Valencia CF 0-1 Atletico Madrid - Match Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

Valencia CF in negotations with Andre Villas-Boas

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

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

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

Valencia CF interested in Marvin Martin

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

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

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

Didier Deschamps to replace Unai Emery?

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


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


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

Unai Emery said he'd leave in the summer

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

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

Poll Results

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

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

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

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

Valencia CF 4-1 Rayo Vallecano Player Ratings

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