Valencia CF 2-2 Real Sociedad Match Report

Valencia CF had such an advantage going into this match, with almost half of Real Sociedad squad out injured, the rest fatigued from a mid week match against Bilbao, Valencia CF with pretty much all of its players available for selection and it still isn't enough. 

Andoni from Real Sociedad handles the ball with his hand and gives away a penalty, Soler sets up to take it and he misses. We were served a goal on a platter and still couldn't take advantage of it. Then as a punishment for the missed penalty Real Sociedad instantly score a goal. The first real attack by Real Sociedad and our defense makes a mess out of it, and Uros Racic loses his mark, then Soler rushes in but is tricked also and loses the player, Diakhaby comes to cover, but again he doesn't apply enough pressure and Guevara is able to send a shot wide and low, Jaume fails to reach the ball and its a goal.

Valencia CF vs Real Sociedad Match Preview

Valencia CF

Real Sociedad

Date 2021-04-11 15:15

Valencia CF had a huge opportunity to improve its standing and move up the table against Cadiz last week as the team was playing well coming into that match and was against a what should have been a weaker opponent, but they failed to beat them, and in fact Valencia CF lost to them in such a disappointing fashion, even a draw would have been fine at that point, but we lost.

In fact the biggest thing to come out of that match was an alleged racist incident, but the Spanish league did not found any evidence about that either, so Valencia CF has nothing to show for from that match. In fact I'd say racists are now emboldened after all of that, as they know they can discreetly say racist things and they'll even be protected as long as there is no evidence. 

Fans must return to the stadiums

Its now been year and a half since Covid19 and for most of that time stadiums have been empty. This has caused major financial troubles especially for the smaller clubs, the big clubs like Manchester City or Bayern Munich or Real Madrid have major sponsors and gigantic fanbases, over 80% of their income is other than ticket sales, but smaller clubs rely very much on their ticket sales, in fact for some clubs ticket sales account for about 50% of their income, so being without audiences for year and a half and as it seems likely even two years, governments and football associations must begin to think about opening up and allowing people back into the stadiums, before a permanent financial damage is done and clubs start going bankrupt left and right.

Whether it starts with stadiums only being able to be half full, whether masks are required to attend the games, whatever the case might be, stadiums need to start opening up. You can not have empty stadiums forever, you can not have no fans in matches forever, its unrealistic and dangerous. The fact that governments haven't even thought about the possibility of returning fans is mind blowing, especially as we are closing in on two years of complete shutdown of stadiums, not just in football, but in all other sports. Major financial damage is being done and can't be undone, can't be fixed, can't be reversed, you have clubs like ours who were already in a bad financial situation and not being able to generate revenue through tickets is really destroying Valencia CF. 

La Liga closes Diakhaby's racism case

La Liga has concluded its investigation into the claim of racism by Diakhaby and has made a decision. According to the video and sound tests available, the investigation cannot confirm "ALL" the words Diakhaby heard in the 28th minute of the Cadiz CF-Valencia CF match played last Sunday. Just because no evidence was found does not mean that this was not the case.

This means there will be no punishment towards Cala as there is no evidence of racism and ultimately the case is now closed. Do I believe Diakhaby, yes, there is no reason why he would lie and his reaction in the match seemed genuine, but again without audio of the incident we can not know for sure what exactly was said and if Cala is a racist or not. Plus there is the issue of being an asshole, a jerk who wanted to trigger Diakhaby without him actually being a racist. These are complicated cases and again without audio evidence its hard to say what the truth is. 

Ultimately I think this is the right decision, innocent until proven guilty and since there is no evidence of the incident, its claim against claim and thus you can not make any sort of judgement based solely on that. 

Fabio Blanco contract extension stalled

We've reported about Fabio Blanco before, how he is attracting interest from big clubs like Barcelona FC as Valencia CF is unable to extend his contract. In fact Anil Murthy had taken up the negotiations personally with the player in the hopes of facilitating a new deal, but as you guys know I don't have any confidence in Anil Murthy, as he is completely incompetent and that has proven right.

New reports are coming up that even though Valencia CF have come out with an improved contract in which they offer him several promises like first team callout next season and things of that nature, the player and the club are still far off from reaching an agreement. The biggest issue seems to be the length of the new contract, Valencia CF want to extend for 2 years with optional 3 years, with the player wanting a better financial contract for more than 2 years. 

Bayern Munich interested in Kang-In Lee

With all the focus on the issue of racism these days, one would be forgiven if they thought everything else stopped, but clubs are making plans for next season and thinking of the next big new player, next big talent. Valencia CF has one such talent in its ranks, but they would rather not play him, they would rather not extend his contract and basically allow teams to snatch him on the cheap from us, because we have so much talent we might as well give out some of it to other clubs to help them out. 

Anil Murthy is such a terrible president, so much incompetence, why hasn't Kang-In Lee's contract been extended? Why is Gracia avoiding Kang-In and not playing him? Does he really believe that Alex Blanco is better than Lee or Vallejo is better than Lee? The difference in talent is huge, we just need to shape that talent, but that won't happen if he doesn't get any playing time, while every single big club looks at the player and is making plans to snatch him.

Bayern Munich are the latest club showing interest in Kang-In Lee, they are probably looking at him as a long term replacement for Mueller or some of the other veterans who are getting older and would need to be replaced accordingly.  Valencia CF meanwhile is sleeping and allowing its talent to be taken.

Valencia CF needs to find a winning path

The focus since the Cadiz match has been on racism and rightly so, the relevant institutions need to deal with that, setup protocols and of course lay out punishments if there is evidence. With that said the team should be 100% focused on getting better and winning. We can't lose focus and engage in racism hunting and all of a sudden Valencia CF is going to magically end racism, no, the club as an institution can work on that, but our players, our sporting staff should be 100% focused on getting better. Valencia CF has not strung more than 1 win this whole season, its one of the worse seasons in terms of being able to win and our away form this season has been the worst in all of Valencia's history! 

