM) 7.5- Did just about everything asked of him and more. Combined well with Piatti, got forward with timely runs and rarely endangered his defense by being out of position since he tracked back well.
Fuego 5 - Was invisible for huge portions of the game. Not available for passes when he was needed and as such Gomes and Parejo would have to try a difficult pass forward only to waste possession. Failed to cover for defense when the full-backs went up.
Parejo 5.5 - Dribbling certainly improved but about 50% pass completion during the game. That's terrible for a playmaker and the new number 10. Gave away possession too much. Created the play that almost resulted in a goal from Piatti. Cleverly set up Rodrigo's cross to create the goal.
Gomes 5 - His partnership with Parejo is almost non-existent. Also gave away possession through poor passing. Retained the ball better than Parejo.
Piatti 5 - Started off the game well, very active and engaged. Should've scored the opening goal but was unfortunate to have it hit both posts. Slowly faded from the game afterwards.
Rodrigo 7 - was the only attacking presence in the whole game after Piatti's chance. Clever linkup with Parejo and created the goal scoring opportunity.
Alcacer 6 - Only got one chance at goal which he blasted high and wide. Did well to pressure the opposing defense when he was off the ball and forced the keeper into a mistake and dispossessed him. Unfortunately, nothing came of the chance. Set up Piatti perfectly after being picked out by Parejo, but the winger couldn't convert.

Subs:
Feghouli 4.5 - Didn't really accomplish anything after coming onto the field. Nothing even remotely close to the form he showed last year.
de Paul N/A - sent off straight way
Orban 6.5 - scored the winning goal by being in the right place at the right time. His timing and tackling in defense is really valuable. Looks promising.


Man of the Match: Gaya
Flop of the Match: de Paul
Best offense: Rodrigo Moreno
Worst offense: Feghouli
Best defense: Vezo and Gaya
Worst defense: Fuego
Best possession: Rodrigo Moreno
Worst possession: Parejo and Fuego

Sevilla FC vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Sevilla FC vs Valencia CF Match Report

Stadium: Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán

Date: 23.08.2014; 20:00 CET

1st matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Unai Emery and Nuno Santos

The new season is upon us, in what is shaping up to be an exciting and competitive year. Many of the teams have had big changes and Sevilla FC and Valencia CF are no exceptions, in fact Valencia CF team is almost fully a new team. The longest member of the team is Jonas who is on the way out, then its Joao Pereira who is also on the way out, since the arrival of Joao Cancelo.

Then there is Diego Alves who will be staying, Barragan has also been here for a while and Feghouli is the last one of the older Valencia CF. If you look at it most of the players are new players and some coming through the B team. This might prove to be bad, as the core of the team is gone and until there is new core build up the team can suffer, but lets hope for the best.

Sevilla FC have lost Ivan Rakitic and Alberto Moreno as two of their biggest losses, Rakitic joining FC Barcelona and Moreno joining Liverpool FC. They've brought in Alex Vidal, Nicolas Pareja and just recently Ever Banega from Valencia CF though and will be looking to get to a good start by beating Valencia CF at their home soil.

Valencia CF had a good preseason, considering there were many departures and arrivals and the team still needs time to gel, but the preseason has been generally positive and the team will be looking to get on a winning start in the new season by beating Sevilla FC and exact a little bit of revenge on them for beating Valencia CF in the Europa League and then going to on winning it against Benfica. Valencia CF also has 3 Benfica players and a 4th one possibly on the way in Enzo Perez, so that is double revenge if the team can beat Sevilla in the opening match.

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves and Yoel Rodríguez.

Defenders: Barragán, Cancelo, Vezo, Otamendi, Lucas Orban, Gayà.
Midfielders: Parejo, Fuego, André Gomes, Zuculini, Feghouli, Piatti, Rodrigo De Paul, Guardado, Robert, Carles Gil.
Forwards: Rodrigo, Paco Alcácer.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-3-3
Line-up: Alves; Barragan, Vezo, Otamendi, Gaya; Fuego, Parejo, Gomes; Piatti; Paco, Rodrigo.
Tactics: Low defensive line, own half pressure, midfield triangle, short passing, offside trap, deep laying defensive midfielder.

