Jinko Solar extends contract with Valencia CF

Chinese solar company Jinko Solar has extended the collaboration with Valencia CF until 2014. Jinko Solar became Valencia CF sponsor this year at the start of the second half of the season and with Valencia's good showing in the Europa League Jinko Solar has decided the exposure is big to extend the contract for two more years.

Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente said that this is a great collaboration, he said he was sure Valencia CF will keep improving and growing together with Jinko Solar.
Jinko Solar Spanish director of marketing Arturo said that Valencia CF is one of the best and most known clubs in Europe, has huge fanbase of millions of people and it made sense to continue the collaboration.

Mauricio Pellegrino is Valencia CF new coach

Former Valencia CF player Mauricio Pellegrino will be Valencia CF new coach, according to few Spanish websites. Now while this isn't official, its very likely this is the case.

Pellegrino played for Valencia CF from 1999 to 2005, being in the team that reached two Champions League finals and of course from year 2000 pairing Ayala as the back and winning two Spanish League titles.

He had a short stint at Liverpool, but it didn't turn out well and he ended his career one year later at Alaves.

He has worked as a coach since 2007 coaching one of Valencia's youth teams, and then in 2008 joining Rafael Benitez as assistant at Liverpool and then Inter.

Official: Jonathan Viera joins Valencia CF

Its official, Jonahtan Viera is a Valencia CF player. Valencia CF and UD Las Palmas have reached an agreement over the transfer of attacking midfielder Jonathan Viera for a price of 2.5 million euros.

The transaction includes a payment schedule that begins with the release of one million euros to sign the contract. During the season 2012/2013, Valencia will face paying another million euros. The remaining 500,000 euros paid in two installments, € 250,000 each, the first two times the club reach the Champions League over the next five years, or in case of transfer.

Jonathan Viera is 22 years old attacking midfielder who started his career at UD Las Palams B team, but in just two years was promoted to the senior team where he has played two years and scored 15 goals for that time.

The agreement will be officially announced at a press conference in few days.

Valencia CF interested in Oliver Giroud

Valencia CF is interested in Montepellier attacker Oliver Giroud who is one of the top scorers in the French league with 19 goals scored, but who also has 8 assists and is considered an overall great player who can score and create opportunities.

Valencia CF plans to sign a new striker in the summer, as its likely that Aritz Aduriz will leave as he has not shown the kind of games that the club officials expected and in down is scoring as well.
Oliver Giroud is 1.92 meters and is considered the perfect replacement as he is good in the air, but possesses good technical ability as well.

Valencia CF is said to be prepared to offer up to 10 million euros for the player and not a penny more, while also having good alternatives if they fail to reach an agreement with Montepiller for the price of the player.

Valencia CF 4-0 Osasuna - player ratings

Guaita 5 - Not tested at all. I think he only had to make 2 easy saves.
Barragan 6 - Not troubled defensively at all and went forward to good extend, linking up nicely with Pablo.
Rami 6 - Easy match for Rami as he wasn't troubled and dealt with what little came his way nicely.
R. Costa 6 - Same as Rami. Dealt with what little had to deal with nicely.
Alba 8.5 (MotM) - Amazing play by Alba and one that attracts big sides like Barcelona to him. Great offensive display with blistering fast movement, good crosses and great link up play with Piatti. Provided one assist and involved in all but one of the goals.
Albelda 5.5 - Not troubled defensively, although he broke up few Osasuna attacks. Generally a useful asset and assisted with the passing in midfield.
Tino Costa 5.5 - A bit more offensive, some decent crosses, but wasn't instrumental in the play or the win.
Pablo 7.5 - Great performance tonight for the under pressure winger and performances like this help bring the confidence in him. Good crosses and play with Barragan on the side, caused Osasuna problems throughout.
Jonas 6.5 - Reserved performance in the first half, wasting some good chances, similar play in the second half until he found himself in the right place at the right time on two occasions and scored two goals.
Mathieu 5 - Probably played more defense this match, but didn't offer anything and wasn't challenged at the back. Replaced early and justifiably by Piatti.
Soldado 5 (FotM) - Had two decent chances, but failed to convert them into goals. Generally slow and clumsy, he is obviously out of form.
Subs:
Piatti 7.5 - Great performance from the little Argentinian, amazing link-up play with Alba on the left and started off two of the actions that lead to goals and provided the assist to the third goal.
Aduriz 7.5 - Changed the game. Was there to score the first goal and that changed the game completely. Scored one more and involved with the fourth goal.
Parejo 5 - Didn't have much time to influence the game and actually failed to do so. If it was up to him Valencia would have probably drawn.

Sergio Canales out for 6 months again

Today was confirmed that Sergio Canales has renewed his previous injury on his knee caps and his season is over, basically just two weeks after it started. He is going to be out for another 6 months and very few players fully recover after such injury twice.

We can safely say that even if he was to recover its suspect if he is going to be the same player after that and its a shame as he is a very talented player and could have helped Valencia.

Valencia CF 0-1 Atletico Madrid - Match Report

Diego 6 - Had one amazing save in the first half, but other than that nothing to do except get the ball out of his net once.
Barragan 6 - Mixed results. Went forward to good extent, but his crosses were poor and failed to link up good enough with Feghuoli.
Rami 6 - Wasn't troubled and did well in winning the aerial battles.
Costa 4 - Had 2 very poor decisions and thankfully didn't result in goals. Was suspect and if Atletico were on their game it could have been at least 2-0 for Atletico Madrid.
Alba 6.5 - Defended well and went forward to good extent, having some good crosses and passes.
Parejo 4 - Gave away the ball that lead to Atletico goal and wasn't much of an influence before that either.
Albelda 6.5 - Captain performance, solid defensively and really made a difference in spreading the ball, often times acting as a playmaker.
Feghuoli 5.5 - Powerful start to the match with few shots and smart passes, but faded off and was almost invisible in the second half.
Jonas 5.5 - Good positioning and some good passes, but ultimately failed to score or assist.
Canales 6.5 - Great performance, was the most influential and dangerous player for Valencia CF, had few claims for a penalty as well, unlucky to be inured shortly in the second half and we he is likely to be out for at least another 3 months. Unlucky season for Canales.
Soldado 5.5 - Wasn't really a factor. Had some good interplay and some good movement, but failed to score and that says it all. In this type of match you need to score and he didn't deliver.
Subs:
Aduriz 5 - Had no effect at all. He is right now quite bad and I feel just using Paco at this point would have been so much better.
Mathieu 4 - Came in and failed to stop Adrian shot even though he has the time and chance. Right now Mathieu is absolutely unreliable and unless he changes his attitude and play he might as well be sold in the summer for about 10 million euros and those funds used to bring someone better.
Tino 5.5 - Better than Parejo, but that doesn't say much. Had one shot on goal that was saved and was involved with the play, but couldn't change the outcome.

We bite the dust yet again and yet again we are defeated in a very important match by Atletico Madrid. They defeated us in the Europa League 2 years ago and went on to win the cup and this season they seem likely to do again.

