Leicester City FC 0-1 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF just won its second preseason match 1-0 over Leicester City FC. Valencia CF also won the trophy as this was a sort of mini tournament with 4 teams in it I believe with Bursaspor and PSV.

The match started slowly with both teams trying to control the midfield, but after 5-6 minutes Valencia CF became more comfortable and took the possession and initiative of the match. Maduro was quite good the first 30 minutes of the half time, really controlling the possession and spreading the ball well.
After a lot of pressing Valencia CF scored a goal with Aduriz on the left fooling a Leicester defensive player and crossing the ball to Jonas who hit a perfect volley and scored a goal.

From then on Feghuoli in particular would have more shots on goal, but unfortunately won't manage to score a goal. Schmeichel was actually beaten, but a defensive players managed to save their goal basically from the goal line and keep the score only 1-0 for Valencia.

The second half Unai Emery changed the whole squad again and having his debut this time was Daniel Parejo.

Second half was actually more interesting, but if you are a Leicester City FC fan as they had quite a bit of chances to equalize. While the second half our left side was way better with Alba and Piatti and even Pablo coming left, the defensive midfield and the center defense was worse as Topal and Portu failed to control the play and the Rami had at least 2 blunders and forced Diego Alves to come off his post twice to try and save the day. Dealbert was a bit better, but not very convincing either.

Pablo was really poor on the right and Soldado was once again too slow and rusty to do anything and he even had two good chances to score. Daniel Parejo was a welcome sight and had a very positive debut in which he carried the whole Valencia CF play at times.

Overall it was a good preseason match and this will show Unai Emery where and how to improve and lets not forget that our more creative and influential players like Tino Costa, Juan Mata and Ever Banega are yet to play.

Right now I'm personally really impressed with Miguel, Burno, Pardo, Alba, Feghuoli and Aduriz. This match I was also impressed with Parejo, but we'll see how he performs in the next match.

I'm really disappointed with Rami, Mathieu, Topal, Pablo and Soldado. Its still early though and I think the next match is really going to show the real quality and performance of the players and hopefully we'll also have Tino Costa and Mata ready to play.

Technical Details:
Leicester City FC (0):City: Schmeichel; Peltier (Oakley 46), Bamba (St. Ledger 61), Mills, Konchesky (46 Ball); Abe, Wellens (c), King (79 Moussa); Gallagher (61 Waghorn), Vassell (78 Howard), Schlupp (60 Dyer).
Valencia CF (1): Guaita(45 Diego), Bruno(45 Miguel), Costa(45 Rami), Pardo(45 Dealbert), Mathieu(45 Alba), Feghuoli(45 Pablo), Maduro(45 Topal), Albelda(45 Portu), Bernat(45 Piatti), Jonas(45 Parejo), Aduriz(45 Soldado)
Goals: 27min, 1-0 Jonas.

Player Ratings:
Guaita 5.5 - Had few decent mini-saves
Bruno 6 - Great in defense, won all his tackles and very good in attack as well.
Costa 5  - Pretty good, had some good challenges
Pardo 5 - Quite good at the beginning, very comfortable with the ball at his feet and feeds the midfield nice.
Mathieu 5 - Decent defending, few runs forward, but nothing standing out.
Feghuoli 6 - Very active around the pitch, had 3 shots towards Leicester goal and good showing overall.
Maduro 5.5 - Great for around 25 minutes with good passing and keeping possession and then went missing.
Albelda 4.5 - Helped out in defense, had a few forward passes but that's about it.
Bernat 4 - Invisible for the whole match.
Jonas 6 - Decent performance, scored a goal, but failed to link up play in the final 3rd.
Aduriz 6.5 - Great performance from Aduriz impressing once again with an assist to Jonas. Also had a shot on goal and won few crucial headers.
Subs:
Diego 5.5 - Got off the line to clear a ball with a header, then had to do it again but the second time missed the ball with his foot and Leicester almost scored.
Miguel 5.5 - Very good in defense,  was not troubled at all, but did not go forward too much.
Rami 4 - Poor performance by Rami, lost his man on two occasions on the first occasion he was just outrun and on the second he missed the ball and failed to clear it, forcing the goalkeeper to come off his line twice.
Dealbert 5 - Managed to cover for one Rami mistake early on, but as Rami didn't look too comfortable.
Alba 6.5 - Just fantastic, good in defense and great in attack. His forward moves were always threatening and linked up quite well with everyone ahead of him.
Pablo 5 -Had one or two good moves, run a lot, but he is not creating any chances or making dangerous through passes.
Topal 5 - Great helping hand in defense, but fails to move the ball forward.
Portu 5.5 - More active than Topal and pushed forward more, but he as Topal fail to keep possession, spread the ball around or move the ball forward.
Piatti 5.5 - Had a few good runs on the left side, linked up few times with Alba, but falls to the ground too easily.
Parejo 6 - Really impressive debut from Parejo, great ball control, went down deep to move the ball forward, always open to receive a pass and along with Alba they share man of the match performance.
Soldado 5 - Very rusty, had two good chances, but in one he missed the ball and the other chance he shot straight in the goalkeeper.

Leicester City vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Just few days ago Valencia CF played its first match of the preseason against PSV Eindhoven in which Valencia CF won 2-0 with goals from Piatti and Aduriz. Tomorrow is the next challenge in Austria and this time Valencia CF meets Leicester City FC.

Leicester City FC is an English club based in obviously the same named city Leicester and playing in "the Championship" league. The championship league was formerly known as second division, but the FA thought that better names would give it more importance and exposure.

The most known name in the club is Sven-Goran Ericsson, some know him because he has the name of the mobile phone company Ericsson and now as Sony-Ericsson which is almost an exact match, but some will also know him as the English national team manager.
He is considered by the FA as the second best English national team manager in the history of England.