Match Predictions:
Sevilla FC 0-1 Valencia CF
Don't know much about Sevilla this season and how they measure up, but Valencia CF has had a solid defense so far in the preseason and I'd expect it to be that way again, Sevilla have lost their midfield maestro and the guy that provided goals and scored them as well, so they are likely to be weak on the attack side, while Valencia CF haven't had great attacking play either, so I expect a small 1-0 victory for Valencia CF as the team has the better quality players and better talent, with the defense being solid to give us this victory.

Get ready for the new season

The new 2014/15 season is about to begin, Valencia CF has been overhauled with new players, new coach and new ownership to top it off.

Check out the fixtures page to learn all the preseason results and read the match reports, as well as see the new fixture list for 2014/15.

Valencia's first opponent is non other than Sevilla who are managed by former Valencia CF coach Unai Emery, who have also just recently strengthened with Ever Banega from Valencia CF for 2.5 million euros.

What do you guys think about all the new players, coach, ownership and overall about the club, tell us in the comments. Also please comment on what you'd like to see more of in terms of do you want interviews with people from other fansites about their clubs, would you like more editorials, maybe some new things you'd like to see, please post in the comments.

Also this is your last chance to join my premier league fantasy league, there are already 21 players in the league, but the more and merrier. So please come join us.

And finally VCF music video to pump you up for the new season!

Araujo could be loaned to Standard Liège

Vincius Araujo has been rumored on his way out for a while now. He has yet to adapt to Spanish football in the opinion of the most recent coaches and he occupies a precious non-EU work permit spot. These factors have made Valencia CF look to loan him as they still believe in his talent and that he could give a lot to Valencia CF in the future. As such, Valencia CF has reportedly chosen (and currently negotiating with) Belgium's Standard Liège (who are also the runner-up Belgian League Champions) as the destination of the player. Why Belgium? Because in recent times, Belgian clubs has been one of most important nurturers of young talent in recent times, along with Dutch clubs. There have also been offers from Elche of Spain and Hellas Verona of Italy.

There is one more reason why Araujo is on his way out on loan. The club is looking at bringing in a new striker, one that is a different profile to both Rodrigo and Alcacer. The profile has been described as one that functions best with his back to the goal, in other words, a target man who can hold up play and bring others into it. While Juventus's Fernando Llorente has been mentioned a few times, now Valencia CF is also looking at Manchester City's Alvaro Negredo. Currently injured and fallen out of favor at the club, he is willing to return to Spain. Any deal would have to go through without a medical examination since the player is injured.

Any thoughts on Araujo? The new striker profile? Negredo or Llorente? Who can offer more?

Official: Valencia CF sign Joao Cancelo on loan

Valencia CF confirmed through an official statement that Joao Cancelo will be loaned from Benfica for one year (till June 2015). This deal is similar to the deals given to Rodrigo and Andre Gomes, where the deals will be made permanent later. As such, this becomes the third Benfica player to join Valencia CF this transfer window and with Perez possible on the way, it could reach four.

As for who he'll replace, it is looking as if Joao Perreira will be the one making room. He has about 3 offers from Turkey but is looking to play in Portugal.

Benfica change agreement over Enzo Perez

Peter Lim had an agreement with Benfica earlier in the year about the purchase of Enzo Perez. The agreed upon fee was 25 million euros and the deal was secured with a hand shake, which Lim regards as good as a signed contract.

Now with Benfica losing players like mad to different clubs, their fans and coach are upset and they are trying to retain the stars that they have left. As such, they have increased the price for Enzo Perez to 30 million euros, his buy-out clause. As was the case with Bankia, Lim absolutely hates it when the other party changes their conditions and has reportedly taken a firm stance - 25 million euros or nothing. Neither side is willing to back down. There were even reports that Valencia CF were willing to offer 20 million euros + one of Jonas, Perreira or Guardado to secure the deal. However, that was denied by Rufete.

