Valencia CF vs Atletico Madrid Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Atletico Madrid Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 03.11.2012; 22:00 CET

10th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Mauricio Pellegrino and Diego Simeone

Valencia CF

Valencia CF are coming to this match after a disappointing loss to Real Betis in the league at a time when the team just started winning in the league against Atletic Bilbao and then in the Champions League against Bate Borisov 3-0 at that, but then just like so many matches away this season, Valencia CF lost to Real Betis and it was a similar result to the one in Levante previously away from home, both times we conceded first and were unable to break their defenses.

With such poor results at away matches and not so convincing performances at home either Valencia CF finds itself sitting at 11th place on the table with only 11 points out of 9 matches. Now the season is still early on and there is still plenty of time to run things around, but the team must improve in more ways than one and really show it on the field with dominating performances and good results. 

The time is ticking for Valencia CF coach Mauricio Pellegrino and he is under severe pressure right now, and this match against Atletico Madrid may make or break his career here at Valencia CF and may also make or break the team as well. Valencia CF is going against the in form Atletico Madrid who haven't lost a single match since last season and have shown in all competitions that they are not a team to be underestimated as they trashed Chelsea in the Super Cup and have taken their Europe League group with ease.

For Valencia CF and Mauricio Pellegrino this is a must win match, for Pellegrino this may be his last match if he looses and for Valencia CF this may be the end of any Champions League ambitions for next season. If Valencia is to finish in the top 4 the team needs to make a statement right now and what better way than by beating Atletico Madrid tonight. They may be the most in form team right now and are still challenging even Barcelona, but they are not invincible and Valencia CF have always had good results playing against Atletico Madrid at home and this has always been a really competitive match, so Valencia really has a good chance of beating Atletico Madrid tonight.

Pellegrino rested few players in the Copa Del Rey match and so they are going to be fully fit and prepared for this match. Mathieu's injury returned a week back and he will be missing for at least 2 more weeks, Piatti is fully healed, but will need at least one more week before he is back to full training, Feghuoli is also going to be available for this match and pretty much all the rest of the players are available, so there is quite the squad to choose from.

Recently Pellegrino has been trying out a makeshift 4-3-3 formation, with Tino playing as the advanced midfielder and it worked against Bate Borisov, though not so much against Real Betis obviously, the formation does transform to 4-2-3-1 when attacking though with Tino in that advanced position behind the striker and he has shown promise there, but we might see a more conventional formation against Atletico Madrid, though he is likely to pack the midfield in order to control possession and starve Falcao out of service that way, at least that is what I would be doing if I was the coach.

Valencia CF squad: to be announced...

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Guaita; Pereira, Rami, R. Costa, Cissokho; Ever, Gago, Feghuoli, Tino; Guardado; Soldado.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, own half pressure, short passing, mostly crosses.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid on the other hand have been going from strength to strength and are yet to loose one single match since around summer time last season and I sure do hope tonight is the time they loose. They've had big enough of a streak and good results and so its overdue to stop. I mean universal chances here are against them and Valencia CF could really stop their high. That said they are the most in form team right now in Spain and probably in Europe as well and with Falcao as their leader they are crushing all sides they meet, so sufficive to say they are going to be one difficult opponent tonight and are on paper and realistically favorites to win, though as I've said Valencia CF does historically have great results against Atletico Madrid at home.

Atletico Madrid are right now sharing the 1st position on the table with Barcelona, just loosing out on goal difference, but with same amount of points, 25 each. Is there a point saying who their main goalscorer is? Its Falcao obviously with 10 goals scored so far, though this could be a double edged sword for them as well, as apart from him no one is even close to that amount of goals and their second striker is Raul Garcia with only 3 goals, so get Falcao out of the equation and Atletico Madrid are vulnerable again. No one even has any big assists, so that tells us that chances are mostly created individually by Falcao himself or he gets in many poachers goals by rebounds and dead ball situations.

If I was the coach I'd put a player to directly mark Falcao as its obvious to me he is the biggest threat and the way his goals come from, having someone mark him constantly would put a damp in Atletico's threat. Now other players can be dangerous as well, but with dominance over possession you can really starve Atletico Madrid out of any chances. 

Now Atletico Madrid are also defensively solid and they have great team play so obviously they are tough to crack as well, but as we saw from last season they do have problems when things get chaotic and fast, so while their organization is their strength, having a team that will play to their weaknesses can trump them. What Valencia CF will need to do is play fast football in the final third and just bombard their penalty area with crosses, which is not too tough to do with how bad our players crosses sometimes are, it will lead to chaos and that is our chance. Our strikers will need to be really effective though and we can not waste any chances. So I hope Soldado is Goldado tonight and that others step up their game as well.

Atletico Madrid squad: to be announced...

Technical Details Atletico Madrid (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Courtosis; Juanfran, Godin, Miranda, Felipe; Gabi, Mario Suares; Raul Garcia, Belozoglu, Turan; Falcao.
Tactics: Low defensive line, own third pressure, mixed passing, wing attacks mostly.

Result Prediction:
Valencia CF 1-2 Atletico Madrid
I hope Valencia CF can win, but I just don't see it. I think its going to be a competitive match, I think we will most likely even control more of the possession, but I see us conceding some silly goal from a defensive mistake and then I expect Falcao to also score some poachers goal. We are likely going to score as well, possibly Feghuoli, but I think Atletico Madrid will just edge Valencia CF.

Jordi Xumetra to join Valencia CF?

Jordi Xumetra

Valencia CF is ramping up the search for a new right winger as the coach and staff have identified the position as one of the weak links that should be strengthened in the winter transfer window. Additionally Valencia CF will loose Feghuoli for at least a month in the spring as he will play in the African cup of nations for Algeria, but even more problematic is that Feghuoli hasn't extended his contract yet with Valencia CF and is contemplating a move to PSG in the winter.

Jordi Xumetra is the prime target for this position and Valencia CF sporting director Braulio seems inclined to bring him as a cheap but quality option.

Jordi Xumetra is 27 years old and is currently valued at about 1.5 million euros and is one of the best players for Elche at the moment, along with Valencias Carles Gil there who is on loan with Elche.

Jonas could leave in January

Tottenham and Liverpool interested in Jonas

Valencia CF striker Jonas Goncalves could very well be on his way out of Valencia CF this winter transfer season. Internal sources have it that the coach and staff are not pleased with Jonas performances this season and his recent stunt after being substituted hasn't gone too well with the club and staff.

Several clubs have shown interest in Jonas Goncalves in the past including Tottenham and more recently Liverpool. Both these teams have lack of strikers and are seriously considering making a move for Jonas in the winter transfer market.

I have Jonas valued at 10 million euros in my last update and this could be a realistic price for English teams who have significantly more resources than Spanish clubs.

Feghuoli contemplating a move to PSG

Sofiane Feghuoli to transfer to PSG?

