Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente taking things into his own hands

Probably one the best presidents in the past 20 years for Valencia, Manuel Llorente is taking things into his own hands to get the job done and that is Valencia CF finishing 3rd place.

Third place means so much to the club sportingly and financially that president Llorente doesn't want to leave no stone untouched. In fact there was similar meeting very recently on 17th of March where the objectives were laid out and where Llorente asked of the players and technical staff to give it their all and reach the objectives.

This new meeting will be pretty much the same, with the only difference being that Manuel Llorente is going to ask full professionalism and commitment from the players in the recent wake of the controversy with Vicente.

The meeting will take place Thursday when all the players have returned from their international games and as I've said the focus will be to get the team together and fully committed to reach the final objectives of finishing 3rd place in the league.

Players on international duty - report

Marius Stankevicious played in Lithuania's both matches, 2-0 friendly win over Poland and a 3-1 loss to Spain for Euro 2012 qualification. Stankevicious was also the scorer of the one goal against Spain. As usual he had few glaring mistakes, especially for Mata's assist as he was nowhere to be found and was suspect in positioning a few times as well.
Still in the previous match against Poland he was one of Lithuania's best players on the field.

Adil Rami played in France both matches, 2-0 win over Luxemburg for Euro 2012 qualification and a 0-0 frindly against Croatia.
Adil Rami was solid in both matches, though overall France looked more dangerous against Luxemburg, but against Croatia they were quite easily contained. In fact Adil Rami had the best chances to score for France through headers.

Hedwiges Maduro didn't play for Holland because he is injured, although he was still called to the squad and traveled with them.

Jordi Alba played in Spain U-21 squad one match when he came in as a substitute in the 1-1 draw against Belarus U-21 squad. He was selected to play as a left back in the short time he did get. While this isn't something special for Alba at least he is getting some confidence playing for Spain U-21 squad.

Ever Banega played in Argentina's both matches, the first match against USA he played the full 90 minutes and was quite good, keeping high possession for Argentina and having good passing. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, even though Argentina dominated is every aspect.
In the second match against Costa Rica he played 45 minuted and in that time he was also pretty good, unfortunately Argentina couldn't win in both of their matches so that may weigh heavily for the current starting eleven, as its wins that count.

Mehmet Topal returned to the Turkey squad after a long absence and did play in both of Turkey's matches, a 1-0 loss to Finland and in the 2-0 win over Austria for the Euro 2012 qualification. He played just few minutes in the second match, but this is positive since he is finally back to the national team.

Juan Mata played in the second match against Lithuania for the Euro 2012 qualification, he came on as a substitute and single-handedly won the match for Spain. Spain were level at 1-1 with Lithuania when Mata came in, but he provided the assist for Spain's second goal and then scored the third goal himself, after a beautiful pass from former Valencia CF player Silva.

Jonas Gonclaves came in as a substitute in the 78th minute in Brazil 2-0 win over Scotland. Jonas almost scored two goals for Brazil in his short time on the pitch, though he was a bit unlucky. This is Jonas first Brazil call-up and first match to actually play for Brazil national team.

Valencia CF transfer rummors and speculation

In the last few weeks, especially the last two weeks there has been a ton of transfer speculation who Valencia will bring in the summer. The most talked position to get strengthen is the right back position with Miguel facing possible jail time and his off field antics worrying and Bruno getting old and rarely ineffective in helping out the attack its fairly logical there to be ton of rumors.

Andreas Beck and João Pereira were one of the first speculations these past two weeks, from then on it seems the rumor mill blew wide open and can't stop. Beck plays for Hoffenheim and is considered by many as Philip Lahm replacement in the German squad. His contract ends in June 2012 and by that account only it may have a little merit for Valencia to really be following him.

Joao plays for Portugal's Sporting club and has also been called to the national squad, he has started his career with Benfica through their youth system and has always been considered a very talented player.

Next up is Kiko Femenía, young Hércules fullback who is reportedly followed by Valencia after some impressive performances for Hercules. He has played 25 games for Hercules, scoring 1 goal in the process, but his release clause is set very high at 10 million euros.

Next up is the young right back Martin Montoya from Barcelona B team. He has been impressive this season and has caught the eye of several club from Spain, reportedly including Valencia. His contract is also set to expire at the end of the season and there is a potential in that sense to get the player.

One of the first rumors was the possible signing of Celta Vigo right back Hugo Mallo.He is reportedly eager to switch teams and go into a bigger club and Valencia is interested in him as he has big potential. Hugo has also been called 3 times to Spain U-19 team.

