VALENCIA CF LEGEND ‘Fernando Gómez Colomer’ played for Valencia CF in LaLiga, Wolves in the Premier League and Spain in the 1990 World Cup. A midfielder, he is the player with the most official matches played in the history of Valencia Club de Fútbol: (553), where he is the fourth all-time top scorer after Mundo, Waldo and Kempes!

24/7 Valencia: Can you please explain in detail about your new book, ‘Fernando Gómez Colomer. La zona del 10.’ ?

Fernando Gómez Colomer: It is not a biography, but it is told in chronological order. It consists of two parts, the first one, from when I started playing at Salgui School when I was ten years old, until I retired, and the second, some of the situations I experienced after I retired, in different clubs and with different people. In any case, there are anecdotes and I share my feelings and views that are told with absolute realism. The interpretation is by the author, Jesús Manzano, and it is very entertaining with revealing situations that are striking for the reader, in short and very easy-to-read chapters.

How do you see the current situation with Valencia CF at the bottom of the table and Peter Lim in charge? Worrying, we are struggling to win, the team has picked up very few points, and we need to get off the bottom as soon as possible. Important decisions have been made, a change of coach, a couple of signings. However, it won’t be easy, we’re not far away from relegation. The idea now should be that Valencia CF win as many matches as possible, especially at Mestalla, and get the necessary points to stay in LaLiga.

Valencia fans are very loyal in terms of attendance at games, in good times and bad. Is there light at the end of the tunnel? If we have to save ourselves based on our fans, their attendance and their support in very negative situations, we will 100% do it. They are always there, and as you say, in the very bad times they show their pride, leave criticism aside, support and help the team with everything they can. They give everything to collaborate in finding positive results that provide permanence, by creating the most favourable environment to achieve it.

Will the ‘Nou Mestalla’ open more doors for Valencia on a national and international level in sporting and cultural terms? The Nou Mestalla must be accompanied by a much better sporting situation for Valencia CF to be a success. Without that, the stadium will just not be filled, it will even feel somewhat empty and the stadium will not be used for the big events and the biggest sporting events possible, like the World Cup and international matches and Champions League finals. Indeed, I do wish for a new stadium that is hopefully the one most suited to the club and the city, but accompanied with better sporting features of the club as well…to reflect this big step up for Valencia CF.

 What was it like living and working in England compared to Spain? Playing for Wolves and living in England was one of the best experiences of my life, in the personal and professional. Tranquility, new teammates, new club, new stadium, playing in the Premier league.  I often say that I have played in the FA Cup, something that will always remain with me as part of my career and in the reserves league too. I lived that experience 200%. Fans believe that players always give their all, they will play better or worse, but they give their all. And the media coverage was much less than in Spain at that time so there wasn’t that outside pressure either. El Molineux was welcoming, familiar, and the fans always appreciated me.

I wanted to play in England. After 15 years at  VCF, I had to try and get into English football. It wasn’t easy to make a mark and it took time. At that time there were still very few Spanish players in those leagues. But I made it. Mark McGhee signed me. In the end, he was dismissed and I didn’t play as much as I expected in the last months of the competition, but I feel proud to have belonged to Wolves and to have played in that country with their way of playing football. Teammates I remember would be Steve Bull, Robbie Keane, Simon Osborn, Steve Sedgley, Dean Richards and more.

What are your best memories from when you played for Spain in the 1990 World Cup? Having been chosen among the 22 players representing Spain, I played little, but I was there. If you play for the national team it is confirmation that you are doing well for your club team. You feel privileged, chosen. There was a lot of media coverage, an extraordinary atmosphere, maximum responsibility, a country waiting on you for our best results. It was the maximum for a footballer.

You played an incredible 553 official matches for Valencia, which is still an all-time record. Tell us about your best moments as a Valencia CF player… There were many. Great teammates, great games, good friendships, a lot of relationships with many people. And many experiences. Different situations, you gain a lot of experience, on a professional level and on a personal level. The best moments, those of success, logically. The two weeks lived before the final of the Copa del Rey in ’95, for example. And many great victories too. Playing in Europe. Everything really.