Reports coming out of France suggest that PSG are interested in acquiring the services of Sofiane Feghuoli, Valencia's sole right winger at the moment with Piatti still injured.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi refused to rule out moving for the Algerian international when asked about the youngster over the weekend.

He told Le Buteur: “All I can say is that we have established a list of Arab talents that interest us and the player you quote is a part of it."

“It will be a positive for PSG to have Arabs in their ranks.  We are looking at options to sign one or two quality Arab players who can bring something more to the team.”

When asked about the PSG interest in him Feghuoli said: " I'm flattered by PSG interest in me, but out of respect for Valencia CF and the fans I won't talk about it, but I'd be glad to return to Paris, its my city.

I feel very happy here at Valencia CF, we are playing each year at the top level and in European competitions, and right now my agent is negotiating with Valencia CF to extend my contract."

Valencia CF considering Oriol Romeu

Valencia CF are seriously considering making a move for Chelsea's defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu. The club knows it needs another defensive midfielder with only Albelda being one, and they are also looking at a potential long term solution as Albelda's replacement and here is where Oriol Romeu comes in. He is a talented young defensive midfielder that can also play as a central defender and that suits Valencia CF as they can tackle two birds with one stone. He would also come cheap as he has barely featured only once so far for Chelsea, so its clear he is not in the plans of Di Mateo and so getting him would be relatively easy.

He used to play for Barcelona B team and was and still is considered big talent. The fact that he hasn't featured much might be regressing his skills a bit, but Valencia CF would want to make a move for Oriol Romeu in the winter transfer market. 

He is still 21 years of age, so a potential future star and considering Valencia CF has very little money to spend this is the ideal transfer target right now.

Valencia CF interested in Bruno Martins Indi

Valencia CF is interested in Bruno Martins Indi from Feynord who plays as a center back or even left back at Feynord. He was born in Portugal, but basically lived his whole life from a baby in Holland. He has also featured for the Dutch national team as well five times, as well as the Dutch youth teams on U-19 and U-17.

His contract is set to expire in 2016, though as a relative unknown and young player, Valencia CF is betting on acting swift and fast and getting him on the cheap. Transfermarkt values him at 3 million euros, though he is likely to cost less realistically.

Jonas fined for his bad reaction

Jonas Goncalves was fined by Valencia CF for his nervous reaction after being substituted by the coach around the 70th minute in the match vs Atletic Bilbao. His fine is purely financial, though he was punished by the coach as well by not having his in the team for Bate Borisov.

The coach was also stern that this should not happen to anyone else and that consequences will be serious.

Tino Costa called to Argentina national team

Valencia CF midfielder Alberto Tino Costa has received for the second time a call up to the Argentinian national squad for their friendly match against Saudi Arabia.

Fernando Gago is a standard player for Argentina and has been called again of course. Ever Banega used to feature for Argentina as well, but with his injury he has lost his place and will need to prove himself again, probably in competition now with his clubmate Tino Costa.

Llagostera 0-2 Valencia CF Copa Del Rey

Valencia CF won in the first match against Llagostera in the Copa Del Rey with goals from Jonas and Haedo Valdez for a win of 2-0.

In the match youth player Gaya had his first debut for Valencia CF and he played the full 90 minutes of the match.

The first goal came through Jonas in the dying stages of the first half as he managed to get to the ball after a free kick by Daniel Parejo.

In the second half Valencia CF would seal the match with a goal by Nelson Haedo Valdez in the 70th minute.

Llagostera would have a chance for a comeback after Barragan made a foul in the penalty area, but Sallares missed and only managed to hit the post.

Technical Details:

UE Llagostera (0): Moragón, Aimar, Vallho, Canal, Enric Pi, Tito, Alex Moreno (Serramitja, min. 61), Artabe (Masó, min. 69), Sellarés, Pitu (Joaqui, min. 61) y Tarradellas.
Valencia CF (2): Guaita, Barragán, Ricardo Costa, Víctor Ruiz, Gayà; Feghouli(Cissokho, min. 68), Ever, Dani Parejo, Guardado (Viera, min. 85), Jonas(Albelda, min. 74), Valdez.
Goals: 0-1 Min. 46 Jonas 0-2 Min. 68 Valdez.

Pellegrino takes 16 players for Llagostera

Valencia CF coach Mauricio Pellegrino decided to take only 16 players for the next match in the Copa Del Rey against UD Llagostera. Pellegrino decided to rest Adil Rami and Joao Pereira from the defenders, he also left out Bernat surprisingly from the squad for this match, he also gave a rest to Roberto Soldado.

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.
Defenders:  A. Barragán, Víctor Ruiz, Ricardo Costa, Cissokho, Gayà.  
Midfielders: Albelda, T.Costa,Parejo, Éver, Feghouli, Guardado, Viera.
Forwards:  Jonas, Valdez.

Real Betis 1-0 Valencia CF Match Report

Another away match and another loss for Valencia CF and this is becoming the norm this season. Real Betis didn't really outplay us or create great chances, but their first good chance and they scored in the 10th minute. No one covered Sevilla and Diego Alves failed to stop the shot as well, even though he got to the ball.

The problem was with Valencia's response to the goal or lack thereof. In fact I don't remember Valencia having a chance of goal at all in the first half, maybe a shot off goal, but that was about it. Even though the streams were quite bad quality  and lagging a bit the problem was with the wings. We just didn't have the width on the pitch and all our build up play and attacks were tunneled in the center of the field, which Betis players covered very good.

In fact the wings were so bad that I rarely saw Bernat and Viera in the first half and the times where they did got the ball they'd return in backwards or to the middle, which does nothing to bring us in attack.

The midfield on the other hand was packed and it seemed like the players are playing against each other and trying to get out of each others way. Tino Costa for example played too deep, he should have been just behind the striker and not allowed to fall back more than the middle, while Albelda and Gago should have been more wide to each other in order to spread the ball more and support the wings.

Overall very ineffective play, especially in the first half and even though we improved a little in the second half and had some good chances even, we still lacked width and penetration on the wings, with Soldado being forced to go wide himself, which then left us with no striker at the penalty field. So it was just bad play after bad play individually and collectively.

Now I don't know if this is because of lack of tactics from Pellegrino or maybe the players don't get the tactics or maybe several were tired and fatigued from the Champions League match just few days ago, especially Tino Costa who's played pretty much all of the matches so far and to a certain extent Gago.

Its obvious there is a problem and we can all see it, question is now to what extent is it the coach fault and would another coach be able to fix the problem? Now I said we should be patient and not come to conclusions too fast, but time is ticking and while we need to have cool heads still, Pellegrino must be given an ultimatum of winning the next 3-4 games in a row or being sacked. We just can't afford few more losses like this, especially against weak opposition like Real Betis, I mean since when does Valencia CF have trouble beating Real Betis?

