Valencia CF players market value 2013

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

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

The following list is based on current values and it can change depending on performance.


Vicente Guaita, 25yo; positions: GK - 12 million euros
Diego Alves,  27yo; positions: GK - 12 million euros
Joao Pereira, 28yo; positions: RB - 10 million euros
Antonio Barragan, 25yo; positions: RB - 3 million euros
Adil Rami,  27yo; positions: CD - 14 million euros
Ricardo Costa, 31yo; positons: CD - 6 million euros
Victor Ruiz, 23yo; positions: CD - 8 million euros
Aly Cissokho, 25yo; positions: LB - 8 million euros
Jeremy Mathieu, 29yo; positions: LB - 10 million euros
David Albelda, 35yo; positions: DM - 2 million euros
Tino Costa, 27yo; positions: DM, CM - 10 million euros
Ever Banega, 24yo; positions: CM, AM - 12 million euros
Fernando Gago, 26yo; positions: DM, CM - 6 million euros
Daniel Parejo, 23yo; positions: CM, AM - 5 million euros
Sofiane Feghouli, 23yo; positions: RM - 20 million euros
Pablo Piatti, 23yo; positions: RM, AM, LM, ST - 6 million euros
Jonathan Viera, 23yo; positions: LM, AM - 6 million euros
Andres Guardado, 26yo; positions: LB, LM - 8 million euros
Juan Bernat, 19yo; positions: LM - 6 million euros
Sergio Canales, 21yo; positions: LM, AM - 5 million euros
Jonas Goncalves, 28yo; positions: AM, ST - 10 million euros
Nelson Valdez, 29yo; positions: ST - 3 million euros
Paco Alcacer, 19yo, positions: ST - 8 million euros
Roberto Soldado, 27yo; positions: ST - 30 million euros

Arsenal FC interested in Vicente Guaita

Valencia goalkeeper Vicente Guaita

Arsenal FC are reportedly interested in Valencia CF goalkeeper Vicente Guaita. Arsenal FC have had troubles with their goalkeepers this season, as no one has managed to impress Arsene Wenger, so the Frenchmen is keen to bring in a quality goalkeeper in the winter transfer window.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has money to burn as he has been running the team with profit each year for several years now and even in older times, which is why Arsenal were able to build a new stadium, though they also found financiers as well.

But more importantly Vicente Guaita hasn't been the happiest as his contribution has been limited and Diego Alves is the first choice. The problems started with Vicente Guaita getting injured and repeatedly having injuries, through which he would loose his starting place and end up not playing for long periods even when fully healed.

Valencia CF president also knows he is going to be forced to sell someone in the summer transfer, though he would like to keep Guaita as he is Spanish and he is facing presidential re-elections and he has been accused of not having many Spanish players in the club, which is actually true. He might not have much choice though, as Vicente Guaita has a buyout clause of 15 million euros and Arsenal FC can certainly afford that kind of low price for a quality goalkeeper like Guaita. In fact Manchester United payed 22 million for De Gea, so 15 million would be pocket change for Arsenal for an even better goalkeeper.

If Valencia CF looses Guaita the fans, especially the Spanish ones are not going to be happy. I'm not going to be happy, as I'd like Guaita to stay over Diego Alves as Guaita is a Valencianista and has been at the club for all his life. I also would want to loose him in the winter, as that would create a bad situation trying to find a replacement in such a short time, when Valencia is already having troubles finding replacements for Gago.

I do have good news though and I can say that the Sporting director, Llorente and the staff have identified 2 new reinforcements that are fairly certain will go through and have been kept under wraps. So while we are in a search for a new defensive midfielder, two reinforcements have already been decided and the staff have quietly been working of securing the transfers.

Valencia CF Best Winter Players

Valencia CF ended mid season at a somewhat surprising 9th place on the table this year. Last year the team finished 4th place on the table in the mid season and the team was doing very well back then. This season was different though as club legend Mauricio Pellegrino didn't end up as successful as a coach as he was as a player and was ultimately sacked after two terrible consecutive defeats at the hands of Malaga and Real Sociedad.

The players haven't been performing to their best either, so its going to be much more fun with the awards. First category is the summer transfers and as always I will be looking at the statistics, personal ratings, overall skill, team work and then come to a conclusions.

Best summer signing

Best summer signing nominations for the award are: Joao Pereira, Nelson Valdez and Aly Cissokho.

Joao Pereira transferred from Sporting Lisbon for a transfer fee of 3.5 million euros in what was supposed to be a long term solution to our right back problems. Joao Pereira didn't disappoint and fitted in immediately at Valencia CF. Since his arrival he has featured in most of the matches and has been very secure at the back and threatening on the offense. In fact he has the second highest ranking in my player ratings with 6.11 score, just bellow Roberto Soldado.

Nelson Valdez wasn't met with much excitement by Valencia fans and his previous low scoring record in other clubs was weighing down on him. Since his arrival though he has impressed with his performances, which have been characterized with fighting spirit and lots of running. Even though he's featured sparsely as Soldado has been the undisputed started, he's managed to score 3 goals in La Liga and one in the Champions League. But what put him ahead of other players was his commitment and humbleness which is something some other players lack.

Aly Cissokho fought off Andres Guardado mostly in the nomination as he has contributed more than Andres Guardado and has been more consistent, while Guardado has been largely ineffective in attack which is why he was brought in and not as a left back. Cissokho barely had time to adopt and with no Spanish understanding as well was instantly put into action as Mathieu has been injured for most of this season. Even with his lack of adaptation and no understanding of Spanish, he was able to perform admirably and most importantly consistently and has a score of 5.88 in my rating which is significant.

The best summer signing for Valencia CF is Joao Pereira.

• He came in as as the cheaper option out of a variety of options for right back and wasn't the first choice for the sporting director, nor the fans favorite, but has turned out to be the right option as we've seen Mathieu Debuchy and Gregory Van der Wiel struggling this season, while Joao Pereira has excelled at Valencia CF. Him winning this prestigious award awarded by me was uncontested as he really hasn't had a strong competition and Gago who might have been a decent competition has been a terrible professional and no amount of skill can overcome that. 

So there you have it, Joao Pereira the winner of the best summer signing award.

Best Valencia CF player mid season

Best Valencia CF player nominations are: Joao Pereira, Roberto Soldado, Tino Costa.

Joao Pereira as I wrote and already won the best summer signing award has been in terrific form for Valencia CF and while he had some smaller defensive problems initially, he quickly ironed out those and has been solid at the back and going forward. He's been quick to track back from attack and quick to go forward and support the wingers on the right. His crosses have also been very accurate and has had good amount of penetration on that right flank. He has also been an outstanding professional, working hard and not making any problems at all.

Roberto Soldado has been a frequent nomination in these awards and has actually featured as a nomination in all my awards, winning the best summer signing of 2010/11 summer awards. Since his arrival in Valencia CF he has been one of their key players and has since rejected a big money offer from Tottenham and has committed his future to Valencia CF. Roberto Soldado is currently the biggest name in Valencia CF and is generally considered one of the best players at the team, but also one of the best strikers in Europe. This season he had a slow start and a period of drought, but has rediscovered his form and went on to score 9 times in the Spanish League and 4 times in the Champions League. He is right now also the highest rated player on my ratings with 6.20 rating.

Alberto 'Tino' Costa isn't the obvious choice for this award as he doesn't boast the best assist or goals statistics and isn't the most talented and technical player, not even one to make a difference in thigh matches, but he has been very consistent, very hard working and has chipped in with few assists and goals as well, helping the team win some important matches. In fact he is actually tied for first place with 4 assists with Jonas in La Liga, 1 goal in La Liga and 1 assist in the Champions League. His corner kicks and free kicks are also often dangerous, creating quite a few chances for the team through them. Overall this seasons lack of competition has helped him to this nomination and he just edged out Adil Rami due the the Frenchmen's very poor start and occasional big lapses of focus.