Unai Emery has shows yet again that he has no idea how to win in these 2 fixture games and coupled with the poor results in the league he needs to leave this summer.

This was a rather good match for Valencia CF and the team played solidly in the first half dominating the match, having chances, but we couldn't score and that is the biggest thing we needed to do and fast in order to chase a 2 goals lead that Atletico had. So the fact that we played great and still lost, pretty much describes the feeling.

I must say I am terrible disappointed in the player and the inconsistency they've shown. I mean Emery has to take big blame, but ultimately the players just haven't been up to part every week and have failed. I had hopes before the match as my heart told me there is a chance, although my head told me its pretty much over and unless Atletico screw up badly we've already lost.
I went with my heart, but I'm left frustrated again at the end of and writing this post alleviates some of my frustration.

Right now we need to focus up on securing 3rd place in La Liga and we have a big match in just few days against Malaga who are hot on our trails for 3rd place. This is a must win match and we must secure third place. After that hopefully we can get Debuchy from Lille and bring in a good left winger and with a new coach be more successful next season, possible even competing with Real and Barcelona.

Valencia CF in negotations with Andre Villas-Boas

A Spanish radio reported that Valencia CF management has contacted Andre Villas-Boas and are starting negotiations about the possible arrival of Andre to Valencia CF this summer to replace Emery who is 100% going to leave.

Reports have it that Andre Villas-Boas will only come if Valencia CF plays in the Champions League, while his salary requirements are set to be around 4 millions euros.

Valencia CF is also seriously looking at Didier Deschamps and Mauricio Pochetino as possible replacements.

Valencia CF interested in Marvin Martin

Marvin Martin just revealed that Valencia CF is interested in him and has inquired his agent about his availability. He said that his priority is to play in the Champions League and that he will make his decision this summer where to go. Apart from Valencia CF Arsenal and Dortmund are interested in Marvin Martin.

I'm going to reveal a big secret here as Valencia CF is considering selling Tino Costa as the management is not pleased with his performances this year and would like to offload him. So far he's had few teams inquire about him and could go back to France for a reported fee of 8 million euros.

While there is no final decision and all of these things are circumstantial and rely on many factors the interest is there to replace Tino Costa and I guess Marvin Martin is one of the candidates to come here.

Didier Deschamps to replace Unai Emery?

French paper L'Equipe has reported how Didier Deschamps who currently coaches Marseille in the summer would become Valencia CF coach.


While there have been speculations about such possibility this is the biggest direct news we've gotten about it and I can confirm that Valencia CF president and top level staff are interested in bringing Deschamps in Valencia CF, but it would depend on Deschamps whether he would actually like to leave Marseille, although his contract negotiations haven't been going amazingly and he's seen his team in rather poor form lately, going 12 matches without a win, similarly to Valencia CF situation in the second half of the season.


Still there are other options in contentions for Valencia CF such as Mauricio Pochetino, Luis Mila and few others.

Unai Emery said he'd leave in the summer

A radio station in Spain reported how Unai Emery has told the players that he won't coach Valencia CF next season. This is the supposed talk: "I hope we are able to win a trophy and qualify for the Champions League next season, but I won't be your coach then".

Speculation and reports about Emery's departure have been going on for quite a while now, with the second part of the season being really miserable for Valencia CF. While many international fans showed their support for Emery and in my poll were only beat out by 1 vote to AVB to be Valencia's coach next season, its almost certain Emery will leave in the summer, if not sooner.

Poll Results

Hi there, here are the poll results I've run for about 2 weeks and about 111 votes total.

What Manager?
Andre Villas-Boas 34 votes, 30%
Keep Unai Emery 33 votes, 29%
Marcelo Bielsa 14 votes, 12%
Didier Deschamps 11 votes, 9%
Mauricio Pochetino 9 votes, 8%
Luis Mila 4 votes, 3%
Other 4 votes, 3%
Laurent Blanc 2 votes, 1%

Personally I voted for Didier Deschamps. I think he is one of the most accomplished coaches from the bunch and yet comes with lower salary than say AVB or Laurent Blanc. He has also played for Valencia CF for a season at the end of his career as a player and has at least some connection to the club.

As far as Emery goes after today's heavy 4-0 defeat at the hands of Espanyol his career at Valencia CF is practically for all intense and purposes over. He's done what he could, he stabilized the club and deserves credit and respect for what he has done, but his time at Valencia CF is over and he needs to leave in the summer and a new manager to be brought in to Valencia, preferably Didier Deschamps or AVB.

Valencia CF 4-1 Rayo Vallecano Player Ratings

Guaita 6 - Wasn't troubled too much and dealt with what Rayo threw at him comfortably.
Barragan 6 - Good defensive display, but lacked drive going forward and was mostly content to sit back.
Rami 6.5 - Another good performance by Rami, two games in a row now and he looks more reliable right now.
R. Costa 6.5 - As Rami, Ricardo Costa had a good showing and has been reliable when called upon, scoring a goal as well that was not allowed.
Mathieu 6 - Did well to stop Lass who is on Valencia's radar and was secure in defense. Didn't venture forward too much.
Topal 6.5 - Another quality and reliable showing by Topal who was great in his defensive duties.
Tino 5.5 (FotM) - Reserved match from Tino, who's contribution was only few standard passes.
Feghuoli 7.5 (MotM) - Man of the match performance by Feghuoli who managed to assist two goals today and was a real danger for Rayo in the second half.
Pablo 6 - Scored a goal in the late stages of the match, but his contribution otherwise was limited.
Jordi Alba 6.5 - Wasn't particularly effective in the first half, but improved in the second and went on to score the second goal for Valencia.
Jonas 7.5 - Great match in his first match this season as a real striker. Scored two goals, albeit one from a penalty, but was dangerous with his movement and provided good outlet for attack.
Subs:
Parejo 6 - Came in for Tino and was more effective in keeping possession and spreading the ball.
Canales 6.5 - Came in for the first time after a long injury and had great success with good movement and passing, managing to get an assist as well.
Maduro N/A - Not enough time.

Real Madrid 0-0 Valencia CF

Guaita 7 - Some great saves by Guaita to prevent Real Madrid from scoring.
R. Costa 5 (FOTM) - Did average on the right side, made few mistakes and didn't offer much in attack.
Rami 7 - Great match by Rami, one of the few he hasn't made any mistake and dealt with every Madrid attack.
Ruiz 6.5 - Similar performance as Rami, though a bit less effective and had to make some last ditch tackles.
Alba 7 (MOTM) - Great performance at the back and was rarely challenged, offered support in attack and had few good opportunities in attack as well.
Topal 6.5 - Good match by Topal, had some key intervention in the middle and defense and was very reliable in helping the defense.
Parejo 5.5 - Had quite a lot of defensive duties and really helped out in defense, short and accurate passes to get the ball rolling in the midfield as well.
Feghuoli 6 - Great start to the match and one of the most active and dangerous members of Valencia, somewhat subdued in the second half and was replaced by Pablo.
Tino Costa 6.5 - Good performance at a more advanced position, had several shots, two of which hit the post. Good ball retaining and retained quite a bit of possession for Valencia.
Piatti 6 - Didn't cause too many troubles at the right, but was in position to shoot few times and had one good shot saved by Casillas.
Aduriz 5.5 - Not very effective, although was an aerial presence from corners and had a few headers.
Subs:
Mathieu 5.5 - Wasn't better than Piatti and apart from a chance soon after his arrival that he could have easily converted into goal, was rather modest in his contribution forward.
Pablo 5.5 - Had two shots towards Real Madrid goal, but wasn't a constant threat and tended to drift into the middle of the pitch.
Soldado 5.5 - One good header to grant Alba a good opportunity, didn't have time to impact the game.

