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.