So yeah my thoughts are that Valencia CF president should give Mauricio Pellegrino an ultimatum that he needs to win the next 3-4 games in a row (CL excluded) or be sacked. We are already 7-11 points behind the top 4 and possibly to go 10-14 points behind, which we be really hard to make up the difference later on.

Again I'm not for sacking Pellegrino immediately, but he needs to be given an ultimatum and he needs to deliver in order to keep his job.

R. Betis (1): Adrián, Mario, Álex M., Paulao, Salva S. (Nono, min, 76), Joel (J. Molina, min. 69), Juan Carlos (Nacho, min, 86), Nosa, Cañas, Nelson y R. Castro.
Valencia CF (0): Diego Alves, Cissokho, Rami, Gago, Albelda (Ever, min. 46), Soldado, Pereira, Viera, R. Costa, Tino Costa (Guardado, min. 84) y Bernat (Valdez, min. 61).
Goals: 1-0, 8th min Salva S.

Player Ratings:
Diego 5.5 - Could have done more for the goal, had one good save in the second half.
Joao Pereira 6 - Not really troubled defensively, went forward to a certain extent, but not too active in attack.
Rami 5 - Decent in defense, though not good. At times shaky.
R. Costa 5 - Again no where to be found for the goal and not particularly secure.
Cissokho 5.5 - Had one blunder in the second half and almost gifted Betis a second goal, but other than that he was secure and went forward to a great extent.
Albelda 5 - Failed to cover or mark Sevilla for the goal and wasn't very effective otherwise.
Gago 5 - Wasn't really bad as much as he was shut down by Betis. Had some suspect passes though and some really bad crosses.
Tino Costa 5.5 - The better of the midfield trio, but that doesn't say much. Had a good free kick that the Betis goalkeeper saved.
Viera 5.5 - Invisible for most of the match, tried few through passes, but Soldado failed to pick them out and use them.
Soldado 5.5 - Had two good chances and failed to score from both, on one chances his first touch failed him and lost the ball. He did have good movement, but no end result.
Bernat 4 - Completely invisible, its obvious he needs to develop a lot more. Loaning him out in the winter would be a good idea.
Subs:
Banega 5.5 - Lifted up the team a bit and made some good combinations with players, tried few through passes as well, but wasn't particularly effective.
Valdez 5 - Came in on for Bernat and actually provided Soldado with one good chance and was more visible, but nothing of real substance.
Guardado N/A - Not enough time

John Terry will not join Valencia CF

John Terry to Valencia CF?

So there have been rumors that John Terry will leave Chelsea FC and join Valencia CF, but this is not the case at all. I can say that right now Valencia CF is looking to reduce the wages by dropping/selling 2-3 players next summer and thus this move would be completely illogical in spite of that fact.

Furthermore Chelsea just spend over 80 million euros this summer and are looking at spending additional 60 million for Falcao this winter transfer season, so they would be really in the negative as it is, not to mention search for another top quality defender when they already have problems as the back.

Ever Banega and Albelda back to the squad

Ever Banega and David Albelda are back in the squad again after a long period out because of injury for the match against Athletico Bilbao.

Ever Banega is featured the first time in almost a year, Mathieu is also available again, as is Ricardo Costa. Still injured are Pablo Piatti and Canales, while Sofiane Feghuoli is suspended.

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.
Defenders: Barragán, Joao Pereira, Rami, Víctor Ruiz, Ricardo Costa, Cissokho and Mathieu.
Midfielders: Gago, Albelda, Tino Costa, Parejo, Éver, Guardado, Viera, Bernat.
Forwards: Jonas, Valdez and Soldado.

Copa Del Rey fixtures for 2012/13

The draw for the Spanish cup Copa del Rey have been announced this morning and Valencia CF for the first round got 3rd league minnows CF Llagosteru as their opponent.


1. Alcoyano (2a B)-Real Madrid
2. Llagostera (2a B)-Valencia
3. Cacereño (2a B)-Málaga
4. Deportivo Alavés (2a B)-Barcelona
5. Eibar (2a B)-Athletic Club
6. Real Jaén (2a B)-Atlético de Madrid
7. Melilla (2a B)-Levante
8. UD Las Palmas/Racing-Rayo Vallecano
9. Sporting de Gijón-Osasuna
10. Almería-Celta de Vigo
11. Córdoba-Real Sociedad
12. Ponferradina-Getafe
13. Valladolid-Betis
14. Deportivo- Mallorca
15. Zaragoza-Granada
16. Sevilla-Espanyol

Malaga want Carles Gil as replacement for Isco

Carles Gil Valencia CF

Malaga now want Carles Gil from Valencia CF B team, who now plays on loan at Elche and was one of their best players in the first few rounds before being injured.

Isco has become a star in Malaga and we all knew he was talented, we all knew he is going to become a great player, just not in Malaga. But since his rise to stardom the officials at Malaga are aware of the interest from bigger clubs from Isco and with their bad economic situation they are going to sell him in the summer and are looking for his replacement.

Carles Gil is basically the closest thing to Isco and has similar, albeit a little lower talent and potential as Isco.

That said Valencia CF is not selling and the club is likely to offer him an improved contract extension to keep him in Valencia CF.

UD Levante 1-0 Valencia CF Match Report

 Valencia CF just lost 1-0 to Levante the city rival. It wasn't like Levante were any good, they barely had few shots at goal, mostly long range from counter attacks. Thing is one mistake in the defense and Valencia CF was down 1-0.

Andres Guardado and Roberto Soldado

For those that didn't watch the match the goal for Levante came after their goalkeeper basically shot the ball over the midfield and Valencia's defense was so high up, some returning from attack that Martins found himself at the path of the ball with Tino Costa behind him, but Martins vs Tino Costa in running wasn't going to be a race, so basically Martins had a clear path to goal, he shot and it went it, Guaita had no chance.

I blame mostly Tino Costa, he was close to Martins, should have fouled him, he had no chance by chasing him. The wide players should have also been closer to the middle and cut the path to the goal, but they were way too wide and way too high as well.

Before and after Levante's goal Valencia CF dominated and were constantly attacking, Roberto Soldado has a huge chance just before Levante's goal in the 19th minute, but his first touch failed him and gave the ball away to Levante goalkeepers. Same minute after Soldado's chance Barkero had a chance from a quick counter attack, but his shot went wide.

Jonas and Soldado would have few good one-two's but the final pass was always missing, or simply the players making one too many passes. Jonas found himself in few shooting opportunities, but his shots were inaccurate.

Jonathas Viera was very active from the right wing in the first half, constantly probing and being involved in the actions, but unlike in previous matches the final pass was missing, although he did set up few decent chances that in a way got missed.

