Shkodran Mustafi

Name: Shkodran Mustafi

Playing position: Central Defender
Playing style: Likes to tackle and engage

Character: Professional, humble

Factoids: Has played in most Germany youth teams

Previous club: Sampdoria
Number: 5
Birthday: 17 April 1992 (23)
Nationality: German
Height: 1,84 m
Weight: 82kg
Contract ends: 30.06.2019

Previous clubs:

Sampdoria 2012-2014

+ Strengths	- Weaknesses
Tackling Good	Error prone Bad
Strength Excellent
Heading Very Good

Awards best play	Number	Awards poorest play	Number
Man of the match	0	Worst man of the match	0
Best offense	0	Worst offense	0
Best defense	0	Worst defense	0
Best possession	0	Worst possession	0

Player Rating:

Player Market Value: 16 million

Player statistics:

Rayo Vallecano vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Rayo Vallecano vs Valencia CF Match Preview
Stadium: Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas
Date: 22.08.2015 22:30 CET
1st matchday, La Liga
Coaches: Nuno Santo and Paco Jémez

Valencia CF officially started the new season few days ago when it faced AS Monaco at the Mestalla for the Champions league group qualification match, in which the team won 3-1 and is heading to the second leg of that series with a solid lead.

Hopefully that win gave the team enough of a confidence and moral boost to start the new Spanish league season on a positive note as well, away from home against Rayo Vallecano. Last season Rayo Vallecano were a mid table team, they finished 11th in the table in what was an average season for them. Valencia CF had to face them 4 times last season, in fact 3 matches against them in a span of 2 weeks. The first match played in Copa Del Rey Valencia CF barely won 2-1, away from home, while the second match in La Liga Valencia CF won convincingly 3-0 over Rayo Vallencao. Just days later both teams played a thriller that ended 4-4, with Valencia CF barely scraping on the aggregate past them to continue in the cup.

Rayo Vallecano have had quite a lot of player flow this summer transfer window, with lots of players coming for free or on loan and basically over 10 players leaving from last season who were on loan there from various clubs. No significant names have arrived or departures though and since there has been so many changes to their team from last season, its hard to know what to expect from them this season.

Valencia CF were not particularly busy this transfer window, Valencia CF did most of its transfer business last summer with major arrivals and this season they sort of had to make it official and actually sign the players from the loan type deals we had them on. Technically only 4 new players arrived, all of whom are young talented players, players for the future, though none of them particularly ready to instantly help the team, so Nuno is going to count mostly on last season's squad and home that some of the players who did misfire like Negredo, De Paul, Feghouli will improve and contribute more and on a more consistent basis.

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Ryan, Yoel, Jaume
Defenders: Barragan, Cancelo, Mustafi, Vezo, Diallo, Orban
Midfielders: Fuego, Danilo, Enzo, De Paul, Bakkali, Piatti, Mina
Forwards: Moreno, Negredo, Paco

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-1-3
Line-up: Ryan; Barragan, Mustafi, Vezo, Orban; Fuego, Enzo; De Paul, Moreno, Paco, Piatti.
Tactics: Low defensive line, own third pressure, mixed passing, counter attacks.

Result Prediction:
Rayo Vallecano 0-2 Valencia CF
The team might be a bit tired from the match against Monaco and I don't really know what to expect from Nuno in terms of which players he'll field, will he rest most of the players who played against Monaco or pretty much start most of them? Rayo is also an unknown at this point, who knows how they will play, so high level of uncertainty, but I'm putting my hopes high and expecting a 2-0 win for Valencia CF

Official: Manchester City sign Nicolas Otamendi

Its official, Manchester City have signed Nicolas Otamendi from Valencia CF for 45 million euros. The player was linked to Manchester United the whole summer and the he caused a lot of problems for Valencia CF by wanting to leave and trying to force the issue.

With Manchester United unwilling to pay his high release clause and dropping their interested in the player, it seemed as if he'd stay at Valencia CF for at least one more season, but then Manchester City swooped in and managed to acquire him. The big decider was Nicolas Otamendi himself, he was just adamant that he leaves in pursuit of a higher salary, one that only clubs like City, Man U., Chelsea, PSG, Barca and Real Madrid can provide him with.

Nicolas Otamendi left Valencia several days ago in order to finalize the deal with Manchester City and yesterday he passed the medical tests, allowing him to officially join them.

The initial agreement between Manchester City and Valencia CF was 40 million euros and Mangala coming on loan at Valencia CF for the season, but the player rejected that offer, so City and Valencia CF were forced to come to a new agreement one that would have Manchester City pay 45 million euros for Nicolas Otamendi, very close to his 50 million release clause.

Valencia CF 3-1 AS Monaco Match Report

Valencia CF won the first leg of the champions league series against AS Monaco by three goals to one and is one step closer to qualifying for the champions league group stage. The result is very good for the second leg, though Valencia CF would still have to be careful and make sure to try and score a goal there, since we all know if Monaco score a goal and they already have an away goal it can all crumble in an instant.

Anyways for the important part now, the match was off to an explosive start with both teams going at it from the first second of the match. It won't be too long though for Valencia CF to strike the first blow to AS Monaco as De Paul would cross the ball from the left wing into the penalty field, with the ball heading towards Feghouli who will direct it towards Moreno and Paco and they kind of both shot at the same time, though it seems to me that Moreno got more of the shot and is credited for the goal.

This would give Valencia CF an early boost, a big confidence and moral boost and we could clearly see it in the play as they had more control of the ball, the team was playing quite fluidly and was threatening AS Monaco on several occasions.

I particularly liked De Paul, he seemed to be everywhere on the pitch and was really leading the attacks, with Moreno as well being quite active and threatening towards Monaco's goal. This comfortable play would only last about 25 to 30 minutes, after which Monaco grew into the game and started taking over control of the match.

In fact the match changed so much from the 30th minute that Valencia CF were now in clear danger as AS Monaco had clear chances on goal, including one goal disallowed for offside, but this clearly showed how dangerous they were and how close they were to scoring. Unfortunately even with all the pointers Valencia CF were unable to slow down the pace of the match and gain control, but did manage to end the first half with the lead.

The second half started in the same way as the first one, instead now it was Monaco with the initiative and just like Valencia CF in the first half, they would go on to score after just 4 minutes into the second half.

