Match Report
Valencia v Madrid
Photos of this match are by Peter Warren.

As the advert for Yellow Pages flashed round the Mestalla stadium following Madrid’s fifth goal, Valencian President Juan Soler should have been reaching for his mobile in the hope of finding a new coach. His best bet would be to look under “Psychiatrists”.

The depression and gloom around the club following the departure this week of head coach Quique Sánchez Flores was palpable. Not only in the way the team played but also in the reaction of the crowd. Some feeble whistling was overshadowed by a prolonged silence as Valencia’s supporters watched their heroes reduced to a shambles by the majesty of a Real Madrid team in top form.

5-1 was Valencia’s worst League defeat at home for 75 years and not a statistic that caretaker manager Óscar Fernández, would want reminding of in possibly his first and last match. Rumours before kick off were that Ronald Koeman, the manager of PSV and former Barcelona captain, is expected to take over from Fernández this week. The quicker the man known as Tintin by Barça fans can get to the city the better, though the Mystery of Valencia FC may prove an unsolvable adventure unless confidence returns to the squad or new players are introduced.

Valencia could not have had a worse start. Raúl scored in the first minute and the crowd stared in disbelief as the Madrid captain finished a smooth move, set up by the silky run of Robinho, while people were still unwrapping their seat warmers.

Fernández must take his share of the blame. Valencia had gone for a different set up. Although short of options with Baraja and Marchena ruled out, Fernández opted for Silva and Albelda as the midfield pairing who were out of touch with the back four and unable to deliver any useful ball through the middle to Morientes. Silva is much stronger playing on the flank or just off the main striker. In central midfield he found himself outplayed and outfought by Madrid’s purring engine of Guti and Diarra, who were outstanding in turning defence to attack, releasing at will Madrid’s front three of Robinho, Raúl and Van Nistelrooy. All of them made the score sheet: Van Nistelrooy hit two goals before half-time, his first in the 25th minute a lovely lob over the unfortunate Hildebrand.

Of Valencia’s back four Miguel had a shocker consistently playing too far infield allowing Robinho to make runs down the flank at will. The one time Miguel got forward down the right flank Valencia actually conjured up an attack leading to a wasted free kick but he spent far too long subdued and impotent in front of Robinho and Van Nistelrooy’s movement. Albiol who had a poor game at centre-half was actually sent off in the second half to add insult to injury but it meant he could run off the pitch before the end and avoid the embarrassment of having to clap the home crowd for staying in the stadium.

Sergio Ramos added a third goal for Madrid in the 29th minute after a great pass from Diarra with a strong shot across goal which went in off the left hand post. This was the cue for the crowd to begin its handkerchief waving, the traditional and slightly quaint gesture of disapproval which Spanish crowds retain for Presidents who have passed their sell-by date. The handkerchiefs had no sooner stopped fluttering when Van Nistelrooy popped up five minutes later for his second and Madrid’s fourth with a tap in after great work by Robinho. 4-0 and we still had ten minutes to the break. Luckily Raúl missed the final opportunity of the half in a one-on-one with Hildebrand.

In the second half a faint glimmer of hope was raised for Valencia by Angulo’s 59th minute goal from Joaquin’s centre but five minutes later Robhino quickly silenced any hope of a miracle with a well-taken goal on the left of the box. Miguel was again outfoxed by the Brazilian who coolly slotted the ball past Hildebrand.

The game ran down somewhat from the fifth Madrid goal. Fernández threw on Vicente who made a great contribution for the last 30 minutes producing two good shots from the left flank. But it was all in vain: Madrid finished with their lead in the Liga extended to four points and Valencia finished praying for some quick therapy from Dr. Koeman.

Verdict
Can only get better. With key players to come back (Villa, Baraja and Marchena) and the arrival of new manager Koeman the shape and spirit of the side will change and there may be new faces in the January transfer window. Before then Valencia need to win their next Champions League match at home to Rosenborg, which will probably be Koeman’s first match and one that is vital to any hopes of qualification for the knockout phase.

Un ganador (a winner) is the sobriquet the Spanish like to apply to Ronald Koeman, who was the first player to life the European Cup for Barcelona. Greater challenges lie ahead for Tintin, not least getting a defence together to resemble the one he led with distinction for Barcelona but above all he needs to instil belief. Confidence can’t be bought but by offering Koeman a healthy deal (and paying PSV a million euros compensation), President Soler may inspire something approaching positive thinking, which has been sadly lacking in this Valencian side’s recent performances.

