Real Madrid 1-1 Valencia CF Match report

First match of the season and Valencia CF is off to a great start, drawing against last season's champions Real Madrid at their home stadium and in the first match of the season. Even though it didn't look like it found finish in a draw, Valencia CF managed to fight off Real Madrid attacks and secure a draw which is a great result for us.

The match started in a normal fashion with Real Madrid as the home team having the initiative and a little bit more of the ball possession. First minutes were played seizing out the opposition with both sides fighting mostly at the middle of the pitch.

Real Madrid would ramp out the pressure though and instantly got off to a flying start as Gonzalo Higuain would score a goal in the 10th minute after a nice cross by Di Maria put him through alone on goal and Ruiz and messed up thinking he could catch him in offside position. But the goal wasn't to come that easy, as Gonzalo needed 3 shots to finally put the ball in the net, as the first two shots were block by Diego Alves, but the rebound went to Higuain three times.

Having scored a goal Real Madrid seemed comfortable in possession, a little too comfortable I would say as they failed to really push their advantage.

Feghuoli would have a decent chance for Valencia CF at the 22nd minute as he tried to shoot, but ultimately failed.

Real Madrid would continue the attacks and would get a pretty good chance in the 34th minute as Ruiz was slow closing down again and would allow Madrid with an opportunity, but Coentrao who shoots, but sees his effort deflected into the side-netting.

Valencia CF would punish Real Madrid for their lack of intent and in the 42nd minute Jonas scores a goal, a header, after a free kick by Tino Costa. Iker Cassilas and Pepe misjudged the flight on the ball and fled into each other, leaving Jonas unmarked to head the ball in the net. Luckilly for Real Madrid both continued the match after some fast medical help, but Pepe was replaced in the second half for Albiol.

Roberto Soldado would score, but the goal won't stand for long after the line referee rules offside, even though by the not so good camera work it seemed like Soldado was at least half a meter before the last Real Madrid defender.

Real Madrid would have a chance to score in the 59th minute as Higuain shoots, but the shot is poor as he fails to hit the ball fully and the ball reaches Ozil, forcing the offside.

61st minute Joao Pereira is beaten by his countrymen Ronaldo, Ronaldo crosses dangerously low, but Costa is in the right place and clears the danger.

Real Madrid would have another chance just minutes later as a bad intervention by Diego Alves gives Real Madrid a chance, but Ruiz was faster than Higuain there and managed to clear the ball for the penalty area. As the action continues from the middle after the clearance by Ruiz Coentrao I think crosses the ball superbly to Higuain, he shoots, but the ball hits the bar and Valencia CF escape by the luck of the draw.
Minute later Ozil would also get a chance on goal and he shoots on goal, but Alves saves.

After a bit of a down time and plays in the middle, with both sides doing substitutions the new substitute for Real Benzema gets in a dangerous position with the ball, shoots, but Diego is well positioned again and saves.

Real Madrid would have one final chance in the 82nd minute as Callejon shoots at goal, after a good pass by Ronaldo, but once again Alves saves.

After that the game was a bit hectic till the end, but no side had any significant chances and Valencia CF managed to close out the game in a draw, which is a great result for Valencia CF and a bad result by Real Madrid.

Technical Details:
R. Madrid (1): Casillas, Pepe (Albiol, min. 46), Ramos, Coentrao, Ronaldo, Ozil, Alonso, Arbeloa, Higuaín, Di María (Callejón, min. 70) y Lass (Benzema, min. 62).
Valencia CF (1): Alves, Gago, Jonas, Feghouli (Valdez, min. 80), Soldado (Parejo, min. 70), Joao Pereira, Guardado (Piatti, min. 65), V. Ruiz, R. Costa, Mathieu y Tino Costa.
Goals: 10min, 1-0 Higuain; 42min, 1-1 Jonas