The ball was passed deep into the penalty area with Ruben Vezo blocking the pass, but sort of leaving the ball in the way of Mario Pasalic who took the opportunity to score the equalizer.

I got to say I was quite worried at this point, since the team wasn't playing particularly good and with 1-1 I was worried that at best the match would end in a draw and it would be an almost impossible mission to get a positive result in Monaco.

Fortunately for me and the team though Valencia CF would take the lead once again fairly quickly thereafter. De Paul who did have a very good game was substituted with Pablo Piatti and this almost immediately paid off, as Piatti was able to control the ball from a cross and play it to Parejo who's shot was deflected by some Monaco defenders, tricking the goalkeeper to overextend and the ball ended in the net.

This really seemed to give Valecia CF a new life, another boost and from here on it was a fairly comfortable game. Valencia CF did have the better control in midfield and was constantly threatening AS Monaco through Feghouli and Piatti on both wings.

Long story short as I try to end this report Valencia CF would push on towards the end with Nuno bringing Negredo for the injured Enzo Perez and this would pay off. Even though Negredo wasn't too involved the attitude of more attacking paid off as Sofiane Feghouli managed to score the third goal for Valencia CF and sort of put this match to bed.

Sure it wasn't going to be Valencia CF if we didn't have some last minutes scares, but ultimately Valencia CF won 3-1 over AS Monaco and will be playing the second leg with a solid lead.

Technical Details:
Valencia CF: Ryan, Barragán, Vezo, Mustafi, Gayà, Parejo, Enzo Pérez (Negredo, m.76), De Paul (Piatti, m.56), Feghouli, Alcácer (Javi Fuego, m.66), Rodrigo.
AS Mónaco: Subsic, Raggi, Carvalho, Wallace, Elderson, Pasalic (Bahlouli, m.76), Toulalan, Fabinho, Bernardo Silva (El Shaarawy, m.78), Martial Iván Cavaleiro (Dirar, m.63).

Goals:
Rodrigo Moreno 1-0, 4 min. Assist Sofiane Feghouli
Mario Pasalic 1-1, 49 min.
Daniel Parejo 2-1, 59 min. Assist Pablo Piatti
Sofiane Feghouli 3-1, 86 min.

Player Ratings:
Ryan 7 - Had several saves, one early in the first half after VCF just scored and basically kept VCF's lead. Solid performance!
Barragan 6.5 - Only one mistake, though he did cost us the first goal. It was him who lost the player who then passed the ball into the penalty area and led to the goal. Other than this he was quite solid.
Mustafi 6.5 - One big mistake as well, passing the ball in a dangerous area to the opposition and would be thankful it didn't result in a goal. Had an otherwise very good showing.
Vezo 7 - Didn't seem to make any mistakes, should work on his understanding with the teammates though, he seemed lost as to whether to cover or not when another VCF player was close to him.
Gaya 6.5 - Decent at the back, did fall short on some of the defending as he was too forward at times and some lackluster crosses, but always supported the attack with his forward arrays.
Enzo Perez 7 - Poor first half showing, same negatives as in preseason, but improved extremely in the second half and took a more advanced position in which he seemed really comfortable, creating plays.
Parejo 7 - Would have a bit lower score if not for his goal, he did make several mistakes in midfield and gifted the ball in dangerous positions often.
De Paul 6.5 - Full of running and energy, involved in the first goal, part of most of the attacks Valencia CF had.
Feghouli 8 - Scored a goal and provided an assist, very fruitful contribution by the Algerian, though he did have some lackluster crosses and failed attacks. Needs to keep it up and still improve.
Paco 5 - Rather lethargic display by the striker, it just wasn't his day as the play largely passed him by. While pretty much everyone else was involved he was anonymous for most of the match.
Moreno 7 - I liked the way he played, really energetic display, popped at all over the pitch, dropped back to get the ball, was involved in a lot of the passing and build-up and just an overall great contribution.
Subs:
Pablo Piatti 6.5 - Came in and instantly contributed with an assist to Parejo to make it 2-1. Really troubled the Monaco back line with his freshness and pace.
Javi Fuego 6 - Came on for Paco and helped better protect the back line, had few good interceptions, though his slow speed did show on occasions where he just couldn't keep with the pace of the opposition.
Negredo N/A - Not enough time.

Valencia CF vs AS Monaco Match Preview

The new season is about to start for Valencia CF ladies and gentlemen and its in the champions league against AS Monaco in order to determine which of these two teams are going to feature in the group stages of the champions league. Remember that just featuring in the group stages brings in massive amounts of money, in fact if you manage to win all your matches in the group, you are going to be at least 20 million euros richer.

That is of course just the direct benefits you gain, the indirect benefits are obviously better visibility, sponsors getting interested, more fans and more notoriety. Of course you also gain an added respect as a club, players are more willing to join a champions league club and are of course more willing to stay as well.

So tomorrow's match is extremely important for Valencia CF due to all the listed reasons above and its key that Valencia CF win the first match, even though its going to be very difficult as AS Monaco are a great team and have been doing really well in the French league.

The whole Valencia CF squad is ready, Andre Gomes has recovered, and he will feature tomorrow, Antonio Barragan has recovered as well and everyone else is fully fit and ready! The only player who isn't with Valencia CF is Nicolas Otamendi as he scrambles to try and find himself a new club.

With Manchester United dropping their pursuit of him, he's been talking with Manchester City in order to join with them and initial reports suggested a 40 million euros, plus Mangala on loan at Valencia CF, but with Mangala having two great games at the start of the season, Manchester City are now backing off of that deal and are supposedly ready to pay the 50 million buyout clause, which would only amount to around 30 million euros, since supposedly Valencia CF still haven't paid most off the 30 million euros for Alvaro Negredo. So Valencia CF are going to get around 25 to 30 million euros with the new deal.

In the absence of Nicolas Otamendi Valencia CF coach Nuno Santo has been playing with Ruben Vezo and Shkodran Mustafi as the central defensive duo, with Barragan and Gaya on the wings.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Ryan, Yoel, Jaume
Defenders: Barragan, Cancelo, Vezo, Mustafi, Orban, Gaya
Midfielders: Fuego, Enzo, Parejo, Gomes, Danilo, Feghouli, Bakkali, De Paul, Piatti
Forwards: Paco, Negredo, Moreno, Mina

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-1-3
Line-up: Ryan; Barragan, Mustafi, Vezo, Gaya; Parejo, Enzo; De Paul; Feghouli, Paco, Moreno.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, own half pressure, long passing, counter attacks.