Leicseter City FC has already had a great preseason and went on an unbeaten tour in Sweden. They also played 0-0 with Bursaspor(the club that VCF destroyed in the champions league) on July 20th and tomorrow they will face Valencia CF.  They will also face Real Madrid on 30th this month and is going to be a nice measurement of sort to see how Valencia CF stacks up to Real Madrid, even though Real is with an advantage with playing more games so far and will be with an even better advantage until they get to play Leicester City FC.

The coaches of both clubs have gotten to know each other and already seem like best buddies having so much fun playing table mini football or whatever is called in English.

Leicester City squad:
TBA

Valencia CF as you already know started the preseason very well, you can read my previous match preview to check how the training sessions went and my match report on how the match against PSV went. Suffice to say the preseason has been going well and with the added bonus of Juan Mata coming to Austria and joining the squad.

The training sessions the last 3 days have been very positive with a mix of stamina and physical workout and tactical training. The team I believe practiced few tactical movements in attack.

Emery played with a 4-2-3-1 formation last match, we'll see how he sets it up tomorrow, maybe he'll experiment and maybe not, we'll just have to wait and see.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Guaita, Diego Alves and Adrián.
Defense: Miguel, Bruno, Dealbert, R.Costa, Rami, Pardo, Jordi Alba, Mathieu and Salva Ruiz.
Midfield: Maduro, Tino Costa, Albelda, Nacho González, Topal, Feghouli, Juan Bernat, Pablo, Portu, Piatti, Mata and Parejo.
Attack: Jonas, Aduriz and Soldado.

Technical details:
Formation: Most likely 4-2-3-1 once again, but everything is possible at this point.
Line-up:  Guaita; Miguel, Rami, R.Costa, Alba; Topal, Albelda, Pablo, Piatti; Jonas, Parejo, Aduriz Soldado.
Tactics: Have no idea.

Juan Mata stay to depend on economic situation

This is breaking news ladies and gentlemen. Juan Mata stay with Valencia CF will depend purely on economic results. Things are looking really bad and right now chances are that Juan Mata will be sold if an good offer comes along.

With less than 30.000 season tickets sold so far and only 2 days left and with no shirt sponsor and low chances of finding a good one, its very likely that Juan Mata will be sold in order to balance the sheets.

Even though Valencia CF has reduced the expenditures by more than 15 million just by cutting and/or reducing salaries its balance sheet depends mostly on season tickets sold. While the club can go even several months without a shirt sponsor, season tickets have been the major income for Valencia CF for so many years.

I really hope there will be at least 35.000 season tickets sold, but its really hard to tell right now. Reports have it that there were about 1000 people purchasing tickets today, but even that isn't much.

If Valencia CF doesn't have stability through season tickets and shirt sponsor expect Juan Mata to be sold if an offer of around 30 million euros comes along.

PSV Eindhoven 0-2 Valencia CF Match Report

Great game to watch, not the most entertaining, but considering it was the first match after last season it was pretty good. Valencia CF also won the match 2-0 and considering that PSV has started their preseason sooner and has already played few matches its looking good.

First half was decent we didn't have some beautiful play and the chances were rare, but the defense seems very good with all of the players performing admirably, even though it wasn't like they were tested too much or too hard. I like Bruno and Alba defending, I think Rami was a bit nervous and Pardo did actually very well.

Topal did well especially defensivelly, but Maduro was nowhere to be seen and he was the worst player on the field today.

Anyways the first half ended 0-0 with similar possession and chances for both teams.

The second half was a whole new starting eleven with new player Piatti starting for the first time. The second half was much more dynamic and interesting with good chances on both sides. Piatti was causing all sorts of troubles on the left for the PSV defense and he was really standing out. The first goal also came from Piatti after an Aduriz assist.

Feghuoli was playing quite poorly for much of the match, but then in the 78th minute he made a great move to get away from a defender and cross the ball to Aduriz who headed the ball into the net. It was 2-0 for Valencia CF.

Overall it was an encouraging first preseason match which we won 2-0 against a difficult opponent. Pablo Piatti really impressed me, Jordi Alba and Miguel Brito also impressed me, as did Pardo who looked really assured in defense. The players that really disappointed me were Pablo Hernandez and Hedwiges Maduro.

Technical Details:
PSV (0): Isaksson, Manolev, Marcelo, Strootman, Toivonen, Engelaar, Wijnaldum, Lens, Mertens, Tamata, Labyad.

Valencia CF (2): Diego(45min Guaita), Bruno(45min Burno), Rami(45min Costa), Pardo(45min Dealbert), Alba(45min Mathieu); Topal(45min Albelda), Maduro(45min Pardo); Pablo(45min Feghuoli), Jonas(45min Nacho), Bernat(45min Piatti); Soldado(45min Aduriz).

Goals: 68th min. 1-0, Pablo Piatti; 78th min. 2-0, Aritz Aduriz.

Player Ratings:
Diego 5 - Had absolutelly nothing to do.
Bruno 5.5 - Made few decent runs forward and solid defensivelly.
Rami 5 - Was a bit reserved, but its his first match so no big deal.
Pardo 5.5 - Did a good job defensively, very active.
Alba 5.5 - Had a very good save in the middle of the first half, not much going forward though.
Topal 5 - Not very influential in the middle, provided good cover back though.
Maduro 4 - Apart from 3-4 touches with the ball nowhere to be seen.
Pablo 5 - Few runs on the right and the left, had a shot on goal but way off target, didn't acomplish much.
Jonas 5 - Made a wonderful assist to Soldado, made himself available, but could not dictate the game.
Bernat 5 - Had a few runs on the left, but nothing really worthy. 
Soldado 5 - Had one shot at goal from a Jonas assist, but failed to covert in into goal. Had one or two more runs, but was not threatening.
Subs:
Guaita 5.5 - Made a few minor saves, very focused.
Miguel 6 - Great game by Miguel, amazing attacking play and defended very well.
Costa 5 - Wasn't challenged much, kept things simple.
Dealbert 5.5 - Quite confident in his passing and made a few good tackles.
Mathieu 5 - Decent performance.
Albelda 5 - Wasn't very influential, mostly defended.
Portu 5 - Better than Maduro, but often times keeps the ball too long and looses it.
Feghuoli 6 - Player poorly until that amazing cross to Aduriz for the second goal. Had one more decent pass after that.
Nacho 5.5 - Quite active in the beginning and had a shot just wide off goal, went missing in the later stages.
Piatti 6.5 - Very good first match for Piatti, lightning fast on the left, caused much trouble to the PSV defenders and scored a goal.
Aduriz 7 - Had an assist for the first goal, although it was more of a lucky rebound actually, but then scored a goal from a Feghuoli cross.