April's fools

Hi there. In case you didn't know the last report was a fake and it was Aprils 1st joke. For those who got it great and those that didn't great as well, for some that took it way too seriously and had to curse and insult in the comments and email get over it, its a joke.

I wish the Levante draw and Emery's troubles were a joke as well, but they are not and my sources tell me that if Emery doesn't win the next La Liga match its almost certain that Emery will leave. What is known is that their is a battle going on in the board room and behind the scenes and even Llorente's job is insecure. I'd also like to take this opportunity and come to Llorente's defense and reach out to the Spanish fans to support this amazing president as he has made Valencia CF great again!

Official: Unai Emery fired

Earlier today I wrote an article explaining how Emery was under immense pressure to produce a win against Levante in order to stay as coach, but with the unfortunate draw he's been fired.

This was cooking up for months now as Valencia CF were getting bad results since Januray and it seems like today's draw was the last straw.

Reports have it that Mauricio Pochetino is the coach that will replace Unai Emery.

Unai Emery's last match vs Levante?

Valencia CF coach Unai Emery has been under increased pressure for the past month, after a very poor start to the second half of the season in which if we don't count the points from the first half would be fighting to avoid relegation.

On the back of few new losses in Spain and in the Europa League he is given an ultimatum to win and if Valencia don't win he could be out of the team. Manuel Llorente is supportive of the coach, but he is also pressured from the board and if he wants to stay president of Valencia may succumb to the pressure to fire Emery.

So tonight's match may as well be Emery's last and unless the team form changes drastically and we gets several wins in a row he is going to be under constant pressure. A little bit reassuring is the fact that Valencia CF has beaten Levante pretty easily 3 times before this season.

Manuel Llorente had a meeting with the players

Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente attended yesterday's Valencia CF training and after the training had a meeting with the players, before giving a small interview with the official website.

The president said he wanted to observe the training and talk to them later and give the coaches and player support.

When asked why he was present on the training he said:"I wanted to tell them to change the attitude, be optimistic and to have belief in ourselves as we do have the quality."
"The next couple of days we are playing very important matches and our players must have confidence. We have great coaching staff and great players."
When asked about the fans calling for results and the removal of Emery, Llorente said:"Our fans just like all fans want to see their teams do the best and have good results, but our fans must be patient as we can't have results as we had a decade ago overnight and they must be patient."

This is a great turn of events as if you recall one week ago I started the call for Llorente speak with the players and also for Albelda as the captain to react and we got both things.

Manuel Llorente talked to the players and Albelda had a press conference with positive words, so hopefully this will have a positive effect and allow Valencia CF to get back on winning ways!

Getafe CF 3-1 Valencia CF - Player Ratings

Valencia CF lost yet another match and this is getting really ridiculous. The team has been absolutely terrible ever since the winter break and things have gone from bad to worse. Right now there must be something done, even firing Unai Emery within the season in order to have a small boom to propell us to a third place spot. Right now not only is 3rd place under threat, 4th place is also under threat.

Guaita 4.5 - Could have done better for Burno's own goal, but his punch was weak and the ball went into the net. Not to blame for the other goals, but a poor match overall from him.
Bruno 4.5 - Unable to do anything forward and wasn't really convincing in defense either with the own goal being the highlight.
Rami 5 - Not responsible for the goals, but where is the communication between the defense, must take blame.
Ruiz 4.5 - Was gone for the second goal and this allowed Getafe to have more men in the penalty area and score. Nowhere to be found on the other goals either.
Alba 5 - Poor challenge for the cross that lead to the second goal, was nowhere for the third either and did nothing in attack.
Topal 5 - Obviously wasn't very effective helping out in defense and didn't contribute anything in attack either.
Parejo 5.5 - Has no clue in defending and while he is decent in keeping possession his passes are safe and not good enough to help spur on attacks.
Feghuoli 5 - Useless. Failed to do anything at all. Did not dribble, cross or anything, just returned the ball as soon as he'd get it.
Jonas 5.5 - Good movement and pass to assist Soldado for the goal, but took to many touches and dribbles after and failed to be dangerous at all.
Piatti 5 - Invisible. Barely had any effect and didn't contribute anything.
Soldado 6 - Scored a goal, but that was about it. Not much service from his teammates.
Subs:
Pablo 6 - Better than Feghuoli, but that doesn't say much. Wasn't too effective.
Mathieu N/A - Game was over when he arrived
Aduriz N/A - NET

 There is no top or flow of the match because everyone was a flop and that is just the sad reality of our play tonight.

Getafe CF vs Valencia CF - Match Preview

Getafe CF vs Valencia CF

Stadium: Colliseum Alfonso Perez
24th, March, 2012; 22:00CET
30th fixture, La Liga
Expected Attendance: 15.000

  Coaches: Luis Garcia Plaza and Unai Emery

Getafe CF has had a mediocre season so far and that has been quite disappointing for them as they hoped for a strong season just like the one they had two years ago, but it seems that is not going to happen as some of their best players have been taken and while Pedro Leon has returned to them on load they are have a weak team overall. One could say that this season is panning out good for them, as last season they barely avoided relegation.

Getafe CF have had a pretty good run of form for a while now and in their last 5 matches they've won 2 times, draw 2 times and lost once. While this isn't something to write home about or to put you into top 6 competition, they've been collecting important points to stick in the middle of the table.

Getafe have lost their last four league meetings with Valencia. The Madrid side are without a clean sheet in their last seven Liga clashes with Los Che, conceding an average of 2.7 goals per game.
Right now they have a solid defensive record with only 35 goals conceded, one that can match even Valencia CF actually, while they are average in terms of goals scored, keeping up with the mid table teams.

Getafe CF squad: to be announced...

Valencia CF are coming to this match in really bad form and after a devastating loss against Real Zaragoza just 3 days ago even though Zaragoza  was playing with one less player for 70 minutes. This was a huge loss, especially after a great victory over Atletico Bilbao earlier.

Valencia CF second half of the season has so far been miserable with tons of losses and draws and very little wins, and as if that isn't enough the team hasn't even been playing well. This will be a start test for the team and especially Unai emery who is sitting on the hot chair right now and his position and job is threatened. We've been seeing for 3 matches in a row the crowds at Mestalla waving white clothing, meaning  that they want Emery done and gone.