The best Valencia CF player for this winter awards is: Roberto Soldado

• While Soldado's two competitors for this winter award have done very well, Joao Pereira even winning the best summer signing, Roberto Soldado has been leaps and bounds the better player so far this season. While Valencia CF can play without Joao Pereira and Tino Costa, playing without Soldado has proven difficult and neither Jonas nor Valdez can quite replicate his goalscoring and fast paced runs into the oppositions penalty areas. Roberto Soldado has scored 9 goals this season in La Liga and scored 4 goals and provided 1 assist in the Champions League. The fact that at times he's had a complete lack of service and still managed to score as many goals is proof more than he is a great striker. His international performances for Spain have also been great this year, fighting off competition from Negredo and Torres. Soldado is also currently the top rated player in my ratings with 6.20 rating so far this season.

Revelation of the season: None

• I haven't been impressed with any of the younger players and potential stars and we haven't seen something extraordinary out of the older players, so at least for me there hasn't been any revelations.

Biggest disappointment of the season: Fernando Gago

• I'm still hopeful for Fernando Gago, but with his mixed performances, constant injuries, unprofessionalism and primadona acting he's been the biggest disappointment so far.

Worst player of the season: Daniel Parejo

• While Daniel Parejo has been improving and has actually had few very good appearances recently, overall he's been poor this season and just like last season bellow his expectations and price tag. In fact he was so bad at the start of the season that people just couldn't stand him playing and there was no alternative at the time as all other midfielders were injured. So even though he's improved and played few good matches, out of all the players he's been the worst and needs to prove himself.

Feghouli extends contract with Valencia CF

Sofiane Feghouli extended his contract with Valencia CF till 2016. With the new contract he will be one of the highest paid members of the squad earning around 1.7 million euros with bonuses. Only few players earn more than him, including Soldado and Adil Rami.

Feghuoli joined Valencia CF in 2010 as a young talented player, considered by many in Spain as the next Zinedine Zidane. In his first year at Valencia CF he was relegated on the bench and only featured few times, forcing Braulio to loan him out to Almeria. He featured 10 times for Almeria and scored 2 goals.

Sofiane Feghouli slowly began creeping into the first team, as Valencia CF lost Joaquin in the summer of 2011 and with Pablo Hernandez being in poor form, then coach Unai Emery gave him more and more playing time, with Feghouli returning the trust with plenty of goals and assists that season.

Right now Sofiange Feghouli is a standard first team player and is yet to have serious competition for the right wing, though with the return of Piatti that may change. He was closely followed by PSG and few other teams and there was a potential that he could leave in the winter transfer market, but now that he's signed a contract that will have him stay till 2016 its clear that he won't be leaving, at least not in the winter, but I don't think he'll leave in the summer either, unless some really big offer comes along.

Valverde wants Rafik Djebbour at Valencia CF

Valencia CF coach Ernesto Valverde wants to bring Olympiacos striker Rafik Djebbour to Valencia CF. Ernesto Valverde as you know coached Olymiacos for 2 years before joining Valencia CF and 3 years overall.

He had great success together with the striker at Olympiacos and would want to see him at Valencia CF. Rafik Djebbour's contract with Olympiacos expires on 30.06 2013 and as such would come cheap.

Of course the striker position is fully covered right now and this option will only be possible if Jonas Goncalves is sold, though right now the status is that Jonas will continue till the summer as any potential offers for him in the winter transfer market would be undervalued.

Fernando Gago close to leaving Valencia CF

Fernando Gago is close to leaving Valencia CF and transferring to Boca Juniors. Fernando Gago wasn't too keen on Pellegrino's sacking to say the least, as he and Pellegrino had a great relationships and the former coach was one of the reasons Gago joined Valencia CF, but since Pellegrino's sacking by the club due to a run of poor results, Gago had wanted to leave Valencia CF.

At one point he declared in the media that he was fine and would like to continue at Valencia CF, but in the past few days its become clear that he wants to leave. Boca Juniors have made it public that they would want Fernando Gago back, but said they didn't expect him to return as they would be unable to meet Valencia's price.

Valencia CF is quickly coming up with replacements for him and there are several names floating in the media as possible replacements, including Tomás Pina from Mallaorca and Javi Fuego from Rayo Vallecano.

Valencia CF 4-2 Getafe CF Match Report

Valencia CF wins its first home match under Ernesto Valverde's control and after did so convincingly. The team looked a lot more attacking and it payed off as the goals started ramping up from the first minute with great offensive display and a lot of chances for Valencia CF, but still some issues in the middle of the park and defense.

The match started with Valencia CF scoring the first goal after just 45 seconds with Soldado opening the scoring from a Feghuoli assist from the wing. It was a fact action where Feghuoli was left alone and his cross found Soldado who scored easily.

Second goal came in the 7th minute, this time Jonas scoring from a Piatti assist. This was also a quick action where Piatti was running forward escaping his marker and his cross found Jonas who was able to score.

Just few minutes later though Getafe would reduce the lead to 2-1 with a goal from A. Vazquez. The goal came after a rather silly counter attack with Vazquez left unmarked and Diego Alves coming out way outside of goal, making it easier on Vazquez to find the back of the net.

The match would slow down in terms of goals from this moment on, though Valencia CF would continue pushing forward and pressing in the middle, while Getafe were more set on counter attacks from which they actually had few decent chances as there was lack of marking at the back, mostly due to Guardado being slow to fall back after going forward and Ricardo Costa failing to cover properly.

Anyways Valencia CF would have quite a bit chances as well, missing few opportunities, but ultimatelly scoring again in the 30th minute after a corner kick by Tino Costa in which Ricardo Costa was left unmarked and was able to head the ball into the net and make it 3-1 for Valencia CF.

Since the end of the first half Valencia CF would have few more chances, especially one after a Piatti pass where Jonas was almost alone on goal and was able to shoot, but Feghuoli moved into Jonas shot, deflecting the ball to go out. Rather poor vision and judgment there by Feghuoli, preventing what seemed like a certain goal. Overall a good first half, though some scares at the back as well, there is lots of room for improvement.

Second half started with Getafe CF being more aggressive, a little bit higher defensive and more pressing in the middle of the park which started causing Valencia CF problems, even though ball possession was still mostly in Valencia's favor. First attack of the second half for Valencia came in the 50th minute and after some circulation the ball was lost, though gained again in the middle where Soldado received the ball and released Jonas alone on goal, but his shot hit the post and bounced off of it outside of goal. This was a huge chance and one that should have sealed the deal.

Of course the unwritten rule where if one team missed a big chance a penalty would occur and the other side will score came true today as Getafe managed to score one more goal in the 59th minute through former Valencia CF defender Alexis out of all players after a corner kick for Getafe.

Valencia CF lost a lot of ground since that goal and was playing a lot weaker and fragile with Feghuoli showing signs of fatigue and barely even running. Valverde saw this and put in Banega instead of Feghuoli, converting to a 4-3-3 system with Jonas on the transforming on the wing. This change would not pay dividend and Valencia CF lost more ground to Getafe who were becoming more and more dangerous.

Valverde decided to react again and brought on Viera for Jonas to try and bring in more width and ball control back, though Viera would have some poor touches and ball control and clearly lacking match form, even though ultimately his introduction would pay off hugely.

Towards the end of the match it was mostly back and forth with play on the middle up to the third on both sides and a lot of dead ball situations with minimal opportunities and attacks on both sides. Valencia would cement the win though 3 minutes into stoppage time our of the 5 awarded when Banega rather luckily found Viera, after his shot missed Valdez which was meant for, but Viera was able to chip the ball over Moya and  back to Valdez who scored Valencia's 4th goal.