Player Ratings:
Diego (MotM) 7.5 - Fantastic performance by Diego Alves as he has dozen good saves and managed to defend 2 times on Higuains goal, but he was let down by the defense on that one in the first place.
Pereira 5 - Mixed bad performance. Started quite weak as his marking was quite off and wasn't involved in attack at all, improved later on and made some good interventions, but again he lacked in the marking department and was beaten few times.
Costa 7 - Calming presence in front of goal and he was a solid rock at the back, really showing Ruiz how to defend. Seems to become better with age.
Ruiz 4.5 - At fault for the first goal, allowed Higuain and Coentrao chances to score and while he improved later on and had few good interventions, it was not enough.
Mathieu 6.5 - Managed to restrain Di Maria for most of the time, was not supposed to mark Di Maria for the first goal and was further back, did few good runs in attack, but he obviously lacks communication with Guarado.
Gago 6 - Decent first match for Gago, was good all around with passing and defending, had few good interventions at the back and linked up well with Tino, considering they haven't played together much at all.
Tino 6 - Provided the assist to Jonas goal and was generally a nuisance to Real Madrid midfield as he ran a lot and covered a lot of ground, but couldn't impose himself on the game in more meaningful way, apart from the assist.
Feghuoli 5 - Seemed quite tired for his first match of the season. Last year he was one of the biggest runners, but he seemed out of steam throughout this whole match. Rather poor performance overall.
Jonas 6.5 - Scored the goal for Valencia CF, was not involved too much, but provide some good dangerous passes and would be happy to score the crucial goal for a draw.
Guardado 4.5 - Really lacked any intent and seemed afraid by the importance of the match. Had few decent runs, but couldn't provide the final ball and had suspect decisions like failing to pass quickly to Feghuoli and waiting until he was offside to then pass.
Soldado 5 - Issolated for most of the match, the one time where he got an opportunity he scored, but the referee deemed it offside, even though it looked like he was onside.
Subs:
Piatti 5 - Did not have any significant impact and apart from few short runs that he couldn't finish because no one else was there, he could not do much.
Parejo 5 - Did brings some more stability in the ranks for few minutes and tried some wild passed to get something going, but none payed off and ended up mostly defending.
Valdez 5.5 - Didn't have time to do anything of significance, but I liked his spirit and he seemed really determined and run the whole time after he went in, almost having one opportunity late in the game.

Real Madrid vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Real Madrid vs Valencia CF

Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu

Coach: Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pellegrino

Date: 19.08.2012; 19:00 CET

Its that of the year again as the new season starts and Valencia CF goes up against last year's league champions Real Madrid in the first game of the season. The luck of the draw couldn't have been harder for Valencia CF for the opening 3 games, going against Real Madrid first, week later Deportivo La Coruna and then FC Barcelona. Of course this could mean easier finish, though that is not true as we go against Sevilla in the last of the matches.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid are the defending champions from last season and they will be looking to add some more trophy's and start this season with a win to put them on a good momentum which is very important these days for the battle for the title against Barcelona as every point in the later stages counts.

Real Madrid are certainly the favorites to win the title again this season as they have the core team from last season with possibly one new addition in Luka Modric from Tottenham, but the team has grown and some new and youth players could break through. Luka Modric didn't feature yesterday for Tottenham so he is likely very close to joining Real Madrid and is probably going to serve as a backup to Xabi as their central midfield is already packed.

Real Madrid had a good preseason as they won all but one of their matches, against Benfica they suffered a surprising and large loss of 5-2. After that though it was all straight wins, beating Milan 5-1 in the process. Players like Kaka and Di Maria and Nuri Sahin also fully fit, after struggling with injuries for long parts, they will be ready to battle to prove themselves, unless Sahin leaves of course which there are still rumors that he may.

Real Madrid Squad:

Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Casillas; Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, Coentrao; Xabi, Khedira; Di Maria, Kaka, Ronaldo; Benzema.

Valencia CF

Valencia CF are the defending "champions" from the second tier, second league within La Liga and third season in a row Valencia CF is the "champions". Realistically its only 3rd place, which is a good result no doubt, but the top two clubs are so much better that in the past several years it has been a two horse races and the points difference between second and third 30 points.

Valencia CF broke ties with Unai Emery at the end of last season on a good note, as he went on to coach Spartak Moscow and Valencia CF brought in former player and one of the best defenders at Valencia CF Mauricio Pellegrino, who was assistant coach to Rafael Benitez at Inter and then previously Liverpool. So while he doesn't have too much experience leading a team, he knows how to coach and has also worked with many coaches in his career as a player for Valencia CF. He also brings that champions mentality the team had when they were finalists in the Champions league and winning La Liga.

Valencia CF strengthened significantly this season with some great signings, but also lost several good players as well, like Jordi Alba who transferred to our rival Barcelona, Topal who went back to Turkey as he missed his home, Aduriz who went to Bilbao and so on.
While we lost players we also got some as well, Valencia CF managed to capture a rising star, a huge talent who is considered the successor to Silva in Jonathan Viera for only 2.5 million euros. Andres Guardado joined Valencia CF from Deportivo as a free agent after he refused to extend his contract with Deportivo and signed for Valencia CF. Valencia CF looked long and hard at a right back and at the end we ended up with the cheaper option in Joao Pereira, but judging from the Euro 2012 it turned out we made a great decision as he showed he is a secure defender and consistent in his form.
We also bought Fernando Gago from Real Madrid and bought Sergio Canales in a deal that featured both of them and just few days ago we also brought in a new attacker Nelson Valdez who comes in as a back-up to Roberto Soldado as the coach gives Paco time to mature.