Tino Costa Valencia CF

In the second half Viera was largely anonymous, but Andres Guardado woke up and became really threatening down the right wing. In fact it was like a different player came out in the second half, pretty much being involved in most of the attacks and created most of the chances.

The big problem was that both Viera and Guardado only played one half, one in the first and one in the second and as such weren't nearly as threatening as they could have been if both were on top of their game in both halves.

Another player with a disappointing performance was Jonas, he pretty much ruined all the chances and attacks once the ball reached him. He was too slow, too clumsy and many all the wrong choices in this match.

Anyways Martins would have a good chance in the second half at the 47th minute, but Guaita saved, Levante also had two more big chances, both in the end when I believe Ruiz made a mistake and gave Levante a counter attack, luckily Levante sucked more than Valencia CF in attack and screwed up that chance. Then in the 85th minute Guaita made a terrific stop to a shot, after another mistake in defense.

Even though this is a terrible result and we have only eight points from seven match so far, its not the time to panic. Valencia CF suffered due to some critical mistakes in the back, I'm talking about the mistake for the goal and then few mistakes in towards the end in the second half, allowing Levante big counter attacking chances.

Now my analysis is that this is because of the high line tactic used in this match and some of the players being too adventurous and not falling back soon enough. We also clearly lack a proper defensive midfielder like Banega to stop such counter attacks from forming, clearly a job that neither Gago, not Tino Costa can do properly.

I saw both Gago and Tino changing their positions, so there wasn't a dedicated DM, one that would sit deeper all the time and I believe this is big part of the problem, because in a lot of cases both Tino and Gago and way too forward and there is no one to close down counter attacks. This puts a lot more pressure on the wing backs, forcing them to run more back and forth, limiting our attacking power.

So we need a small change in tactics when we play without a proper DM like Albelda. We either need Gago or Tino to sit deeper all the time and not go too much forward or we need a lower defensive line with one wing back sitting deep all the time, forming a 3 man defense when we attack.


Levante UD (1): Munúa; Pedro López, Ballesteros, D.Navarro, Juanfran; El Zhar (Ríos, min.71), Diop, Iborra (Michel, min.69), Juanlu (Rubén, min.71); Barkero y Martins.
Valencia CF  (0): Guaita; Pereira (Barragán, min.75), Rami, Víctor Ruiz, Cissokho; Viera, Gago, Tino Costa (Dani Parejo, min.62), Guardado; Jonas (Valdez, min.67) y Soldado.
Goals: 1-0 Min 21, Martins.

Player Ratings:
Guaita 6.5 - Wasn't tested too much, but he did make two wonderful saves that saved Valencia CF from a bigger loss. Didn't have any chance for the first goal.
Pereira 6 - Wasn't troubled defensively at all, but for the lack of defensive duties didn't offer much going forward.
Rami 6 - The better defender of the two today. Made few interceptions and generally comfortable performance.
Ruiz 4 - The weaker of the defenders, had few interceptions in the first half, though he made few mistakes in the second half as well.
Cissokho 7 - Blocked several shots and was solid defensively, went forward to a great extent, but his crosses were poor and few of them actually went out of play.
Gago 6 - Not a particularly effective display, kept possession, but unable to spread the ball effectively or build up play.
Tino 5 - Few too many times chose to shoot from a very long distance instead of make a logical pass, did actually better than Gago going forward, but was allowed Martins to score. He should have from the start go in to foul him and prevent the run that led to the goal in the first place.
Guardado 7 - A livewire in the second half, most of the actions started from him and was constantly active, running back and forth and stealing few balls in the process as well, but lacked some deeper more dangerous run.
Jonas 5.5 - Had few good one-two's with Soldado but he just wasted the opportunities and made the wrong decisions. Largely invisible and ineffective when active. Valencia clearly missed a creative and powerful attacking midfielder in this match.
Viera 7 - Amazing performance in the first half, constantly probing and dribbling, provided few quality passes as well before becoming mostly invisible in the second half
Soldado 6 - Good performance by Soldado, was very active and lively, releasing Jonas on two or three occasions, but he also missed a sitter himself in the 19th minute when he could have easily scored had his first touch not failed him.
Subs:
Parejo 5.5 - Didn't bring more than Tino offered before that. Was involved in few of the actions immediately after coming on, but soon after faded off and Valencia CF lost the possession it had previously.
Valdez 5 - Didn't bring anything different or more than Jonas. Run a lot and positioned well, but nothing really of substance.
Barragan 5.5 - Was missed from the start. Levante barely threatened in this match and he would have been really amazing with his powerful forward runs and good crosses. Provided several good crosses after coming on, but it was too little too late.

UD Levante vs Valencia CF Match Preview

UD Levante vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Stadium: Ciutat de València

Date: 07.10.2012; 12:00 CET

7th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Juan Ignacio Martínez and Mauricio Pellegrino

UD Levante

UD Levante are coming to this match after two consecutive losses, first a big 4-0 loss at the hands of Osasuna away and then a 2-1 loss to German outfit Hannover 96 in the Europa League also in an away match. Before these two matches Levante is a mixed bag, they managed to get a draw against Atletico Madrid in their opening game and went on to loose three games and won 2 games.

Right now Levante are sitting 14th on the Spanish table with only 7 points out of 6 matches, 7 scored goals and 13 conceded goals. Even with this little matches you can clearly see that their defense is their main problem. I don't believe that all of a sudden they can't play, but I think it has to do with discipline, concentration and motivation. Last season qualification for the Europa League may have hit them on the head  and are having a slow start to the season.

UD Levante squad: to be announced...

Valencia CF

Valencia CF on the other hand are coming to this match after two consecutive wins one in the Spanish league against Real Zaragoza and one against Lille in the Champions league, both won two goals to zero. As such this is a perfect opportunity for Valencia CF to close the gap with the top 6 clubs and catch up for the Champions league competition slots, of course only if Valencia CF wins.

If Valencia CF looses this match its going to be a devastating loss and it may engage the panic mode within the board and fans, after all right now Valencia CF only has 8 points and tough start or not its not going to matter, especially since we lost points to Deportivo La Coruna and Mallorca. So this is a big must win match for several reasons, not to mention Mauricio Pellegrino job security. No coach wants to work under pressure and there will be pressure if Valencia loose this match.

A bit of good news is that Mathieu is back with the squad, though he is not very likely to start as he may lack fitness, also Banega is closer and clsoer to getting fit and may possibly be included in the squad towards the end of this month.  No new injuries have occurred so that is always good, especially since the crisis we've had with injuries this past month.

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.
Defenders: Barragán, Joao Pereira, Rami, Víctor Ruiz, Carlos Delgado, Cissokho and Mathieu.
Midfielders: Gago, Tino Costa, Parejo, Guardado, Viera and Bernat.
Forwards: Jonas, Valdez and Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):

Formation: 4-4-2

Line-up: Guaita; Pereira, Rami, Ruiz, Cissokho; Guardado, Tino, Gago, Viera; Jonas, Soldado.