Fortunately for Valencia CF, the first half of the season was rather great and we've had a big cushion of points, that and the competition just hasn't been there, with Levante being the closest rival for most of the season and that says something about the competition or lack thereof.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.
Defenders: Bruno, Víctor Ruiz, Rami, Ricado Costa, Jordi Alba, Mathieu.
Midfielders: Albelda,Tino Costa, Topal, Parejo, Feghouli, Pablo, Piatti.
Forwards: Jonas, Aduriz, Soldado.

Head to Head

Date	Home		Away	Competition
Oct 29, 2011	Valencia CF	3 : 1	Getafe CF	Primera Division
Apr 02, 2011	Getafe CF	2 : 4	Valencia CF	Primera Division
Nov 14, 2010	Valencia CF	2 : 0	Getafe CF	Primera Division
Feb 22, 2010	Valencia CF	2 : 1	Getafe CF	Primera Division
Sep 23, 2009	Getafe CF	3 : 1	Valencia CF	Primera Division
Apr 05, 2009	Valencia CF	4 : 1	Getafe CF	Primera Division
Nov 09, 2008	Getafe CF	0 : 3	Valencia CF	Primera Division

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Diego; Bruno, Rami, Ruiz, Alba; Topal, Parejo; Feghuoli, Jonas, Piatti; Soldado.
Tactics: High defensive line, all round pressure, interchangeable attacking trio, mixed passing.

Result Prediction:
Getafe CF 0-4 Valencia CF
Valencia CF has always done well against Getafe and in the past 2 years Los Che has been winning significantly against Getafe. Soldado has also been very potent against them and I'm expecting a strong reaction after the loss and a demolishing of Getafe of 4-0.

 Betting odds:

Getafe CF	5.00
draw	4.00
Valencia CF	1.30

Valencia CF 1-2 Real Zaragoza - Match Report

Valencia CF coach Unai Emery has lost the team and there is no other option than to let him go in the summer and appoint a new coach. The players he brought to the match, the players he started and the formation he used were wrong and some bad decisions, other bad luck and we once again loose at home to a relegation zone team that has lost most of its matches and to make matters worse we loose with Real Zaragoza playing more than 70 minutes with one less player.

Yeah sure the penalty was a huge mistake by the referee and shouldn't have happened in the first place, it was as big mistake as one can make and the referee should suffer the consequences, but that doesn't excuse the team for the loss.

Valencia CF started brightly, controlling the match from the start and very soon came the first goal courtesy of Soldado and Pablo Hernandez. Pablo has been in rather poor form for some time now, but today he had a great match, unfortunately the rest of the players had a poor one. Pablo scored in the 11th minute to give Valencia CF the lead. Valencia CF kept attacking and forming actions, but our attackers kept missing and missing. For example Aduriz missed a huge chance from few meters, later on him and Jonas would miss several chances between them.

In fact Aritz Aduriz best contribution was being fouled, that led to the dismissal of Pablo Alvarez for Real Zaragoza.

At this point it seems to me, if things don't improve drastically over the next week or two we may be looking at a possible coach change within the season in order to save 3rd position.

For example starting with Albelda was a bad decision as he has been in rather poor form for the past two weeks and starting all 3 of out attacker, but not bringing Paco was a mistake and where did Maduro go? I haven't heard that he got injured, so him missing in the squad is a bit strange.

This would have been the perfect occasion to start Maduro and Piatti and Pablo to get their fair share of football and to have a more motivated squad from the start with players wanting to prove themselves.

I would have probably even started Paco with Soldado with Pablo and Piatti on the wings and Parejo and Maduro in the middle. If things don't go well, then bring in Jonas for Paco.  I mean this should have been an easy match to win.

Valencia (1): Guaita, Barragán, Rami, Dealbert, Mathieu (Jordi Alba, m.62); Albelda (Feghouli, m.70), Parejo, Pablo (Piatti, m.82), Jonas; Aduriz and Soldado.
Zaragoza (2): Roberto, Álvarez, Paredes, Lánzaro, Abraham (Luis García, m.75); Pinter, Dujmovic, Apoño, Juan Carlos (Zuculini, m.50); Lafita y Aranda (Obradovic, m.64).
Goals: 1-0, m.9: Pablo; 1-1, m.23: Apoño, pp; 1-2, m.77: Apoño.

Player Ratings:
Guaita 5 - Didn't have anything to do for all of the match, except for the penalty and goal. Should have done better for Zaragoza's second goal.
Barragan 6 - Good match by Barragan with dangerous runs and crosses in the penalty area, once again started brightly, but faded off a bit in the second half.
Rami 5.5 - Didn't have anything to do and wasn't at fault at all for any of the goals.
Dealbert 5 (FotM) - Unlucky to be the victim for the penalty, but guilty for the second Zaragoza goal, as it was his mistake that lead to the goal.
Mathieu 6 - Didn't have any defensive troubles and was free to roam forward and provided several good crosses to the penalty area.
Pablo 8 (MotM) - Man of the match with a great performance. Scored the goal, provided countless passes and crosses and was all over the field.
Albelda 6 - Decent match from the veteran, but nothing special that can really help the team in these kind of situations. Maybe the contract extension was a bit premature as he's been really been on a downward spiral.
Parejo 6 - Fed the ball to the forward players with good precision and was controlling the midfield great, but wasn't able to produce a ppiercing pass or some cross that would make the difference.
Jonas 5 - Found himself in good position thought the match, but misses all of them. He could have scored at least one goal had he been more accurate with his shots.
Soldado 7 - Good performance by Soldado, provided the assist to the goal and very active all over the pitch, had few chances, but couldn't quite convert them, way better than his fellow attackers.
Aduriz 5 - Some big misses from Aduriz and right now doesn't look certain if he is going to stay at Valencia CF. He's had chances to score, but he just misses way too often.
Subs:
Alba 6 - Replaced Mathieu and continued with a similar fashion, wasn't really better or more effective than Mathieu, but did a good job overall.
Feghuoli 5.5 - Few good moves and passes, but failed to produce anything of bigger significance.
Piatti N/A - Not enough time.

Valencia CF in the top 13 teams in the world

Valencia CF is in the top 13 teams in the world according to the results released by the Institute for history and statistics in the last decade.

This places Valencia CF as the third best team in Spain, behind Barcelona who are first and behind Real Madrid who are fourth. Sevilla is the forth team at 18th place.

Of course Barcelona is first overtaking Manchester United, Arsenal surprisingly is 3rd, while Real Madrid has made some strides last year and this one, reaching the 4th spot.