Cadiz CF 2-1 Valencia CF Match Report

The match came up to an abrupt stop after what seems a racist incident to have occurred towards Diakhaby, with Valencia CF leaving the pitch. There is still some discussions going on, I don't know if its over or what. The cameras are still rolling, the players are still on the stands, I don't know if the match will actually continue. 

Seems like the match will continue with Hugo Guillamon instead of Diakhaby. The players are warming up again. 

What a joke, classic Valencia CF. We are attacking all match, have possession, have chances, but can't score and Cadiz get A chance and score a goal. Why can't this team string more than one win? I can not believe how bad our defense was, with the exception of Correia who played very well. 

Cadiz CF vs Valencia CF Match Preview

 Cadiz CF             April 4, 18:30 PM            Valencia CF 

After last matchday there was a two week break in club football as world cup qualifications were under way with Valencia CF having 6 players who went on represent their countries. I reported on those players and their performances in this article so you can go on there and read more about how our players did.

I don't know if this break would help the team or not, because I thought we were in good form and really liked the way Valencia CF played against Granada, so I'm afraid this two week pause might have stunted that form. We also had Cillessen get injured so a blow  to our squad, but Jaume has been fairly decent and against Cadiz I'm not too worried about the goalkeeping position. 

Club football resumes

International football has concluded and club football will resume this weekend. Valencia CF has dozen players represent their countries, Yunus Musah, Jose Gaya, Daniel Wass, Cutrone, Cillessen. 

Cillessen is the only casualty, with him getting injured at a practice match, his recovery is estimated to be 3 weeks, so he should be technically available next week. 

Jose Gaya only featured in one of the matches, a 1-1 draw with Greece and in the two other games Jordi Alba was preferred. 

Daniel Wass featured in two of the three matches for Denmark, he played as a right back in both match and Denmark won its matches in pretty dominant fashion. 

Cutrone played for Italy's U21's and score two goals in the last match, though he featured in all three matches. 

Yunus Musah played in both friendly matches for the USA, being replaced at half time in the second match. 

Javi Gracia set to leave

We have another confirmation that Javi Gracia is set to leave in the summer, this time through Marca, who are reporting that Valencia CF are looking at 3 options to replace Javi Gracia. I've already reported that Valencia CF were looking at Diego Martinez with the other two potions being José Bordalás and Michel. 

Jose Bordalas is the current coach of Getafe and he has been at the helm since 2016. Supposedly he is looking to make a change. 

The third option is Michel González, he is currently without a team and available, his last coaching job was with Pumas UNAM, but he resigned due to personal reasons, before that he coached Malaga unsuccessfully. 

Valencia CF needs to secure our top players

Valencia CF is not in a position to make any purchases, not unless it sells players in excess of 40 million euros and lowers the wage bill significantly, and then able to bring in few cheap replacements, otherwise Valencia CF can not pay even a penny out of its pocket to acquire a new player. With that said we need to keep the key players we currently have for the long haul.

I'm talking about players like Soler, Gaya, Paulista, Kang-In, Correia, and yes controversially Guedes as well, because I still believe he is an asset and can be more consistently better if the coach utilizes him better and in better positions.

We can not afford to lose any of the players above, that would be devastating for the club and would probably put Valencia CF right into relegation territory. We've had so much reports about princes and investment funds and whatnot buying Valencia CF, but regardless of who the owner is the club needs to secure these players contracts. 

Juventus interested in Kang-In Lee

Juventus FC interested in Kang-In Lee, the South Korean player has come through Valencia's youth ranks and achieved first team status, impressing in many of his games. He is only 20 years old and is seen as one of the most promising youngsters in Spain, attracting the attention of several big clubs around Europe already. 

Juventus FC coach Andrea Pirlo is keeping an eye on his contract situation with his current deal set to expire at the end of the 2021/22 campaign and negotiations over an extension on his contract all but stalled. Valencia CF have so many players with their contracts close to running out, its unreliable how incompetent the current management is. Yesterday I reported about another youth player potentially getting snatched from us, so its just a mess right now. 

Juventus FC are supposedly thinking about testing the waters with an initial offer of 15 million euros, which they could increase to 20 million euros, or might add one of their players to the deal to push through the deal. 

FC Barcelona to poach Fabio Blanco from Valencia CF

Fabio Blanco Valencia CF

Barcelona are reportedly interested in signing Fabio Blanco from Valencia, the player is only 17 years old and is supposedly one of the biggest talents coming from Valencia's academy. His contract runs out this summer with Anil Murthy himself conducting the negotiations to try to extend his contract.

FC Barcelona want to sign Fabio Blanco for their B team and slowly develop him into first team player. Apart from FC Barcelona, Juventus and few others clubs are also interested in the player, so its interesting to see if Valencia CF can manage to extend his contract. 

Jasper Cillessen to be sold in the summer?

 As I've reported previously Valencia CF will need to come up 30 million euros the following summer in order to balance its books. As such players with high wages are being planned for sale, as not only will their transfer fee be decent, but the savings on their salaries will be huge. 

Valencia CF is planning on selling Goncalo Guedes and the club would save something like 5 million a year on wages, so in 4 years that is 20 million euros saved solely on wages on one players. Another big earner is Jasper Cillessen and with the fact that he has been quite injury prone and getting injured yet again with Netherlands on a practice match, means that he is likely the other player who is going to be sold this summer. 

Cillessen injured, Gonzalo Villar continues to shine

 Bad news for Valencia. Just when he'd returned and was beginning to play well, Jasper Cillessen got injured while on international duty with the Netherlands. 

He's expected to be out for 2-3 weeks, missing the game away to Cadiz and probably the home game versus Sociedad. It's a blow because he's looked more convincing than Jaume between the sticks.