Tactics: High defensive line, all round pressure, mixed passing, wing attacks mostly.

Result Prediction:

UD Levante 1-3 Valencia CF

I expect an easy big win against Levante. Historically we've always done well against them, we have the better squad, Valencia CF is in better form than them and Levante are having some defensive troubles having conceded 13 goals. So I fully expect a bigger win, something like 3-1 for Valencia CF.

Squad for Levante published

Mauricio Pellegrino announced the squad to face Levante. Due to injuries Ever Banega, Sergio Canales, Pablo Piatti, Ricardo Costa and David Albelda, while Feghuoli will miss the match due to his 3 matches suspension, while for the first time in weeks Jeremy Mathieu finds him place back in the squad after coming back from injury.


Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.
Defenders: Barragán, Joao Pereira, Rami, Víctor Ruiz, Carlos Delgado, Cissokho and Mathieu.
Midfielders: Gago, Tino Costa, Parejo, Guardado, Viera and Bernat.
Forwards: Jonas, Valdez and Soldado.

Parejo wants to leave in January

Daniel Parejo

Daniel Parejo is considering leaving Valencia CF in January as he feels he is not getting enough playing time at Valencia CF and also feels like he is being treated badly for his performances.

Now I would add - no kidding, his performances have been really bad, how in the world would anyone cheer on that. Now I don't think insulting him on facebook and twitter is the way to go as some Spanish fans have done or whistling him every time he steps on the grass, but he needs to take responsibility and step up his game and prove everyone wrong with some great performances, he can't just whine and insult the club with thoughts of leaving as he has done constantly, or as his sister has done insult the club and fans directly.

Daniel Parejo knows that his situation is going to be worse once Ever Banega returns and he would find chances to play little and far between so he is looking to be able to leave in January.

Now Valencia CF would be interested in such a move, especially since we need a right wing and a central defender and we don't have the money to get both, so getting 6 million for Parejo would be good, but the question now becomes is he worth that much? Which team will offer 6 million or more for Parejo, especially having seen some of his terrible performances.

Here is an article I wrote about Daniel Parejo in December of 2011 saying that he is a liability and that he should go. http://clubvalenciacf.blogspot.com/2011/12/daniel-parejo-is-liability-and-we-need.html

It holds more true today that it actually did back then, but again I know what I'm talking about. People's character rarely changes and we see this again now. I say sell him this time and reinforce the squad where we really need to like in defense and right wing.

Valencia players called to international duty

Adil Rami Valencia CF

French national team coach Deschamps called up Adil Rami to the national team. Adil Rami has been a regular squad member for France, but since the arrival of Didier Deschamps he has been relegated to the bench.

Of course Rami has only himself to blame as him performances haven't been great for Valencia CF and for France in Euro 2012.

Joao Pereira has been called up again for Portugal, but coach Paulo Bento dropped Ricardo Costa from the national team and called up Valladolid center back Henrique Sereno.

Another player that has been dropped is Jonas Goncalved from the Brazil national team, though goalkeeper Diego Alves was called back.

Fernando Gago has also been called to the Argentinian national team and he has been a regular for quite some time now, starting in midfield alongside Mascherano.

Interview with Derek from atleticofans.com

Hey everyone, I've interviewed Derek from www.atleticofans.com and he is a Atletico Madrid supporter over 6 years. He is also the creator of the website above and writes primarily reports and news about Atletico Madrid.

• How long have you been a supporter of Atletico Madrid and what prompted you to become one?
 I've been following Atleti since they started their recovery from their two years in hell, the only seasons the club spent in Spain’s lower division. Around that time a new star was emerging, Fernando Torres, and it was his potential that caught my eye. I soon started watching Atlético’s games and realized it wasn't the player that made this team interesting to watch, it was actually the fans and the fantastic atmosphere at the stadium that had me hooked. Atleti were awful at the time, it was another couple years before we actually started playing in European competition again, but I became a fan.

• Are you a fan of any other clubs? 
As a Dutchman, I’ll root for any Dutch club in European competition and I am very fanatical when Oranje play the big tournaments. But while I love to watch a lot of football, Atleti is the only club that excites me.

• How long have you been writing about Atletico Madrid? 
I made a lot of e-friends on English language online forums such as Tiki-Taka.org and I became serious about writing about my beloved Atleti when we started the AtléticoFans-project. Our website www.AtleticoFans.com was launched in August 2010.

• Last season Atletico Madrid finished 5th in La Liga, but won the Europe League, what was your reaction and were the objectives met last season? 
Finishing 5th in la Liga and losing a Champions League spot to Málaga in the last round was definitely disappointing, but obviously the Europa League title made up for a lot. There are no words to describe winning a major European trophy like that. We were at the same position just two years prior, but last season’s win was even more impressive because we swept Athletic Club after winning 12 straight games in the tournament. In 2010 we were fortunate to win the Europa League, last May we thoroughly deserved it. I was able to attend both games and I promise you, there’s no better feeling than seeing your team win a big final like that.

• Atletico Madrid has a very good start to the season, not just in La Liga, but winning the UEFA Super Cup, do you feel this will carry on throughout the season? 
Right now we’re on a high and, as fans, we hope to enjoy our current run as long we can. We’ve just won a very tough away game at Betis and we’re now unbeaten in 7 games, but there’s going to be a point where the streak ends. Hopefully that won’t be for a while though!

• How does this season’s Atletico Madrid team compare to last season’s and what are the key differences?
On paper we haven’t improved. We lost good players like Domínguez and Salvio, while only cheap squad players were signed. It’s telling that we only spent a grand total of €1m this summer. But we actually are a better team, and all that is down to the Cholo factor. We've had a full pre-season with Diego Simeone in charge and he’s been able to work with his players, shape his team and to instill his tactics. After coming in during last season, we’re now profiting from a good season preparation with Simeone as our coach.

• Radamel Falcao has been really amazing last season and this as well, are you worried you might lose him to a big club this winter or next summer transfer window, certainly his father fancies other clubs. 
It’s on my mind every time he scores, and as you know that happens often. With every goal that he scores, and with every goal that Torres does not score at Chelsea, I feel like a transfer is closer. Unfortunately big clubs like Atlético and Valencia are unable to hang on to their star players in today’s market, but hopefully we can at least keep him in Madrid until the end of the season. A transfer in January would be absolutely disastrous for our ambitions.

• Who would you say is Atletico Madrid’s most influential player and the weakest player?
Falcao is our most important player, but as mentioned before, the most influential person at the club is easily Diego Simeone. He’s transformed the team and created a cohesive and combative unit, in which there are no obvious flaws or weak links. Our biggest problem might not be in the first eleven, but with the bench, we’re a bit thin both offensively and defensively.