The matter now rest in Enzo and Benfica's hands. Enzo Perez had a deal with Lim since January of 2014, and has been waiting patiently till now. He even played a cup final a few weeks back, having been promised that he could leave if he would help them win it. Now, he has insisted about missing the next match to avoid injury. It's up to him to pressure the club to let him go.

Bruno Zuculini joins Valencia CF

Its official Manchester City player Bruno Zuculini joins Valencia CF on a one year loan deal. Manchester City just bought the player this summer transfer window, but due to their crowded midfield and the additional arrival of Frank Lampard they had to loan out Bruno Zuculini to get some playing time.

Valencia CF were thus in prime position to get him, since its one of biggest clubs in Spain at least historically and Manchester City thought it would be a good development for him to learn the type of Spanish football which Pellegrini understands as he coached for most of his life in Spain.

Bruno Zuculini is a central midfield, though he often plays as a defensive midfielder as well, though his preferred position is central midfield.

With this signing the remaining signing is Enzo Perez to complete the midfield positions and have the 5 midfielders that Nuno wants.

Ever Banega transfers to Sevilla

Its official, Ever Banega has transferred to Sevilla. He has signed a 4 year contract with Sevilla. The amount Valencia CF was able to get from his is only 2.5 million euros, which is quite low, but expected since he hasn't featured for the club for over 9 months and was discarded from the start this year.

I think its a poor business decision, why not sell him last year and get more money for him, these are some of the short term frantic decisions that now that the club is under Peter Lim can't be afforded. The management needs to step it up or be sacked.

That said he was going to leave one way or another, its hasn't worked out for him ever since he had that accident with his own car hitting him and was just too controversial for the club to keep him.

I wish it worked out for him, he was a real beast when in top form, singlehandedly dominating the midfield, spreading the ball properly, could dribble past players, was able to get few players on him and then release the ball to the forwards, creating so much space for them, but when he was out of form through injuries was he really bad.

Hopefully it doesn't work out for him in Sevilla, since they are our competition and Valencia CF needs to be in the top 4 to get back to champions league football.

Valencia CF 2-1 AC Milan

Valencia CF wins yet another title in the preseason, that is two titles so far in just two weeks actually, though unfortunately its two quite worthless titles. Yeah, its nice to win over lose, but its only friendlies and teams are experimenting with formations, tactics, players and just getting into form, so its nice, but ultimately meaningless.

The Orange trophy is Valencia's annual tournament if you can call it that and the team won its own tournament over a weak and disorganized Milan side.

The play didn't impress me at all, Valencia CF were on the back foot, always defending, always chasing around and unable to keep the ball for more than 10 seconds. The team won, but it was ultimately due to how bad Milan are and their individual mistakes, rather than some dominating or at least impressive Valencia performance.

The good thing is that our defense is really solid, I mean I didn't feel like there was huge threat on goal, usually in past seasons there would be a looming feel of doom and gloom with the defense, but so far in the preseason the defense has been solid, apart from Diego Alves who's been terrible. Tonight he failed again as he allowed a goal from a free kick that shouldn't have happened, had he better positioning.

Valencia's equalizer came through Paco as he lobbed Milan's new goalkeeper Lopez from about 35 meters away.

Valencia's second goal came through Moreno who dribbled past two player and released a powerful low shot that beat Lopez and made it 2-1. Impressive skill from Moreno, but it was two individual strengths that gave Valencia CF the goals, rather than good chances or great build-up play.

Overall the midfield failed miserably, Parejo was losing the ball all over the pitch, Gomes was always on the periphery and rarely receiving the ball, Fuego once again just sat deep and never made himself available for passing. He literally plays in a bubble, this is why we need a more effective passing DM who isn't just good at defending, but can actually play and pass and create stuff.

Moreno was once again on the right wing and he is clearly not very effective there, Paco is also on the periphery, he doesn't seem to get the kind of passes he likes and Valencia CF aren't creating many opportunities for him to be in.

This is also the first time Piatti has been quite ineffective, he struggled against Milan's strong and powerful defenders, though he still made few dangerous runs when given a bit of free space. This is the type of stuff though I would expect the coach to realize and start the appropriate player, De Paul would have been the better started against this Milan defense and then bring on Piatti who can just out-sprint with his freshness and pace the tiring Milan defenders.