Meanwhile in the internationals, Gonzalo Villar scored for Spain under-21s. Valencia let him join Elche in 2018, with the club retaining 80% of the rights, which meant that 3.2 million was earned when he joined Roma in January last year. That's the end of the good news. Valencia no longer has any rights in the player, who is now a regular defensive midfielder for Roma and whose value has reached at least 15 million. It's another failure of Valencia's often chaotic youth policy under Meriton, who claim to be interested in developing youth but often let promising ones slip away for next to nothing.

Ferro and Benfica angry with Valencia

Loan signing Ferro is reported (via golsmedia) to be very unhappy with Valencia.

Valencia had some interest in the player last autumn, but with Lim refusing to sign off on new signings it didn't happen. He then was one of three additions in the January window, all of them apparently without consulting Gracia. For Ferro the move seemed a logical one. The arrival of Otamendi at Benfica reduced his playing time and a spell at Valencia, who seemed to have only one fixed defender in Paulista offered more opportunities. The loan includes the possibility to extend it by one year if all parties are happy. It hasn't worked out that way. Ferro played the whole game against Real Madrid on 14 February, but only because Guillamon was suspended and Diakhaby and Mangala were injured. His only other appearance was the following game, where he came on in the last minute purely to waste time. Even the game against Levante, where Gracia opted for 3 central defenders, failed to result in playing time. Despite Diakhaby's recent mistakes, he's also maintained the coach's confidence. If Ferro doesn't get any match time in those circumstances, when will he play?

Valencia CF interested in Florian Thauvin

Valencia CF are interested in signing Marseille’s midfield star Florian Thauvin, who's refused to sign a contract extension with Marseille and is looking for offers to join another club. Valencia CF has supposedly been interested in the player since last summer, but failed to snatch him from Marseille and they didn't make any significant attempts due to his sales fee, but since his contract is running out this summer he will be a free agent and Valencia CF are hoping to lure the player to the Mestalla.

Another team linked to the player is Valencia's Spanish rival Sevilla who are in better position to acquire the player as they have the money and quality necessary to lure top talent to their club. Its going to be a tough order for Valencia CF to sign Florian Thauyin as the team needs to first make over 30 million euros in order to meet financial obligations, and as I reported Valencia CF is looking to offload Goncalo Guedes this summer to make those money!

Valencian groups boycoting Valencia CF

Opposition to Peter Lim is heating up and more and more groups are boycotting Valencia CF. From organized fan groups and associations to former Valencia CF staff and players calling for boycotts and even governmental intervention against Peter Lim.

The 'From Torino to Mestalla' platform loses more than half of its partners in a few weeks, recently Santiago Canizares spoke out against Peter' Lim's running of the club and even called on government official to do something. Former players and staff have also spoken out publicly against Peter Lim, not to mention the protests organized by different fans of the club over the past months. 

We have confirmation that shirt sales have plummeted this season, as well as other merchandise and part of that is because people just aren't enthusiastic about the team, but part of it is a concentrated effort to financially squeeze Valencia CF so much that Peter Lim would have no choice but to sell the club at any cost, because remember Valencia's costs are now Meriton's costs, so if VCF ends up losing a ton of money, Peter Lim loses that money! 

Is that a good idea, does that hurt the club or Lim more? Who knows, only time will tell, but what do you guys and gals think about it, is it a good strategy to boycott the club in order to try and force Lim to sell? 

Eduard Navarro: I want to purchase Valencia CF

Yesterday I wrote how another party wants to buy Valencia CF and now we have direct confirmation by the people of that group. Eduard Navarro gave a statement to Las Provincias that his intentions are to purchase Valencia CF from Peter Lim. He is the founder and CEO of Gerrers Net investment and alongside several investors from Spain are serious in their desire to purchase Valencia CF.

They have an offer of 244 million euros through the ATCA fund to Peter Lim, but so far Lim has not accepted the offer, though he hasn't rejected it either! The investment group is solely focused on real estate, but considering Valencia CF has two stadiums and large land under its name, its a lucrative deal for Gerrers Net, and owning a club like Valencia CF if managed properly can bring success and money to them! We also have other investors from Spain and Valencia CF who are bringing in big amount of money.

Personally this is a solid offer, Valencia's value has diminished since Peter Lim took over and we still have huge debts to various banks, we still have an unfinished stadium and we don't even have big names like we used to have in Silva, Villa, Mata, Soldado, etc... who the team was able to sell for huge amounts of money.

Prince Ismail: Peter Lim won't listen to other offers

The prince of Johor Ismail Idris has spoken to Spanish newspaper As and cleared things up about his dealings with Peter Lim and Valencia CF. We now have a very clear and complete picture of what was happening and what the plan was.

So the prince had never planed to purchase Valencia CF outright, he said that his goal was to purchase a significant portion of Peter Lim's shares and be a significant shareholder of Valencia CF, but Peter Lim would still have been the majority shareholder and ultimately control the club. 

Another party to buy Valencia CF

Seems like the prince of Johor isn't the only interested party to purchase Valencia CF. There have been some reports about another party circling around, but they didn't seem as credible, so I've avoided writing about it, but its been reported several times from different sources that it it does seem real. 

So at the center of this party is Net de Gerrers an alternative investment manager focused on cross-boarder investments in real assets, investing US & EMEA capital in the Spanish-speaking world, along with other Valencian and Spanish investors, we even have names like Enrique Lucas, Javier Guerola, José María Mas Millet and others who are leading the charge to buy Valencia CF from Peter Lim. 

Valencia CF 2-1 Granada CF Match Report

What a match. First time in a long time I felt good watching Valencia CF play. I think that early 3rd minute goal changed so much, it allowed Valencia CF to settle in very well and get really comfortable and play some really good football. Valencia CF was attacking and controlling the match for most of the first half, it was really good.