Technical Details:
Valencia CF  (4): Alves; Pereira, Rami, R. Costa, Guardado; Albelda, T. Costa; Feghouli (Éver, min.65'), Jonas (Viera, min. 75'), Piatti (Valdez, min. 89'); Soldado.
Getafe CF (2): Moyà; M. Torres, Alexis, Lopo, Mané (Rafa, min. 4'); Míchel (Gavilán, min.72'), Xavi Torres; Lafita, Barrada (Sarabia, min.75'), Diego Castro; Álvaro Vázquez.
Goals: 1-0 Min 1’, Soldado. 2-0 Min 7', Jonas. 2-1 Min 12', Álvaro. 3-1 Min 30', Ricardo Costa. 3-2 Min 60', Alexis. 4-2 Min 92', Valdez.

Player Ratings:
Diego 6.5 - Was very good tonight and had several great interventions which saved the goal, but partly at fault for the goal as he came way too forward from the goal and made it easier for Vazquez to score.
Joao Pereira 7 - Great evening for  the Portuguese who was rock solid at the back and a bullet at the front, providing several good crosses and passes, linking up well with Feghuoli as well as the midfield.
Rami 5 - Poor performance in this match and had trouble all night with Getafe attacks. His poor defending almost gifted Getafe 2 more goals if their attacks were better.
R. Costa 5.5 - Had a lot more work to do and thus had more interventions, but failed to cover well for Guardado and nowhere to be found on Getafe's first goal.
Guardado 6.5 - Bombarded forward all night and almost played as a second winger, though this had consequences at the back and left Valencia's defensive line rather exposed often. Improved defensively in the second half though and made few good interceptions.
Albelda 6.5 - Provided good cover for the defense and made several key interceptions stopping Getafe attacks in their tracks. Was a good outlet to receive the ball as well and circulate it to Tino or right.
Tino Costa 7 - Controlled possession for most of the match, providing some good accurate passes. Lots some fervor and control in the second half, but provided the assist for the third goal from his corner kick.
Feghuoli 5.5 - This was a hot and cold in one game for Feghuoli. Had the brightest starts possible by providing a great assist for Soldado in the 40th second, linked up well with Joao on the right and was rather useful in the first half. Second half though he blocked a shot from Jonas and got very fatigued being rather negative for the team.
Jonas 6.5 - Semi-good performance by Jonas, took his goal coolly and could have had a second if he wasn't denied by Feghuoli. Had two missed shots though and one was really terrible, missing some good opportunities.
Piatti 6.5 - Provided the assist to Jonas for the second goal and was very active all match until subbed. Linked up greatly with Guardado and was very dangerous from the left wing.
Soldado 6.5 - Found himself in the right position at the right time and score a goal 40 second in. Didn't have many opportunities himself later on, but released Jonas alone on goal with a great pass, unfortunately Jonas didn't covert.
Subs:
Banega 5.5 - Was rather ineffective and the play mostly passed him by, when he got the ball he usually lost it or made an inaccurate pass. One of those inaccurate passes found its way to Viera though and created the 4th goal.
Viera 6 - Provided the assist for the 4th goal and it was a super nice chip to lob the keeper and find Valdez. Before that had a rather poor touch and ball control, loosing the ball on few occasions.
Valdez 6 - Came in for about 5 minutes and scored a goal.

Valencia CF vs Getafe CF Match Preview

If you are reading this article that means the world hasn't ended yet and Valencia CF is facing Getafe CF tonight in what may possibly be Valencia's last match so they better win it. Jokes aside Valencia CF is facing Getafe CF in what would be the final match this year, with the next match being in the new 2013 year on January 5th.

The world being fine and still standing Valencia CF must win this match if they hope to have any chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season and for that Valencia needs to catch up to Malaga and beat them for the 4th spot which seems so incredibly tough right now.

After a series of 3 wins in 3 different competitions new Valencia CF coach also had his first loss last week at the feet of Rayo Vallecano. He will be hoping that his second match at the Mestalla will be more fruitful and positive that will result in a win for Valencia CF over Getafe. The players also must start proving themselves and up their performance, as I'm afraid its not Llorente playing on the field and him leaving won't change the situation no matter how much Spanish fans dream it would. I'm here to tell you that it won't and if it will it probably will be for the worst.

Valencia CF needs stability and I'm afraid I'm not seeing any serious people out there that can take the horn from Llorente and steadily steer this fragile ship. Unicorns and fairies are also not real, so no one can just magically fix the situation or bring the best players and anyone who says that is lying and manipulating you, so you need to stop being naive and start being real.

For the match against Getafe Valverde can count on Victor Ruiz and Nelson Valdez again, while Rami is fine as well and in the squad for this match. Missing are Cissokho and Bernat for some reason, while Canales and Mathieu are still recovering from their long term injuries and practicing light fitness.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Guaita, Diego Alves.
Defenders: Joao, Barragán, Rami, Víctor Ruiz, Ricardo Costa.
Midfielders: Albelda, Tino Costa, Parejo, Éver, Feghouli, Viera, Guardado, Piatti.
Forwards: Jonas, Valdez, Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-3-3
Line-up: Diego; Barragan, Rami, R. Costa, Guardado; Albelda, Tino Costa, Banega; Feghuoli, Soldado, Valdez.
Tactics: High defensive line, all round pressure, mixed passing, mostly center play.

Valencia CF gets PSG in Champions League draw

The Champions League draw for the last 16 is over and Valencia CF got PSG as the opponent in the next round.

Valencia CF officials were hoping to get Schalke 04 as the opponents, as some deemed the easiest opposition, while Ricardo Costa wanted to get Schalke 04 in order to get a revenge for the loss against in the last 16 from 2 seasons ago. Either way PSG are not the best club and are still in the building stages so Valencia CF does have reasonable chances of winning.


Here are the full results:
Galatasaray A.S vs FC Schalke 04
Celtic FC vs Juventus
Arsenal FC vs FC Bayern Munich
FC Shaktar Donetsk vs Borussia Dortmund
A.C.Milan vs FC Barcelona
Real Madrid vs Manchester United FC
Valencia CF vs Paris Saint-Germain
FC Porto vs Malaga CF

Valencia CF trying to get Vitolo

Valencia CF have been interested in Víctor Machín Pérez Vitolo since this past summer and tried to get him in combination with Jonathan Viera from Las Palmas, but Las Palmas rejected the bid as they wanted to keep at least one of their two best players.

Now Valencia CF is interested in bringing him again in the January transfer market in order to strengthen the wings and as the perfect replacement for Feghuoli who will leave Valencia CF to play in the African cup of nations for Algeria.

Las Palmas president Miguel Ángel Ramírez muddied the waters though by saying that Valencia CF are the prime favorites to sign the player, but he would like to keep the player for the whole season and will only sell him next summer. Of course this isn't in Valencia CF interest and the club might get away from the race to sign Vitolo if they can't get him this winter.

Sofiane Feghuoli receives Golden Ball award

Valencia CF player Sofiane Feghuoli received the Ballon D'or equivalent of Algeria yesterday. He was chosen the best player for this year and was presented with the trophy by Johan Cruyff. This award is awarded by the biggest sports newspapers in Algeria El Heddaf and Le Buteur.

Sofiane Feghuoli was in contention against few other players, but ultimately managed to win with his good performances for club and country.

Isaac Cuenca to join Valencia CF?

Valencia CF is getting close to acquiring Isaac Cuenca from Barcelona FC as he is seen as the perfect reinforcement on the right wing. Valencia CF sporting director Braulio Vazquez is said to favor him as he will come at no cost, would strengthen competition on the right wing and deputize for Feghuoli who is going to leave for the African cup of nations and will be gone from the team for at least a month.