PSV Eindhoven vs Valencia CF match preview

Valencia CF first preseason match starts tomorrow - 19.July.2011 at 18:30pm in Austria and will be against Dutch 3rd place finisher from last season PSV Eindhoven.
Both clubs have started the training sessions at similar times, although PSV started their preseason matches earlier and have already played some matches and are likely more sharp.

PSV Eindhoven is a club with rich history and while its usually overshadowed by the likes of Ajax its one of the best teams in the Dutch league and has produced a lot of great footballing names like Jaap Stam, Phillip Cocu, Ruud Van Nistelroy, Mark Van Bommel, Ajren Robben and so on... The team has got a very long and rich history, it was founded in 31 August 1913.

Last season PSV finished 3rd behind the likes of FC Twente and AFC Ajax, but this allows them to be in the Europa League play-offs. More recently PSV played a friendly against Turkish team Bursaspor (the team that Valencia CF destroyed last season in the champions league) and managed a 1-1 draw with them. Before that PSV had a narrow 2-1 win over FC Eindhoven.

PSV Eindhoven squad:
Isaksson, Cássio Ramos, Sinouh, Manolev, Bouma, Marcelo, Pieters, Strootman, Toivonen, Engelaar, Wijnaldum, Lens, Mertens, Ibrahim, Tamata, Zeefuik, Labyad, Ojo, Bakkal, Ritzmaier, Mokhtar, Najah and Addo. Bourdouxhe is doubtful for the trip to Austria.

Valencia CF is a club with rich history as well, but I'm not going to talk about that here. Valencia CF has started the preseason very well. The first training session consisted of very light workouts and mini medical exam, it was basically a nice way to warm up for the real deal. After few training sessions twice in a day the squad was fully medically tested from cardiovascular testing to physical testing, it was all there.

Since then the team has had more double training sessions a day in order for the players to recover their fitness and form quickly. There has also been some fun training sessions like going out to the beach and kayaking.

The last few days the team has also been working real hard on the defense. Valencia CF coach Unai Emery has been implementing new defending techniques and tactics in the hopes that this season the defense will be drastically improved.

This is going to be Valencia's first match in the preseason and the first chance for all the fans to see the new and old players in action. In case you miss the match or can't watch it, don't worry as I'll be writing reviews of all the preseason matches.

The only absences from the team right now are Juan Mata and Ever Banega as Juan Mata has an extended vacation due to being with the Spain U-21 squad, while Banega is still in Argentina, although they didn't go through to the semi-final, he is going to still have an extended vacation because he participated in the Copa America. Juan Mata is going to join the team on the 22nd this month though.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Guaita, Diego Alves and Adrián.
Defense: Miguel, Bruno, Dealbert, R.Costa, Rami, Pardo, Jordi Alba, Mathieu and Salva Ruiz.
Midfield: Maduro, Tino Costa, Albelda, Nacho González, Topal, Feghouli, Juan Bernat, Pablo, Portu, Piatti and Parejo.
Attack: Jonas, Aduriz and Soldado.

Technical Details:
Formation: Have no idea, this is the first match and we'll see how Emery goes with this, if I had to make an educated guess I think he is going to start with a 4-3-3 formation and see how it goes from there.
Line-up: Diego; Bruno, Rami, Dealbert, Alba; Topal. Tino, Feghuoli, Piatti, Jonas; Aduriz.
Tactics: We'll see how the new defensive tactics Emery has been teaching work out.

Valencia CF in financial trouble

Ladies and gentlemen Valencia CF is in a world of hurt with only 24.000 season tickets sold in 6 weeks and with only 6 days remaining till the season ticket sales close its looking very grim for Valencia CF.

Last year Valencia CF sold 42.500 season tickets and the plan for Llorente was to sell just as much this season, but that number is now like a dream.

This is a terrible fact considering that Valencia CF reduced the season tickets prices for this season and spend a lot of money on advertising campaigns to get people to buy the tickets. So far it seems nothing has worked and its looking very unlikely that Valencia CF will reach 40.000 season tickets.

For those unfamiliar with the situation, basically Spain is bankrupt and in big financial troubles, with protests and strikes every day. Years of government corruption and stealing in Spain has lead slowly but surely to the financial collapse of the country. Hopefully the people will get their country back, prosecute the criminals and fix their financial troubles.

Dealbert last year with Valencia CF

Angel Dealbert had a press conference in the City of Paterna and talked about the coming 2011/12 season. He said this season is very important to him.

For me it is a very important year. I continue in Valencia CF and what I have to do is compete, fight, work hard and be there when the coach requires. It's my last year and it really is a very important year for me. I need to get it right, play as much as possible and must be both mentally and physically ready when required by the coach" he commented.

Dealbert also said "we should not think individually," as he believes that if Valencia is doing well, its going to be well for him also, "If targets are achieved, it will be fine for me too," he added.

He said that Unai Emery's objective this season is to improve over the previous season and be competiting and fighting really hard in all 3 competitions.

Dealbert said that the most important thing for him is to do well in the upcoming friendly matches and follow the tactics the coach has set in place in the training sessions.

He also spoke about the new arrivals and his defensive partner Adil Rami: "Adil Rami is different. He is new, coming off from a victory in the French league and Lille and has to adapt quickly, as this is another league," said Dealbert, who added that Rami is "a guy with a good sense of humor, something that is fundamental."

Nice interview by Dealbert, he seems humble, but ready to work hard and impress this season. I like his attitude.

Official Valencia CF preseason squad

Valencia CF coach Unai Emery after the last training session in Valencia announced which players will travel to Austria and there are a few surprises here, positive if I may so so.