Coke Andújar is a player for Rayo Vallecano, he is 23 years old, soon to be 24 and has been playing some good football, enough to catch the eyes of Valencia staff. He is also one of the cheapest players and is reportedly going to cost Valencia only 1 million euros.

Bogus or not? Well its certanly not bogus that Valencia technical staff is following a lot of player and not only for the right back position.

In fact Valencia technical staff are following players for the left back position, center defense position, left wing position and central midfield position as well.

Whether all the players above are followed is uncertain, but what is certain is that Valencia are going to try to bring a new right back for the lowest amount of money, who is also the best option for the money.

Personally I'd go for Andreas Beck from all the above, though there are some better players out there that I'll write about once the season is closer to finish.

Ever Banega to leave Valencia CF?

In a bit of surprising news coming from Spanish media it seems that Ever Banega could be on his way out of Valencia CF this summer.

Reports suggest that Valencia CF has received several offers for Banega and that the player himself has told his agent that he want to leave Valencia and go to another club.
How much if any of this is true is unclear at this time, but such a possibility is not totally remote.

Ever Banega has been very important to Valencia CF this season and even though he is not in the form he was last season, he has shown that he has skill. He has also started most of the matches, though Unai Emery has been changing him with Tino Costa.

The club management probably wants Banega to stay as he is an important player and one of great quality, but should a big enough offer come along they might consider letting him go.

Valencia CF players called for national squads duty

Valencia CF players have once again been called for international duty for their respective countries.

The ones that features for their countries, but have been since left out are Manuel Fernandes and Ricardo Costa. Manuel Fernanded featured for 2 matches for Portugal, but once the coach changed he hasn't been called up. Ricardo Costa was called the last time due to injury in the Portugal back line, but he is not a standard player for Portugal and its likely that is the way its going to stay.

One new inclusion has been Jonas Goncalves to the Brazil national team, which is a bit of a surprise, but is good for the player and Valencia CF as well, as getting international experience is always good.

Stankevicious has been called in for Lithuania, he is one of the most standard players there and is considered one of the best players in the country.

Topal has been recalled to the Turkish national team after a long break, he has a standard player for Turkey before, those for much of 2010 he haw out of the national team. Anyways he has been recalled and is probably going to be a first eleven player as Turkey has been suspect at the back and Topla is going to provide some much needed defensive cover.

Maduro seems to have found a permanent place in the Holland national team and has been called up for all of the matches after the world cup in Africa ended.

Mata has also been recalled to the Spain team, he was only out of the senior team because he was playing for Spain's U-21, but Vicente Del Bosque has decided to bring him back to the senior squad.

Banega has been called for Argentina once again and he is already a standard 11 player for Argentina. When Banega has played Argentina have not lost, the only match Argentina were without Banega was against Japan and they lost by one goal.

Jordi Alba has been impressive this season and in great form so he has been called up for Spain U-21 squad and this is I believe his first national squad call up.

Valencia CF also has a lot of youth players called up for Spain U-21 and bellow squads.

Valencia CF 0-1 Sevilla FC - Match Report

Sevilla kept their chances of achieving top-four finish alive with a fine win at Valencia.

Ivan Rakitic scored the only goal midway through the second half, slamming home a loose ball to put his side to within 12 points of Valencia who occupy fourth spot.

They were indebted to goalkeeper Javi Varas for the win, with his string of fine saves keeping Valencia at bay.

Spain winger Jesus Navas was the first to look likely for Sevilla, forcing his way into the box before flashing an effort across goal.

Valencia then thought they should have been awarded at least one penalty, with Roberto Saldado being brought down in the box by Mouhamadou Dabo, with the same man then colliding with Joaquin.

Jonas then found himself well set in the box for Valencia, but fell over as he attempted to hit the target, while at the other end, Alvaro Negredo broke clear but hit the near post instead of going across the goalkeeper.

Jonas then broke through on Sevilla`s goal, but, as Varas stormed out, the striker dinked an effort wide of his right-hand post.

Navas volleyed wide after the restart, before Jonas thumped the woodwork after taking in a Soldado pass.

Frederic Kanoute put a free header over Valencia's bar from a corner and Varas then began to excel, palming Juan Mata`s chip on to his bar, before using his thigh to bundle a Jonas header away.

Valencia were then made to pay, with Rakitic firing in an unstoppable half-volley after a blocked Negredo shot fell to him.

Varas beat away a Joaquin volley as Valencia looked to snatch a leveller, but they could not find their way through.