• Who is going to be Atletico Madrid’s key player this season?
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• What would you say are the strengths and weaknesses of your team this season?
Our biggest strength must be the players’ mentality and toughness. That, coupled with the individual ability of some of our forwards, makes us a dangerous team. So far this season we have conceded a high amount of goals, and that, along with the aforementioned weaker bench, could be our downfall this season.

• Any young players to watch out for that could be on a “break-out year”? 
Koke has been with the first team since the 2010/11 season, but it seems that he has now earned a spot in the starting line-up and this could be the season that he really makes a mark for himself.

• Can Atletico Madrid win this season’s Europe League again, what would be the biggest obstacles in doing so and what about the Spanish cup?
 The Europa League winner is more difficult to predict than the Champions League, because there are so many contenders and once the knock-out rounds start any team can go all the way. Atleti is definitely one of the favourites, but there are plenty of strong teams. At this moment I don’t think the Copa del Rey will be a priority, but you never know how far we might advance.

• How good do you think Valencia will do this season? Is it feasible to think that Valencia could win the Spanish championship or at least challenge Barcelona and Real Madrid? 
Atlético and Valencia, along with Málaga and possibly Sevilla, will rival each other for a spot behind the big two. Don’t let Real Madrid’s poor start fool you; there is no way any team will keep up with them and Barça.

• What do you think are Valencia’s strengths and weaknesses? 
I find it difficult to judge Valencia, as you’ve just started a new project with Pellegrino in charge. I think your defence is suspect, but what [I] admire about Valencia is their depth in midfield and in attack. There are a lot of good players to choose from and always plenty of good options coming off the bench. Hopefully for Valencia Éver Banega will soon return to full fitness, because, to me, he and Soldado are what sets Valencia apart.

• Who do you think will win the Champions League and Europa League this season? 
Let’s see if we can get a Spanish double. Ever the optimist, I’ll go for Barcelona and Atlético!

I'd like to thank Derek again for taking the time to answer my questions, I really appreciate it and once again you can find Derek's articles about Atletico Madrid over at www.atleticofans.com

Someone at RFEF is out to get Valencia CF

The Royal Spanish Football Federation commission is obviously out to get Valencia CF. As if blatant refereeing decisions going towards Barcelona and Real Madrid isn't enough, and Valencia CF 3 years in a row having refereeing decisions going in the favor of the big two when we play them, now the comissions has decided to penalize Sofiane Feghuoli for his double yellow into red card in the last match in La Liga, even though this rule is almost never used.

He supposedly under rule 117 disrespected the referee and as such is going to get 3 matches suspension. The club is obviously challenging this absurd and fraudulent rule with the match fixing Spanish football federation who need to be fully investigated themselves.

There is 100% match fixing going on with referees that needs to be investigated in Spain, its likely to be way bigger than the Italian scandal. RFEF, LFP, referees, all bodies need to be investigated.

YZ2BECWHQ8SR

Valencia CF vs Lille OSC Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Lille OSC Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 02.10.2012; 20:45 CET

2nd matchday, Champions League

                              Coaches: Mauricio Pellegrino and Rudi Garcia

Valencia CF

Valencia CF is coming to this matches after a much needed 2-0 win over Real Zaragoza in the Spanish league and kick-started their challenge for Champions League positions next season. Valencia CF was in a bit of a crisis, performance crisis and injury crisis and to a large extent it still is in a rather big injury crisis with only Fernando Gago having returned to the team and even played last match, possibly the biggest reason why we won, but players like Mathieu, Piatti, Albelda, Banega are still some ways off until they can recuperate fully and recently Ricardo Costa got injured, possibly even Joao Pereira in the last match, though the coach said it was just a precaution and that he is likely to be able to play against Lille.

For Valencia CF playing and doing well in the Champions League is paramount and I know its important for all teams, but for Valencia CF more so because the team is in massive debts and playing in the Champions League helps repay some of the debts, as well as earn back some prestige, which we've lost since 2003/4. It helps boost shirts sales, increases fans and gives Valencia CF big media exposure which sponsors obviously really like.

With Gago now in the team I'm more optimistic as we now have a midfield and its quite good at that, with Tino Costa being able to operate more attacking and adding another dimension to our attacks, rather than just sit back and defend most of the time. So Valencia really has a chance of beating Lille tomorrow night, but doing so would be really tough and Lille should not be underestimated, even though they lost their first match at home against BATE Borisov. They are still a good team and can surely give us troubles, especially since Valencia CF has not been in full form and playing great either. History is on our side though as Valencia CF have won all seven previous home games against visitors from France.

I feel the coach is going to start with pretty much the same squad against Zaragoza, except Rami who due to a red card in the previous match against Bayern, so Valencia are going to have to rely on B team player Carlos Delgado and this is our biggest problem. If Delgado steps up to the occasion and has an amazing match its going to be great, but if not well then qualification in the next round of the Champions League would really be in question.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.
Defense: Barragán, Joao Pereira, Víctor Ruiz, Carlos Delgado, Cissokho, Gayá.
Midfield: Gago, Tino Costa, Portu, Parejo, Guardado, Viera, Bernat, Feghouli.
Attack: Jonas, Valdez, Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-4-2
Line-up: Guaita; Pereira, Delgado, Ruiz, Cissokho; Feghuoli, Tino, Gago, Viera; Jonas, Soldado.
Tactics: High defensive line, all round pressure, mixed passing, wing attacks mostly.

Lille OSC

Lille OSC are coming to this match after a 2-0 loss to Rennes in the French league and their start to the season hasn't been going that well either. They have lost two games, and draw 4 games and won only 1 game, putting them at the bottom of the table with only 7 points from 7 matches and also a loss at home in the first Champions League game against BATE Borisov. Sufficive to say Lille are in big trouble with a real bad start to the season and not so unexpectedly if I may say. In the past 2 seasons they've sold few of their top players and at the same time they haven't brought in any good reinforcements and we starting to see the consequences this season and the worst is likely yet to come.

Valencia CF have won all seven previous home games against visitors from France and Lille will be looking to break this tradition and bounce up from their last two losses domestically and in the Champions League. Last time the clubs met was in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League group stage, with Valencia winning 3-1 at home. The first game in France had ended 1-1 with a late goal from Mata to equalize and make sure Valencia CF go through.

Lille OSC finished third in Ligue 1 last season and overcame FC København in the play-offs to reach the group stage of the Champions League. For those that don't know France 3rd place needs qualifying as they are a lower rated league than the Spanish league for example and this third place teams need to qualify for the group stages.