Player watch
In what was a poor performance across the whole team, one player who did stand out was Vicente. The number 14 looked sharp, skilful and incisive as his team mates floundered around him. Helguera had a poor game against his former club letting Van Nistelrooy in for his first goal as he was muscled out by the Dutch international. Albelda struggled to shield the back four; Silva could not link with Angulo or Morientes and the central pairing needs changing once Marchena or Baraja come back. Morientes made some aerial challenges but had a very quiet game, in fairness, with no service from the team.

Highlight of the match
The minute’s silence for the Valencia socio (member) with membership number one. A respectful reminder of the importance of the fans and members to this great club.

Low point
Too many though the goal on forty seconds left fans shell-shocked.

Crystal ball
After predicting Valencia would qualify for the Champions League (which now looks extremely difficult), I am loath to make predictions but I think Koeman will see the side into the top four by season end. Madrid look Champions on this form.

Match report
Valencia v Chelsea - 03 October 2007

It may have been a case of déjà vu, but Valencia fans left the Mestalla unable to comprehend how their team has thrown away a 1-0 lead to lose to a rejuvenated Chelsea.

The script had promised a very different result to the 2-1 inflicted by Chelsea last April. The English team arrived in Valencia having failed to win for six games. Confidence was low following the sacking of their charismatic manager José Mourinho. And with star players injured (Lampard) or simply out of form (Shevchenko), new manager Avram Grant had little room for optimism. He was more the Grumpy One than the Special One during the pre-match press conference.

Valencia on the other side came into this game brimming with confidence. The side had won five on the trot including a valuable away win against Schalke in Germany in the last round of the Champions League. The team had no major injury worries and captain David Albelda felt the entire set up was different to last April’s game which allowed Chelsea to qualify for the semi-finals at the expense of Valencia.

“They have lots of injured players and our squad is almost complete and we have had some good results so far,” said Albelda.

His belief ran through Valencia’s first half performance. The home team came out confidently with David Silva firing just wide in the first minute leading to a spell of nervous defending from Chelsea. The Blues captain John Terry had elected to play after fracturing a cheek bone against Fulham but his face mask only seemed to scare his own defenders into a set of snatched clearances and fumbled possession. The panic was no more evident than when the normally reliable Chelsea keeper Petr Cech managed to clear from his goal with a dreadful slice which ended up in the top tier of the stadium. Under further pressure, Michael Essien got in the way of Makelele’s clearance and when the ball bobbled off Essien, David Villa burst past Terry to score Valencia’s opener for a well-deserved lead. With only ten minutes gone, the signs looked ominous for new Chelsea manager Avram Grant, who was frequently at odds with the fourth official, as Valencia dominated the early stages.

Valencia continued to play flowing, attacking football and Joaquin in particular was causing Chelsea a lot of problems on the right flank. Cech made an important block from the Valencian player after a neat pass from Morientes.

Chelsea however struck back against the run of play in the 21st minute with their first fluent move of the match. Florent Malouda received a great pass from Drogba then crossed from the left of the goal for Joe Cole to get a touch and silence the home support. The Spanish papers are still crediting Valencian defender Moretti with the goal after he seemed to get the last touch but UEFA confirmed the goal was Cole’s and the England international proved the key man for Chelsea in the end. Cole had talked pre-match about the need for that 10% more from the team, and he certainly took it into his own performance.

It was his second half pass, struck for 40 yards off the outside of his boot for Dider Drogba, which settled the match. It was an excellent through ball which Drogba finished with aplomb and although Valencia threw on their new beanpole striker Nikola Zigic, it was clear that Chelsea would not yield and the long ball tactics were not going to threaten a British team used to such a style of play.

Valencia then turned to Ruben Baraja for inspiration with Baraja replacing Albelda with fifteen minutes left. Villa continued to threaten with his pace and showed why Mourinho had pursued him while Chelsea boss. Before Chelsea’s second, he had had a second goal disallowed for offside in the 55th minute and in the final minutes Silva and Villa both went close. After Kalou showed woeful finishing at the other end, Baraja fired the last chance of the game straight at Cech and Chelsea held on to take all three points and lead Group B.