Valencia CF preseason was very good, with a bit of a surprising loss at the end there, but ultimately it was a good preseason with good results and we won the most important match of the preseason the match against Tottenham. In the preseason Viera really shone and showed off his talent multiple times, finding some amazing passes that resulted in goals and in the very near future he will turn into a star. Paco also showed signs of his talent and Jonas confirmed that he is going to be a very important player for Valencia CF this season.

Valencia CF Squad: 
Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Felipe Ramos.
Defenders: Barragán, Joao Pereira, Rami, Víctor Ruiz, Ricardo Costa, Mathieu.
Midfielders: Albelda, Gago, Parejo, Tino Costa, Feghouli, Pablo, Piatti, Guardado.
Forwards: Viera, Jonas, Valdez, Soldado.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Line-up: Diego; Pereira, R. Costa, Ruiz, Mathieu; Gago, Tino; Feghuoli, Jonas, Guardado; Soldado

Result Prediction:

Real Madrid 2-1 Valencia CF

We must admit to our-self that Real Madrid are realistically the better team and with such talent as Cristiano Ronaldo, Di Maria, Ozil, Benzema already at such a high level and playing all the time reaching their potential we only have developing talent like Viera, Canales, Guarado, Bernat and Paco some of which may need at least 2 more years to develop and be ready. 

The one thing going in Valencia CF favor is the international friendlies that were played as Real Madrid had a lot more players go and many of them played so that would make them slightly more tired, though we had quite a few players go with their national teams as well. 

Both teams had very good preseasons so we can't give the advantage to any club from the preseason, so taking all into account, the home terrain for Real, the fact that they are the more stable team as Valencia CF changed coaches this summer and we had a lot more players leaving and coming, Real Madrid is likely to win this match, although I'm not giving them a huge advantage and expect them to win 2-1.

Valencia CF transfers summer 2012

Jonathan Viera was signed first of the new arrivals for a fee of 2.5 million euros. He joins from UD Las Palmas and is one of the biggest talents in Spain right now, many considering him to be the next Silva. He has a direct style of play and while not as technically skilled as Silva, he has flair and more strength and brute force.

He did amazing in the preseason matches and showed why he is held at such high esteem and why people consider him such talent. His passing has been inventive and accurate, his movement superb and as I said he has flair and strength. Great signing for Valencia CF and a talent for the future and likely for the very near future.

Andres Guardado signed a personal deal with Valencia CF over 8 months ago and became a Valencia CF player officially on 01.07.2012 when his Deportivo La Coruna contract was officially over.
This means he comes for free and after his best season as a player. He scored 11 goals and provided 12 assists for Deportivo last season and was their main player. He is a great dribbler with amazing speed and acceleration and has also been representing Mexico since 2005 as well. His last season shows that he can also bring in more than just speed and dribbling as he can rack up assists and score goals. He featured heavily in the golden cup win in 2011.

Joao Pereira comes from Sporting Lisbon for a fee of 3.5 million euros and at the height of his career. For defenders the years from 28 to 32 are the best and so Pereira comes at such a time. He is an explosive players with great attacking prowess, fast and powerful with great crossing ability. He lacks a bit in the defensive department and sometimes tends to forget himself in attack, but is a powerhouse in attack, while with good defensive tactics he can be reliable in defense as well. On one on one situations he tends to be quite good.
He did great in the Euro 2012 and cemented his position as a great and secure right back and so far is preseason has showed that he is going to be a key player for Valencia CF and a reliable defender.

Fernando Gago comes from Real Madrid after 2 seasons of sitting on the bench and being down the pecking order for Jose Mourinho. He came to Real Madrid as a huge young potential and actually featured in his early days there quite a bit, but since then he's failed to really impose himself and has been lurking in the shadows. He comes at a good time in Valencia CF for his career and at a time when he has reinvented himself and been playing consistently for his national team Argentina.

Fernando Gago comes as a defensive midfielder at Valencia CF, but I regard him as a central midfielder with very good defensive skills, he is actually very good on the ball, has great passing range and vision and is a natural playmaker. Either way for the price he comes he is a steal and is a good business for Valencia CF.