Lille OSC squad: Mickaël Landreau, Steeve Elana, Mouko Barel, Debuchy Mathieu, Digne Lucas, Florent Balmont, Idrissa Gueye, Dimitri Payet, Tulio De Melo, Mendes Ryan, David Rozehnal, Djibril Sidibé, Benoît Pedretti, Franck Beria, Gianni Bruno, Rodelin Ronny, Laurent Bonnart, Aurélien Chedjou, Marko Basa, Nolan Roux, Klonaridis Dorian,

Technical Details Lille OSC (probable setups):
Formation: 4-3-3
Line-up: Vercoutre; Mathieu, Basa, Chedjou, Digne; Mavuaba, Gueye, Pedretti; Bruno, Roux, Payet.
Tactics: Low defensive line, own half pressure, counter attacks, mixed passing, trying to suffocate VCF midfield.

Result Prediction
Valencia CF 2-0 Lille OSC
With Valencia CF returning to winning ways and Lille OSC still struggling I can't see any way for Valencia CF to looses this. The slight chance Lille has is that our B team defender Delgado plays really poorly and Lille are allowed to easily score. I think Delgado is going to play decent between Pereira, Ruiz and Cissokho he'd step up and be comfortable.

Valencia CF vs Real Zaragoza Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Real Zaragoza Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 29.09.2012; 16:00 CET

6th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Mauricio Pellegrino and Manolo Jiménez

Valencia CF

Valencia CF finds itself it the bottom of the table after an unexpected and devastating loss last week at the hands of RCD Mallorca. Even though Mallorca is always a tough club to crack away, Valencia CF needed that win and needed to show off its League ambitions this season. Mallorca did its job though and they mostly sat back and defended in numbers, catching Valencia out on counter attacks and being really devastating with the few attacks they had, while Valencia players had no clue how to unlock a tightly packed and organized defense.

So out of 5 matches Valencia CF has only one win and that was against the newly promoted Celta Vigo and it wasn't very convincing either. We also drew at home against the newly promoted Deportivo La Coruna and even though it was expected to loose away to Barcelona, there was a hope we can get away with at least a point.

Valencia is also having an injury crisis and has had it since the start of the season basically and with news that Ricardo Costa is also injured now and will be out for a month, we are left with only two defenders and need to rely on B team member Delgado. Even Victor Ruiz was sick as he had some virus of sorts, though he is likely to start and play through it. Good news is that Fernando Gago has returned and that will give us some stability in midfield, although how fit is he likely to be is another questions. 

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.

Defenders: Joao Pereira, Barragán, Rami, Víctor Ruiz, Carlos Delgado, Cissokho.
Midfielders: Tino Costa, Gago, Parejo, Guardado, Bernat, Feghouli.
Forwards: Viera, Jonas, Valdez, Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-4-2
Line-up: Guaita; Barragan, Rami, Ruiz, Cissokho; Feghuoli, Tino, Gago, Viera; Jonas, Soldado.
Tactics: High defensive line, all round pressure, mixed passing, wing attacks mostly.

Real Zaragoza

Real Zaragoza is coming to this match after a big win against Osasuna at home and they really needed that win as they were 3 looses and 1 win before that, so that last win against Osasuna put them several positions up to 12th place on the table. They've had a mixed start to the season loosing their first match at home to Real Valladolid, win against Espanyol and then two looses.

Last season Real Zaragoza finished in 16th position, barely within a point avoiding relegation and were saved in the last 4 matches as they went on a four matches winning streak beating Bilbao, Levante, Racing and Getafe to avoid relegation. This season is likely to be the same, and even harder as Deportivo and Celta have shown they are quite strong coming from second division. With that said Zaragoza are likely to sit back this match and defend against Valencia and hope they can catch us on the counter attack just as Mallorca did.

They are likely to start with the same squad that beat Osasuna 3-1, maybe in a more defensive formation. Some of their more known players are Hélder Postiga who so far has scored 2 goals for them and Romaric.
Zaragoza have so far in the competition scored 6 goals and conceded 9 so not really bad and not very significant at this early in the season to be able to draw conclusions about their defensive and offensive capabilities.

Real Zaragoza squad: Roberto, Leo Franco, Movilla, Paredes, Alvaro, N. Aranda, Edu Oriol, H. Postiga, Apoño, Montanes, N. Romaric, Jose Mari, Loovens, Stefan, Sapunaru, Zuculini, Abraham, Javi Alamo and Victor Rodriguez.

Technical Details Real Zaragoza (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Jimenez; Sapunaru, Abraham, Alvaro, Paredes; Apono, Romaric; Paco, Zuculini, Victor; Postiga.
Tactics: Low defensive line, own third pressure, counter attacks, mostly long passing.

Result Prediction:
Valencia CF 3-2 Real Zaragoza
Both sides have so far played fairly open football and while I expect Real Zaragoza to try and play defensively I can see Valencia CF scoring early with all the notion that this is a must win, so they team is going to start strong score early and the match will open up leading to more goals with both defenses leaky.

New injury troubles Ricardo Costa injured

Ricardo Costa Valencia CF

Well ladies and gentlemen it was bound to happen, just no one expected it this soon, but as if the situations wasn't bad enough with all the current injuries, it was reported today that Ricardo Costa is injured and will be out for a whole month.

This is particularly troubling since Adil Rami is suspended in the Champions League and Pellegrino is left with basically no options at the back, except calling up B team players.

Even Victor Ruiz was suspect with some virus, but he seems to be okay now and will be ready for Zaragoza.

This is another summer transfer window mistake that came around to bite us and now we are going to pay the price. We can only hope some of the B team players step up to the challenge and do good.

Valencia CF Wallpapers

Hey guys, this would be I believe the fifth batch of Valencia CF wallpapers in total since I started the initiative and its been decent, mostly I created the wallpapers, but I've had people send me as well.

I'm going to report the initiative here again and say that if you have already cool and not seen before Valencia CF wallpapers or have the skill and want to create new ones, then please do so and send them to me at slickr12345[at]yahoo[dot][com] so I will post them on the blog.

Right now I have two new wallpapers coming from "Domagoj Gemeri" or beter known as Gem_mhz. So thank you to him.

MSC Cruises extend sponsorship with Valencia

Valencia and cruising company MSC today extended the sponsorship agreement to additional two years, after a positive year. Valencia CF president Llorente said that the economic situation will get better and used MSC cruises as an example of the good business Valencia is doing.

MSC cruises CEO Emiliano Gonzalez explained that this renewal "once again reinforce our commitment to the sport and one of the best football teams Spanish league."

He said he was glad to be extending the collaboration with Valencia CF and that this agreement strengthens their to the sport and Valencia CF.

Fernando Gago recovered fully

Fernando Gago

Fernando Gago was given two weeks rest last week, but by all accounts he has already fully recovered and there are no side effects from his head injury. He did his final in door training yesterday and he will start training with the rest of the team from today.

This means he will be available for Valencia CF next match against Real Zaragoza and he comes as a big boost to the side, especially after recent results.