Nicolas Otamendi to Manchester City?

New set of rumors going around the web, this time speculating that Mancheser City are close to signing Nicolas Otamendi for a supposed 40 million fee and a loan deal that would have Mangala head to Valencia CF for one year.

Valencia CF are supposedly fed up with Otamendi's unprofessional acting and trying to force a move that they've put him on the transfer list and are awaiting the best offer for him, with Manchester City taking the opportunity to talk to Valencia CF and inquiring about the player.

Valencia CF 2015 preseason

The summer is almost over and upon us is a new Spanish season and qualification for the Champions league group stage. Valencia CF faces a very difficult opponent in its path to advance to the group stages of the Champions league.

The team started the preseason friendlies fairly early, though in a standard fashion in Austria and against an Austrian team. Wiener SK was Valencia's first opponent the even though the players had just returned from vacation they had no troubles dispatching Wiener SK with easy and celebrating a comfortable 4-0 victory.

Valencia CF would continue the good preseason start by beating English Southampton FC by a minimal 1-0 and then facing instantly Werder Bremen, drawing in normal time, but losing 3-2 on penalties.

About a week later came the real test of Valencia CF strength against German champions Bayern Munich. This match showed just how much more Valencia CF has to go in order to reach top level, as the team was humiliated by a ruthless Bayern team who took advantage of every mistake at the back and punished Valencia CF. Bayern Munich would go on to win the match 4-1.

Next preseason match was against PSV Eindhoven in which Valencia CF took the lead early through Paco Alcacer and basically managed to keep that result till the end. Once again, third match is a row Valencia CF didn't seem convincing, ever since the huge Bayern Munich loss the weaknesses in the team were apparent and glaring.

The next match would be against Porto, the team had another week to train and improve and show it off, but once again a lethargic performance and a dismal showing. Even though the result was 0-0 and it was a slow and boring match it was Porto who showed more initiative and had more chances and attacks. Ultimately Valencia CF lost on penalties. Nuno said after the match that he was pleased and liked how the team pressed and dismissed questions about lack of creativity in the attacking third, saying he saw enough creativity to be pleased.
Apparently he was the only one who was pleased and saw that creativity, since most people and readers here on this blog thought Valencia CF played bad and without any cohesion.

The next day Valencia CF played against Koln and Nuno decided to field the reserves and B team, but it was still a fairly strong team on paper, but that didn't make a difference as Valencia CF lost again.

Ultimately it was going to be the match against Roma that was going to show the level of the team as it was the last preseason friendly and the orange cup which the team has always taken seriously and tried to win at all costs.
Unfortunately the plan to win and show a strong and great play was ruined as Roma would win the match 3-1, but more importantly expose key errors in Valencia's play and defensive line.

You can read most of the preseason match reports on the Fixtures&Results page and of course check out the fixtures for the new season.

Personally from what matches I've watched and/or seen highlights or read the reports here I'm not too convinced about our team. Sure last season we did great and the core team is the same, but what is a new name, which new players are going to made last years team better? Santi Mina is a talented  young player, but the key words here are 'talented' and 'young', certainly not proven, certainly not prime time ready.

Zakaria Bakkali came on a free transfer from PSV and once again a talented young player with the nod on 'talented' and 'young' again, certainly a player for the future, but not someone who will instantly make a difference and make the team better.

Danilo barbosa is the same mold of player, here on a loan deal to deputize in midfield, no one expects him to be a started and improve the team. So basically the team is the same from last season and Nuno and the officials are hoping the level would improve just by the players we have improving on an individual level. While I do think that can be the case, usually you want several older veteran type players who are able to lead the team and teach the younger players how to be better. The only player that is older, but certainly not the most established is Javi Fuego, hardly the Xavi, Pirlo, Toure, Xabi, etc... type who do so much for the top clubs.

The biggest issue I have personally is with the midfield, I just haven't seen a match in the preseason where VCF established midfield control and used it effectively to start attacks. In pretty much all of the matches the team has always been beaten in the midfield. On paper weaker teams managing to establish more control on midfield and have more initiative.

True, last season the team played pretty much the same way throughout the season and won most of the games, but last season the attack worked wonders for us with the fast paced, direct counter attacking style, but this was mostly due to the high form of Jose Luis Gaya, Pablo Piatti and Paco Alcacer. Their counter attacks were so devastating and of course set piece goals coming from our defense.
That was last season though and you can't rely on the same tactics and absurdly high form of certain players  to be able to do the exact same thing this season consistently as well, in fact we are seeing in this preseason that Valencia CF does have major trouble creating chances and scoring goals.

Personally having a bad preseason is making me more interested in our upcoming matches because I'm hoping that the team can surprise me, show good play and of course the most important thing - WIN. I'd like to be positively surprised and to have a reason to celebrate as Valencia CF beat Monaco and continue in the Champions league.

Some things that have happened in the past few days that can kind of worsen things is the renewed Otamendi saga, now once again Manchester United are after him and they are supposedly ready to pay the 50 million buyout clause.

Other reports even suggest that Manchester City have joined in the race to sign Nicolas Otamendi, of course all of these rumors sparked by the fact that Otamendi didn't play against the B team and supposedly asked Nuno to be excused, with him not even featuring in the squad build-up that is supposed to face Monaco.

Ultimately we'll have to wait and see what happens on that front, if we do lose Otamendi its obviously going to be a huge blow for Valencia CF, having to face Monaco without him.

MESSAGE TO OTAMENDI

Am I the only one who is fed up at how this Otamendi farce is carrying on.  I was going to entitle this  piece  'Message to the General'  but he cannot be a general any more because a general would not be talking about deserting his troops on the eve of a very important battle.

Please Nuno show some mettle.  If I was the manager I would speak to him quietly and ask him if he really is intending to leave if the right offer is made.  If his answer is yes, which we assume it would be,  then I would say to him  'Thanks for all you have done for the club but now just GO HOME',   I would keep him away from the other players and the club until the end of August and if he hasn't been sold I would invite him back into the squad for him to fight his way back into the team.

It is not fair to the other players, the club and the supporters for this farce to be continuing a few days before our big game at home to Monaco.  The team need to be focused and the players need to know what the lineup will be.  Nobody is bigger than the club.  Last year we had the same with Mathieu and the previous year with Bernat.  They both went but surprise surprise Valencia is still here and thriving.