Braulio thinks he can also negotiate a purchase clause for Isaac Cuenca and for a small amount of money to be able to purchase Cuenca from Barcelona if he fits the bill here at Valencia CF.

Valencia CF 0-1 Rayo Vallecano Match Report

Strike 6 for the referees this season. I'm starting to think it isn't a conspiracy against us, rather a curse from hell. At least two Rayo Vallecano players deserved red cards and at least one penalty for Valencia CF as well. Soldado was choke-slammed to the ground and the referee said play on. In the first half Feghuoli was fouled by Piti after he was on a yellow and what should have been even a straight red in many cases, tonight for this excuse of a referee it wasn't even a yellow.

As far as the real match is concerned it was a rather dull encounter, with both teams fighting in the middle of the park with Valencia CF overall having a few more chances, though nothing concrete that should have been a clear goal. Rayo Vallecano barely threatened towards Valencia goal and only had one dangerous shot that Diego saved. So while Valencia CF wasn't at its best, Rayo didn't deserve to win and until the penalty barely had one chance and just 3 shots on goal if I'm not mistaken.

Valencia CF play in the first half was rather mediocre with Tino Costa and Ever Banega failing to work together and allowing Rayo Vallecano to keep the ball in their feet, while Ever Banega and Tino Costa were too quick to spread the ball forward, not remembering to slow down and circle the ball and have build-up. The team looks so much better with Albelda on and I have a feeling we'd be seeing a lot more of him in the coming matches. Whether its the security he provides that the team is able to play more relaxed or the experience or a combination of things, he can somehow magically improve the whole team play.

Valencias play did improve in the second half after Parejo came in for Jonas and Valencia CF started controlling the match more, the team also had few good chances with shots from Soldado, Jonas, Tino and others. Soldado also had a good penalty claim as the was slammed to the ground with a choke move, but the foot of a referee allowed the play to continue, only to destroy the game towards the end by giving a non existent penalty for what would be seen in England as ballet, heck in Italy, Germany, you name it would be seen as ballet on eggs. I mean you might as well whistle if a feather touches a player.

I've got to say that since the season started I haven't liked Jonas at all. Apart from the first three games he has been bellow average and just hasn't contributed too much to the team. Feghuoli has also been hot and cold and today was very, very cold. I mean he might as well not play in these situations as he is more of a liability than anything else.

I also don't know why Piatti was substituted in the second half, rather than Jonas. He wasn't too visible on the left, but he did have few sprints that were dangerous, in fact he even had a good sprint alone towards the goal ruled offside, even though he was at least a meter back from the last Rayo defender. So overall just terrible refereeing at the expense of Valencia CF.

Technical Details:
Valencia CF  (0): Diego Alves; Barragán, Rami (Cissokho, min.74’), Ricardo Costa, Guardado; Tino Costa, Éver; Feghouli, Jonas (Bernat, min.65’), Piatti (Parejo, min. 45’); Soldado.
Rayo Vallecano (1): Cobeño (Rubén, min.68’); Tito (Nacho, min.76’), Gálvez (Lass, min. 66’), Amat, Casado; Adrián, Trashorras; Vázquez, Chori Domínguez, Piti; Leo.
Goals: 0-1 Min 83’, Chori Domínguez (p.).

Player Ratings:
Diego 6 - Dealt with what little came his way, as a penalty specialist he really hasn't looked decent on penalties.
Barragan 6.5 - Good defensive display with great offensive forays, providing several good crosses.
Rami 6.5 - Dealth with the Rayo threat effectively and marshaled Chori most of the time.
R. Costa 6 - Didn't have much to deal with, though covered wel for Guardado on the left side when needed.
Guardado 6 - Good defensive display, though not great as he was beaten on a few occasions. Failed to provide much support going forward.
Tino Costa 5 - Did well in midfield and dropped deep to take and ball and move it forward, though failing to link up good with Ever. Guilty for committing a ballet move that was deemed foul by the referee.
Banega 5.5 - Partially better than Tino Costa, but lost way too many balls and too quick to try an outrageous pass which is why he had too many lost balls.
Feghuoli 5.5 - Somewhat involved in the first half, though spend more time falling and complaining than running and creating chances.
Jonas 5 - Had one terrible shot way above then goal early on and then a little better shot that just missed. Apart from those two shots, limited performance.
Piatti 5 - Wasn't involved in the play too much and cut out from the rest of the team. The best try he had was deemed offside and the chance was destroyed.
Soldado 5 - Subdued performance by the striker and looked lethargic for most of the match. Was fouled in the penalty area, but the referee didn't give a penalty.
Subs:
Parejo 5.5 - The play improved with his coming off as he added a much needed stability in the midfield, but wasn't too involved individually in the creation of the play or chances.
Bernat 5 - Failed to provide the penetration on the left, just as Piatti and Jonas failed before him.
Cissokho N/A - Not enough time.

Valencia CF vs Rayo Vallecano Match Preview

Valencia CF vs Rayo Vallecano Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 16.12.2012; 17:00 CET

16th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Ernesto Valverde and Paco Jémez

Valencia CF

Valencia CF is coming to this match after three consecutive wins, all three is three different competitions and all three at away matches. So 3 wins, at 3 competitions, 3 away matches. New Valencia CF coach Ernesto Valverde couldn't have hoped for a better start to his coaching career at Valencia, though he now faces the always tricky Rayo Vallecano and the team is playing on home terrain. 

Ernesto Valverde said that he expects Rayo Vallecano to play openly and go for the 3 points, he said that they are a tough opponents and are especially dangerous on counter attacks. He said this would be important match for him as he debuts for the first time to the home crowd and that he wants and expects a win for Valencia CF.

In the last 2 matches Valverde played with a 4-3-3 formation, that started as 4-2-3-1, but transformed to 4-3-3 and that is how the team played for most of the time. He has also given David Albelda the starting position and this has worked wonders as he is able to shield the defense very well, thus allowing for more attack minded players like Banega, Tino and even Parejo to play more securely and openly higher up the pitch. This has also enabled for an increased presence of Valencia in the opponents third and the ability to have good build-up play, creating more chances. Valverde has also rotated the squad to a fair extent, giving playing time to Tino, Banega, Parejo, Gago, Albelda, Piatti, Feghuoli, Viera, Bernat, Jonas and Soldado. So a fairly large number of players have played in the last two matches.

I'm expecting the same formation against Rayo Vallecano, though I'm really curious which players he is going to start. He has had now time to asses the players from the 3 matches under him and then in the training sessions and figure out who is better and who is in better form and see their attitudes and game styles. He is also a very experienced coach and unlike Pellegrino, he is more likely to make a better call just from experience. I got to say I'm really looking forward to this match and I'm genuinely excited to see Valencia play, something that I couldn't say for the last 2/3 months.

Ernesto Valverde has selected pretty much all fit players to the squad, leaving the injured or recovering players like Jeremy Mathieu, Gago, Canales, Valdez and Ruiz.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Alves, Guaita.
Defenders: Barragan, Joao Pereira, Ricardo Costa, Rami, Cissokho.
Midfielders: Albelda, Parejo, Éver, T.Costa, Viera, Guardado, Bernat, Feghouli, Piatti.
Attack: Jonas, Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-3-3
Line-up: Diego; Barragan, Rami, R. Costa, Cissokho; Albelda, Tino Costa, Banega; Feghuoli, Soldado, Guardado.
Tactics: High defensive line, own half pressure, mixed passing, mostly center play.

David Villa back to Valencia CF?

Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente publicly announced few days ago and said its not a secret that he would like to see David Villa back in Valencia CF and that if there is a chance for that he will work towards that goal.