What were the hardest moments? Losing the ’95 Copa del Rey final against Deportivo de la Coruña, the hardest moment for me at VCF. I always stayed to achieve a title with the club, and I never did.  Being part of the two LaLiga runners-up Valencia CF teams, that was when we came closest to achieving big success. In the 1990s, we should have won a few more titles, but we lost another cup final (1995) and were runners-up in the league in season 95/96. It’s a shame.

Tell us about playing with Romario at VCF. How good a player was he? He was an extraordinary player, his first five metres were scintillating, and his technique and ease of scoring was incredible. He arrived at the VCF in his last period in Europe, and he didn’t really show his best here, but as a footballer he was one of the greatest near and inside the box.

If Neymar was worth more than 200 million euros at his peak, how much would Romario be worth in the current market? The most difficult thing to find in football is superb skill and a real gift for goal. It’s the most expensive thing to pay for. Romario had it so he would have been worth similar amounts.

And what about Claudio López and Ariel Ortega? Ortega arrived in the late 1990s. The early years of ‘El Piojo’ (López) were not spectacular. After the cup title win in Seville in 1999 (against Atletico Madrid for the COPA DEL REY), we saw a different Piojo, more confident and with much more goals. Very quick into space, his scoring streak, especially against FC Barcelona, will always be remembered.  

Who was the best player you played with?I played with many great players. I don’t want to forget about any of them. I played 15 seasons with VCF, Sempere, Zubizarreta, Quique, Arias, Tendillo, Eloy Olalla, Alvaro Cervera, etc. Although the most internationally recognized were Mazinho, Mijatovic and Penev. Even Madjer played for a while in our team. But very little. He was a great player.

Who is the player you are most proud of having made your two seasons as Sports Director of Valencia? There were many. Our financial possibilities were limited and that made the choices a truly risky and exciting ones. First and foremost, we returned the club to the Champions League, in the season (2009/10), and then (2010/11) having sold Villa, Silva and Mata. And the cost of the squad went from 105 million euros to 83 million euros in two years. As for players, they came at zero cost and performed very well, Jeremy Mathieu, Feghouli, Ricardo Costa, César Sánchez, etc. Others came for little money and were later sold for three times their cost (Soldado). Aduriz was a fantastic footballer, although he later left.  We got Jordi Alba (he was on loan), who was later sold to FC Barcelona. In short, there were many and almost all complied, and most importantly, returned VCF to the Champions League, making money and lowering the budget too.

Can you tell us about the almost signed ones? Who were the big names that you were about to sign while you were managing things in Valencia? This chapter doesn’t exist during my stage at VCF. We had little money and we were contacting players who wanted to come to the club and to a big league. There was no “almost signed”, our first options always came, logically, in such a limited economic market. Maybe Chicharito (when he played in Mexico), we always liked him, but when we got interested in him, Manchester United had already picked him up.

What about offers for Valencia players? What was the biggest offer the club turned down for a player when you were involved? The biggest sales were made by the President. We were in financial need and that’s how it was done. I, with my technical secretary, was in charge of replacing the ones we sold with players who performed well (sports wise) and were within our economic possibilities. The most valuable sale was that of David Villa to FC Barcelona. Although David Silva, Raúl Albiol, Nicola Zigic, Joaquin, Baraja, Marchena, etc. also left.

 Could you be tempted to return to football as a sports manager again? I want to come back! I am also a coach. And I’m passionate about football. The sooner the better, and in any country in the world that offers me an attractive proposal. I’m up-to-date, I watch a lot of football and I know the players well. It’s easy to assess their sporting abilities. The world of coaching has also fascinated me. I know the game and I know how to tell the players what to do and why.

If Valencia CF were to change ownership in the future, do you see yourself returning to the club in any way? I would like to, I am very much a member of VCF, I was trained for it.  I could provide analysis, objectivity, tranquility and knowledge. I’m from here too. Honesty and putting the club above everything are the most important things. There is no one and nothing more important than the club itself.

Interview by Will McCarthy

Article copyright ’24/7 Valencia’

Link to buy the book in Spanish: https://npqeditores.com/producto/fernando-gomez-colomer-la-zona-del-10/