Otamendi has already said he didn't want to play in the game against the Mestalla B in case he got injured. apparently, I can see his point but we only want players who are going to give their all for the club, win or lose. So my message to you Otamendi is you are either with us 100% and are staying for the season or you can FOXTROT OSCAR.

Roberto Soldado joins Villarreal CF

Former Valencia CF striker Roberto Soldado joins Spanish football club Villarreal CF after two unsuccessful seasons at Tottenham. Roberto Soldado was at the top of his career in Valencia CF, being the lead goalscorer for Valencia CF for two seasons and consistently scoring over 20 goals per season in all competitions.

Being at the top of his career he attracted interest from many rich clubs, with Tottenham showing the most interest as they looked to rebuild their squad and create a top team. He joined Spurs for 30 million euros and was seen as a major reinforcement for their team, a player capable of scoring 20+ goals per season.

Unfortunately for him things didn't work out as he had surely hoped and certainly as Tottenham would have hoped. English football proved too different and the different tactics and formation at Tottenham as compared to Valencia CF proved too much for Soldado to overcome. Overall he scored only 7 goals in 52 appearances.

He now joins Villarreal CF and can hopefully rediscover his form and do well for them, though hopefully not too good as they are a direct Valencia CF rival. Anyways good luck to him in his new club!

Various News

So not much is going on, the transfer window has pretty much finished for Valencia CF, with at best one more name coming in, with Valencia CF doing its transfer shopping early on in the summer.

Some speculations say that Valencia CF are interested in Ezequiel Lavezzi and are planning on bringing him in as a sort of last minute big reinforcement, but I don't think its likely, due to the fact Valencia CF spent over 120 million euros this summer, on the players we brought back last year, plus the new additions this summer.

Another name that is mentioned in Nicolas Gaitan, this player has been mentioned since last summer and was a big target on Valencia CF last summer, but he is not this summer and again wild speculation with no substance.

Speculation continues going around for Nicolas Otamendi, with Manchester United and now Manchester City supposedly still interesting in acquiring his services and willing to pay the 50 million buyout clause. Again wild speculation with no substance, while Manchester United could pay the buyout clause, its going to bring them into a huge deficit, this is why they haven't acquired Nicolas Otamendi, they want him for a reduced price, they don't want to pay the 50 million euro clause.

They are also linked with Pedro from Barcelona, they are linked with Nicolas Gaitan, they are linked with Muller, etc... There is no player Manchester United aren't linked with, so clearly a lot of hot air blown without any shred of evidence.

Manchester City are in the same situation this summer, but worse overall. They are hundreds of millions in deficit, they can't just keep on spending huge amounts of money, since they would risk not playing in the champions league next season.

Is Nicolas Otamendi safe, would he continue in Valencia CF absolutely? That is not certain, but chances are 95% and more that he would continue here, since again 50 million buyout clause especially for a defender is huge.

Another transfer rumor is that Sofiane Feghouli would be sold, in fact few reports suggested that he's had few offers for him, including some from England and one offer from Turkey. This is true, Sofiane Fegholu only has 1 year left on his contract and the deal for the new contract has come to a crawl, with neither side backing off of their positions, so its only natural clubs would inquire about his services and possibly even send solid offers to Valencia CF in a bid to lure the club into selling.

Right now if he does go, it would be completely possible for Valencia CF to bring in another player till the end of the transfer market, but as of right now I don't think Valencia CF want to sell him and I think the club and coach would like to keep him.

Valencia CF 1- 3 AS Roma

Don't panic is the message I would say.  A very disappointing result on a night at an almost full Mestalla hoping for a good show against Roma in the final rehearsal before the opening show against Monaco.  With a starting lineup which will be not too far removed from the team that will be competing in the Champions League.  Valencia began encouragingly and it was end to end football providing plenty of entertainment. However, against the run of play Gervinho hits both posts in a goalmouth scramble before new signing Salah taps it in.  Valencia were making chances and Cancelo should have scored when he made space for himself but screwed the ball wide, wasting a good opportunity. Roma went further ahead though when that man Gervinho again broke through and after some inter passing in front of goal Totti slotted home to make it 0.2  The goal was a major blow to the home side and was not really a true reflection on the overall play. On the half hour Feghouli made amends for an earlier bad miss by making the score 1.2 with a well taken goal.  He really deserved the goal for his efforts as he was having one of those games where we all know he is capable of.
Then it was Otamendi's turn to test Szczesny in the Roma goal with a blistering half volley but the keeper made a  great stop. De Paul also hits the crossbar as he so often does to show that it was not over yet.
The second half pace slowed and we should have been back in the game after Feghouli scores but the goal was ruled as offside.  To make things worse Roma went further ahead when Gervinho scored from a tight angle after a good run.  I have to say that Gervinho's performance on the night was the best individual display that I have seen at the Mestalla for years.  It was he who won the game for Roma almost on his own. Another late disallowed goal for Valencia did nothing to lighten the mood and with the many changes near the end the score remained the same.  Some good things to look back on were the number of chances we created and with more luck the score could have been different.
I have to say though that Roma looked a very big and strong team, very confident with the ball and that goes with the level of experience that runs through the team

My Conclusion:   Still lots of work to be done.  Maybe the return of Gomez will help the midfield but it may be too late for the Champions League by then.  Otamendi proves again his importance and I hope we do not have a situation with him leaving at the last minute when his clause is met. That is totally unfair, we need the squad sorted out now.  Even Man Utds manager Van Gaal this week has stated that players being able to leave after the season has begun is totally wrong and the transfer deadline should end before the seasons start.
As I said before, in my opinion this match was won by the power and strength of Gervinho, he was absolutely amazing on the night. Can we buy him.