Well there is a big chance that David Villa might return to Valencia as several reports says that he is in bad relationship with Lionel Messi and the new coach Tito Villanova who hasn't been playing Villa much since his return and its said that he is out of favor and second to even Tello and Sanchez.

He is considering leaving Barcelona FC in the summer and Valencia CF could be his potential destination, of course if Juventus don't get in competition of his signature, which depends if they are going to find a new striker in the winter transfer season.

Apart from that David Villa would earn a lot less in Valencia CF than in Barcelona FC and that could be a problem. Llorente sees bringing David Villa to Valencia CF as a good political move so that he can be reelected president and as a perfect replacement for Jonas who is likely to leave in the summer, possibly even in the winter transfer if good offers come for him.

CA Osasuna vs Valencia CF Match Preview

For those out of the loop wondering why I'm writing a preview for Osasuna vs Valencia CF again when the teams played last weekend, the answer is the clubs meet again this time in the Copa Del Rey.

Last match in the Spanish league Valencia CF were able to win 1-0 over Osasuna and achieve their first win in an away match this season and that was Valencias new coach Ernesto Valverde first win as well.

If you've read my match report you would have found out that the team played good football and were in control of proceedings for most of the match and unlike some of the teams previous matches they were able to create quite few chances and opportunities, which unluckily weren't converted.

Since then Valverde has had several training sessions with the team and would be in a better position to translate what the wants and expects of the team, though he has made it clear in his interviews that he wants attacking football and for Valencia CF to always go for the win. We'll see how that translates on the terrain, but I'd be very happy if I see the team playing good attacking football and especially winning with it.

Since the last match Valencia has had few injuries pop up, such as Gago who spend a total of two minutes in last match before getting injured and hes been ruled out for a month, Ruiz as you probably already know is also out for a month of close to it, while Joao Pereira is still recovering as well, though he should be available within a week. Vicente Guaita has also complained about an injury, though he may be ready to play.

So with that in mind, Valverde has been forced to bring in some more players in the squad and send some home and chance have gotten Quiantilla and Gaya from the B team. Valverde said in the press conference that he is going to change up the squad a little and he is likely to rest Ricardo Costa and Soldado and give other players a chance.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Guaita; Barragan, Rami, Quiantilla, Cissokho; Albelda, Tino Costa; Piatti, Banega, Bernat; Jonas.
Tactics: High defensive line, own half pressure, mixed passing, mostly wing crosses.

CA Osasuna 0-1 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF just recorded its first away win this season in what was a very interesting match and a great start to the coaching position for Ernesto Valverde who records his first win with Valencia CF, hopefully just one of many, many, many more.

While no one was expecting miracles and we certainly didn't get them, the team overall played much better, much improved than over our several last matches, in fact so much so that we had several chances in the first half and few good chances in the second half as well.

Valencia CF mostly controlled the match in the first half, though it was a close back and forth game and neither team were able to overpower the other team. Adil Rami started the match with his mind some place else, making two big blunders one after another and was lucky to escape unpunished, but he soon collected his thoughts and improved in his game.

Valencia CF have obviously missed David Albelda in the previous matches with Pellegrino in charge as today and even last match against Lille it was really obvious that we had a holding midfielder. In fact based just on the last 2 games I'd say he should probably get one more year contract extension as he is clearly still capable and able to do his job. He broke up countless Osasuna attacks and shielded the defense perfectly.

Ricardo Costa was also on point from the start making few crucial interceptions and blocks in the middle of the park and was generally solid throughout the match. Barragan was also having a good match, bombing forward on every occasion and linking up well with Piatti and Ever Banega.

The team has several chances in the first half, two decent chances for Soldado who did make good runs, but was just inaccurate  placing one shot for example wide and above while one on one with the goalkeeper, though the position was pretty wide and hard to shoot from.  Feghuoli also found himself with two decent chances, but he was slow to react and didn't do much, though he had a pass to Tino Costa who was in a good position and shot towards goal, but it went wide.

The biggest problem in the first half was that Feghuoli was playing at left wing, though he kept coming and playing in the center and right wing and was overcrowding that space there, while there wasn't anyone on the left to penetrate from that side.

Ever Banega also had a good match, providing some good passes and moving the ball forward and spreading it out well, though he did have several misplaced passes as Osasuna were pressing hard and had a high defensive line, quickly closing down Valencia CF players.

Second half started and Osasuna did improve a little, showing more initiative, though similarly to the first half most of the match was played in the middle of the park with many mistakes on both sides and play in the air.

Ultimately Tino Costa would start a good action, releasing Pablo Piatti on the left side, who switched positions with Feghuoli and even though his cross was actually terrible for Soldado it did hit the post and the rebound found its way to Soldado who was quick to react and score a goal. It wasn't the best of chances, but I'm sure everyone will take it.

Osasuna did get more organized towards the middle and late of the second half, mounting counter initiative and started controlling most of the possession, though Valencia was playing high pressure football as well, closing down the Osasuna players fast and Albelda was in superb mode, blocking several buildups and counters from occurring.

Osasuna players would have one good chance to score somewhere around the 70th minute, when I believe Puñal shot, but Diego Alves was aware and reacted well, blocking the ball from going into the net with a powerful parade.

In the meantime Valencia CF coach Ernesto Valverde made few changes, bringing in Viera for Piatti, though this would turn out a bad move as Viera was rather quiet and inefficient. Later on he would bring on Gago for Ever Banega, but Gago instantly got injured and was forced off just 2 minutes after he came in and Daniel Parejo took his place.

Towards the final whistle both teams had good chances to score, though neither would be able to. Valencia CF specifically missed two rather good chances, first one Soldado shooting and Fernandez saving, the rebound went to Feghuoli, but it was deemed that he was offside and the second one yet again a chance by Soldado.

Overall it was a very good first match and a great, positive start for Valencia CF new coach Ernesto Valverde and I hope he will have a great time with Valencia CF and move the team in the right direction and have us fighting for Champions League position once again.

Technical Details:
CA Osasuna (0): Andrés Fernández, Flaño (Lolo, min. 46), Echaide (Cejudo, min. 60), Armenteros, Puñal, Llorente (Onwu, min.67), Arribas, Oier, Lamah, Raoul Loé y Damià.
Valencia CF (1): Diego Alves, Rami, Albelda, Feghouli, Soldado, Éver (Gago, min. 77, Dani Parejo, min. 83), Piatti (Viera, min. 58), Barragán, Guardado, Ricardo Costa y Tino Costa.
Goals: 0-1 54min, Soldado.

Player Ratings:
Diego Alves 6 - Didn't have too much work, but he was stretched once and made a great save. Did well in the air as well, though this time he really lacked accuracy in his kicks, giving the ball away with poor shots.
Barragan 6.5 - Defended well and bomber forward at every opportunity, combining well in the first half with Piatti and providing few decent crosses and passes in the penalty area.
Rami 6 - Awful start and lucky he didn't gave away a goal, by making 2 suspect decisions and passes. Improved soon after and ended on a good note, winning most of the air duels.
R. Costa 6.5 - Very secure from the start, made few blocks at the middle of the park and generally dealt with everything that came his way.
Guardado 5.5 -Secure defensive display, was let down by the forward players few times, though didn't do much going forward, although he lacked a left winger on his side for most of the match.
Albelda 7.5 - Rock solid sitting deep and blocking many of Osasuna attacks. Mopped up in the middle and quickly played the ball to the more forward midfielders.
Tino Costa 6.5 - Very active and put a lot of pressure on Osasuna players, generally being a thorn in their sight. Wasn't very active on the ball, though he did have some defense splitting passes and he started the chance that lead to the goal by releasing Piatti.
Feghuoli 5.5 - Found himself in good positions and had some good chances to either score or provide an assist, but failed to do so. Was active in the first half, but he was rather invisible in the second half and even though still had some decent chances he lacked the final ball.
Banega 6.5 - Had several misplaced passes in what was a slower start, but improved as the game went on and brought the ball from the back forward, making some good passes and interceptions as well. Generally a good game.
Piatti 6.5 - Was very active in the first and second half, always a willing runner and this payed off when his cross-shot-lucky ball hit the post and rebounded to Soldado who scored.
Soldado 7 - Made several good runs and had few shots on goal, failed to find the back of the net from at least 2 good positions and one decent one, but he did ultimately score.
Subs:
Viera 4 - Completely invisible since coming on, failing to do anything really.
Gago N/A - Got injured within 2 minutes of his arrival on the pitch.
Parejo N/A - Didn't have much time to influence the game.