The first goal came really early in the third minute, when Gaya got the ball on the left flank, rushed forward, got away from his marker and send a good cross into the penalty area, Wass fought away his marker and managed to get a leg to the ball sending it into the net. 

Valencia CF vs Granada CF Match Preview

La Liga

Valencia CF

Mar 21, 4:15 PM

Granada CF

Its been two very interesting weeks as Valencia CF have gone through a possible acquisition by a prince, to some interesting news about the future of the coach Javi Gracia and several players, including Gonaco Guedes and others. While things have been quite interesting off the pitch and finally we have some excitement, its been the opposite on the pitch. Valencia CF have continued with the bad results and the last match Valencia CF lost to a city rival which they've beaten almost exclusively the past 3-4 years! That just shows the decline Valencia CF has had in the past two years, ever since the sacking of Marcelino.

What is more there was no positives to take from last match, nor did I envision any of our players that were out of the squad for that match that would have made a difference! Its not like we had 3 players that you know would have absolutely made a difference, yeah we have Gaya, but the goal didn't come from lack of defending from Lato or that top side, it came from an individual mistake in the center, Cheryshev has occasionally provided some spark, but he's been so injury prone that he's barely been able to stay fit for more than 2 weeks at a time and even when fit he's not a game changer! 

Valencia CF to appoint Diego Martinez this summer?

Granada's feats this season haven't gone unnoticed, as they reach the quarter finals in the Europa league and are very competitive in the league this season as well, being higher position than Valencia CF at this stage of the competition. Reports are saying that Granada's coach Diego Martinez who's contract with Granada ends in the summer is the primary target of Valencia CF who are going to have a change of coach the upcoming summer and want Diego Martinez to be Javi Gracia's replacement.

Diego Martinez is holding out on extending his contract with Granada and is waiting to see if a better offer comes along and if reports can be trusted, Valencia CF will come in with a better offer to try and lure him to join Valencia CF.

Valencia CF interested in Uros Djurdjevic

Valencia CF interested in Uros
Djurdjevic

Valencia CF are looking at Serbian striker Uros Djurdjevic as a potential signing this coming season, as Kevin Gameiro seems to be on his way out and Uros Djurdjevic potentially being his replacement. Those are the reports as of now. Personally I think Valencia CF is going to sell Maxi Gomez as he can bring in more money than Kevin Gameiro, though Gameiro still might go as a way to save on his wages as well. 

So Valencia CF is targeting Uros Djurdjevic who plays for Sporting Gijon in the second division and has scored 19 goals in 28 matches for Sporting Gijon this season, with my personal belief that he is going to replace Maxi Gomez in the team.

Durđević made his senior debut for Rad on 28 August 2011, under manager Slavko Petrović, coming on as a substitute for Luka Milivojević in a 1–2 home league loss to Sloboda Užice. 

Valencia CF purchase meeting a bust

Two days ago the prince of Johor Ismail Idriss and Peter Lim were seen together in Singapore, the prince traveled to Singapore in order to negotiate the purchase of Valencia CF. I've written about it here and the meeting was supposed to bring the two sides closer to reaching an agreement, but new reports from sources close to both men are now saying that the meeting was a bust and there was no agreement reached over anything. 

Charitable and fun event by VCF foundation

Hey guys, so it seems like the Valencia CF foundation and matchwornshirt are doing a charitable auction, in which you can bid for a players shirt and you will get an original worn and signed shirt by the players of Valencia CF. Its a chance for fans across the globe to get their hands on the ultimate Valencia fan-item: a worn & signed shirt of their favorite player. The shirts worn in the match against Levante will all be signed by the players and have been put up for auction straight from kick-off. This way fans who can't go to the stadium can bring a piece of the match home.

Peter Lim sell Valencia CF NOW

Peter Lim you need to sell Valencia CF. You've failed and failed miserably, everyone who is a Valencia CF fan hates you, even fans of other clubs who read about your story hate you, because they've too experienced similar things with their clubs in the past and even your own people hate you. Former close associates of yours have admitted publicly that you and them had no clue what you were doing and that you are a terrible club manager, owner. 

Peter Lim and the prince of Johor seen together

Current Valencia CF owner Peter Lim and would be owner Ismail Idriss have been seen together in Singapore, and sources close to both men say that this is another round of negotiations, with the prince of Johor being serious in his desire to purchase the club. 

Reports have been swirling online for almost two weeks now about the takeover of Valencia CF, with the prince of Johor starting the speculations himself by announcing his wish to purchase Valencia CF and also promising certain things if he is to take over the club over social media.

Yunus Musah chooses to represent the USA

Valencia CF player Yunus Musah has chosen to represent the USA national team, instead of England, boosting the USA squad a bit and also giving himself a bigger opportunity to play. 

The player was born in New York and has a dual passport, he had already featured for England's under 18 team, and he also represented the USA, making his debut for them last December against Wales. 

The player announced his decision on social media and is hoping to be a regular in the USA national team.

Can Javi Gracia turn things around?

We all know why Valencia CF is in its current position and how and why we got here, I've written about it and so have other people and websites, but that doesn't mean we can excuse everything the coach does. Yes, we have a weaker squad than last season, yes we didn't get any reinforcements, yes the mid season reinforcements weren't even on people's last places on their lists, but our week to week results still have to be looked at and analyzed on their own merit. 

I feel for Javi Gracia, he was chosen in a really bad situation and hasn't gotten any signings that he was promised, so he was lied to from the start. With all of that our of the way he still bears some responsibility for the results we are getting. So the question is can Valencia CF coach Javi Gracia turn things around or is it time to 'think' about a new coach? Is it time to 'think'(not act) about a new coach? 