PLAYER RATINGS
Ryan 6  maybe could have done a bit better on some of the goals but we will have to see how he does during the season. He is not Alves and it is a little unfair maybe to expect too much too soon.
Cancello 4  I have always spoken up for him in the past but tonight he was awful. He was getting stick from Mustafi and Fuego for just making the wrong decisions each time he had the ball. Definitely a night to forget from him.
Mustafi 7   Another solid performance even though the whole defence looked like they had just got back from their holidays, I am sure they will get it right soon.
Otamendi  7  Did what he does week in week out, always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Looked a little preoccupied though after all that has gone on recently and made a couple of errors that could have cost a goal but one player we have to keep at the club for sure.
Gaya  6   Not up to his usual high standard and had a quiet game.  Was forced back a lot by the Roma players.
Parejo 4  A really dreadful performance from the captain he did nothing and the game seemed to go on around him.  I hardly noticed him on the pitch for the first half hour.  He really needs to get himself involved and take command like he does when he is on form.
Feghouli 8  My man of the match for his efforts, his goal and his all round performance. One of the few bright spots of the team.  Could and should have had more goals.
De Paul  7  Has to be a starter each week now after at last being given a run in the team. Was unlucky when he hit the bar and had a really good game.
Perez  6.5  Really got involved tonight and made some telling tackles. I worry though each game about his aggression and liability to pick up cards.  I think he will be spending a lot of time in the stands watching this season unfortunately.
Rodrigo Moreno  6.5  had a lively game causing Roma a number of problems,  still seems to make bad decisions though at times.
Alcacer  5.5  Not one of his better night in the Valencia shirt.  He really has to make things happen more for himself rather than always waiting for the final pass that doesn't always come.
SUBS
Not on long enough to really comment on their performances.



VALENCIA: Ryan, Cancelo, Mustafi, Otamendi, Gaya, Parejo (Mina), Feghouli (Bakkali), De Paul (Piatti), Perez (Danilo Barbosa), Rodrigo (Javi Fuego), Alcacer (Negredo).

ROMA: Szczesny, Florenzi (Maicon), Yanga-Mbiwa, Manolas (Castan), Torosidis (Cole), Pjanic (Ucan), De Rossi (Keita), Nainggolan, Salah (Ibarbo), Totti (Iturbe), Gervinho (Falque).

Champions League Opponents Anounced

A.S. MONACO,  It was announced today will be our first opponents in the Champions League.
The first game will be played at the Mestalla on Wednesday 19th August with the return being played at The Stade Louis 11 the following Tuesday 25th August.
This is probably the toughest draw we could have had but this is the big time now and we are in with the big boys so let's not complain about a tough draw.
These promise to be 2 really exciting games and definitely something to look forward to and to test ourselves with the best of the best.
They have won the French League title 7 times in their history and were losing finalists in the 1992 EUFA Cup Winners Cup and Champions League in 2004.  They have already played C.L. games this season beating Young Boys of Bern,  Switzerland 7.1 over two games so are obviously playing well at the moment.

Footnote,   Just a few words of condolences to Phil and Gary Neville after the death of their father in Australia today after a heart attack.  He was there to see his daughter who is the manager of the England netball team. It puts everything else into perspective when something so sad like that happens. I am sure our best wishes are with them and the rest of their family.

FC Koln 3-2 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF just finished the match against FC Koln in what was a disappointing 3-2 loss. Valencia CF coach Nuno fielded a completely different starting eleven from last day in a bid to rest the players from the Porto match and of course give the substitutes and several B team players chance to prove themselves.

The one weird omission was Yoel from the goalkeeping post, with Nuno giving the nod to B team goalkeeper Jaume over Yoel. I don't know if this means Nuno doesn't count on Yoel at all and if Jaume will play in the first team, but it doesn't bode well for Yoel that is for sure.

The first goal came only after 19 minutes of play in the first half with FC Koln starting a chance and Philipp Hosiner scoring the first goal. That stunned Valencia CF and just moments later Koln scored again, this time Kevin Vogt with the goal and making it 2-0 in favor of FC Koln.

Even though Valencia CF looked lively throughout the first half, serious chances were hard to come by with only one serious chance by Alvaro Negredo in the 30th minute, and ultimately it would take Valencia CF 40 minutes to score a goal through Javi Fuego no less.

The second half wouldn't improve Valencia CF play, especially in defense and Milos Jojic would score the third goal for FC Koln. Fortunately Valencia CF would bounce back quickly with De Paul assisting Negredo in a good position and this one putting the ball into the net to make it 3-2.

There wasn't too much action after that with both teams kind of prodding and probing in weak attacks, eventually Paco Alcacer who came on as a substitute would come close on two occasions, but once he will shoot straight at the goalkeeper and the second chance would be ruled offside.  

Once again a disappointing result, this time by the second team. Sure there were few B team players, but there were first team players as well, players like Vezo, Orban, Feghouli, Bakkali the new player, Mina also a new player, Negredo, etc... 

I mean if we compare last preseason and this one the results so far are actually a bit better and against better opposition, but still one would expect more, especially in the play, not just the results. I want to see a spark, to see team play that oozes quality that with just more practice and more fitness is going to be able to stand up to Real Madrid and Barcelona, but so far I'm not seeing it.

Technical Details:
Valencia CF: Juame; Diallo, Vezo, Orban, Zahibo; Fuego, Bakkali; Feghouli, Mina, De Paul; Negredo.

Valencia CF 0-0(4-5p) FC Porto Match Report

Valencia CF just played against FC Porto in the latest preseason match and it was a complete borefest!

Valencia CF coach Nuno fielded a strong starting eleven, one of our strongest from last season, with the small changes of Cancelo playing for Barragan and Danilo for Fuego. Nuno also fielded new goalkeeper Ryan over Yoel and this shows how little trust Nuno has in Yoel. His days seem numbered at Valencia CF and once Diego Alves is fit I won't be surprised one bit if the club decided to sell him.

The whole first half literally nothing happened, chances on both sides were at a premium, with Porto showing more initiative and forward drive, managing to make the new Valencia CF goalkeeper Ryan feel uncomfortable at times.

Apart from few shots here and there mostly on Porto's side it was a complete snooze fest of a match. For the Valencia CF squad no one really impressed. I felt the returning Nicolas Otamendi made a few mistakes in defense as he had just returned from his vacation and is yet to get back in form and full fitness. The rest of the defense was good, but not great. Cancelo was average, Mustafi was pretty good and Gaya was quite average as well.

Valencia CF sported a midfield trio of Danilo, Enzo Perez and Daniel Parejo, but unfortunately this didn't give Valencia CF any sort of advantage in midfield or any sort of control of possession. I felt that Enzo Parez was once again too defensive, just like in the last match against PSV and Danilo kind of popped up sporadically here and there, but nothing of substance, nothing or real quality. Daniel Parejo also wasn't up to the task, he felt really slow, sluggish and tired. Its like he played 90 minutes before hand and then was playing in this match. There was no freshness in him and played like someone with no energy.