The only two players that are missing are Juan Mata who has an extended vacation duo playing in the U-21 and Ever Banega who is currently in Argentina for the Copa America. Juan Mata will join the team on 22.07.2011.

The positive and surprising inclusions are the youth players who now count to 5 and Nacho Gonzales.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Guaita, Diego Alves and Adrián.
Defense: Miguel, Bruno, Dealbert, R.Costa, Rami, Pardo, Jordi Alba, Mathieu and Salva Ruiz.
Midfield: Maduro, Tino Costa, Albelda, Nacho González, Topal, Feghouli, Juan Bernat, Pablo, Portu, Piatti and Parejo.
Attack: Jonas, Aduriz and Soldado.

Tino Costa interview

Valencia has become a routine after yesterday's day of leisure on the beach, the team has again been divided into two groups, different from other days, who have done the same training session with more than one hour apart.

The players of Valencia have spent an hour in the gym, after which they have come on the field and have practiced, divided between offense and defense drills and output pressure of the ball.

Unai Emery, Valencia coach, has had all players available for the first team, in addition to the four homegrown players in the preseason and regular with the presence of a third goalkeeper, goalkeeper Adrian Junior B Lluna.

The group will train this afternoon, at 19.15 at the Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna, in the penultimate training session before being moved to concentration in Austria.

Tino Costa, Valencia's Argentine footballer, has stressed that, after achieving the goal of the third in the league last season, "the results will help Unai Emery feel more confident and try more things."

"Keep on the same line of work, I still want to progress every day, the objective remains the same. We continue with the same confidence, last year was very good and now we have more mutual respect. " he detailed.

Tino Costa who has recently returned to training with the group after taking several days recovering from a sore ankle, acknowledged a sprain injury but said, "it was nothing serious."

"Every year I get different objectives to keep improving and progressing in my career. I have returned to pre-season looking forward, with the same self or stronger than last year, the club and myself demand more this season, "said the player.

Costa has described last season, his first season at the club as "year of adaptation to different football," but stressed that he has working hard "every training" to improve "details" that saved him.

The player has stated that upon arrival to the team a year ago, he was told "that he had been one of the two best players," something that has been used to emphasize that "the players who came with great desire" and that the team " is working well, calm and with clear objectives."

Tino Costa admitted that the team "needs to improve a lot" from last season, and has recollected the knockout in the second round of the Champions League against Schalke 04 in Germany.

"The team the way that played against Schalke is something that needs to be improved in order to fight" in full "in all competitions," he stressed.

Valencia has reviewed the situation of some of his countrymen to the side, as the newcomer Pablo Piatti,  on who he said that "its very clear where he arrived and he knows that the demands are more than in Almeria."

On Ever Banega, who currently plays in Copa America with Argentina, Tino Costa stated his desire for Ever to remain at the club, but admitted that "if he has to go," I will support him.

"We became good friends on and off the pitch and I would like him to stay because we are friends, but if he has to go, I'll be with him to support him and wish him good luck," he said.

"I speak every day with and him is very quiet, he had to leave in the worst moment, the team of Colombia for example was more difficult than that of Costa Rica."

Tino Costa also pointed to 'Chori' Dominguez, the player who has left Valencia to play on loan at River Plate in a "personal decision" that Valencia accepted because Chori Dominguez "wants to feel important and add minutes" and be "big in Argentina."

Valencia CF fun summer training session

As I've reported a lot of times I really like these summer training sessions where the players get to do some interesting and out of the ordinary stuff, all the while while training. For example previously Unai Emery has taken the team on a snowy mountain resort to ski and stuff in the winter and in the summer he has taken the team in mountains hiking, bike riding and other fun activities, he has also lead the team on the beach few times.

No wonder why Valencia CF have really started the last 3 seasons very strongly in the beginning, even though their form drops after 6-7 matches.

Ever Banega to transfer to Inter?

Like in a great horror movie that's how Copa America has been for Ever Banega. He made a huge mistake in his first match in which he failed to stop a slow moving ball and that resulted in Argentina chasing a goal, which they ultimately found, but no thanks to Ever Banega.

Second match he was better, at least he didn't allow a silly goal, but again he was too slow and too static. This lead to him being ousted from the first team by Gago who actually showed great skill in the two times he played.

Inter have been interested in Ever Banega and they have been tracking him seriously, but this begs the question has the Copa America increased the transfer value of Banega or reduced it? In my article how much are VCF players worth I have Ever Banega valued at 18 million euros. He is talented, young at just 23 years old, had one amazing season to show his potential and had been pretty good even when out of shape, drinking and smoking. He is also one of a kind in Valencia, he is the only ball holder.
 After the performances in Copa America though there is a serious risk no one would value him that high, even though Argentina have still to play and if Ever starts and plays amazing it can up his value, chances of that happening are slim.

Right now Inter have agreed a 40 million transfer deal with Manchester United for the transfer of Westley Sneijder. If the deal is completed and that is looking very likely Inter are going to have 40 million euros to spend, but how much are they going to offer for Banega?

Reality is that if Valencia CF does not get a substantial offer that is above 16 million euros its very unlikely that the president is going to sell Ever Banega, especially since we don't have any cover for him and the current squad numbers are a bit thin.

Erronous post

Sorry about the last post. Lost in translation. The article has been deleted.

Pablo Hernandez interview

Pablo Hernandez was interviewed by Spanish media today in the training session. Now that Joaquin has left, Pablo is the main player for the right wing position.

On the departure of Joaquin he said: "I have always worked to feel important. I have enjoyed three years with Joaquin. I've learned a lot from him and I had to do the best."

About the team he said: "The team looks good, we are working very hard on the training sessions and each day we get better. I'm expecting an exciting season, we had few good arrivals at the club and I'm excited that next year we'll be even stronger. Our goal is to play in the Champions League, but also try and catch up to Real Madrid and Barcelona."