CA Osasuna vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Valencia CF is going to have its first match under the new coach Ernesto Valverde and as I've already said I don't expect miracles. The team made a step forward with the Champions League win over Lille, but while Valencia CF controlled the match in the first half and was the better team, the second half belonged to Lille and we were lucky to escape with the victory, thanks in part to Guaita who made several great saves. The point I'm trying to make here is that Valencia CF barely created few chances the whole match and in fact I think Valencia only had 2 shots on goal the whole match, that is just absolutely unacceptable.

Ernesto Valverde has only had 2 training sessions with the team and the first one was mostly talking to the team and getting to know them, while the second more technical, but whether its a win, loss or draw today it won't be Velverde's result, in fact I expect to see only some minimal changes next week and then bigger changes and differences 2-3 weeks later or January to be more precise.

CA Osasuna have been rather good this season and have had some very good results recently, and they are one of the toughest teams to play on their home terrain, so its going to be a very demanding and tough match today for Valencia CF, considering the form at away matches, on paper this looks like a certain loss for Valencia, but I'm hoping with the change of coaches it may had destroyed that mental barrier that "we can't win at away matches".

As far as injuries go Joao Pereira has been left out of the squad, so has Cissokho and I have no clue if he is injured or not, possibly just tired I suppose as he has been playing pretty much all of the matches from Spanish League games to Champions League games. In fact our defensive line is very thin as Ruiz is also injured, he got injured in the last match against Lille and he will be out for 2 weeks, so that leaves Valencia with only 2 central defenders until January and possibly longer.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Alves, Guaita, Felipe Ramos.
Defenders: Barragan, Ricardo Costa, Rami, Gaya.
Midfielders: Albelda, Gago, Parejo, Éver, T.Costa, Viera,  Guardado, Bernat, Feghouli.
Attack: Piatti, Jonas, Valdez, Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Guaita; Barragan, Rami, R. Costa, Gaya; Gago, Tino Costa; Feghuoli, Jonas, Guardado; Soldado.
Tactics: High defensive line, own half pressure, mixed passing, mostly wing crosses.

New Valencia Boss Understands the Challenges Ahead

Valencia's new boss Ernesto Valverde certainly has a tough challenge ahead of him but the new head of Valencia CF seems to be ready for the task ahead.  His first order of business will be getting an underperforming squad to pull together as a team and play with more confidence.

Prior to joining Valencia, Valverde served stints at Espanyol, Athletic Bilbao, Olimpiakos, and Villareal.  He was presented to media on Monday at Mestalla and straight away he fielded questions ranging from squad discipline to whether he would be with the team long-term.

Valencia currently sits 12th in the Primera Division and the new coach admitted that taking on the team mid-season was going to be quite a challenge.  "It is the first time I have taken a team mid-season, I will be frank, I do not consider it easy," Valverde commented. "When you take a team in these circumstances it is because there is a crisis. The team is not top of the table and playing marvelously. So there is a rush to get some results. In that sense I accept the challenge. We will go for it."

One of his most important tasks will be finding a way to get his squad to perform.  Even captain Roberto Soldado admitted that the squad’s lack of results is the main reason that Mauricio Pellegrino was fired this past Saturday after a brief four month stint on the club.  It is said that he will need to have a firm hand with the squad should he wish to see better results.

On motivating the players, Valverde stated that "I have no doubt that I will find a group of young players who want to win games and be a team. There are objectives to fulfill and I understand that the players are professionals who owe something to this club and its fans. I will try and help them to work in the best way possible. About a 'firm hand' I do not have much to say."

Valverde would be wise to follow the example of Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.  He has been known to have a firm hand with many of his players and always finds a way to make them perform.  His players are successes both on the football pitch and off the field.  In fact, Jonny Evans recently won a Manchester U charity event that benefited an Irish hospice.  Much of the discipline that Evans showed to win the event came at least indirectly from Ferguson's firm hand at United.  With the amount of firm guidance, a coach can get his players to perform.

Finally, the coach addressed rumors that he was only with the club for six months and that he would be going back to Athletic at the end of the year.  He shot down these rumors stating that "I signed for six months because that is what they offered me.  I have no problem, I am confident in my work and that over this time the team will show enough good things that I will continue more time here. The objective is to qualify for the Champions League. Maybe that is speaking long term at the moment. What I am most concerned about now is that the team plays with confidence."

The switch thus far has seemed to produce positive results.  Valencia won their last match in the Champions League group’s stage on Wednesday against OSC Lille.  Jonas scored the game's only goal off a penalty kick in the 36th minute.  Now the question will be whether the team can continue their momentum and salvage what has been a disappointing season thus far.

OSC Lille 0-1 Valencia CF

Valencia CF wins the last match from the Champions League group stage and while sharing 13 points with Bayern Munich will finish as second place due to negative head to head results vs Bayern.

The match against Lille was fairly straightforward and simple with Valencia CF controlling most of the proceedings for 3/4 of the match, with only towards the end Lille threatening a little bit more and having few decent chances, including one shot that hit the bar and few more that forced Guaita to react and save.

In the first half there weren't many chances, most of the play was in the midfield with Valencia CF controlling possession and both sides having few small attacks. The goal for Valencia CF came from a penalty which Jonas converted.

Second half was a bit more open and Lille did try and pressure more and higher up the pitch which had a small difference, but it was with the weird substitutions Voro did that Valencia CF lost control of the match and found itself in trouble.

Technical Details:
Lille OSC (0): Elana, Digne, Balmont (Payet, min. 70), Gueye, Kalou, Beria, Bruno (Roux, min. 77), Rodelin, Chedjou, Mavuba (Martin, min 54) y Basa.
Valencia CF (1): Guaita, Cissokho, Rami, Albelda (Gago, min. 73), Jonas, Feghouli (Piatti, min. 60), Valdez, Guardado, Víctor Ruiz (Viera, min. 83), Ricardo Costa y Tino Costa.
Goals: 0-1 Min. 36 Jonas.

Player Ratings:
Guaita 7 - Not much to do in the first half, though saved the goal few times in the second half and lucky on one occasion not to concede as the ball hit the bar. Good performance.
R. Costa 5.5 - Decent showing at right back. Didn't have much to do in the first half, though troubled in the second half and failed to provide much support going forward.
Rami 6 - Secure performance for most of the match, had one slip up, but overall a good match.
Ruiz 6 - Did a good job and wasn't particularly troubled, for some reason substituted.
Cissokho 6 - Rarely troubled though he failed to provide much support forward. Changed to center back late on when Ruiz was subbed.
Albelda 6 - Good performance, strange that he was subbed as he was very useful on the field. Broke up several Lille attacks.
Tino Costa 6 - Good showing and able to exert him influence on the game, providing some good passes and some good build up play.
Feghuoli 5 - Rather anonymous for most of his time in the match, no wonder subbed early.
Jonas 6.5 - Few good passes and one-twos with Tino Costa, slotted the ball into the net from the penalty.
Guardado 5 - Worked hard in defense, but failed to provide much in attack if at all.
Valdez 5.5 - Hard working and ran the channels, but failed unable to find himself in a good position and service wasn't very good.
Subs:
Piatti 5 - First showing I believe and was lively on the right side, having few runs, but nothing serious.
Gago 4.5 - Rather poor, came in and misplaced several passes, failing to link up with Tino as well.
Viera 5 - Not much time to have an impact and Lille were mostly in control when he came in.