The forward trio of Pablo Piatti, Paco Alcacer and Rodrigo Moreno felt completely isolated from the rest of the players. Paco Alcacer barely even touched the ball, Moreno was a bit better in that department as he did drop further down, but his contribution was extremely limited as well. The only real contribution was Piatti and even his was too small and too weak.

Overall we couldn't connect the midfield and attack, the defense also sat too deep and couldn't move the playing field forward, the midfield was playing too isolated from everyone else, with only the usual backward passes when pressured even a little bit.

I felt like the full backs weren't positioning well, I felt like the only player who took the ball to bring it forward was Parejo and Enzo and Danilo just didn't want to receive the ball at the back, with the forward flanks with Moreno and Piatti sitting too forward to be able to receive the ball.

I just think the whole positioning of the team was terrible, I think all of the players were too static, I think the fight for some of the neutral balls were too soft by the Valencia CF players and it was generally a weak, weak showing.

The second half was pretty much as the first, I guess you could say Valencia CF were a tad bit more dangerous on occasions, but it was just the same story from the first half all over again. Nuno brought Negredo for Paco thinking Negredo's physicality can add something and that that was the team's problem, but it wasn't and Negredo didn't add anything over Paco.

Rodrigo De Paul also came on for Danilo Barbosa in order to add some attacking prowess, but it didn't quite work. De Paul did make few decent runs on the left wing, but it wasn't something that threatened Porto.

Anyways the 90 minutes ended in a 0-0 draw and the game was resulted in penalties in which Porto won 5-4.

I know its technically another preseason match, but I haven't been impressed at all from our preseason. I haven't seen the type of play and energy and skill that will show me that this team can compete with Real Madrid and Barcelona. I don't feel like this team is stronger than that of last season, I feel that the team is on the same level as last season, rather than on another additional level. The team is supposed to improve in the second season and so far judging from the friendlies I'd say it hasn't.

Hopefully all will work out, there is still a lot of time before the season begins and of course the play can improve, but I'm hoping to see it in at least our final preseason match against Roma.

Valencia CF 1-0 PSV Match Report

Valencia CF won against PSV Eindhoven 1-0 thanks to a 2nd minute goal by Paco Alcacer on the assist of Jose Gaya. This sole goal would prove crucial as Valencia CF would secure a minimal win over Dutch champion PSV.

While I couldn't find a live stream for the match, the highlights show that Valencia CF had few chances in the first half, with PSV also having few chances and the second half seemed more dominated by Valencia CF as the team had more chances, with few long range shots by various players.

Nuno played pretty much most of the players, changing all of the team in the second half. The only ones that didn't play were Feghouli, Yoel and Negredo.

Valencia CF: Ryan, Vezo, Mustafi, Alcácer, Parejo, Danilo Barbosa, Enzo Pérez, Rodrigo, Javi Fuego, Barragán and Gayá.

New Goalkeeper Signed

Mathew Ryan

Valencia today signed our new goalkeeper Mathew Ryan from Club Bruge of Belgium  aged 23yrs he is the Australia national goalkeeper.  He represented Australia in the 2014 World Cup and the 2015 Asian Cup where his country won and he was voted best keeper, which can't be bad.  He succeeded Mark Schwarzer which again has to be a big plus.  He moved to Club Bruge from Central Coast Mariners, Australia in May 2013 and has been voted best keeper in Belgium for the last 2 years.  He is not the tallest of keepers at 1.84  compared to Diego Alves at 1.88 but is a very muscular guy and very agile.  So at long last the keeper situation is sorted but I guess we now have to see whether Jaume or Yoel is his backup keeper.  I personally think it is a good signing but of course only time will tell.  It is of course too early to judge the guy but I would say welcome to Valencia and good luck. Also as a matter of interest he is the first Australian to play La Liga since John Aloisi of Osasuna in 2006.

Bayern Munich 4-1 Valencia CF Match Report

The first big test in the preseason and Valencia CF failed miserably. Bayern Munich are a strong team and it was never going to be easy going against them, but I don't think anyone expected a 4-1 trashing.

What we learned from match is that our defense sucks, I mean we are talking about huge mistakes, bad tracking, bad covering, bad positions, etc... Everything went bad in this match.

The midfield lacked any sort of control or power, Bayern Munich always seemed in control, I didn't get the feeling that Valencia CF could muster up any serious chance at any point. The one goal we got was decent, but it wasn't some intricate play that led to it, it was a sort of scrappy cross finding Moreno at the right place.

Okay so lets start from the beginning of the match. Right off the game Bayern Munich had control of the match and more possession, Xabi Alonso and Tiago Alcantra completely dominated our midfield of Javi Fuego and Daniel Parejo. Valencia CF coach started with a weird line-up, Enzo Perez was in defense and Gaya and Barragan as wingers. Depending on who you ask its either a 5-3-2 or a 3-5-2.

The main defense was Vezo, Enzo and Orban, while Gaya and Barragan were on the wings much further, though they did track back a lot. Even with this formation it didn't take Bayern Munich long to score, with Lahm running on the side and finding Muller completely alone, he shoots and scores.

Bayern Munich would still keep on dominating in midfield and have control, but Valencia CF would be able to muster up few attacks, one of which resulted in a goal. Pablo Piatti cross from the wing found Rodrigo who headed the ball into the net.

Unfortunately apart from those few chances and that sole goal Valencia CF was completely lacking. The players couldn't muster up even several passes in a row, they lost the ball constantly, the midfield was unable to move the ball forward, the forwards were too static and separated from the rest, and it just didn't work at all.

Just before half time whistle though Bayern Munich would score one more goal, it was Thomas Muller again with a precise finish.

Nuno made few changes in the second half, bringing in Mustafi, Feghouli and Negredo, but this actually resulted in a worse play. Alvaro Negredo was so static that he might as well not been there, he was losing passes, his anticipation was lacking completely it was just a terrible match from him.

Mustafi wasn't an improvement in defense over Enzo Perez, but Enzo's move to midfield didn't help out midfield at all. Enzo Perez was completely lost in midfield, the few times Valencia CF moved forward he has so deep back that there were no players to pass the ball in midfield. It was either try a chancy pass forward that is 95% not going to work or pass straight back to defense.