I was once again impressed with Gaya, very good defending and his confidence is so high for such a young player, went forward to a good extent, major future great if he keeps it up.

I was also impressed with Vezo, he seems to have formed a good partnership with Ottamendi and it would be hard for Mustafi to break into the team, I just hope Nuno doesn't pick Mustafi over Vezo just because he was in the German squad that won the world cup, he needs to give Vezo the place based on the preseason performances.

I got to say Parejo needs to improve, he is the biggest disappointment, misses way too many passes, gives the ball away too often, gets caught in possession, doesn't spread the ball well enough, he falls down too easy, you name it. Everything bad, he's got it. He needs to improve at least 10x times or be benched. Plus the whole two midfielders with him and Gomes clearly isn't working at all. If you lose in possession to a terrible AC Milan side, you can't expect to have possession against decent teams and I don't mean 70% Barcelona type possession, but 55% to 60% possession where you generally control the game.

Player Ratings:
Alves 4 - Don't remember any positives, he failed to save the free kick goal and should have been able to.
Barragan 6 - Solid defensively, but unfortunately with literally no one in front of him to combine with he was useless going forward, not his fault though.
Vezo 6.5 - Overall impressive performance, even covered for Barragan often, won most of his tackles. Few mishaps here and there.
Ottamendi 6.5 - Same as Vezo, solid defending overall, confident in bringing the ball forward, organizing the defense very well.
Gaya 7 - Once again impressive performance from the youngster who has a very bring future if he keeps it up. Obviously the real judgement is La Liga, but from what I've seen a major talent for the future, I'm talking 10/10 talent, and way better than Bernat.
Fuego 7 - Very solid defensively, enormous defensive contributions, great marking, but once again he is playing in a bubble, never available for a pass.
Parejo 3 - Crappy performance, lost the ball too many times in possession, had bad passes, run with the ball for too long, went down too easy, just a terrible performance.
Gomes 5 - Not active at all, when he got the ball he linked very well with Moreno, you can clearly see they know each other very well, but didn't have the same understanding with the other players.
Piatti 6 - His small size showed tonight as he had trouble beating the big and strong Milan defenders, he sort of bounced right off of them. When given more space he used it very well and caused some problems, but clearly his weakest performance yet.
Paco 6 - Scored an amazing goal, lobbing Lopez from some 35 meters away from goal, but was otherwise ineffective.
Moreno 6.5 - Great individual skill, amazing dribbling and positional awareness and that is how he scored his goal, was more effective than Paco as he went to the wing and dropped deeper to take the ball, but also very limited on what he did.
Subs:
Feghouli 5 - Had at least 3 good chances after coming on, he always found himself in these good positions, but much like in the previous game against Man U. he doesn't deliver the end goods. His first chance he was basically alone with only the goalkeeper to beat and he literally shot  the ball very close to being a throw in. Terrible miss. Had two of those situations.
De Paul 5 - Delivered one quality pass, apart from that I can't say he was very effective.
Yoel 6 - Had one terrible missed punch when he rushed forward to punch, but missed the ball, but made one amazing reflex save from an Essien(i think) header.
Mustafi 6 - Had about 30 minutes to show his skill and it was a fairly good and stable defending, I can't say I was either impressed or disappointed from it.
Orban 5.5 - It was a weak performance from the latest Valencian signing, had had few mishaps and lost the ball few times as well, wasn't as effective as Gaya when going forward.
Guardado 1 - Nuno needs to stop pretending and living in a fantasy world where Guardado is a CM, he is clearly not even close to being a CM. He is absolutely garbage as CM.
Robert 6 - Impressive performance for the short time that he had, I like how pacey and fast he is and just creates all sorts of trouble for the opposition with his explosive running.
Gil N/A - Didn't see much of him and he didn't have time to show off.

Man of the match: Gaya
Worst man of the match: Daniel Parejo
Best offense: Rodrigo Moreno
Worst offense: De Paul
Best defense: Gaya
Worst defense: Diego Alves
Best possession: Nicolas Ottamendi
Worst possession: Daniel Parejo and Andres Guardado