He agreed with Unai emery that this season is going to be tougher: "It was a success to finish third the last two seasons. Malaga is now doing a big project, but do not forget Athletic and I would also include Getafe. Of course the teams that always aspire high positions are Villarreal, Atletico and Sevilla."

When asked about the arrival of Piatti, Pablo said: "There is going to be a strong competition between me and him, but its going to be a healthy competition for both of us. Last season I was competing with Joaquin, so I know its going to be a tough competition, and I know what to expect.

Pablo Hernandez also confirmed that next season he is going to wear the number 19 shirt and not the number 7 shirt as many have predicted. He said he feels the number 19 shirt brings him luck.

Valencia CF news

Let me start with the latest news and that is that Renan Brito has transferred to Internacional as written on the official Valencia cf website. This was known for weeks basically and the contract was rescinded some time ago as you can see in the transfers page.

Renan Brito spend the last season on loan at Internacional where he started the majority of the games, he goes to Internacional as a free agent, although Valencia CF essentially reached an agreement with Internacional to forgive the 1 million we owed them for Renan.


Next up is the news that Aaron Niguez has rescinded his contract with Valencia CF as well and was snapped up by Almeria as a free agent. Aaron was once regarded as a great talent, but injuries put a stop on his career in Valencia CF and was loaned out to many teams: Recreativo Huelva, Celta Vigo, Glasgow RangerS, Iraklis, and Xerez.

I've already written about Isco and have it in the transfers page, but in case you haven't noticed his transfer to Malaga has been officially announced and he was even presented as a new Malaga player.

Last but not least is that the training sessions are going great, the players are enthusiastic and practicing hard, the medical exams have finished and a special report on each player individually is made about eating regime and training regime. Unai Emery has also made the training sessions open to public for just the first 15 minutes to the public and media, in a bit to remove distractions.

What is the new Valencia CF formation?

Hallo ladies and gentlemen, as you know last season Valencia CF coach Unai Emery was trying to set-up a 4-3-3 formation, but after some poor performance with that formation he reverted to the more conventional 4-2-3-1 formation in order to get results.

He is going to try the 4-3-3 formation once again this preseason, this time convinced more than ever that it is the right formation for Valencia CF and with the few new arrivals he is really going to commit and try to establish it as the basic formation Valencia CF plays.

Last year the problem was in the midfield, it was too crowded and the players were left not knowing how, where and when to move. This year though the players have had more experience and tactical education and are more flexible to formation changes and tactic changes, but they will still need a lot of practice to get it right.

I'm going to examine the options for the 4-3-3 formation in this article with the players Valencia CF currently has at hand and I'm not going to go into potential new arrivals or departures, while after the preseason end I will write another article about which formation is best for Valencia CF according to me.

Lets look at an image of a 4-3-3 formation and the player options for each position. Players that can play on several different positions will feature on more positions, they are represented as replacements if a player is injured or fatigued.

This is essentially the form of the 4-3-3 formation that is likely to be used, same as the Barcelona style with a defensive midfielder in the middle of the center field to cover for the defense, a positions that will be covered mostly by Topal, but Albelda will get some playing time and if both are injured or rested, Maduro can fill that position as well.

The upper center side will be filled by a more creative attacking midfield players and we have Tino Costa who is most likely going to be the starter and then we have Parejo who is likely to be a reserve option at that position. These two players will serve to really help out in the attack and on occasions go in the penalty area and create +1 man advantage.

The bottom center side is reserved for a holding midfielder and someone who can keep position, again Emery is likely looking at the best team with this formation - Barca and trying to emulate their tactics and placement.
This position is going to be covered by Ever Banega who can keep possession and spread the ball accurately to the attacking players. There isn't a real cover for Banega in this position, but Feghuoli and Maduro could fit in this position if Ever is injured. Even someone from Topal or Albelda can cover depending who doesn't start as a defensive midfield from them.

Then we have the attack and here there are more options to be had, but if we go with the classic 4-3-3 formula and a wider attack span then the outer positions in the forward line will be held by wingers who not only can dribble and cross, but should and will cut inside the penalty area.

The left wing is going to be held by Juan Mata, he has shown that he has a sense for goal, is a pretty good dribbler, can cut inside and is able to assist quite a bit, so he is the undisputed choice here. His cover will be Pablo Piatti who is more of a direct runner, amazing dribbler with high pace, but can't quite assist or pass as well. Of course we also have Alba who is to be pretty much cemented as a left back, but if needed he can play on the wing as well and can be a 3rd cover. Pablo Piatti on the other hand can play on the right wing and with Feghuoli able to take the Banega position there are possibilities for a lot of position changes.

The right wing is going to be covered by Pablo Hernandez, he may have had a drop in form in one period last season, but judging by my ratings he was one of the best players on average for Valencia CF, even better than Mata or Soldado. No, the ratings don't show it all and are not a real representation of skill, but its still a good measurement. Anyways cover for Pablo will be Feghuoli who is likely to stay at Valencia CF this time and be part of the squad. As said previously Piatti can also play here if there is ever the need and the possibility of positional changed is really big, especially knowing that Pablo can also play on the left wing and Mata can even slot somewhere in the middle if there is a need.

The classic striker role will for certain be taken by Roberto Soldado who is undoubtedly the most profilic striker Valencia CF has and he is the undisputed choice at this position. Waiting on their chances will be Aritz Adrriz and Jonas who are to replace Soldado if he is injured or rested.
Don't forget that Aduriz is a physical and tall player and his best attribute is the headers, so he can completely change the concept of the attack from say a direct short passing game to more crosses and long passing game. This also allows Emery to change the formation on the fly from 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1 or combinations of 4-3-3 in order to chase a result for example.
Jonas is likely to be the third choice for the striker position, but remember that Jonas can play really well as an attacking midfielder and even on the left wing, so the possibilities for him playing are quite high and he really adds depth to the squad.

Looking at this we can conclude that ultimately the team is well covered with good squad depth and judging by this formation the weak links are for added depth to the central defender position and someone to really be able to cover for Banega in the "Xavi" position.