Valencia CF to offload Goncalo Guedes this summer

Peter Lim is in deeper trouble every single day, with the city of Valencia CF now demanding that Valencia CF fulfil their obligations to the city as part of the deal to purchase the ground where the new Mestalla was built, which Valencia CF has not done anything thus far and would cost the club at least additional 20-30 million euros. With fans not returning to the stadium anytime soon by the looks of it and considering the dwindling popularity of the club and dwindling prestige that means less money from sponsors next season and less money from fans buying the club's merchandise. Therefore Peter Lim is already making plans of selling our most valuable players in the summer to try and raise over 50 million euros, so he can maybe settle some of the city disputes and he himself will take away a big part of that money as his firm Meriton has loaned Valencia CF money for the purchases of back in the day the likes of Moreno and Negredo! 

Goncalo Guedes is the highest paid player in Valencia CF right now, his salary being about 5 million euros per season and he is still one of the highest valued players in our squad, at about 25 million euros. So if Valencia CF sells Guedes for 25 million euros and saves 5 million more that season by not having his wages, then than is a 30 million gain for Peter Lim who is getting pressured from all sides to pay up. 

He knows that Goncalo Guedes is not the favorite among fans, apart from his first season he's had two suspect seasons where he hasn't contributed too much, so the fans are probably not going to make a big deal out of his sale and the club can net about 30 million euros, assuming they can sell him for 25 million euros. 

Personally I think that would be a big loss, because he is one of our most famous players and that has value too, he attracts fans, he sells shirts, he brings in Portuguese fans, etc... So his value is not just sporting, but financial as well. Also you usually want to build your team around players like Guedes, rather than sell them, if they are not performing optimally you surround them with players who lift their game and play well with each other. I think Gaya, Soler, Guedes, Paulista right now form the core of our team and we have to build a team around them, I still see Kang-In as a huge talent, but he kid needs support and the current coach isn't giving him the proper support and play time he deserves. 

Other than Guedes we have Soler, Gaya, Gomez, etc... who are some of the highest paid players in our squad, so maybe they are next as well, with Lim at the helm we are probably going to lose them all either next summer or the one after. 

Rodrigo Moreno: Six years of good and bad at Valencia CF

Rodrigo Moreno who left Valencia CF last season for Leeds in the Premier league gave an interview with AS in which he referenced his time here at Valencia CF.

He told AS: "I had been with Valencia for a long time; three summers in which it seemed that I was leaving and then I was staying. The time had come to close a six-year stage, which I describe as very positive. And in that context appeared Leeds, the Premier… and the challenge of working with a coach like Marcelo Bielsa. That caught me a lot.

"The Premier is very attractive for its sporting and economic potential. Also, Leeds is a landmark. In terms of structure and infrastructure, it is an elite club at the level of others in which I have been (Benfica or Valencia). In addition to what I was telling you, my decision was influenced by the project they presented to me. Leeds approached the promotion like a new cycle.

"They were six very intense years in Valencia. For me and for all of us who live them. We had very good years and very bad years. I think I had nine coaches, six sports directors, three presidents… I needed to change and the club also wanted to enter a new stage. Many of us left that we had been there for a long time… and that's how it all happened.

"I needed a change of airs, in Valencia it was six very intense years, and the Leeds appeared; with a project, with the Premier, with Bielsa..."

But you will know how Marcellin is doing in Bilbao...

"Of course I do. I recognize that since Marce's been at Athletic... I've been at least more aware of their results. And I've seen some matches, like the Super Cup victory... I'm infinitely happy for him and his technical staff. I hope they do great in both Cup finals.

And how do you feel when you see Valencia fight to get away from the descent?

"It's a complicated season. I've been there for years and in similar situations. The club is in a complicated situation, a lot of instability. I hope the season ends in the best possible way, because I have many friends and a lot of affection for the club and its fond."

Levante UD vs Valencia CF Match

•    Levante UD
  21:00
  Valencia CF

Valencia CF are coming into this match off of an uplifting victory over Villarreal CF, especially as they are coached by former Valencia CF coach Unai Emery and have 4 former Valencia CF players playing for them as well. In fact Dani Parejo and Francis Coquelin joined them last season after a massive clear-out triggered by Peter Lim sold of or gave away some of our most veteran players. Villareal CF have also been playing really well in the league and quite higher than Valencia CF on the table, so it was a surprising, but welcomed win over them!

Valencia CF has won 2 of the last 3 matches, while Levante UD has lost 2 and draw one, so a slight advantage to Valencia CF if we go from recent results, in the last two years Valencia CF has won 3 and draw 1 of their games with Levante UD, so a slight advantage there as well and the matches have generally had more than 3 goals in the last three years, so I'm expecting a similar game, probably with 2+ goals and slightly bigger win probability for Valencia CF.

A year ago, Valencia CF were number 7 in the table with 41 points. Now they are number 12 with 30 points.

Valencia CF will be without several key players for this match, but this is an opportunity for other players to step up to the challenge and establish themselves. Uroš Račić, José Luis Gayá, Maxi Gómez, Carlos Soler, Denis Cheryshev and Cristiano Piccini will be unavailable for selection for Javi Gracia.

Valencia CF squad: Chillessen; Correia, Hugo, Paulista, Lato; Wass, Jason, Christian Oliva, Wass, Alex Blanco; Kang-In, Vallejo. 

Winning probability: Levante UD 23% win, Draw 50%, Valencia CF 27% win.

Negotiations for the takeover of Valencia CF are ongoing

So, as I reported in the previous article, Valencia CF president Anil Murthy is completely clueless about what is really going on in the club(as always), and is just a useless yes man to Peter Lim. So it seems that negotiations are ongoing with Prince Ismail Idriss and Peter Lim and that the prince's intentions are to takeover the club and be the majority shareholder. 