OSC Lille vs Valencia CF Match Preview

OSC Lille vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Stadium: Grand Stade Lille Métropole

Date: 05.11.2012; 20:45 CET

                         6th matchday, Champions League

OSC Lille

OSC Lille are coming to this match in bad shape, even more so than from the first match they met Valencia CF in the Champions League. Right now Lille are 10th position on the table and coming off from a draw against Bastia. I've said in my last preview that their troubles were just beginning and it would get worse and I was unfortunately for them right yet again. Thing is Lille lost many of their players in the last two summers and while they were able to still cope last season, this season its proving way more challenging as the reinforcements that came in weren't on pair with the players who left and right now OSC Lille are with a thin squad.

I guess the only thing keeping the team together to the current extent is their coach Rudi Garcia who's done wonders since taking over OSC Lille in 2008, with the greatest point reached in the season 2010/11 when they won the league and cup double, finishing second the next season in a fairly close battle. I believe in time though he would bring the team back on the winning path and can't see anyone doing a better job with Lille than he is.

Their Champions League run hasn't been good either, sitting at the bottom of the table with only 3 points from one win that they achieved against Bate Borisov. Theoretically they have chances to qualify for the Europe league, but that would mean that they have to beat Valencia CF tomorrow and win with a huge goal margin, while Bate Borisov would need to loose to Bayern Munich with a big goal margin as well so that the goal difference is in favor of Lille.

As far as any news on injured players or stuff I don't have any information, while the starting 11 should be the standard, possibly with few changes to reinforce the middle so Valencia CF don't come close to their goal. What is in Lille's favor is that Valencia CF just had a coach change and may be in some disarray so that is the biggest thing Lille have going for them.

OSC Lille squad: ...

Technical Details Lille OSC (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Landreau; Mathieu, Basa, Chedjou, Digne; Gueye, Mavuba; Roux, Marvin, Payet; Bruno
Tactics: Low defensive line, own half pressure, counter attacks, mixed passing, reinforced midfield and doubling down in defense.

Valencia CF

Its been quite eventful few days for Valencia CF with the sacking of Mauricio Pellegrino and the appointment of new Valencia CF coach Ernesto Valverde. Apart from that there has been some talk about some players wanting to leave and not being serious about the club, with Valencia CF veteran David Albelda coming out and publicly criticizing the players for lack of commitment and effort, saying that those who want to leave can leave, Soldado also blamed the players for the poor performances and Ricardo Costa has also said that the players need to step up.

On the other hand Valencia CF is qualified for the next round in the Champions League and are basically fighting to finish first in the group, currently being on equal points as Bayern Munich, though worse head to head ratio. While things are rosy as far as the Champions League they aren't so rosy in the Spanish League and after two thrashings in a row, first by Malaga 4-0 and then by Real Sociedad 5-2, Valencia CF coach Mauricio Pellegrino has gotten the sack and within two days Ernesto Valverde was appointed, though it is going to be interim manager Voro who is going to lead the team in Lille.

Valencia CF new coach Ernesto Valverde is going to take over the team as soon as they are back from France and is going to lead the team against Osasuna later this week. I don't expect miracles and with the form we've been all season long in away matches even a draw would be a success and I expect we'd only see a difference next week. Just the change of a coach can have a positive effect though, but on the other hand it can have a negative effect as well. So we'll see how things go.

As far as the match against OSC Lille Valencia CF should be competitive and intern coach Voro can sort up the team as he has done after the Koeman sack and I expect a good showing against Lille. Joao Pereira had problems with his injury again and he is out for the match even though he traveled with the team.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Alves, Guaita, Felipe Ramos.
Defenders: Joao Pereira, Ricardo Costa, Rami, Víctor Ruiz, Cissokho.
Midfielders: Albelda, Gago, Parejo, Éver, T.Costa, Viera,  Guardado, Bernat, Feghouli.
Attack: Piatti, Jonas, Valdez.

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

Result Prediction:
OSC Lille 1-1 Valencia CF
Its probably the most reasonable result considering events on both sides.

Official: Ernesto Valverde new Valencia CF coach

Its official, Ernesto Valverde is the new Valencia CF coach. Valencia CF reached an agreement earlier this day with Ernesto Valverde and he is going to be the new coach for the next 6 months, until 30 June, 2013.

He is going to be officially presented as the new coach later today at 20:45 O'clock CET.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, tell me what you think about this decision in the comments section or on the forum.

Luis Enrique second choice for coach

While Ernesto Valverde is the first target of Braulio Vazquez and he is the closest to becoming the new coach of Valencia CF, Luis Enrique is supposedly close second and first contacts have been made to ask for his availability.

Currently Valencia CF is in negotiations with Valverde and are very close to signing the contract, the problem being the length of the contract as Valencia CF want to offer him a 6 months contract with an 1 year extension clause, while Velverde's agent is asking for either a longer contract or the same contract but without the extension clause.

Luis Enrique is the second option as far as Braulio is concerned, while Luis Enrique himself hasn't commented on the possibility and could probably commit in the winter as this is a rare opportunity, though I personally don't rate him too high, he is the Emery type coach and even less experienced and less successful as he failed with Roma and was only average with Barcelona B.

Valencia CF in negotiations with Ernesto Valverde

Superdeporte is reporting that Valencia CF is negotiating with former Athletico Bilbao and Villarreal coach Ernesto Valverde.

Previous reports were that Luis Aragones was the hot favorite to take Pellegrino's place, followed closely by Mauricio Pochetino.

Ernesto Valverde has most recently coached Olympiacos with which he won the Greek league two times, but resigned in 2012 citing family reasons for the resignation.

I got to say he is very experienced coach and did well with the clubs he's coached, but I'm not sure he is a top class manager for a top class club and certainly did a poor job with Villarreal following Manuel Pellegrini's move to Real Madrid.

Valencia CF sack Mauricio Pellegrino

And its official, Mauricio Pellegrino has been sacked as coach of Valencia CF. After the heavy defeat from Real Sociedad in an emergency meeting with Valencia CF officials it was decided that he is going to be sacked after a rather poor season and more recently 2 terrible results, loosing 4-0 to Malaga and now loosing 5-2 at home against Real Sociedad.

So far its not clear who is going to replace Mauricio Pellegrino, though Valencia CF have few names they've been in contact with and who can take over. In the meantime I guess Voro is going to be the interim coach for the next several days, maybe even week.

It was pretty obvious after this match that it was the end, even Pellegrino's face said it all. It was a balsy move to give him the position in the first place, everyone hoped it would work out, but I guess the lack of coaching experience was too much for him to be able to overcome.

Valencia CF 2-5 Real Sociedad

Time for Mauricio Pellegrino to go and I believe he knows it. I mean looking at his face when the camera panned on him, he looked like a defeated men as he probably realized this is most likely going to be his last game in charge of Valencia CF.

I know it, Pellegrino knows it and most of the fans on the stands know it as they drew out the white napkins, clearly showing their dissatisfaction over Pellegrino and wanting him to go.

What to write about this match, it was a ridiculous showing once again, in fact I'd say we are regressing instead of progressing. We got lucky in the second minute and after a chance Soldado scored.

Then it was a fairly equal match, though instead of having the upper hand Valencia CF were barely keeping up and the tipping point would be in the 41st minute when Jonas would be given a red card for supposed elbow, which I didn't see and strongly believe it was simulation.

