La Liga Giants and the Valencia Problem.
Formed in 1919, Valencia are amongst the most successful and illustrious clubs in the Spanish League, in the 98 years of their existence they have won six La Liga titles and seven Copa del Rey titles the most recent being the Rafa Benitez guided La Liga trophies in 2002 and 2004. They reached the finals of the UEFA champions league, in 2000 and 2001 two years in a row. A period that also showcased their brilliance at European level.
Los Che have a beautiful history in both domestic and international competitions although recent years have held them back with the emergence of in form Spanish Clubs like Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao who are vying to be among the Spanish and European elite. The club nurtures it’s culture and has only been relegated once in the end of the 1985–86 season before they fought their way back into the Spanish Top division.
The popular Youth academy of this club has produced world class stars. Isco Alcorcon, Raul Albiol, Jordi Alba and David Silva are among the elite names to graduate from the ‘Cantera’ academy.
These are the final days of 2017, 12 games have been played in the 2017/2018 Spanish La Liga Santander and Valencia are having their best start in the league for the past 7 years. They are currently unbeaten after 12 games and sit comfortably in 2nd place 3 points ahead of Real Madrid who are 3rd in the log and 4 points short of the top which is comfortably occupied by FC Barcelona, although they have played a game less. Valencia has had bad spells in recent years even a suprisingly disappointing period with former Manchester United and English International Gary Neville. They were never considered a real threat in the domestic or International competitions even with the current addition of former Manchester winger Nani and Ezequel Garay. However this season we are witnessing a reinvented Valencia, a team that loves to score goals with reckless abandon, a team that has the pace and speed needed to compete with the very best in Europe. The current team is the youngest in La Liga, and they have the best shot conversion rate in the division. Old and uninteresting players like Enzo Perez, Nani, and Diego Alves have been discarded to pave way for the youth.
A delightful budding star to behold is the Portuguese youngster Goncalo Guedes who is on loan from PSG, he has been in scintillating form for the team this term, he has 5 assists already to his name and 3 goals. Geoffrey Kondogbia has proved an effective team player, he gives balance to the midfield and has been able to comfortably blend youthfulness with experience.
The pairing of Zaza and Rodrigo have been effective this year. It is noteworthy to mention the improvement Rodrigo the former Real Madrid academy graduate and
Simeone Zaza who like a phoenix has risen from his disappointing West ham outing, he has 8 goals this season in the La Liga already and he is only surpassed by Messi who has 12 then there is the ever refreshing resurgence of the club’s Captain Dani Parejo who seems to have added goalscoring to his attacking and midfield responsibilities. Academy graduate Soler has already started garnering attention from some big European clubs, his excessive work rate has not gone unnoticed.
Valencia face Barcelona on Sunday the 24th of November 2017 in the Camp Nou. Of course the Blaugrauna will be considered the favorite but Valencia should not be overlooked. This fixture is a top of the table clash, both teams are still unbeaten in the La Liga, and this could well determine the shape of the table going into the festive period. Erneste Valverde rested Messi in the week and he could be instrumental in dismantling the hopes of Los Che in their quest for the La Liga title.
Valencia has been a serious problem for some of the La Liga Giants already, holding Real Madrid the defending La Liga Champions to a 2–2 draw in The Santiago Bernabeau and thrashing Sevilla 4–0. They are a high scoring side and have produced 23 goals in their last 6 games. Marcelino the new coah was appointed by the Club’s President Mateu Alemany and so far the approach employed by him has been putative in the team.
He has changed the dietary and training plans of the players to suit their gameplay, He believes in short passes and speed and he needs to achieve this with youthful energy blended with experience.
This season according to Opta Valencia has attempted fewer longer passes than Barcelona and this has helped them to be particularly lethal in the opponent’s half of the pitch. However, There are some improvements that need to be taken into consideration. Defensively Marcelino needs to establish a cohesive chemistry between Gaya and his pairs,The defenders need to imbibe the positive work rate of the attackers and midfielders. They tend to lose control of games but their off the ball ardency has been impressive however.
Valencia may not end up winning the La Liga come end of the season, but they are a serious threat to the other title contenders as well as the dominant Liga Giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. We are enjoying their style of football and we are eager to witness more goals and brilliance as the season goes on.
Today’s match could be a matter of formality to win, as they have stronger opponents ahead.
By Duminiyk for Urban Central @Duminiyk on Twitter
Remember you can also follow us on Twitter @TheUrbanCentral
If you enjoyed this story, please click the 👏 button and share to help others find it! Feel free to leave a comment below.