I don't understand why he was basically in our own third when VCF were attacking. He was completely useless in midfield. 30 million euros for him it seems down the drain, same with Negredo.

The other unfortunate things was that Gaya was injured really really in the first half, so that is a huge blow to the team, hopefully its nothing serious, because we lack so much in defense and Orban is not on the same level as Gaya, he can't move forward and isn't amazing in defense to compensate either.

Anyways Bayern would go on to score two more times, once again by Muller so he can complete a hattrick and one goal by Lewanowski who just played games with our defense. He was pretty much alone in the penalty box and he played games with Mustafi, tricked him twice, making space for himself to shot.

Yoel wasn't helping things either, I'm thinking that if it was Diego Alves on goal he would prevented at least one of those goals. I didn't like Yoel's positioning, it was really predictable and Bayern strikers knew how to exploit it.

No one impressed from Valencia CF, but Parejo played on a high level, he was consistently trying to do stuff, trying to organize play, when he left the pitch Valencia CF completely lost control, I don't think the team had the ball for more than 10 seconds and that is sad truth.

Apart from him Piatti was really active, I thought he was the biggest threat for Bayern, his final ball is lacking, we all know this its not something knew, but overall his high energy, pacey runs did bother Bayern a bit when we had the ball.

Overall its just a preseason match, yeah it was a terrible loss, the team played terrible, but the purpose of these preseason matches is to expose weaknesses like this and fix them. Hopefully you lose and play badly in the preseason when it doesn't matter, so that you fix these and play good when it matters.

Another thing to mention is that we desperately need Nicolas Otamendi, I hope we don't lose him, I hope he stays, because finding a viable alternative to him would be extremely hard. Garay is similar defender and is very good, but not on the same level.

Deportivo interested in Fede Cartabia

With Valencia CF looking to offload Fede Cartabia several clubs have shown interest to bring the player to their ranks either on a full transfer or a loan deal. Valencia CF would prefer to send him out on a loan deal once again, but Deportivo La Coruna is said to want to purchase the player, though with their financial situation being poor and Fede being valued at several million euros by Valencia CF its most likely that he will be sent on loan at this point.

Another interested club in him seems to be Las Palmas who would want to take him on a 1 year loan deal, its is now up to Valencia CF to decide what to do with the player. Nuno has all but confirmed he does not count of Fede for the next season as he has been frozen out of the squad traveling to China and with basically 3 different players that can play at right wing beside Fede, he is deemed surplus to requirements.

Valencia CF contemplating selling Fede Cartabia

Valencia CF coach Nuno has left out Fede from the squad traveling to China and facing Bayern Munich, suggesting that the player will be sold or loaned out to another club. This is reinforced with the arrival of Bakkali who plays on the right wing, while the other new arrival Mina plays on the left wing, meaning Fede who primarily plays as right wing, though occasionally left wing as well has been pushed out of slots to fit in.

Considering that Valencia CF slashed out money on some of these players they are likely to get the nod ahead of him. Fede impressed last season while on loan, but within 3 matches so far it seems he's failed to impress the coach, which is a shame.

With some of the Valencianista staff, former players and key figures in the club gone, how much importance is going to be put on the Valencia CF youth players? While Peter Lim has taken over and brought financial stability, how much will he and the people he appoints value the academy of young Valencia players?

Danilo Barbosa to cost Valencia CF 15 million

Superdeporte reports that Danilo Barbosa the new Valencia CF player here on a 1 year loan deal from SC Braga will ultimately cost Valencia CF 15 million euros and the club have to purchase the player at the end of the season, much like the deal for Negredo with City.

Valencia CF reveals new kit

Valencia CF just revealed the home kit for the new 2015/16 season. The design is very simple, the shirt is completely white with the Adidas stripes on the shoulders and a bit of black color on the sleeves. The shorts are completely black with the side Adidas stripes. The obvious thing here is that Valencia CF still lacks a sponsor.

Valencia CF step up pursuit of Ezequiel Garay

Yesterday we reported that Nicolas Otamendi agent Eugenio Lopez was arriving in Manchester in a bid to finalize the transfer for Nicolas Otamendi. He understands that Valencia CF are not going to budge from the release clause, so the deal would include Manchester United reaching his buyout clause and then ending their summer spending spree with him.

Other reports claim that Nicolas Otamendi is going to strike and try and force a move out, but that seems really unrealistic. The player even now has a decent relationship with the club supports, doing a strike and forcing a move out like that would mean he is universally hated. Also what if Valencia CF don't bite and stick with their position? That would mean he is frozen out of the squad.

With all of that going on Valencia CF are stepping up their pursuit of Ezequiel Garay who would be the perfect replacement for Otamendi. They are roughly the same age, they have a similar play style and similar history as well. Ezequiel Garay is a bit weaker in the history department, but he's proven that he is a great defender.

He is basically a similar story like Otamendi and I'm hoping that if he does join Valencia CF he would be a success story like Otamendi. I'm hoping that with Valencia CF he would elevate him game even further and become even better.

Obviously the best outcome would be that Nicolas Otamendi stays and continues to be a success story at Valencia CF, that is the best outcome and sometimes these rumors do overstate things, after all a lot of these publications need to sell papers or click bait visitors, whatever so they overstate or even make up completely new stories.

Now this story is true, Manchester United want to acquire Nicolas Otamendi and he does want to leave for a club like that, but the stories beyond that and the sort of relentlessness is completely overblown.

Nicolas Otamendi's agent to arrive in Manchester

Nicolas Otamendi agent Eugenio Lopez is supposed to arrive in Manchester to finalize a deal with Manchester United in the next week. The player's agent is supposed to meet with Nicolas Otamendi to agree personal terms and then later on talk to Manchester United in order to reach a deal.

Valencia CF have been firm on sale of the player and have required any interested club reach the buyout clause for the player, which it is believed Manchester United are going to meet the 50 million euros buyout clause for Otamendi and force the transfer.

The report also claims that Otamendi’s replacement has been lined up in Ezequiel Garay. The Argentine is represented by Jorge Mendes and should Otamendi leave he is to join Valencia CF. The player has wanted to leave Zenit and Valencia CF is a great destination for the player.