List:
1. FC Barcelona (ESP) 2.917,0 points
2. Manchester United (ING) 2.793,0
3. Arsenal (ING) 2.618,0
4. Real Madrid (ESP) 2.569,0
5. Inter Milán (ITA) 2.567,0
6. Bayern Múnich (GER) 2.544,0
7. Liverpool (ING) 2.538,0
8. Milan (ITA) 2.490,0
9. Chelsea (ING) 2.412,0
10. Roma (ITA) 2.140,0
---
13. Valencia (ESP) 2.074,0
18. Sevilla (ESP) 1.799,0
23. Villarreal (ESP) 1.732,0
38. Deportivo (ESP) 1.545,0
47. Atlético de Madrid (ESP) 1.404,0
73. Athletic Club (ESP) 1.126,0
81. Espanyol (ESP) 1.092,0
88. Mallorca (ESP) 1.053,0
89. Osasuna (ESP) 1.038,0
98. Zaragoza (ESP) 966,0

Valencia CF should raid Swansea AFC for players

I have been following Swansea AFC from the Premier League and have seen few of their matches, they play very good and have one of the best defenses right now in the Premier League. What is so great about Swansea is that this is their first year in the Premier League, after coming from the lower ranks and they have been doing amazing, in large thanks to a rock solid defense.

So I feel like Valencia CF should really look at some of Swansea players, especially from the defense like Williams and Rangel. Most of these players are likely to come cheap as well, since they are still considered second tier players, but this could change come the summer and Valencia CF would be wise to react now and try to snatch some of their players.

If Ricardo Costa and Dealbert are to leave in the summer, then certainly snapping one or two of Swansea's defenders would be great.

Valencia CF gets AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League

Valencia CF got AZ Alkmaar in the draw as the opponents in the quarter final of the Europa League.

The first match is going to be played on 29th March in Holland, and 7 days later the second leg rematch in Valencia CF.

Teams quarter finals:

AZ-Valencia

Schalke-Ath.Bilbao
Sporting-Metalist
Atl.Madrid-Hanover

Teams semi finals:

Atletico/Hanover-Valencia/AZ
Sporting/Metalist-Schalke/Bilbao 

 

 

Negotations with Ajax over Van der Wiel fail

As I informed you earlier Valencia wanted to reach a deal over Van der Wiel fast as time was going out and Valencia CF want to sign a right back before the summer comes and prices start to sky rocket.
After the arrival of Valencia CF in Holland the management team met with Ajax management to continue the negotiations over the transfer of Gregory van der Wiel. Valencia CF technical secretary Braulio Vazquez attempted to reach an agreement, but the two sides failed to come to an agreement.

Ajax wants about 10 million euros for Gregory van der Wiel and Valencia CF max offer is 8 millions euros. While the negotiations are not completely dead, Valencia CF will now focus on other targets and second in line is Lille's Mathieu Debychu, although this is going to be very difficult as well as reports have it that Bayern Munich, PSG and Inter Milan are interested in the player.

PSV Eindhoven 1-1 Valencia CF - Player Ratings

Diego 6.5 (MotM) - Did not have too much work, but reacted superbly two times to save the goal.
Bruno 5.5 - Had a good performance overall, but was at fault for PSV goal.
Rami 6.5 - Good defensive display with no major mistakes, also scored the goal for Valencia.
Dealbert 6 - Good performance, did well to stop most threats with Rami.
Alba 6.5 - Great performance by Alba, great defensively and had one good forward run that tested PSV keeper. More quiet in the second half though.
Albelda 5 - Decent performance by the captain, but you can really tell he is running on half gas. Did well defensively, but did not get involved in passes and avoided them as much as possible.
Tino Costa 4.5 (FotM) - Another weak performance with lots of mistakes and inaccurate passes. Failed to control the midfield also.
Feghuoli 5.5 - Willing runner and did cover a lot of ground, but wasn't a threat in attack at all.
Jonas 5 - Few nice touches here and there, but nothing worthwhile.
Mathieu 5.5 - Same as Feghuoli with a more defensive role in the second half. He dealt decently with attacks coming from the left side.
Aduriz 5 - He had one header and that was about it. Didn't have too much service and couldn't create anything for himself either.
Subs:
Topal 5.5 - Late substitution over Albelda and did well enough for Valencia to close out the match.
Piatti N/A - Not enough time
Parejo N/A - Not enough time

Manuel Llorente talks directly to Lass Bangoura

Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente has met with Rayo Vallecano player Lass Bangoura and asked the played if he'd like to join Valencia CF. This move was made because of reports that Atletico Madrid has reached an agreement with the player to transfer to their team, so Llorente wanted to know if the player would like to join Valencia CF.

Alhassane “Lass” Bangoura (born on 30 March 1992 in Conakry) is a Guinean footballer who plays for Rayo Vallecano in La Liga, as a forward or a left wing.

He is obviosly a reinforcement for the left wing, as this season the lack of options there has been really exposed and Emery has been forced into using Mathieu as a makeshift left wing.

Demand Manuel Llorente speak with players as well

Hey all. We need to demand for Valencia CF president to talk with the players as well. He's had few meetings with Unai Emery, but I think the players need to be engaged as well.

We can't blame Unai Emery for every bad result and while I do think he should leave in the summer(I've been a huge supporter of him until recently) we need to get the results this season like finishing 3rd and going to the Europa League quarter final and at least semi final.

They can't be shielded from responsibility, because its the players who are ultimately playing.

I'm not going to allow Jeremy Mathieu to play like a dead corpse now for more than a month, playing without any kind of motivation or conviction.
Adil Rami has been playing terribly for at least a month as well and Tino Costa has been the worst player in the past two months and hasn't really been prime example in training or private life either with conflicts with the coach because he didn't train hard enough few times and now the latest re-tweeting a tweet and calling for the dismissal of Emery and Llorente.

We need the right kind of attitude and we need it right now and Manuel Llorente needs to have a talk with the players as well and we also need Albelda the captain and oldest players of the club to come out and demand the team improve!

I'm calling on everyone to mail, call, email and those who can meet with the team officials and demand Llorente speaks with the players and demand accountability from the players as well.

prensa@valenciacf.es (English and Spanish)

Tel: 0034 902 01 19 19
Fax: 0034 96 337 50 93

Valencia CF 2-2 RCD Mallorca - Player ratings

Guaita 5.5 - Had one intervention and that was about it. Couldn't do anything about the goals.
Barragan 5.5 - Again started amazingly with constant attacks and good defending, but like against PSV allowed Nsue for the first goal and was also out of position to block the cross for the second one.
Rami 5.5 - Was not troubled and had little to deal with, complicated stuff when he lost the ball in dangerous positions twice.
Dealbert 6 - Wasn't troubled and had a decent performance.
Alba 5.5 - Not particularly troubled in defense and failed to do much offensively.
Tino 6 - Started well with good movement and passing, scored a goal, but then went missing in the second half until he got himself sent off for a needless foul.
Parejo 6 - Nice and accurate passing, buzzed from left to center, but as Tino went missing in the second half.
Feghuoli 5.5 - Some decent runs and crosses, but Barragan did most of the attacking and Feghuoli was more of a support.
Jonas 6 - Quite active in the first half with good movement and few shots, but failed to score from good positions and fizzled out as the game progressed.
Aduriz 6.5 (MotM) - Quite effective and dangerous in attack, scored an easy goal, but at least he found himself in the right spot for it, strange that he was replaced over Soldado.
Soldado 6 - Did well enough and had few opportunities, but failed to score.
Subs:
Mathieu 3.5 (FotM) - Came on and allowed Victor to score. I mean that was pretty bad and is directly responsible for the loss today
Piatti N/A - Not enough time
Topal N/A - Not enough time

Valencia CF vs RCD Mallorca - Match Preview

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a pretty good win over PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League and while the team could have managed to have a 4 goals lead going into Holland, the match ended 4-2 and Valencia CF has 2 goals lead for the second leg. First though Valencia CF face RCD Mallorca in the Spanish league and need to get a victory today in order to create a distance over few rivals who are mounting assault on the 3rd position like Atletico Bilbao, Atletico Madrid and even Malaga and Levante.