I would say the 4-3-3 formation has a good chance for debuting this year and looks pretty good on paper, but as we've seen from last season nothing is given and we'll have to just wait and see when the preseason starts how things develop.

Official: Del Horno rescinds contract with Valencia CF

Del Horno has officially rescinded his contract with Valencia CF as announced at the official Valencia website.

The club wished his good luck and thanked him for his service to Valencia.

Del Horno came to Valencia CF in 2006 from Chelsea for 8 million, but since his first season in the club to his last day he has been unable to provide the kind of performances he had with Chelsea.
Del Horno's new destination may be Levante with whom he was on loan last season, though some other team may show some interest for him.

Isco transfers to Malaga

Well after ton of speculation for over a month it turns out that Isco has lied to the media and fans about his intentions to stay in Valencia CF, I mean he could have at least been honest from the start and not lie about it and say that he is greedy or wants to go to his home town of Malaga or just be honest admit its for the money and go to Malaga CF.

He has signed a 6 years deal with Malaga CF and he is reportedly from sources close to Malaga going to earn about 1.1 million euros per season, which is actually not very good if he was smart enough, because if he does get better its not like he can ask for improved contract because he is bound for six years with the same exact salary. 

The fact that any player would choose Malaga over Valencia is just unimaginable, I mean players most of them want to progress in their careers and want to achieve something and Isco has made the biggest mistake in his life.

Valencia CF is the third best club in Spain, it has the third largest fan base, the third largest attendance rate and it can actually compete with that of Real Madrid if we had a bigger stadium. Valencia CF has the history and prestige, the quality and tradition and with all rescept to Malaga CF fans out there, but comparing Malaga CF to Valencia CF is like comparing Stoke City to Manchester United.

And some will argue that Malaga CF now have money and can succeed, but remember even if Malaga finished 1st to 6th they still wouldn't be able to play in the European Championship if they spend more than they earn. So they practically can't even use all the money of their new owner so its not like Malaga all of a sudden will compete with the best 6 teams. I mean look at Manchester City, two years spending hundreds of millions of dollars and they still can't even catch up to the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United and Manchester City are traditionally in England a big club, they are certainly not the Malaga of Spain type of club.

The truth about Isco is that he is a decent player with huge hype, and I've watched all of his matches from the ones with Valencia CF and all of his matches in the various Spanish youth sides and he is not that great. He has good vision and good dribbling skills, but he is quite slow, has a slow pace, his shot is weak, his long passing is way off and he has been playing with good players around him in the Mestalla, Valencia and Spanish youth team against opponents of same or weaker caliber.

So I think Isco Alarcon will be forgot very soon and I don't think he will become anything more that a mediocre player. What he had going for him is big hype and living up to that hype is what always gets these youngsters who jump clubs like this. I mean there are so many examples of players being touted as the hairs to some of the best players that have played like Maradona, Ronaldo, Zidane, etc... and massively flopped.


So this is my opinion, you may agree or disagree with it, you have the comment section to share your thoughts if you feel like you have anything to say about Isco or about this article.

Michel joins Hercules on a loan deal

Miguel A. Herrero Javaloyas "Michel" has become the new reinforcement for the 2011/12 season for Hercules CF. The player will be revealed today at 12am in the press room of Hercules CF.

Last season Michel was send on loan at Deportivo La Coruna and before that he features for the Mestalla team.

This leaves just Sunny, Chori and Aaron on the immediate chopping block.

Valencia CF first training 2011/12

Today was Valencia CF first training after last season ended. The training was at 8 O'clock this morning and the players were met by Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente who greeted the players and laid out his expectations of them. From then the players proceeded to minor medical tests and lightweight training sessions.

The training consisted mainly of warming up and light workouts, coupled with running and a little bit of ball workout.

At todays first training there were 19 players available, with 4 players coming from the youth team with Juan Mata and Daniel Parejo having few more days of vacation after their U-21 world cup winning, Pablo Piatti is yet to join the squad and Ever Banega is playing at the Copa America. The players who were at the training were Diego Alves, Vicente Guiata, Miguel Brito, Bruno, Ricardo. Costa, Adil Rami, Dealbert, Jeremy Mathieu, Jordi Alba, Pablo Hernandez, Hedwiges Maduro, Tino Costa, Mehmet Topal, David Albelda, Jonas Conglavies, Roberto Soldado, Aritz Aduriz, Sofiane Fghuoli and from the youth team José Antonio Pardo, Juan Bernat, Cristian Portu and Salva Ruiz.

From today until the start of the season the players will have 2 trainings every day, the first training will be from 8am, while for other players 08.30am and the second training will be from 18.30pm
 In Friday and Saturday all the players will undergo a full medical test from cardiovascular to physical assessment, similar as last season and then the players get get tailored made training regimes to get them in the best possible physical shape.

Diego Alves official presentation

Diego Alves was officially presented today as new Valencia CF player at sunrise in Gandia at the marina.

A whole range of Valencia CF technical staff were there, including the usual suspects, president Llorente and technical secretary Vazquez.

Diego Alves transferred from Almeria UD to Valencia CF for 3 million euros and now along with Piatti the two best players of Almeria UD are with Valencia CF.

