VALENCIA FOOTBALL…THE LATEST!

Another month has gone by with Valencia failing to convince their fans that they are anything other than a mediocre team at this moment in time. A home win against Girona and a precious point away in the Balearics at Mallorca have calmed any relegations worries, but the performances themselves have lacked a creativity and directness that the fans have been used to in the past. The European days of the early noughties and a team line up with names like Mata, Silva, Villa and Vicente gracing the Mestalla week in week out are now a thing of the past, and how the Valencia faithful would love to see a legend like Pep Claramunt grace their forward line.

The biggest cheer of the day in the latest contest at the Mestalla was arguably when the 79-year-old Puzol native did the ceremonial kick off in recognition of his services to his home club at the start of the game with Atlético Madrid.

From then on, it was downhill for the fans as the team from the capital made it five wins out of five in recent matches against Los Che. Before the game there was optimism amongst the Valencia supporters to have a change of fortune against this specific opposition. With a Champions League spot all but confirmed and the second leg of a semi-final with Arsenal on the horizon, Diego Simone decided to pick what was affectively a ‘second string’ side to confront the hosts.

The one player in the starting line up with a reasonable chance of making the team in London for the rojiblancos was Nahuel Molina. The Argentinian was the star of the show in this particular game, and in the first half alone had four shots that peppered Stole Dimitrievski’s goal, including one power driver that hit the bar from around forty yards out.

In contrast, Valencia had produced nothing of sorts to worry the visitors in the first duration, and the home side were lucky to go into the changing rooms at the interval on level terms. The second half did not produce anything of note from the hosts either, and it was the youngsters of Atlético, who were hungrier for the win, and the visitors bagged the points with two late strikes from Iker Luque and Miguel Llorente Cubo.

Luque, a youth academy product had come on as substitute in the second half for his Atlético Madrid debut, and scored inside 11 minutes of being on the field for his boyhood club.

The young winger from the working-class district of Madrid called Vallecas (Rayo Vallecano’s stomping ground) looks to have a bright future ahead and next year could see him loaned out to a fellow La Liga outfit to gain valuable experience.

The other goal scorer Miguel Llorente Cubo emulated the feat of Luque, also coming on as a substitute for his league debut and scoring. This time, it took the youth striker 19 minutes.

Former Atlético great Fernando Torres has been working with both these players and can be immensely proud of the starts they have made to their individual careers.

Valencia themselves were treated to jeers and boos throughout the game, with some of the displeasure aimed at Carlos Corberán himself. At the end of the game, the displeasure was plain for all to see and hear. The condemnation continued with demonstrations outside the stadium after the game, and the team bus was given an unwelcome exit away from the stadium.

With four games left in this forgettable season, the players have the opportunity to reclaim some respect back from the fans if they can beat Barcelona in the last match of the season.

Despite the negative feelings towards the team at the moment, a win against the future La Liga Champions will go a long way to appease all the disappointments the fans have suffered this season. Infront of a sellout crowd, it would leave Valencia fans on a high during the summer recess.

Across in the North of the city, Levante UD remain in a huge dogfight to avoid the drop and a 5-1 thrashing at local neighbours Villarreal in their last match did little to help their cause.

Their survival does not remain in their own hands now but the league is so close at the bottom of the table that they still have a fighting chance of avoiding the drop.

Six points from the home fixtures against Osasuna and Mallorca are a must and positive results in their away games in Vigo and Sevilla against Betis, may well be enough for the ‘Granotas’ to claw their way to safety.

Unfortunately, Levante UD ladies look like they are going to lose their premier league status in Liga F, but they may well be replaced by Valencia ladies, who are now in the play offs for promotion to the first tier after getting relegated themselves last season.

In the semi-final play offs Valencia will play CD Alba the weekend of the 9th/10th May, with the return leg at the Antonio Puchades stadium on the weekend of the 16th/17th May. Tickets are available on line for purchase already. The winners of this semi-final will play against either Villarreal or Osasuna for the final promotion place in Liga F.

Report by John Howden

Article copyright ‘24/7 Valencia’

Valencia CF

Athletic Bilbao v Valencia 10 May 16.15h

Valencia v Rayo Vallecano 14 May 19.00h

Real Sociedad v Valencia tbd

Valencia v Barcelona tbd

Levante UD

Levante v Osasuna 8 May 21.00h

Celta Vigo v Levante 12 May tbd

Levante v Mallorca tbd

Real Betis v Levante tbd