He has posted on several social media platforms his intentions of purchasing the club and basically being in charge of what goes on, rather than as some reports wrongly claimed that he is just buying a minority stake and being a piggy bank for Peter Lim to continue running the club into the ground! The prince has posted himself the intention to purchase the club, to be the majority shareholder and lead the team. He has even named names of potential sporting director and club president, but since its way too early for that, I won't mentions any names here as the chances of them being the same names are slim, even if Ismail would like them to lead the club. 

Prince Ismail Idriss said that while he may own shares, the club will belong to the supporters. He also wrote about the sheer passion, determination and love for the ball that guided his plans, he ended with the sentence: "No politics, and no b * * * * * *."

Peter Lim to remain largest shareholder and owner

There was much talk about the prince of Johor purchasing Valencia CF, or at least some stake in the club, but it seems now as if that won't happen after all. In a shareholders meeting today Valencia CF president Anil Murthy basically said that Peter Lim won't be selling his shares in the club and that he is committed long term.

This wouldn't be the first time Anil Murthy doesn't know about stuff and being left out himself with no information about what is going on at the club. We know Peter Lim likes to take action singlehandedly without telling anyone and basically all the staff at Valencia CF finding out through the media, so there are still chances that the prince could purchase some shares or majority shares, I guess will have to wait and see.

What are your thoughts, do you trust Peter Lim to turn this ship around, tell us in the comments section! 

Peter Lim is his own worst enemy

Peter Lim has no sporting understanding of a football club, has no historical knowledge about Valencia CF or any other club, is not an avid football fan himself, but that doesn't matter and is not the main reason Valencia CF is the dire straits it is now! The reason Valencia CF finds itself in the current position is because Peter Lim's gigantic ego! He would rather have the club fail and lose money and go bankrupt and everything else, rather than have a manager who speaks his mind and goes against Peter Lim's fantasies! 

All Peter Lim had to do was check his ego and not act irrationally and just keep Marcelino and our sporting director! We came off after one of the most successful seasons in recent history, winning the Spanish cup, qualifying for champions league 2 times in a row and finally having a solid team that we can work with and build upon! 

Well we still had the same team and they should have achieved the same results without Marcelino, some would say! The simple fact is that changing a very successful and beloved coach essentially in the middle of the campaign for no good reason, other than Lim's ego, that affects the players mentally! There is no human that is going to be unaffected with such a big shift. 

So then we lost our champions league spot, which meant less money coming in since we are placing in worse positions, we have less prestige, less negotiating power with advertisers, so that is even less money and a sporting mistake became a financial one as well! 

Hopefully the rumors about the prince are real and we are getting a new owner, because I've only seen like few good decisions by Lim and that is when he backed off and put Mateu Alemany as sporting director and other serious and competent people to lead Valencia CF and that is when we had success. 

Hopefully a new chapter can begin without Peter Lim.

Is the prince of Johor buying Valencia CF?

There are new reports floating online that the prince of Johor Tunku Ismail is basically only an investor and would purchase just a portion of the shares, leaving Peter Lim still the majority shareholder and having a controlling stake at the club.

This could be for a number of reasons, he might want to find out how the club operates first, you know get in the water with his feet first, before diving head on or it could be that he just doesn't have liquid money in what Peter Lim values the club. Even though he is worth 750 million, that is mostly value of businesses and stuff and doesn't mean he has liquid assets(money).

Either way the new rumors are that he is going to be an investor with Peter Lim still controlling the majority stake at the club, which from my point of view is the worst thing, means that Peter Lim can still run the club into the ground, but this time around its with another guy's money!

Personally I can't wait for Peter Lim to leave, he is a terrible businessman, terrible human, he acts out of personal vendettas and disagreements when he doesn't know the first thing about running a football club and basically is too arrogant, too brazen to run a successful club.

What do you guys think about these reports? Is Valencia CF going to get a new owner, would you like a new owner, what are your thought, tell us in the comments section!

Prince of Johor to buy Valencia CF?

Reports are swirling that the prince of Johor has reached an agreement with Peter Lim for the purchase of Valencia CF. The prince is a friend of Peter Lim and they've been seen eachother on numerous occasions, so considering Peter Lim is pretty much hated by every Valencia CF fan, and he has been unable to work his scheme to make Valencia CF a selling club, he has supposedly reached out to the prince to sell the club to him. 

Prince Tunku Ismail Idris has been interested in Valencia CF for some time as a big football fan and with the opportunity presenting itself it seems as though he has or is willing to purchase the club. His net worth is estimated to be in the 750 million range and that is his personal wealth, he is part of the royal family of Malaysia who is worth billions. 

The prince of the southern Malaysian state has already said to Marca: “I am not someone to change the crest or the tradition of your club, as I said before. I am not a businessman. I am here for the glory.”

“I am a prince, not a businessman. Money does not motivate me, glory motivates me and make history. It is not a secret that I love football, I am passionate about it.”

Tunku Ismail opened a few days ago the possibility of his arrival at Valencia by posting on social networks extracts of what appeared to be an economic report on the club and making a series of reflections on what in his opinion the entity needs.

La Liga Matchday #26: Valencia CF 2 - 1 Villareal CF Match Thread

 PREVIEW

Valencia come into this game off a heavy 3-0 away defeat to Getafe. The team failed to show up or put in the required effort. That, paired with an early red card in the second half, made for an embarrassing game altogether.

Villareal have been poor recently as well, having not won a game in La Liga since early January. Their previous game was 0-2 home loss to Atletico Madrid. Despite dominating the game's possession and overall shots, they weren't effective in front of goal. An own goal in the first half and a great strike from Joao Felix in the second made the difference.

Valencia are currently 14th with 27 points from 25 games while Villareal are 7th with 37 points from just as many games.

SQUAD

Diakhaby will miss this game due to the red card he picked up last game. This should provide an opportunity for Guillamon or Ferro to start. 

Cheryshev and Piccini are the only two players left on the injury list.