Daniel Parejo Profile

Name: Daniel Parejo Muñoz
Playing position: Attacking midfielder
Previous club: Getafe CF
Number: 21
Birth day: 16 April 1989, (23 years old)
Nationality: Spanish
Height: 1.80m
Weight: 73kg
Contract ends: 30 June, 2016
Player rating:



Market Value:

Previous clubs:
Real Madrid ‘C’ Spain 2006-2007
Real Madrid Spain 2007-2008
Queens Park Rangers England 2008 (loan)
Real Madrid Spain 2008-2009
Getafe Spain 2009- 2011

2011/12 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
Spain U21	UEFA U21	0	4	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Season Totals		0	4	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0

2010/11 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
Getafe	Europa	2	1	0	0	2	0	0	3	0	0
Getafe	La Liga	28	8	3	4	54	16	28	69	8	0
Season Totals		30	9	3	4	56	16	28	72	8	0

2009/10 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
Spain	WC U20	4	0	1	0	3	2	7	4	1	0
Getafe	Esp Cup	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Getafe	La Liga	16	12	6	4	34	17	31	19	5	0
Season Totals		25	12	8	4	37	19	38	23	6	0

2008/09 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
Spain	UEFA U19	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Real Madrid	La Liga	0	5	0	0	3	2	2	2	1	0
Queens Park Rangers	CC	4	0	0	1	3	2	4	4	0	0
Queens Park Rangers	LC	10	4	0	1	16	6	8	17	2	0

Glossary

GS: Games Started, SB: Used as Substitute, G: Goals, A: Assists, SH: Shots, SG: Shots on goal, YC: Yellow Cards, RC: Red Cards, FC: Fouls Committed, FS: Fouls Suffered, SV: Saves, OF: Offsides, W: Wins, D: Draws, L: Losses

The good, the bad and the ugly

The good, the bad and the ugly is a Spanish epic spaghetti valencian drama directed by Valencia CF and starring in no particular order Mata, Ever and Isco. Well you figure out the order, but the point is its a high quality real life drama or better yet one of the classic Spanish series with each episode extending the same old saga over and over again.

In this movie 2.0 of the original the ending is yet to be determined and could potentially infuriate many of the original movie fans, when the good guy won.

So lets look at the script  for this new and improved movie, which has taken some of the modern Spanish soaps and dramas elements and incorporated them for a more enjoyable experience for all.

Juan Mata has been linked with Manchester City, Chelsea, Inter, Juventus, Manchester United, Liverpool and lately Arsenal. He is a world cup winner, U-21 European cup winner and an established first team member of Valencia CF at only 23 years old, so he is hot property right now.

The player himself has said repeatedly that he wants to stay at Valencia CF and I truly believe this is the case, but his father is a different story and wouldn't care if Mata played at Almeria or Leichester City or Turin as long as it involved more money, because he is obviously not the one playing.

So this leaves a small opportunity for Arsenal or even Liverpool to come in with a huge offer, one that will be over 30 millions euros to temp Valencia CF sell, even though the staff would be reluctant to do so. Arsenal certainly has the money with Fabregas and Nasri set to leave and would have no problems bidding 30+ million euros to bring Mata. An offer of 35 million may prove to be good enough for the staff to sell him and the recent signing of Piatti although unlikely, may be a sign of things to come.

I think it would be best for Valencia CF that he stayed and his value if anything is going to grow as he matures as a player and I really think Valencia CF needs to build on younger players and look towards the future.

Ever Banega career path has been strange and colorful. At one point he is the reluctant hero and the next the evil villain. The biggest obstacle in his path has been himself with off field shenanigans that have set back his career often times.

Right now he is enjoying a good period with a good finish at Valencia CF and representing Argentina in all the friendlies and now in the Copa America. When in full form he is an amazing player and coupled with his young age he is a valuable target for clubs all over Europe. The most interest has been shown by Inter, with Sneijder set to leave them and Campbiaso not getting any younger they are searching to strengthen their midfield and Ever is their prime target. Juventus have also shown interest, as well as Tottenham and Roma.

Isco Alocron is the big talent, fan favorite youth player, the rough diamond in the making, there were rumors that Malaga was using Isco as a tool to get Joaquin cheaply, threatening to pay the 6 million release clause in his contract. After the Joaquin saga finished there were reports that Malaga didn't even want Isco, only for the old episode to come as a new episode now and start acting out the same old boring play.

First of all Valencia CF staff need to get Isco back home, sit him and offer him an improved contract, extending his stay with Valencia CF to 2016 and raising his release clause to 60 million euros in order to keep him. I also think he has immediate potential in the first season this coming season.

Official: Pablo Piatti transfers to Valencia CF

Pablo Piatti transfer from Almeria UD to Valencia CF was agreed on July 25th late at night after 3 days of intense negotiations. The player was wanted by few other clubs who offered more money, but the player decided that he wanted to join Valencia CF and the fact that Almeria and Valencia have had such a good relationship in the last 3 years since Emery came here, allowed the deal to come through.

Under the agreement the clubs will play a friendly match in August which will be the presentation match for Almeria.

Pablo Piatti has signed a 5 years deal with Valencia CF and should be revealed in the next days. Valencia is reportedly paying 6 million euros, of which 25% go to Piatti's former club Estudiantes since they owed 25% of the shares of the player.

Pablo Piatti has been probably the best player for Almeria last season and certainly their most valuable player and Emery has adored the player ever since his days in Almeria.

Piatti is originally a left winger, but can also play as a striker or if needed as right winger. I think this move by Valencia CF staff is to hit two birds with one stone and cover the right and left wing with one player. Since its not very likely Mata or Pablo will get injured too much, but will get tired between all the matches and Piatti will have enough playing time between the left and right wing.

For six million euros I agree with this deal and I think it will certainly strengthen Valencia's squad.

Official: David Navarro rescinds contract with Valencia CF

Its official, David Navarro has rescinded his contract with Valencia CF and will join Neuchatel Xamax on a free transfer and technically as a free agent.

David Navarro has been in Valencia CF since his youth days, coming from the youth team to the Mestalla team and then coming to the senior team in year 2002.
David Navarro did not feature much in the first team and was loaned out to Mallorca in 2007 for two seasons, before coming back to Valencia in 2009.

He was used more under Emery, but ultimately he has never been able to achieve a stable starting eleven place and was often criticized by fans about his defensive mistakes and his slowness.

Right now Valencia CF has Adil Rami, Ricardo Costa and Dealbert as central defenders. You can count Maduro as well, but he is originally a midfielder and is not absolutely suited as a center back.

Personally I'm glad Valencia CF is getting rid of some of the fringe players, who haven't really been that good and hopefully we'll strengthen the team with one more center back after the arrival or Rami and have R. Costa and Dealbert in reserve.