David Albelda still needs more time though and is not set to return for another two weeks. Ever Banega on the other hand is progressing nicely and should be ready in about a week time to start training normally and should be available for selection in less than a month.

Unai Emery thankful to Valencia CF

Unai Emery at Spartak Moscow

Former Valencia CF coach had nothing but good things to say about Valencia CF and his time spend there. He was interviewed by Russian international television RT(Russia Today). When asked how he felt that he left Valencia CF he said: "Valencia has given me a lot, I have no words of anger to anyone. I just feel grateful".

When asked about the time spend at Valencia he said: "We worked four years to meet important goals, I leave with my head held high and no one can complain that I have not done everything possible. I left after reaching 2 semifinals".

He said he was happy in Spartak Moscow and that his dream is to win a title.

His current side are currently sixth in the Russian premier league after nine matches played with 16 points, 5 bellow the leaders CSKA Moscow. Emery's side also played against Barcelona in the Champions League and almost won against Barca in a thrilling match that finished 3-2 in favor of Barcelona.

Nou Valencia wants to terminate Valencia CF foundation

Nou Valencia is calling for the resignation of Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente and for the termination of Valencia CF foundation. Seems they have asked the justice department in Spain to look into this and they've charged the Valencia CF foundation of manipulating shares and not following the contract.

If you remember Manuel Llorente went to court for this last year and actually won in court, but there was a challenge put to the court order, though since then we haven't really heard what ultimately happened.

Valencia CF Foundation three years ago obtained a loan of 75 million euros granted by Bankia and endorsed by the Government, which were used for acquisition of shares in the capital increase involving the club and the annual subscription of interests that are around five million euros.

What you need to know is that Nou Valencia is headed by Dalport, an investment company based in Uruguay, it is actually a Spanish front for investors including Sanchis, Julian Marco, Jorge Santiago Araoz and Vicente Soriano.

Levante-EMV article on Dalport and Valencia CF shares

They wanted to take over Valencia CF in 2010, or as they called it to "save it", but Valencia CF foundation wasn't on board, neither was Bankia convinced and they couldn't take over.

Who is better? Poll Results

I've set up a poll for everyone to decide who is better between Vicente Guaita and Diego Alves and after 3 days we have the results:

Who is better? (Poll Closed)

Diego Alves 26.92%  (14 votes) 

Vicente Guaita 30.77%  (16 votes) 

Both are equal 42.31%  (22 votes) 

Total Votes: 52

In the head to head battle Vicente Guaita won with 16 votes to 14, but most people (22) voted that both are equal.

RCD Mallorca 2-0 Valencia CF - comment

So I couldn't be bothered to wake up for this match, in fact I've tried, but went back to sleep again and thank god for that, apparently I missed a train wreck.

I've watched the highlights of it, for the first goal I blame Diego Alves, though Cissokho takes some responsibility for allowing the cross, he should have been more aggressive in his marking and prevent that cross. Rami made a huge mistake, he basically missed the ball and the player, essentially allowing one extra player and making it easier for Mallorca to score. This is what I'm talking about when I claim that Rami is bad and we should sell him.
Ruiz I feel reacted properly knowing its in the penalty area and if he'd reacted more aggressively he could have made a penalty, which from this point might even have been better.

So to to provide a perfect example of how my rating would have went, Diego would get a -1, Rami would get a -1, Cissokho -0.5.

The second goal it seemed was from counter attack as Arizmendi get on a loose ball or possibly a pass, shoots and scores, while we see Joao Pereira tracking him, but not fast enough. To me this is Diego Alves fault again, he was positioned wrongly. Its very hard to score from that position, not because its hard to shoot at the goal, but because a properly positioned goalkeeper would easily catch any shot.

Diego Alves was not properly positioned, he was too inward the goal and so he didn't cover the whole goal, this is goalkeeping 101.

So for another example of my rating, Alves would have gotten another -1 there, for a combined -2, which would put him at 3 rating, because everyone starts at 5 rating. Of course if he made few good saves likely the score would go up by 0.5 per good save.

But we can't despair. As far as I'm concerned this was mostly Diego's fault and of course Rami's fault for the first goal.Individual mistakes that can be corrected and if not, well we got Guaita who needed to start. Hey Pellegrino start Guaita. You need to start Guaita, his our best keeper and always was.

Also it seems Jonathan Viera played great, our biggest threat and I'm really glad he is coming along nicely and showing off his talent, we can really use someone like him and he can still improve. Before he came to Valencia CF I haven't seen games of him, I saw some video clips, read about him and checked his statistics and he seemed like a really great signing, but when I saw him in the friendly matches in the preseason I knew instantly we have a great talent on our hand. I mean his play was really a step beyond and above the rest of our team and even though it was friendlies it had a big competitive spirit in those games.

We also must keep calm about the coach as well. Remember he is having the toughest start in recent history with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and he is doing it with no defensive midfielders because they are all injured, without our best or second best player Ever Banega who is injured, as well as few other injuries. He lost Pablo Hernandez in the summer transfer window, not his fault, Piatti was injured and no competition on the right wing, Guardado didn't have the start and effect we all expected him to have and he deserves our support right now more than ever.

I mean maybe if in 10 matches we are in the bottom 10 still, we can push the red alert button and start panicking, but right now we must be supportive and if you are religious maybe hope and pray we can improve.

I see us on the long run doing way better, especially when Gago returns, and then when Banega and Canales return. We also must remember David Albelda is still not retired and he can help out, he has the experience and while not as fast as before he can still help us out. So we shouldn't discount him, he did play most of our matches last season ahead of Topal.

I also don't agree with Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente when he said at that press conference we must sell players and then list everyone. Way to go buddy boy, make everyone hysterical, reduce moral of the team, create a mess and ensure our future is in doubt.

Someone needs to tell him to calm the heck down. Even if we have to sell players, we can do it as we did with David Villa and Silva, pretend we don't want to sell them and like we don't need to and get as much as possible for them. Also we can sell one by one, we can lets say sell Soldado for 30 million and that would create a profit of 45 million euros per season. We are having 15 million profit at the end of the season for two seasons now and we are not that desperate.

The bank Bankia should fail already, I've heard they can sell the debt to another bank, but who is going to buy it? All of Spain is bankrupt, 20% unemployment, who would want a massive debt of a team that can't guarantee to pay it for a year, not to mention will need to pay it for at least 10 years? The only one that could buy it is government, which is also about 2 trillion euros in debt, but why would they do that, it would add to their debt and prolong Valencia CF suffering.

Maybe that is the problem in Spain! Maybe they need to wipe off the debt so they can have growth and investment again? If everyone is in debt and there is no way to liquidate the debt, then how can you have people spending and investing? So they just transfer the debt for years, from one bank to another, holding everyone hostage. Banks surviving off of government and European Union help just for the sake of it, they literally have no liquidity and are surviving off borrowed or given money.