La Liga Matchday #25: Getafe CF 3 - 0 Valencia CF Match Thread

NEWS

Alex Blanco's contract has been renewed to 2022. There was a clause in the player's contract that will automatically trigger the renewal should he play 10 games this season and that has been fulfilled in the Copa del Rey game against Sevilla. 

The club is trying to secure Kang In's contract renewal with new interest coming from other clubs. These are rumored to be Juventus and Real Madrid.

Pablo Longoria has been hired as the President of Olympique Marseille.

There were also rumors that Valencia maintain their interest in Pepe Bordalás as coach. With Getafe also struggling for form, his position has been questioned and Valencia is reportedly keeping an eye on the situation. Apparently, the choice made in the summer was between him and Javi Gracia, and management settled on the latter since he was without a team and could be lured easier.

PREVIEW

Getafe come into the game on the back of a 1-0 defeat away to Real Betis. The home team dominated the possession and chances but Getafe managed to hold on up until the 84th minute when they conceded a penalty. 

Valencia arrive with a 2-0 home against Celta Vigo in their previous fixture. While Valencia played better than in their past few games, the game was at a deadlock until injury time where Valencia scored twice. The goals came from Manu Vallejo and Gamerio, both introduced as second half substitutions, with set ups from Kang In and Correia who put in some good work this game.

Getafe are currently 15th in the standings with 24 points from 24 games. Valencia are 12th with 27 points from the same number of games.

FORM (all competitions)

Getafe: LLLLD

Valencia: WLDWL

SQUAD

Diakhaby has recovered and expected to be in the squad that travels to Getafe.

Javi Gracia has served his suspension and will return to the sidelines.

Piccini requires many weeks to get back to match fitness according to Javi Gracia and will likely not appear until close to the end of the season.

Cheryshev still deals with some discomfort and will not be part of this week's squad.

FIRST HALF

6' - Yellow card shown to Theirry Correia for a tactical foul on Mauro Arambarri to stop the counter-attack

13' - Yellow card shown to Enes Unal for an arm to the face of Gaya

28' - Yellow card shown to Djene for an off-the-ball challenge on Kang In before the corner

31' - Yellow card shown to Cabaco for a challenge on Kang In Lee who had robbed him off the ball in a dangerous position

39' - Goal for Getafe. 1-0. Mauro Arambarri gathers the attempted clearance from Correia, takes on touch and shoots from quite a long way out. Cillissen gets his fingertips to it but cannot keep it out.

45' - Three minutes added by the referee for stoppages

HALF-TIME

Half-time stats. 8-2 shots, 1-0 shots on target, 42-58% possession, 54-64% pass accuracy.

Rough half for both teams with 4 yellow cards already. Both teams struggled for chances and the difference is a long range strike that not much could be done about.

That being said, Getafe picked up a lot of yellow cards and two of them went to their central defenders. Under more pressure, this will force them to back away from challenges or get a red card which Valencia can capitalize on.

SECOND HALF

51' - Red card shown to Diakhaby for pulling down Maksimovic as the last man, thereby denying a goal-scoring opportunity. First game back and a costly error.

53' - First change for Valencia. Guillamon replaces Musah to reinforce the defense after the card.

54' - Unal with a 1 v 1 chance against Cillissen but he cannot score. That was very fortunate.

55' - Goal for Getafe. 2-0. Jaime Mata finishes a good pass from Unal

57' - Yellow card shown to Cucurella for a rough challenge on Paulista

64' - First change for Getafe. Chakla replaces Cabaco

68' _Second change for Valencia. Gameiro on, Racic off

73' - Second change for Getafe. Cucho Hernandez on, Enes Unal off 

75' - Red card shown to Paulista but overturned by VAR. That would've been really bad.

76' - Yellow card shown to Nyom for a challenge on Gaya. Yellow card shown to Gaya for dissent against the referee after that challenge.

81' - Double substitution for Valencia. Cutrone and Oliva on for Maxi Gomez and Carlos Soler

85' - Triple substitution for Getafe. Alena, Kubo, and Timor come on for Nyom, Mata and Arambarri

86' - Goal for Getafe. 3-0. Cucho Hernandez with a cross that was volleyed by Alena past Cillissen.

89' - Cillissen with good save to deny a fourth goal.

90' - Five minutes added by the referee for stoppages.

90+5' - Gullamon with a brilliant through ball to break down the defense. Gameiro pull its back for Kang In but he takes too many touches and the chances fizzles out.

FULL-TIME

Full-time stats. 15-5 shots, 4-0 shots on target, 42-58% possession, 58-68% pass accuracy.

Another embarrassing game. A defeat to rivals that allows them to go ahead in the league standings. And yet again, not a single shot on target for Valencia. The team failed to build on the positive result of the previous game.

The result of the first half was rescuable especially with the vulnerable central defenders of Getafe (both on yellow cards). However, it would be Valencia who would pick up the red card first, taking away any chance at a comeback and would widen the gap between teams. Getafe would grab a second goal soon after. The situation was comparable to a challenge by Getafe in the first half and they walked away with only a yellow card.

Valencia almost picked up a second red card after Paulista's challenge but the situation was rescued by VAR which overturned the decision. 

Getafe kept up the pressure sensing weakness and grabbed a third, and almost a fourth. Valencia almost produced a goal in the final minute but there was no finish.

Paulista in the post-match interview was in tears as he reflected on the current situation of the team. Where do they go from here?

Next match is on Friday March 5 against Villareal at Mestalla.

La Liga Matchday #24: Valencia CF 2 - 0 Celta Vigo Match Thread

NEWS

Following the last game, the club captains, ambassador and president to discuss the result and the state of the team. As usual, the statement that came from this meeting is that the team is united and focused on changing the result moving forward. 