Valencia CF close to signing Pablo Piatti

It seems that Valencia is determined to capture Pablo Piatti and is making huge efforts to sign the player. The technical staff sees Piatti as the perfect replacement for Joaquin, as well as providing additional cover to the left wing and striker positions if there is a need, since Piatti is originally a left winger.

Pablo Piatti currently plays for Almeria and has made 101 appearances there over two seasons, before that he played for Estudiantes and had 49 appearances over two years as well.

Pablo Piatti is Argentinian, born in La Carlota and has featured for Argentina U20 squad 6 times and has been called once for Argentina senior squad.

Sources close to Valencia say he is very close to transferring and that a deal can be made for 6 or 7 million euros.

Daniel Parejo presented as Valencia CF player

Daniel Parejo has been presented as new Valencia CF player tonight in Paterna, after completing his medical tests earlier in the day.

A whole range of Valencia CF technical staff were there, including the usual suspects, president Llorente and technical secretary Vazquez.

To remind you Daniel Parejo transferred from Getafe to Valencia CF for 6 million euros, though he in a way transferred from Real Madrid as well, because he has a release cause for two years, if Real Madrid want to buy him back.

I've written in the past that it was bad business and you can read my Have Valencia CF transfer deals so far been good? article or check out my Summer transfer market - who should Valencia CF buy? article and find out who I think or thought Valencia CF should buy.

One year celebration

www.clubvalenciacf.blogspot.com celebrates one year since its beginning, it was 4th July 2010 when I first wrote an article.

That first month there were 55 pageviews and 30 unique visitors, it doubled the next month to 108 pageviews and continually it doubled and even tripled in visitors as the months passed by. Last month of June there was a record number of visitors with more than 13.000 pageviews and more than 11.000 unique visitors.

Hopefully the Valencia CF community will continue to grow and so will this blog and I hope to write many more articles and news in the future.

I've been working behind the scenes on new stuff and I'm slowly introducing it. I've moved the 2010/11 fixtures&results in the new "Archive" section, the player ratings from 2010/11 was moved there and the goals and assists were moved there as well.
That page will have all the old stuff, while the new fixtures and player ratings are reset and prepared for the new season.

I'm working on a "Squad" page that will have all the players and when you can click on the player names you go to a section with all the player info, transfer records, market value, match statistics and stuff like that.

Its a lot of work, but hopefully I'll have it before the new season starts.

How much are Valencia CF players worth?

Valencia CF has some really talented players in its squad, but how much are they really worth?

This is a tough process because there are no measurable element, there is no mathematical formula to form the price of a player, its basically how much the club values its own player and at what price is the club willing to sell the player.

The following list is based on current values and it can change depending on performance.
For example based on the Copa America performance the value of Ever Banega may go up or down.



Players transfer value (sorted by worth): 
1. Juan Mata, 23 years old; positions: LW, AM, CF, ST - 30 million euros
2. Ever Banega, 23 years old; positions: CM, AM - 18 million euros
3. Pablo Hernandez, 26 years old; positions: RM, RW, AM, LW - 14 million euros
4. Roberto Soldado, 26 years old; positions: ST - 14 million euros
5. Adil Rami, 25 years old; positions: CD - 12 million euros
6. Jeremy Mathieu, 27 years old; positions: LB - 11 million euros
7. Mehmet Topal, 25 years old; positions: DM - 9 million euros
8. Tino Costa, 26 years old; positions: CM, AM - 8 million euros
9. Diego Alves, 26 years old; positions: GK - 8 million euros
10. Daniel Parejo, 22 years old; positions: AM - 8 million euros
11. Aritz Aduriz, 30 years old; positions: ST - 8 million euros
12. Jordi Alba, 22 years old; positions: LB, LM, LW - 7 million euros
13. Hedwiges Maduro, 26 years old; positions: CD, DM, CM - 6 million euros
14. Jonas, 27 years old; positions: AM, CF, ST - 6 million euros
15. Vicente Guaita, 24 years old; positions: GK - 6 million euros
16. Ricardo Costa, 30 years old; positions: SW, CD - 4 million euros
17. Miguel Brito, 31 years old; positions: RB - 4 million euros
18. Alejandro Dominguez, 30 years old; positions: AM, CF - 4 million euros
19. Bruno Saltor, 30 years old; positions: RB, LB - 3 million euros
20. Angel Dealbert, 28 years old; positions: CD - 3 million euros
21. Sofiane Feghuoli, 21 years old; positions: AM, LW - 2.5 million euros
22. David Albelda, 33 years old; positions: CD, DM, CF - 2.5 million euros
23. David Navarro, 31 years old; positions: SW, CD - 2 million euros
24. Michel, Del Horno, Sunny, Aaron - 1 million euros

Should Ever Banega be sold poll

I've posted a poll few days ago to see what the fans thought about the idea of selling Ever Banega. Well turns out the large majority don't want to sell Banega.

Here are the poll results:
Should Banega be sold?
Yes - 2 (5%)
No - 29 (85%)
Not sure - 3 (8%)

Valencia CF new 2011/12 kits revealed

Valencia CF has revealed the new 2011/12 kits made by Joma. The kits are similar to the previous season kits in that they are without stripes and quite simple, but changes in the details make it really interesting and new is the Joma logo obviously.

The home kit has a white shirt, black trucks and white socks with a black stripe at the top. The back side is quite interesting of the home kit and I like it quite a bit.

The away kit is all black, the shirt is black and has a different detail around the neck-shoulders area, the shorts are black and the socks are black as well with a bronze like color stripe at the top. I don't particularity like this kit so much, I think there should have been a little bit of orange detail on it, to make it look better.

The 3rd kit is quite good, it has a orange-reddish color shirt and is quite basic in the looks, white trunks and orange and black socks.

The goalkeeper kit is all blue and in the details it resembles the home kit.

Overall nice kit designs and I think between the 4 kits (home, away, 3rd, Senyera) people are going to purchase the new kits quite a bit.

All that is missing is of course a new short sponsor and its said that Valencia CF won't rush to get a new sponsor and try to get as high possible financial offer as possible, before accepting any deal.