Nelson Valdez comes from Russian team Rubin Kazan on a year long loan deal with an option to buy for Valencia CF. He comes as a back-up to Soldado, since Paco is still considered too young for consistent football and also comes as a different type of player to Soldado and Jonas.
Nelson Valdez is not a natural goalscorer as evident from his spell at Rubin Kazan with only 3 goals scored, but in previous clubs as well he hasn't been a big goalscorer. While he lacks scoring abilities though, he is a wide, strong player that can force situations and gets additional defenders on him, possibly opening up space for other players to exploit. He is a cheap option of course, he is not likely to be used too much, but with the need to buy a quality left back he is a decent cheap option.

Pablo Hernandez wants to leave

Swansea City AFC have bid for Pablo Hernandez, Valencia CF rejected the bid noting that Pablo Hernandez is not for sale, but Pablo Hernandez had a talk with Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente and send a clear signal that he wants to leave.

Swansea is said to have bid around 5 million euros and the bid may go up to 7 million euros, but more important than that is that we don't really have a cover if Pablo leaves. Yeah Piatti's best position is right wing, but we can't count on him seriously as he was very inconsistent last year, so this creates a huge problem for Valencia CF, especially since we don't have time to find and purchase a suitable replacement.

Right now it seems likely that Pablo will leave, but Llorente is meeting with Valencia CF sporting director Braulio Vasquez and coach Mauricio Pellegrino to discuss this and make a decision.

Valencia CF players market value

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

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

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

1. Roberto Soldado, 27 years old; positions: ST - 25 million euros
2. Ever Banega, 24 years old; positions: CM, AM - 13 million euros
3. Adil Rami, 26 years old; positions: CD - 12 million euros
3. Jeremy Mathieu, 28 years old; positions: LB, LW - 12 million euros
4. Diego Alves, 27 years old; positions: GK - 11 million euros
5. Jonas, 28 years old; positions: AM, CF, ST - 10 million euros

5. Sofiane Feghuoli, 22 years old; positions: AM, LW - 10 million euros

6. Fernando Gago, 26 years old; positions: DM, CM - 9 million euros

6. Paco Alcacer, 18 years old; positions: ST - 9 million euros

7. Pablo Hernandez, 27 years old; positions: RM, RW, AM, LW - 8 million euros
7. Victor Ruiz, 23 years old; positions: CD - 8 million euros
7. Andres Guardado, 25 years old; positions: LM, LW - 8 million euros
8. Joao Pereira, 28 years old; positions: RB - 7 million euros

8. Vicente Guaita, 25 years old; positions: GK - 7 million euros

9. Tino Costa, 27 years old; positions: CM, AM - 6 million euros

9. Daniel Parejo, 23 years old; positions: CM, AM - 6 million euros

9. Ricardo Costa, 31 years old; positions: SW, CD - 6 million euros

9. Sergio Canales, 21 years old; positions: AM, LM - 6 million euro

9. Jonathan Viera, 22 years old; positions: AM - 6 million euros

9. Pablo Piatti, 23 years old; positions: RW, LW, AM, ST - 6 million euros

11. Juan Bernat, 19 years old; positions: LW - 5 million euros

12. Antonio Baragan, 25 years old; positions: RB - 4 million euros

13. Nelson Valdez, 28 years old; positions: ST - 3 million euros
14. David Albelda, 34 years old; positions: CD, DM - 2 million euros

Tottenham bids 30 million for Soldado Roberto, bid rejected

Valencia CF reject a 30 million bid by Tottenham for Valencia CF striker Roberto Soldado. Tottenham is having striker deficiencies and Villas-Boas tried to get his reported favorite striker Roberto Soldado, with Tottenham biding 30 million euros for the transfer of Roberto Soldado to Tottenham.

Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente rejected the offer though and reiterated that Roberto Soldado is not for sale.

Official: Chori Dominguez signs with Rayo Vallecano

Its official, Chori Dominguez rescinded his contract with Valencia CF and signed for Rayo Vallecano. Chori has to pass the medical exams though to make it final.

AS I've reported earlier Chori wanted to get a chance this summer and fight for a place in the team and the new coach Pellegrino was willing to give him a chance until he talked to Braulio who made sure Chori isn't welcomed and it was probably the right decision.

He was a bad influence on the team when he was at Valencia CF and especially Banega, so just like Miguel, he is let go from the team for the same reasons.