- Don’t forget today’s big match against Werder Bremen in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Vase aka Europa League. Should be a raucous atmosphere at the Mestalla. When isn’t it, eh?

- This weekend, it’s Barcelona at the Nou Camp. I’ll have more to say about this tomorrow. I’ll be down in Washington, DC for a Megadeth concert (don’t hate) and will hopefully watch the game with the esteemed Timothy Lakefront. Beers will be had.

- Speaking of Barcelona, I was interviewed by the wonderful Barcelona Football Blog about this weekend’s match.
Many of you may remember the lads who author this blog as the writers of the Offside’s Barcelona site. They’re awesome guys, intelligent fans and die-hard supporters of the club that will lose to VCF this weekend. Check out the link to see what I had to say about the big clash. And Tron:Legacy.

- It seems like every day a new video pops up hyping a match we’re playing. Here’s another.

Couldn’t they have chosen a better song? Yuck.

- That’s all I have. Enjoy the game and AMUNT VALENCIA!

Why?

For one thing, Vicente’s run of injuries more or less began on Werder’s Weserstadion pitch back in 2004, his ankle giving way and his career stagnating during a 2-1 defeat in the Champions League group stage.

Follow that up with old friend Miguel Ángel Angulo’s lunge at Bremen’s Nelson Váldez, which caused Angulo to be suspended for seven matches and we see how rosy the history is between the two clubs.

Ok, let’s be honest. There’s no real history. Werder has but one player left (Tim Borowski) from the club that waltzed into the Mestalla and defeated Our Beloved 2-0. So like … what’s the problem?

For starters, this is the only competition we can win. We ain’t challenging Real Madrid and FC Barcelona for the Liga title. We can’t win the Copa del Rey. So besides finishing fourth, what’s left?

The Euro Vase!

And who’s in our way? Werder Bremen! So let’s rally the troops, claim a vendetta (remember how nicely that worked against Inter Milan a few years ago?) and kick some Bremen behind.

Take a look at this video, which is very stirring.

But ask the remaining VCF players from those days (there are quite a few) and they’ll tell you there’s nothing to this.

“Hearing the name Werder Bremen as our next opponents didn’t exactly give us a good feeling because of how they knocked us out of the Champions League a few years back,” David Albelda told UEFA.com

“It’s not going to be about revenge, partly because of the passage of time, but mostly because you learn to approach every knockout tie with the desire to win it and progress to the next round,” he added.

Good attitude.

The diminutive David Silva put it nicely as well. “We do not look back,” he said, “we focus on the present.” The Valencia forward labeled the German Bundesliga outfit a “really strong and tall” side, adding: “Scoring and not conceding will be very important.”

So who are Werder, anyways?

They went to the UEFA Cup final last year, losing to Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 in extra time. They’re currently sixth in the Bundesliga, just three points off a Europa League place.

Bremen’s Peruvian forward Claudio Pizarro is the top scorer in the Europa League with eight goals in 512 minutes of action.

We should have the pudgy Miguel, the movie star Ever Banega and the always innocent Carlos Marchena back for the match, so we’ll be almost at full strength. Unfortunately, the toothy Albelda and the bald Bruno won’t be around to help us.

Coach Unai Emery wants VCF to come out strong after a drab 0-0 draw against Racing Santander on Monday.

“The second half against Racing was our worst performance of the season, and it ended a run when we were doing all the right things at home,” he said. “Now we have a chance to prove that was just an accident.”

The Kevin Costner look-a-like demanded a show of strength, saying: “The fans and the team have to be focused on the same target. If we can pull together that would be really positive.”

I don’t see why not.

As our favorite web site goal.com says,

It won’t be easy for Werder Bremen to pick up a win at the Mestalla, especially as Valencia have been strong at home in the Europa League, but it does promise to be an engaging encounter. Both sides will be going for a win, but Valencia have more creativity in the midfield and should emerge with a narrow victory.