Malaga are now in 4th position after beating Levante yesterday and are only 3 points behind us, so this is a key match and one Valencia must win. Failure to win and this can put Valencia's cherished 3rd position in question and we can all agree that automatic qualification to the Champions League is a must.

Valencia CF coach Unai Emery has pretty much all players available and for the first time in quite a while Emery has taken Hedwiges Maduro in the team, after a long pause because of an injury. Bruno is also back in the squad and is likely to start over Barragan. Bernat was also with Emery holding a press conference before the match, so we might see Juan Bernat start for Valencia CF, in what would be his second start.

Valencia CF squad:

• Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.
• Defense: Barragán, Bruno, Dealbert, Maduro, Rami, Mathieu, Jordi Alba.
• Midfield: Albelda, Tino Costa, Topal, Parejo, Feghouli, Piatti, Bernat.
• Attackers: Jonas, Aduriz, Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Guaita; Bruno, Rami, Dealbert, Alba; Topal, Tino Costa; Feghuoli, Jonas, Bernat; Soldado.
Tactics: High defensive line, all round pressure, interchangeable attacking trio, mixed passing.

Technical Details RCD Mallorca (probable setups):
Formation: 4-4-2
Line-up: D. Aouate; Jose Nunes, Ramis, Caceres, Chico; Pereira, Marti, Gonzalo Castro, Victor; Alfaro, Nsue.
Tactics: Low defensive line, wing attacks, crosses and counter attacks.

 

Valencia CF 2-0 RCD Mallorca

I have a feeling that after the good match against PSV Valencia CF is going to win and I think the team will score two goals, one in each half.

 

Betting odds:

Valencia	1.30
draw	3.00
Mallorca	9.00

Javi Martinez and Bruno Soriano on Valencia's radar

Valencia CF is interested in Javi Martinez from Atletico Bilbao and Bruno Soriano from Villarreal.

Javi Martinez has been Bilbao's star for at least 2 years now and has had tremendous success with his club and national team in all range groups he's played.

Valencia's top officials want to get rid of Maduro in the summer and whispers have it that they are not too pleased with Topal either so they are looking for someone young and talented to strengthen that position and be a long term investment as well and Javi Martinez fits the bill perfectly.

Another player Valencia CF is monitoring and has expressed interest is Villarreal's Bruno Soriano. Valencia CF is impressed with Soriano and has contacted Villarreal to ask about the player. With Villarreal being is such a bad shape financially and sporting wise its very likely a deal can be made if the price is right and the player is likely to want to join Valencia CF.

Valencia CF 4-2 PSV Eindhoven - Player Ratings

Diego 6 - Had one good save and decent in the air punching several crosses. Couldn't do anything about the goals.
Barragan 6 - Started brilliantly and involved in a lot of attacks, providing 1 assist and dealt with danger at the back, but then in the final moments allowed PSV to score the second goal.
R. Costa 5 - Not troubled when he was on the field, injured himself and replaced by Rami.
Ruiz 7 - Great performance by Ruiz, defended very good and scored a goal as well.
Mathieu 5 - Decent performance in attack and defense, allowed the cross to be made that lead to the second PSV goal and gave away the penalty.
Albelda 5 - Quite ineffective, run away from the ball and never available to be played on. Got tired towards the end and allowed PSV to mount attack after attack.
Parejo 7 - Good performance by the former Getafe man, good skills on the ball and good passing all round, provided an assist as well.
Pablo 5 - Not too involved and while he had some forward forays, wasn't particularly effective.
Jonas 5.5 - Did well with his passing and has good vision, but should have done better with some of the shooting opportunities he had.
Piatti 7.5 (MotM) - Man of the match performance from Piatti who created the first goal, scored the fourth goal and was very active and dangerous thought the match.
Soldado 7 - Scored two goals, albeit one from a penalty.
Subs:
Rami 4 (FotM) - Miserable performance from the French. I'm starting to dislike him and I don't think he should be allowed to play for the rest of the season. I just don't think he is good enough.
Bernat 4 - Did nothing of note and missed a great opportunity to put Valencia up by 5 goals.
Aduriz 5 - Had one decent chance, but other than that wasn't very threatening.

Valencia CF vs PSV Eindhoven - Match Preview

Valencia CF vs PSV Eindhoven

Stadium: Camp Nou
8th, March, 2012; 21:05CET
R16, leg 1, Europa League
Expected Attendance: 52.000

  Coaches: Unai Emery and Fred Rutten

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a long and much needed win against Granada, that puts the team back to the front seat to clinch 3rd place again this season. The performance against Granada wasn't great and our team was overrun and outplayed, but the team was defensively solid and prevented Granada from scoring.

Tino Costa has especially been performing poorly for the past month now and Daniel Parejo is going to start ahead of Tino as he and Unai Emery held a press conference and the coach pretty much confirmed it.

The team is full and apart from the long term injuries everyone is fit and ready to play. Last time Valencia CF played PSV Eindhoven was this past summer in their first friendly match and Valencia CF easily beat PSV I believe 2-0. This time is going to be different though and PSV Eindhoven will prove more of a challenge and its probably going to be a very tough match.

Valencia CF squad:

• Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Vicete Guaita.
• Defenders: Barragán, Ricardo Costa, Víctor Ruiz, Adil Rami, Mathieu, Jordi Alba.
• Midfielders: Albelda, Tino Costa, Parejo, Pablo Hernández, Feghouli, Pablo Piatti, Bernat.
• Attackers: Jonas, Aduriz, Roberto Soldado.

PSV Eindhoven on the other hand are coming off from a miserable 6-2 loss by their rivals FC Twente at the Phillips Stadium, their fierce title competitor. With the loss Twente are now in third place with only 1 point behind Twente and 2 points above Ajax. PSV are in a 4 way race for the Championship and that is likely to be the case till the end. Last season PSV finished 3rd behind the likes of FC Twente and AFC Ajax

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.

PSV most lethal players are Dries Mertens and Ola Toivonen with 16 and 15 goals respectively. PSV are very attacking minded team and have scored 62 goals in the Dutch league, but their defense is only average.

PSV Eindhoven squad: to be announced...

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Diego; Bruno, Rami, Ruiz, Alba; Topal, Parejo; Pablo, Jonas, Piatti; Soldado.
Tactics: High defensive line, all round pressure, interchangeable attacking trio, mixed passing.