Lopez wants to finish the deal before the end of next week and the idea is that Otamendi will not have to travel back to Valencia and would directly fly to and join Manchester United

Victor Valdes close to Valencia CF

Victor Valdes agent has been seen in Spain and rumors have it that he met with Valencia CF staff in order to facilitate a possible move to Valencia CF. The veteran goalkeeper has been snubbed by Luis Van Gaal and left out of the squad that went on US tour, fueling speculations that the goalkeeper is on his way out.

Certainly the Manchester United coach seems set that he doesn't need Victor Valdes, so expect Valdes to leave the club, where he goes is another matter with few smaller clubs interested in him, a Turkish club interested in him and of course Valencia CF, but only on a loan deal.

Victor Valdes would want to stay at Manchester United, he is playing for one of the most powerful financial clubs in the world, has a big salary and its a club with long and rich history, but he just might be forced to leave if LVG doesn't count on him.

Danilo Barbosa joins Valencia CF

Brazilian footballer Danilo Barbosa da Silva who currently plays for SC Braga will join Valencia CF for around 7 million euros, the exact transfer fee is still not known, but knowing he's another Jorge Mendes agent probably close to his maximum fee. The player needs to pass the medical exam and then he will be officially announced as a new player.

The player is 19 years of age and has started his youth career at Vasco da Gama and then continued his professional career at SC Braga where he played since 2014 and made 20 appearances for them. He's also featured in few the Brazilian under 21 squads and is considered a young prospect.

He mainly plays as a defensive midfielder, so clearly he is brought in as competition to Javi Fuego, but I personally was hoping for some better player who can not only challenge Javi Fuego, but even replace him.

UPDATE: The deal was made official today and Danilo Barbosa will join Valencia CF on a 1 year loan deal with an option at the end of the season to purchase the player.

2015/16 La Liga fixtures announced

The new 2015/16 season fixtures have been announced, Valencia CF will play its first match away from home against Rayo Vallecano.

Valencia CF will face their first big opposition on the 9th week and it will be away from home against Atletico Madrid.

On the 13th week Valencia CF will face against Sevilla, once again away from home and the next week after they will face FC Barcelona at the Mestalla. So two really tough matches one after another here and if the team is still in the Champions League it could be a hellish two weeks if there is champions league football in between.

Finally Valencia CF will face off against Real Madrid in round eighteen at the Mestalla. So those are the top matches for Valencia CF this season, other than that the schedule is pretty normal.

Valencia CF loses Audi cup

Hey guys, really sorry for the lack of news, was on a bit of a vacation in a manner of speaking, but I'm going to start picking things up from tomorrow.

I'm going to update the preseason schedule, I'm going to move the last season results to the archive, I'm going to move all of the last season stats to archive and I'm going to post the new preseason schedule, I'm going to update the transfer page and I'll try and divide my time to posting news and working on the players pages to bring in at least 10 new player pages, that is the goal, I hope I can achieve it.

I'm thinking of maybe doing a podcast of sorts with the guys at the blog, talking about the preseason, talking about things, I'll have to see if they want to do it and if we can get agree and get a proper time where we can all do it, I'm kind of excited to do some podcasts.

Hopefully we can get a once a week podcast going to make thing interesting, I'd love to be able to talk about VCF, I've been unable to write my thought and stuff, so I'd like to express some of them.

Anyways VCF lost the Audi cup final to Werder Bremen, we played 2 matched, we won in 45 minutes against Southampton FC and lost on penalties after a 0-0 results at 45 minutes half with Werder Bremen. The second match was mostly played by youngsters so no big deal, but we seem to be having a decent preseason.

The next preseason match is against Bayern Munich and I'll be bringing in fill coverage of it if there are live streams of it online.

So again I'll start updating things on the blog from tomorrow and bringing you the daily news, so please check in daily from tomorrow on, I'll have many of the news and speculations!

Preseason Coverage: Weiner SK 0 - 4 Valencia CF

Valencia CF finished off its first match of pre-season with an almost effortless win over the Austrian home side. In training a few days before the match, Phil Neville apparently focused heavily on shooting and creating chances. We can't really judge the affect of that on this game, since there is a gulf in class between the sides, but we did get 4 goals in. The first was from  Rodrigo on the right who cut inside the box, like he usually does, but slotted it past a frozen keeper. The second, was a rather simple effort as Negredo received a cross, handball is questionable, and tapped it again past a frozen keeper. The third effort came from a cross from Parejo who found Gaya on the edge of the box and he volleyed it straight to the top corner. All these three goals came in the first half with complete dominance from Valencia CF and little to no retaliation from the homeside. As usual, during half time the team was substituted to an entirely different 11, among which was new signing Santi Mina joined by Fede, Robert and 8 of the Valencia CF Mestalla youth team. Santi Mina scored in the second half in a very cool and precise finish as he was let through by a great through ball from Fede. Later that half, Fede, Roberto and Santi Mina all came off for three more youth team players.

Goals:
0-1 Rodrigo (7')
0-2 Negredo (15')
0-3 Gaya (23')
0-4 Santi Mina (53')

Lineups:
Starting: Yoel, Antonio Barragán, Ruben Vezo, Lucas Orban, José Gayà, Enzo Pérez, Javi Fuego, Dani Parejo, Rodrigo Moreno, Rodrigo de Paul, Álvaro Negredo.
Substitutes: Jaume, Akapo, Diallo, Ayala, Salva Ruiz, Tropi, Zahibo, Fede, Robert, Fran Villalba and Santi Mina

Bakkali signs

Zakaria Bakkali

New signing today when it was officially announced that Zakaria Bakkali aged 19yrs a Belgian international at all levels and born in Morocco. He  has passed his medical and signed for the club and he is due to fly out to join the rest of the squad in Austria forthwith.

Bakkari comes with high hopes having been signed from PSV Eindhoven on a free transfer as his previous contract had run out. He had obviously had discipline problems with the management at PSV and therefore his playing time has been severely limited and has not played in 2015.  However he is believed to be a very good prospect and was also trailed by Man Utd. Arsenal and Liverpool.  After a chat with Nuno yesterday the club decided to take a chance with him despite his possible discipline problems and I am sure Nuno will sort him out in good time.  We have him until 2020 so plenty of time for him to mature and hopefully be a great investment for us.  Not sure how his Spanish is but if I can help with a few useful phrases for him to learn.  Si jefe ( yes boss )  No jefe  ( no boss )  Inmediamente jefe ( right away boss )

Well, bienvenido Zakari and good luck at Valencia CF.