Valencia 2-1 Werder Bremen

Sounds good to me. See you tomorrow.

I’ve also missed my unusual, opinionated diatribes about Our Beloved Valencia CF. So here I am to give you a little bit more of my biased opinion of our under-achieving squad.

I say under-achieving because a club with the best striker in the world (Villa), a world-class midfielder (Silva), brilliant wingers (Mata and Pablo), a deft passer of the ball (Banega) and a young, mindful coach (Emery) should be doing better than this.

I’m not complaining, mind you. Our VCF sit in 3rd place in the best league in the world. But realistically, we’ve no shot at the league championship (we’re 15 points from the leaders).

Sure, we can qualify for the Champions League. And yes, we’re doing well in that respect (4 points ahead of 4th place Sevilla and 5th place Mallorca).

But shouldn’t a club with this much talent be doing better?

I’ve been saying this since I’ve written in this blog. It’s one of the reasons I took a blogging hiatus. How many ways can you spin the same topic over and over again before it becomes repetitive to not only the writer but the readers?

But it has to be said again after yesterday’s 0-0 draw with Racing Santander, a match where VCF pressed and missed some chances, but where Santander exposed VCF’s weaknesses (namely, lots of space in the midfield. This happens when you start an 87-year old like Baraja, Emery) and nearly stole the match.

Let me start off by saying the man of the match, in my opinion, was resident male model Miguel Ángel Moyà, who’s good looks and soft hands stopped many a Santander shot.

My namesake Cesar has been VCF’s #1 goalkeeper this season … and for good reason. Cesar’s deft, he’s wily, he’s clutch and he’s acrobatic, willing his 38-year old body around the ‘keeper box and keeping Our Beloved in match after match.

Moya? He’s good looking …

But yesterday, he was the star of the show, showing the Mestalla faithful why VCF’s board spent nearly €5 million to lure the Mallorcan looker to the Levante region.

His kick save of new Spanish boy toy Sergio Canales’ shot late in the first half and his impressive hand save of Mohammed Tchité’s rocket in the 2nd half saved the point for Our Beloved.

What does our resident Ralph Lauren model think about all of that? Let’s ask him … (well, I didn’t ask him. Someone else did … and it’s in Spanish. Sorry, I don’t have the time to translate.)

As for the rest of the match?

Ehh … it was boring. The world’s best striker David Villa missed a few chances in the 1st half, hitting the post and getting stopped by Santander ‘keeper Fabio Coltorti from close range. He can’t score every time he touches the ball, can he?

The defense was solid overall. New VCF wunderkind Joel Johnson – 17-year old Joel Johnson, mind you – started in place of the suspended pudge meister Miguel and played adequately. Hey, he’s 17. Cut him some slack.

David ‘The Hammer’ Navarro got sent off near the end of the game for his second yellow card, an unnecessary penalty. Angel Dealbert was running his arse off.
Alexis looked dirty.

Why did Maduro start in midfield? Manuel Fernandes, anyone?
87-year old Ruben Baraja is old but serviceable.

Pablo was fast but unlucky.
Mata and Silva were on the pitch, right?
Who is this Chori guy?
Joaquin is wicked. I wish he’d play more.

Overall, a drab match that could have and should have been won by Our Beloved. I could say that about every match, I suppose. But we had our chances. We just couldn’t put the biscuit in the basket. Luckily, our model in the nets Moya stopped Santander’s shots and preserved a point.

What now?

It’s a Europa League/Euro Vase/UEFA Cup match against old friends Werder Bremen at the Mestalla this Thursday. It promises to be an inferno at the Mestalla, as fans are clamoring for tickets to see our old rivals from earlier this decade (more on that later this week).

Then, it’s the Camp Nou and old friends FC Barcelona on Sunday, a pivotal match against the co-leaders of Spain.

Should be a fun, interesting week. I’m glad to be here to share it with you all. Talk to you tomorrow.

