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.
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Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
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: ...
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.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Official: Ernesto Valverde new Valencia CF coach
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
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.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Valencia CF in negotiations with 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.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
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.
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.
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