Speaking of the president, Murthy has flown to Singapore a few days ago, with the intention of staying 2 weeks (due to COVID-related restrictions). While he is staying there, Joey Lim is responsible for local duties. This trip has sparked quite a few speculations, with some saying the Murthy might not come back, while others compare this to the time leading up the sacking of Celades when Murthy also travelled back to Singapore. It remains to be seen what comes of it.

PREVIEW

Valencia come into this game on the back of an embarrassing 2-0 away defeat to Real Madrid. The team failed to show up and the home team managed to win comfortable while barely breaking a sweat. Both goals came in the first half, the first a strike from distance from Benzema, while the other was a team effort that was passed into the net by Kroos. Valencia was never in the contest.

Celta Vigo played out a 3-1 home win against Elche in their last fixture. Celta scored 2 goals just on the brink of half-time which gave them a comfortable lead going into the second half. Elche pulled one back early in the second half but Celta Vigo restored their 2 goal margin. Santi Mina scored 2 of the goals for Celta.

Valencia are 13th in the league standings with 24 points from 23 games. Celta Vigo are 9th with 29 points from 23 games.

FORM (all competitions)

Valencia: LDWLL

Celta Vigo: WDDDL

SQUAD

Cillissen and Mangala are in the final stages of recovery and could be selected depending on readiness. Guillamon returns having served his suspension last game while Gracia still has a game left to finish his suspension. Cheryshev and Diakhaby are still in recovery and are expected to be back as soon as next game. 

It is reported that Gracia has practiced with the same 11 as last game but with Musah instead of Guedes and Kang In instead of Vallejo.

FIRST HALF

12' - Yellow card shown to Nolito for a late challenge on Kang In

22' - Goal for Valencia is overturned for offside. It was good team play. Correia was lightning quick on the break with lots of space ahead. He takes an early cross to find Maxi Gomez who passes on the volley to Alex Blanco but the ball goes through to Wass who strikes it first time at goal and beats the keeper. Wass was returning from offside position though.

29' - Murillo gives possession away with a poor pass from the back which Wass intercepts. Wass carries the ball forward and threads a nice pass to Kang In Lee who had made a run into the box. Tapia just manages to get a touch on it to take it away from Kang In and into the arms of the keeper.

31' - Yellow card shown to Santi Mina for a foul on Correia

44' - Well-timed run by Kang In into the box. Correia spots him and plays a decent through-ball. The keeper comes off his line and races to the ball, getting there just before Kang In.

45' - Three minutes added by the referee for stoppages

45+1' - Good play by Valencia on the break following a Celta Vigo free kick. Unfortunately, Alex Blanco overhits the pass to Kang In and allows the defense to get into place. Kang In keeps going and finds Wass on the opposite flank. Wass passes to Racic who picks out a through ball to find Gaya. Gaya puts in the cross but nobody is there to attack the ball.

HALF-TIME

Half-time stats: 3-1 shots, 0-0 shot on target, 52-48% possession, 77-72% pass accuracy

The team showed up in the first half, contrary to the last game. There were a few spells that looked good at various points in the half. The final product is still lacking though. The team put together some great passing sequences on the counter but the danger often fizzles out in the final third.

Both teams gave up the ball very frequently which means less time on the ball for both teams and a comedy of errors to give the ball away back and forth.

Great work ethic from Kang In in the first half. He seems intent on capitalizing on this opportunity and making a mark. Cannot say the same for many other players.

SECOND HALF

53' - Yellow card shown to Tapia for a foul on Wass to stop the counterattack

55' - Yellow card shown to Kang In Lee for kicking the ball away after a foul.

61' - Kang In with a through ball to Maxi Gomez setting him for a run into the box. The keeper comes out and Maxi gets to the ball first and goes to ground. VAR is checking if the keeper made contact with him.

62' - Yellow card shown to Gaya for dissent against the referee. He feels it should be a foul.

63' - VAR rules that there was contact. Red card shown to Ruben Blanco for denying a goal scoring opportunity with a foul. Free kick given at a good position just outside the box.

66' - First change for Celta Vigo, goalkeeper Ivan Villar replaces Facundo Ferreyra

71' - First substitution for Valencia. Kevin Gameiro replaces Alex Blanco

75' - Gaya breaks down the opposition defense with a through ball to Kang In who takes a turn and then plays the ball across goal. Villar gets a touch to the ball and Gameiro attacks at the far post but cannot make contact.

80' - Second substitution for Valencia. Racic off, Vallejo on

81' - Second substitution for Celta, Aidoo replaces the injured Solari

82' - Throw-in from Celta finds Santi Mina on the left edge of the box after a touch from Paulista. Mina attempts to go through Guillamon and Soler. In the process, Soler pokes the ball towards Nolito right in front of goal but thankfully Cillissen is quick off his line to smother the ball.

89' - Final change for Celta. Nolito off, Beltran on

90' - Seven minutes added by the referee for stoppages

90+3' - Goal for Valencia! 1-0! Vallejo starts the play exchanging passes with Gaya just outside the box. He receives the ball back, passes to Kang In and continues his run forward. Kang In threads the ball through the defense to find Vallejo again who pokes the ball past the incoming keeper and into the goal at the far post.

90+6' - Final change for Valencia. Kang In Lee off, Ferro on

90+7' - Goal for Valencia! 2-0! Correia receives the ball wide and cuts inside past one defender and then another before playing the ball behind the defense to find Gameiro who strikes the ball into the roof of the net.

FULL TIME

Full-time stats. 7-4 shots, 57-43% possession, 82-76% pass accuracy

A valuable 3 points, a clean sheet and a much needed win for Valencia. It took a red card and 7 minutes of extra-time to do it but the result is what will matter at the end of the day.

Gracia's substitutes were the difference makers alongside Kang In who showed great work ethic since the start of the match. Correia also deserves credit for pushing on for a second rather than playing it safe.

Next game for Valencia is on Saturday the 27th away to Getafe.