Result Prediction:
Valencia CF 2-1 PSV Eindhoven
Valencia CF is playing at home and after the win against Granada the tension will be reduced and the players will play more freely and easily, thus allowing them to grind out a win. PSV have a strong attack and are likely to score one goal as well.

 Betting odds:

Valencia	1.50
draw	3.30
PSV	5.00

Valencia CF push to sign Gregory van der Wiel

With more and more options opening up for the right back position for Valencia CF, the club will make another and probably final push to seal the deal for the transfer of Gregory van der Wiel with Ajax.

Ajax currently want 10 million euros for the transfer of Van der Wiel, but Valencia CF is only willing to pay 8 million euros. There are also differences about the time to pay the full amount with Valencia CF planing on paying for him over a year in few instances, while Ajax is pushing for two part payment, one at the day of the transfer and then about 6 months later the rest of the payment.

With good options like Mathieu Debuchy opening up, Valencia CF is in a hurry to make a deal and not to miss out on the few great players that they are tracking.

Expect in the next month to find out if Van der Wiel will join Valencia CF or not. Valencia CF will also like to seal a transfer deal before the summer, when there will be more competition and prices are likely to go up!

Should Emery leave in the summer poll results

After writing an article how Unai Emery should leave in the summer and after getting mixed responses I decided to put a poll and see what you thought about it. Here are the results:

Should Unai Emery leave in the summer?

Yes	17 (48%)
No	10 (28%)
Not sure	8 (22%)

Total Votes: 35

Seems more people think he should leave, but its fair to mention that there are 8 undecided and should Emery retain third position and Spain and go further in the Europa League he may return some of the support.

Valencia CF interested in Jose Manuel Jurado

Reports have it that Valencia CF is interested in Schalke 04 attacking midfielder Jose Manuel Jurado who is set to be the perfect replacement for the out of favor Daniel Parejo.

Jurado can also play on the left wing, making him even that more attractive for Valencia CF as currently that position is rather weak and Emery is forced to use Mathieu the left back as a winger constantly.

Jurado's contract with Schalke 04 is set to expire in 2014 and his asking price is about 8 million euros, about as much as Parejo cost.

Sporting Lisbon interested in Ricardo Costa

Its not a secret that Ricardo Costa is going to leave this summer, as Valencia's and Ricardo's interests are the same. Ricardo Costa has said he is likely to leave and it seems as though he may find his next club in his country Portugal at Sporting Lisbon.

Real Betis was also interested in Ricardo Costa earlier and may still be interested, other possibilities would be Lazio who've shown interest for the player last summer.

Whatever the case Ricardo Costa is very likely to leave this summer and the only way for him to stay if he doesn't have any offers, which is unlikely to be the case as there are few teams interested in him right now.

Angel Dealbert to leave Valencia CF?

Angel Dealbert has been offered a contract extension by Valencia CF and only the details are left up to negotiation, but he is right now considering offers from other clubs and has said he'll make his decision closer to the end of the season.

Dealbert has not featured too much for Valencia CF this season, as Rami and Ruiz have been the standard duo. The times when he played he actually did a great job and was very reliable. Dealbert is also one of the least paid players at Valencia CF which is another reason the club wants to keep him.

Teams like Levante, Espanyol, Bilbao and few others are interested in the player and would like to get him in their ranks and the price of 2 million euros is affordable to most of these teams.

Valencia CF looking at Andre Villas Boas as Emery's replacement

With Andre Villas Boas being sacked by Chelsea FC the media frenzy is on and there are many reports on who might Andre coach next. There are strong reports that Valencia CF top branch are interested in Andre Villas Boas and see him as the perfect replacement for Unai Emery who is likely to leave in the summer, unless he gets to the Europa League finals.

Rumor has it Andre Villas Boas fancies Valencia CF and would accept a position over Inter, but the main problem is money as he requires about 3 million salary, something Llorente isn't quite ready to offer yet.

One of the advantages with Valencia CF is that he is not going to be under pressure to win the league and will have the time and support to improve the team. He is also vary of taking over in this time of the season and would much easier accept a job in the summer.

Valencia CF right back alternatives

Since Valencia CF haven't agreed terms with Ajax over the transfer fee for Van der Wiel, Valencia CF is looking elsewhere with latest reports linking Lille's right back Mahtieu Debuchy to Valencia CF and the player himself confirmed the reports, but saying he is currently focused on Lille.

That can easily change though as Rami can insert some influence on him and persuade him to join Valencia CF, he is also the cheaper option to Van Der Wiel and is believed to be released for 8 million euros, the amount that Valencia CF is currently offering Ajax.

Another player the club follows is Jorge Fucile who played for Porto and was a big part of their league wins in Portugal and the Europa League last season. He is currently playing for Santos on loan from Porto and is likely to want to move to Valencia CF after being thrown out of the squad by Porto's new manager.

Martin Montoya is another player that has been linked for over a year now with Valencia CF. He plays for Barcelona B squad and Valencia CF is keeping close tabs on him, although he would be the last option if given the choice.

Granada CF vs Valencia CF - Match Preview

Granada vs Valencia CF

Stadium: Camp Nou
4th, March, 2012; 18:00CET
26th matchday, La Liga
Expected Attendance: 22.000

  Coaches: Abel Resino and Unai Emery

Granada CF is based in the same named town Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. The club finished fifth in Segunda, but by winning the promotion playoffs they were promoted to La Liga.
The 2010/11 La Liga Play-Off took place in June 2011. This was Segunda's first season with purely promotion play-offs since 1986–87 and the first time play offs had been used for movement between the first and second tier since 1998-99. This new promotion phase (known as Promoción de ascenso) was introduced to determine the third team which promoted to 2011/12 La Liga. Teams placed between 3rd and 6th position, excluding reserve teams, took part in the promotion play-offs.

Grenada CF has recently been on a good streak with 3 wins out of the last 5 matches and these 3 wins have helped push Granada CF out of the relegation danger zone and right now Granada CF is 16th position on the table with 28 points, 4 more from the nearest relegation club.

Their top scorer is Inigo Lopez with only 4 goals and Franco Jara leading in the assists department with 4 of them.

Granada CF squad: to be announced...

Valencia CF on the other hand is coming off a rather miserable week with a lot of speculation about the possibility of Unai Emery leaving and with good reason as the loss to Sevilla at home was the cherry on the top of a whole new 2012 year with only 1 win in the last 8 matches, 4 draws and 3 losses. In other terms Valencia CF has lost a total of 17 points in the new year and there has been doubts about whether Unai Emery can lead the team to third position once again this season.

Valencia CF still has a decent cushion of points from the other teams and Levante I don't consider particularly threatening, but beating Granada CF today is crucial or else someone would need to push the red panic button and things would go into a bad place.

Some good news is that the team is full and no other injuries apart from the known long terms ones of Canales, Banega and Miguel, but even Hedwiges Maduro has been training for some time now and while I don't expect him to feature against Granada CF he can return soon.