The equalizer would come soon after and we would go into the half time with the score level at 1-1.

Second half Pellegrino decided to keep the same formation and players on the pitch as if Valencia CF were so much better that we could magically compete with Real Sociedad and the punishment came soon enough, first in the 57th minute when Gonzalez scored and then in the 64th minute with a goal by Ifran.

Valencia CF would score one more in the 73rd minute after a good play by Feghuoli finding Soldado and this one finding the net. This would give the team a small boost, but all would be for nothing as our defense will gave way again and Real Sociedad would score again to put the match to rest.

The final result ended up 2-5 for Real Sociedad as Feghuoli fouled one of their players in the penalty area and Vela scored from a penalty.

Overall it was a disaster and even before Jonas red card we were playing bad and would have probably lost or draw anyways, so its not an excuse for the humiliating 2-5 loss at home terrain. I blame Pellegrino as he hasn't got any ideas, hasn't improved the team in any way and he had all the time in the world and support from staff and supporters alike. Now its time for Llorente to sack him and bring in an experienced coach that can guide Valencia CF to at least a 4th place position, since at this time that is the only thing we are likely to get, if at all.

Valencia CF  (2): Alves; Joao (Valdez, min.75), R. Costa, V. Ruiz, Cissokho (Guardado, min.65); Gago, Éver; Feghouli, Jonas, Bernat (Viera, min.65); Soldado.
Real Sociedad (5): Bravo; C.Martínez, Mikel, Iñigo, De la Bella; Zurutuza (Chory Castro, min 72), Pardo; Prieto, Vela, Griezmann (Ros, min.73); Ifrán (Aguirretxe, min. 76) .
Goals: 1-0 Min 2, Soldado. 1-1 Min 43 De la Bella. 1-2 Min 56, Mikel. 1-3 Min 63, Ifrán. 2-3 Min 73, Soldado. 2-4 Min 84, Agirretxe. 2-5 Min 90, Vela.

Player Ratings:
Diego 3.5 - Had few good saves, but stood still for pretty much all the goal and should have done much much better. Even a poor goalkeeper would have done better to at least 2 of the goals.
Joao Pereira 5 - Clearly lacking fitness and match form, it showed today as he left some gaps in the defense, although he wasn't directly at fault for any of the goals.
R. Costa 4.5 - No where to be found on any of the goals, nonexistent relationship with Ruiz and both were like headless chickens.
Ruiz 4.5 - Same as Costa, no understanding of his central partner, it was like they were playing first time together in a local after beer match or something.
Cissokho 4 - Terrible match from Cissokho, failed to cover for the first goal and was often times beat.
Gago 4 - Complete lack of shielding for the defense, he was quick to go forward, but slow to fall back and keep his position. Most certainly isn't a defensive midfielder, more like a busy man.
Banega 6 - Rather good showing even though most around him sucked, kept the ball well and spread it around pretty well, having several missed passes though, but overall lively showing.
Feghuoli 4 - Nowhere to be found before his assist and that was his only contribution. Caused a penalty late in the match to embarrass Valencia with the result.
Jonas 4 - I don't think he hit whoever it was for Sociedad, though he should have been smarter and didn't have any reason swinging his arm around so high. Wasn't good even before the expulsion.
Bernat 6.5 - Nice assist and generally played good, some good link-up play with Banega and was dangerous  on his side, it was Feghuoli that should have been subbed out and not him, but clearly Pellegrino lacks any sort of critical thinking skills.
Soldado 7 - Two goals from two chances, pretty good goal conversion ratio in this match for him. You can't blame him as he did what he is supposed to do and scored two goals.
Subs:
Guardado 5 - Pretty much same as Cissokho. Failed to bring something more going forward, which was obviously why he was put on.
Viera 5 - Had few combinations, mostly with Banega, but failed to exert much influence.
Valdez N/A - didn't have time to do much.

Juan Bernat loan out, Javi Fuego in?

Javi Fuego, Rayo Vallecano

Juan Bernat will most likely be send on loan this winter transfer season. Valencia CF coach Mauricio Pellegrino announced in the summer that he would seriously count on Juna Bernat and he would be important to the team, but it was just words as Juan Bernat has barely featured in Valencia CF in now 3 months.

Valencia CF sporting director Braulio is considering loaning out Juan Bernat to Rayo Vallecano and possibly making a deal for Javi Fuego to come to Valencia CF. He is hoping such a deal for be acceptable for Rayo Vallecano, though Rayo president Felipe Miñambres denied such a possibility.

Either way its pretty much set that Bernat will be send on loan, if not in Rayo Vallecano than somewhere else and apart from Javi Fuego Valencia CF are also looking at other players for the defensive midfielder position as well as other positions like right wing and central defenders.

Mario Alvarado deal turning out too good to be true

So it seems someone leaked the supposed deal Mario Alvarado was doing with Bankia and his proposal was to buy 220 million euros of the debt owned by Bankia, but was itself based on a loan deal done with HSBC bank.

This just confirms many people's suspicions that he doesn't have any capital and this whole operation is based on more debt and more fake promises. He proposed a 3 phase deal and the first one was the purchase of the debt of up to 220 million and then have additional investments.

Problem with this is that there is no capital, there is no real money, its all based on further debt which Valencia CF has too much of. In fact the problems right now are too much debt and the inability to liquidate debt and start fresh, which is the only way to get growth again, it doesn't take a rocket scientists to get to understand that.

So I'd say this deal is likely to be rejected and is not going to go through. We even had reports that Llorente is in Dubai and other Asian countries searching for investors.

We'll see what happens, but I'm calling this early based on these new information that the deal will not go through, because there is no deal as there is no capital and/or money, its just more debt that if surprisingly done would just move the ball to another court.

Mario Alvarado plans to buy Valencia CF

Costa Rican energy and mining magnate Mario Alvarado has been making the news lately with his public offer to purchase Valencia CF. In fact after he announced his plan to purchase Valencia CF on a radio network, he went on to meet with Valencia's officials and discuss such a possibility.

Valencia CF debt is currently at 370 million euros, down from the 550 million euros dept it had 4 years ago. After coming in current Valencia CF president stabilized the ship and with the sales of David Villa, David Silva, Juan Mata and others was able to reduce the debt by over 150 million euros.

Our intention is firm, with the aim of being able to resolve the club's economic situation and thus give it financial stability for the coming decades," Alvarado Orozco said in a statement.

We have been preparing the offer for months and with absolute discretion and professionalism so as not to put the viability of the operation in jeopardy."

Our intention is firm, and our desire is to straighten out the club's economic situation and thereby provide it with financial stability for the coming decades", Alvarado's statement reads.

Alvarado plans to invest 500 million euros in Valencia CF, this would mean wiping out the 370 million debt and continuing construction on the Nou Mestalla. He also said he would likely keep Manuel Llorente as president to keep things running smoothly and won't be making any big changes.

He met with the City's deputy Mayor Alfonso Grau, as well as representatives on Bankia who are the owners of the club, since they own all the debt.

Valencia CF after Eljero Elia

Sport Valenciano is reporting that Valencia CF is interested in Werder Bremen winger Eljero Elia and has already acquired to his agent about his availability. This players arrived to Werder this summer, but reports have it that he isn't happy there and is looking for a way out.

Valencia CF are supposedly willing to pay as much as 5 million euros for the player as they see him as the perfect replacement for Sofiane Feghouli, who is likely to leave in the summer transfer window for huge money, as PSG is very interested in Feghouli. Also Feghouli will leave Valencia CF to play in the African cup of nations with Algeria, so he will miss at least 1 month, possibly more.

Valencia CF was interested in the player last year as well and there were reports in the summer that Valencia  CF will purchase Eljero Elia, but that didn't materialize.