Technical details:

Valencia                            Sevilla FC

26(9)	Shots (on Goal)	23(10)
14	Fouls	13
9	Corner Kicks	6
2	Offsides	2
55%	Time of Possession	45%
2	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
9	Saves	9

Valencia CF: Guaita, Bruno, David Navarro (Banega, m.54), Dealbert, Mathieu (Jordi Alba, m.78), Topal, Tino Costa, Joaquín, Jonas (Aduriz, m.75), Mata, Soldado.

Sevilla FC: Javi Varas, Alexis, Fazio, Escudé, Dabo, Medel (Zokora, m.79), Navas, Rakitić, Perotti (Capel, m.90+), Kanouté, Negredo (Renato, m.90+).

Goal: 0-1, m.69: Rakitić.

Player Ratings: 
Guaita 7 - Good match for the keeper, after two shakier performances the last two matches.
Bruno 6 - Decent play, went forward often enough and was good at the back.
Navarro 5 - Good display from the captain, a bit too slow on two occasions, but otherwise good.
Dealbert 6 - Did well, slow as Navarro, but did not make any mistakes.
Mathieu 5 - Won 50% of the challenges with Navas, but lost few crucial challenges, didn't provide much in attack either.
Joaquin 7 - Great performance from Joaquin and always caused Sevilla problems.
Topal 5.5 - When in his position did well, simple and tidy passing with good defensive cover, but he is not good enough for a center back.
Tino Costa 6 - Fought hard, had few nice touches and generally useful, but failed to break Sevilla's defenses.
Mata 6 - Had good moments and can be considered one of his better matches in a while, but goes invisible for large periods of the match and needs to play more direct football. 
Jonas 4 - Found himself in may positions to score and his movement was great, but failed to score which is the most important thing.
Soldado 4.5 - Better than Jonas as he was more active and went wide to the right to help out, had a great assist to Jonas and few shots himself, but he also failed to find the net.
Subs:
Banega 6 - When he came in Valencia CF instantly got more possession and he had one great cross that put someone from the attack alone on goal, but ultimately could not really break Sevilla's defense. 
Aduriz 4 - I barely saw him. He had few sloppy touches and could not control the ball, so he did nothing really.
Alba N/A - Not enough time.

Valencia CF vs Sevilla FC - Match Preview

Valencia CF has had a rough two weeks with two painful and demoralizing losses. Loosing to Schalke 04 in the champions league was taken very bad by the players and it showed in the next match against Real Zaragoza where Valencia CF were trashed 4-0 by the relegation threatened Zaragoza.
That match was probably the worst match this season and the players need to forget it and continue on with the fight for 3rd place finish.

The first opportunity to bounce back is against Sevilla, a very dangerous opponent and one that has caused Valencia CF troubles on the tables a lot of times, a old rival you can say. While Valencia CF have a good historical record against Sevilla at home this is a dangerous time to be facing Sevilla after two rough weeks. Right now we may just hope the players have recovered and are motivated and ready to play Sevilla and beat them.

Valencia has some negative news as David Albelda has suffered another injury in training and Maduro continues to struggle with his injury as well and both won't be available for the next match. Stankevicious is suspended to due his red card against Zaragoza.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: César, Guaita.
Defense: Bruno, David Navarro, Ricardo Costa, Dealbert, Jordi Alba, Mathieu.
Midfield: Topal, Tino Costa, Éver, Joaquín, Pablo, Vicente.
Attack: Mata, Jonas, Aduriz, Soldado.

Sevilla FC on the other hand have been for the most part of the season in terrible form and their results have been from mediocre to downright bad. Their biggest problem this season has been the defense, while they are able to score goals and are dangerous on the attack, especially on the flanks, they tend to receive goals pretty easily.

Their coach Manzano has so far been unable to find the perfect pairing of center backs and there has been problems and accusations of players that the coach favors a set of players and chooses them even if they don't perform good.

In recent weeks though it seems that the team has been getting better and there is more collectivism and friendship in their camp. Is this just a calm before the storm where they all get on each others throats is unclear at this point, but what is certain is that Valencia CF need to be at their best game if they are to beat Sevilla.

Sevilla's last three matches have been all over, from a 3-0 win against Sporting, to a loss to Bilbao and last week a surprise draw with Barcelona.

Sevilla FC squad:
Goalkeepers: Javi Varas, Dani Jiménez
Defense: Federico Fazio, Ivica Dragutinović, Julien Escudé, Mouhamadou Dabo, Alexis Ruano
Midfield: Jesús Navas, Didier Zokora, Diego Perotti, Renato Florêncio, Alejandro Alfaro, Diego Capel, Gary Medel, Ivan Rakitić
Attack: Frédéric Kanouté, Álvaro Negredo, Rodrigo 'Rodri' Lozano