Other good news is that Roberto Soldado had an amazing international performance for Spain, scoring his first hat-trick for Spain in his return to the Spanish team after a break of 5 years. Jordi Alba played great for Spain as well and other players like Mehmet Topal and Adil Rami had good performances for their national teams.

Valencia CF squad: 

• Goalkeepers: Alves, Guaita
• Defenders: Bruno, Barragán, V.Ruiz, Dealbert, Rami, Mathieu, J.Alba.
• Midfielders: Albelda, Topal, Tino Costa, Feghouli, Pablo, D. Parejo, Piatti.
• Forwards: Jonas, Aduriz, Soldad.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Guaita; Barragan, Dealbert, Ruiz, Mathieu; Albelda, Parejo; Pablo, Jonas, Piatti; Soldado.
Tactics: High defensive line, all round pressure, interchangeable attacking trio, mixed passing.

Technical Details Granada CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-4-2
Line-up: Roberto; Diakathe, Siqueria, Nyom, Mainz; Yebda, Hurtado, Geijo, Benitez; Uche, Jara.
Tactics: Low defensive line, park the bus, crosses and counter attacks.

Result Prediction:
Granada CF 0-2 Valencia CF
Unai Emery is likely to give the likes of Alba, Rami, Feghuoli and Topal a break from the international duty and place them on the bench, although with Soldado's form at Spain he is likely to start and players like Pablo, Dealbert and Albelda starting. I think that Valencia CF will take the match 2-0, but only if everyone is playing 100% and Tino Costa or Parejo have a good match, especially Tino if he starts.

Betting odds:

Valencia	1.40
draw	5.30
Granada	12.00

Jordi Alba extends contract with Valencia CF to 2016

Radio Nou just announced that Valencia CF and Jordi Alba have reached an agreement about a new contract that will have Jordi Alba stay until the year 2016 at Valencia CF.

Jordi Alba and Valencia CF have been negotiating for weeks now about a contract extension and the negotiation was recently intensified with Barcelona and other clubs increasing their interest in him.

Its said that Alba's agents and Valencia CF staff will meet again to conclude the final detail of the contract and that is the transfer fee which is supposed to be in the region of about 20 million euros.

Valencia CF players on international duty (February)

Spain:
Jordi Alba started and played the full 90 minutes for Spain and he had a great match providing 2 assists and never troubled at the back.
Roberto Soldado was introduced at the start of the second half as he came on for Llorente and pretty much immediately scored. He scored a second goal soon after his first as well, got a penalty after being brought down as he found himself alone in front of goal after passing the goalkeeper. He missed the penalty, but went on to redeem himself and scored a hat-trick in the final minutes of the match.
This was an amazing performance by Soldado as he made the case to be included for the Euro 2012.

Brazil:
Diego Alves was called in for Brazil, but sat out their match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cesar had a poor match though and Alves chances of becoming the first keeper are very big.
Jonas Goncalves literally was put in the game in the last minute.

Turkey:
Mehmet Topal started and played the full 90 minutes for Turkey and was one of their better players, but unfortunately for him Turkey lost 2-1 to Slovakia.

Portugal:
Ricardo Costa did not feature for Portugal and its highly unlikely if he'll make the squad for Euro 2012.

France:
Adil Rami played the full 90 minutes for France and had a good match with few decent interventions. Good, but not great. He still has a lot to learn and much to improve.

Unai Emery should leave in the summer

I've been a big proponent and supporter of Unai Emery, but even I can not go on and defend him anymore. Since the defeat from Sevilla at our home ground in the Mestalla and mostly fresh players who were rested against Stoke City it hit me that out team hasn't really improved over the 4 years Emery has been here.

You can read my previous editorial on Unai Emery and find out in more about the details of the sporting and financial situation when he took over and what he's had to deal with to get a better understanding of the pros, but also cons of Emery's reign as Valencia CF coach.

I've been a big supporter because when Emery took over the team was in shambles, barely avoiding relegation under Koeman and most of the veterans on the periphery of the team and bad vibe in the dressing room. I thought that would be it and Valencia CF would become a middle table team and thus a rein will end, but it didn't.

Unai Emery was appointed as coach in the 2008/09 season after successfully leading Almeria to promotion to the Primera League and then finishing 8th in his first year in the top division. After taking over the reigns at Valencia CF, he led the team to a bright start, with a tough middle term battle and a weak finish that put us into sixth position, instead of third or fourth. Still that was a success considering the situation Valencia CF was in, sporting and financially wise, with a bankrupt looming and players not even getting paid for few months.


The next two years he would lead Valencia CF to two consecutive 3rd places finishes amidst loosing some of the best players like David Villa and David Silva and previously Albiol and later Baraja.
What is not so obvious within this is that Villa was towards the end of his sublime form and he literally had one more year in him of the performances we've gotten to know and expect from him and Silva would need a whole year to step up his level and play at the level he is playing right now at Manchester City and with a bit of luck Valencia CF also had some players step up like Juan Mata and Ever Banega. Valencia CF also brought Jeremy Mathieu immediately strengthening the left back spot, something that was weak link in previous years.
So while Emery has been loosing amazing players, he has also been getting new ones, in what one could attribute as luck or even a miracle if you wish and ultimately the team has kept the same level of talent and skill between the changes, what hasn't changed though is the level of play with any and all of the players that have played under Emery, almost always playing at the same level.

The results against teams of equal or slightly less quality is defeating and our results against stronger teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid are even worse. Our play in European competitions is equally defeating with losses against Atletico Madrid in a year when we were realistically stronger, losses against Schalke 04 in a year where they were playing poorly and were in the bottom of the table, but even more defeating are the results in the Spanish cup Copa Del Rey where every time we've faced a little bit of opposition, we've come crumbling down and loosing.

This year I see the same things happening, that has been happening in the past 4 years. Very strong start to the season with few to several unbeaten runs, then loose to a tough opponent, but continue with the momentum even challenging for first place, slowly going out of steam until we hit the winter vacation. Then we start in a slow fashion just as we've finished and sort of frantically adding wet steam to the machine hoping it gets dry fast enough and the machine starts picking steam up and towards the end we have a small push where we gain few places, only for the end to be on a downward spiral, but ultimately finishing strong because we've had weak competition.

So to me it seems that while Unai Emery deserves huge credit and respect for what he's done, the combination of circumstances has allowed him and our team to perform better than it otherwise would and with non existent success in all the other competitions other than La Liga which realistically we can't win, leads me to believe that our team has been performing above the level because of weak competition in Spain and the financial crisis that has engulfed all Spanish teams, but the Spain economy as well.

I think Valencia CF should part ways with Unai Emery this coming summer with both coach and club head held high knowing its on a good line. That said Valencia president Manuel Llorente should only bring in a coach that can improve and build upon Emery's reign and not start over, destroying everything that has been build and achieved over the past 4 years. We need a coach that can sort of take the pieces which are in place already and give them that final polish to be able to reach the next level.
The new coach must also be more experienced and must be proven that he can win and manage a winning team.