Verdict:
Valencia have every right to feel hard done by in terms of their superior play and domination of the first half. But they should have scored a second goal before half-time and when they were hit on the break they seemed unable to fight back at 2-1. Chelsea took their chances.; Valencia didn’t and as Quique said goals not statistics win games.

Match reaction:
Quique Sanchéz Flores, manager of Valencia, was philosophical and praised Chelsea’s tactics which had nullified Valencia’s midfield. “We are two good teams and what we try to do is neautralize our opponents. “said Flores. “In the first half we were better at this but in the second half,. what counts is not statistics, which favoured us, but the number of goals. We weren’t able to finish off the game.” Quique said it was the details you had to care of at this level, and Valencia had allowed two errors into their game which cost them the match.

Chelsea’s manager Avram Grant, clearly relieved at the press conference, was happy to joke that it was his best performance as a Chelsea manager in the Champions league (This was his first match!). “I am very happy with the result but also with the way we got the result,” said Grant. He complemented his staff in particular Steve Clarke who has been rumoured to be leaving following Mourinho’s sacking. He also had a message of support for the scorer of the winning goal Didier Drogba who had been personally very hurt at the removal of Mourinho. “I am very happy with his attitude and his willingness to give everything to Chelsea,” said Grant.

Drogba himself speaking to thisisvalencia.com after the match still looked pained by the memory of Mourinho. ” It has been a hard two weeks for the club but the best way to get through is to play like this,” said Drogba. Hiding under a bucket hat, he even managed a smile though how long he stays at Chelsea may well depend on their next game with Valencia which could be crucial for both sides’ chances of qualification.

Player watch:
During the first half Villa, Morientes, Silva and Joaquin looked very fluid as an attacking unit with good quick movement and slick passing. Far more dynamic than against Getafe in the previous home game, they got behind the Chelsea back four and created a lot of chances in the first half particularly. Villa was sharp and very quick especially for the first goal. His pace and awareness challenged Chelsea’s defence all game. He remains Valencia’s most dangerous player.

Morientes who said Chelsea were the dirtiest defence in the British league needs to do more work on the pitch. For a big player he is easily intimidated though he had some great touches to Villa and is a good link man He seems to have learned little from his Liverpool experience about playing against physical teams though. Second half he should have been pushing up more on Carvalho and Terry freeing space for Silva and Villa behind. Silva and Joaquin provided good service from the flanks as well as getting good opportunities themselves. Joaquin in particular had a one-on-one with Cech where he should have scored.

Zigic, who replaced Morientes, looks like a basketball player and has the same gait as Peter Crouch. The difference is how Valencia are to play such a giant into their passing game. Quique commented after the Chelsea game: ” We do not want to play for him. What we want to do is play with him.” Zigic will have to blend into the team but after only a few training sessions it is clear that hoofing the ball to him will not win Valencia many games or fans.

Hildebrand was picked instead of Cañizares despite the latter being fit. Timo was not at fault for the goals but Spain’s number one will surely be back for the next match.

After a good opening period, the midfield of Marchena and Albelda found it tough against the hard graft of Makelele, Essien and Mikel. Physically and mentally the Valencian pairing seemed to lose the battle in the second half.

Baraja who came on for Albelda tried to carve an opening through the Chelsea defence but with their noses in front Chelsea were too strong. Vicente’s creativity is sorely missed.

Highlight of match:
Joe Cole’s sublime pass splitting the whole Valencian defence. Miserable for Valencia fans but superb technique.

Low point:
The crowd. 40000 turned up to watch a match against last year’s Champions League semi-finalists. This was fewer than the previous match against Chelsea yet this season Valencia have won their first CL game away and are flying in the League. Champions League means more money for transfers; more fans outside Spain; and more exposure to the best players. If Valencia want to beat Barca and Madrid then we need to get serious about the European competition.

Crystal ball:
Valencia will qualify for the knock-out stages. Rosenborg lost at home so a win at home to Schalke and away in the next match with Rosenborg will be enough for Valencia to qualify

Current Standings:

2007 Champions League: GroupB

---------------------P--W--D--L--F--A--Pts
1 Chelsea-------2----1--1--0--3---2---4
2 Valencia-------2----1--0--1--2---2---3
3 Schalke--------2----1--0--1--2---1---3
4 Rosenborg----2----0--1--1--1---3---1

Next Match:
Rosenborg v Valencia 24th October