Boy this week has gone by fast.

The challenge of the week is none other than A. Madrid.

The Valencia team suffered through a scary flight to Madrid .. though short the strong winds made the turbulence terrifying as the plane suddenly dropped several meters with a fierce jolt.

The the flight was tense one player commented that it was nothing to the experience they would surely encounter en El Calderon Stadium.

This will also no doubt be an emotional match for Quique Flores our former coach.

Now at the helm of Atletico Madrid the coach was quoted saying

“They are a very special team for me. I had spent half my life in Valencia both profesionally and personally and this will be a special match. Players that at the time let me into the elite as their coach and let me be a coach in the Champions League, as a result i am very grateful to them and have a great desire to see them and shake their hands.

It will make this a very interesting match indeed seeing Flores on the other bench.

Flores also said he expected fluid attacking football to be played. Lets hope so as this suites Valencia best.

Soccerlens had this to say about the encounter

Atletico Madrid continues to have success in the Europa League (recently beat Galatasaray 3-2 on aggregate) but is in the middle of the table in La Liga. Valencia, on the other hand, have been able to combined success Europe (3-1 aggregate win over Club Brugge) with a strong showing in La Liga (currently 3rd place).

Valencia is led by striker David Villa, who has 17 goals in La Liga, and has been the topic of transfer rumors this upcoming summer. Mata and Pablo are the next two highest scorers with 6 and 4 in league play. Atletico’s top scorer is Diego Forlan with 10 goals followed by Sergio Aguero.

Atletico has struggled defensively in La Liga and will have their hands full with Valencia. The third place side has proved themselves as the team close to the top two of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Valencia is 4-2-1 in their last seven La Liga matches while Atletico Madrid is 3-1-3 in their last seven matches.

Atletico is a team capable of great performances and are the only team to beat Barcelona in league play. The problem is their inconsistency and this is shown by their 0-1 loss at Almeria the week after beating Barcelona. Valencia has been more consistent and can get a win at Madrid.

If the Atletico that beat Barcelona shows up then they can win but it’s too hard to tell if this will be the case.

Read more: http://soccerlens.com/atletico-madrid-valencia/41370/#ixzz0gqTAHPbn

In my opinion Valencia will win this encounter 2-1 getting revenge for the dropping of points earlier in the season in the dying minutes.

Expect a fast paced match.

Villa gave fans a bit of a scare when he was unable to finish training yesterday.

Fans need not worry he is fit to play Sunday.

My hope he scores a couple of goals to regain the top goalscorer title. I really want to see him break the 30 goal mark this season.

He deserves it.

Even if he receives little recognition as one of the worlds elite.

Lets all watch and support our guys !

AMUNT VALENCIA!
Javier De Roque

Nobody can say we didnt dominate this match.

Although Valencia needed to go to extra time to finally put this session down it was only due to bad luck that we didnt score more goals during the regulation time.

here are the post match interviews for those who understand spanish.

Here is what espn had to say about the match.

Pablo Hernandez struck twice in extra-time as Valencia bounced back from a first-leg deficit against Club Brugge to seal their place in the last 16 of the Europa League.

Juan Manuel Mata gave Valencia the perfect start tonight when his goal in the opening 20 seconds cancelled out Brugge’s advantage from the first meeting, but Los Che had to wait until the additional period to settle what was a thrilling contest at the Mestalla.

Pablo finally managed to find a way past inspired visiting goalkeeper Stijn Stijnen seven minutes into extra-time and, after the hosts had missed a host of chances, the winger added his second late on to seal the triumph.

Boosted by their early breakthrough from Mata, Valencia laid siege to the Belgian side’s goal during an impressive opening half-hour and Mata, Pablo and David Villa (twice) all went close to scoring.

Brugge withstood the onslaught, though, and they enjoyed a couple of decent efforts of their own before the half-time whistle.

Ivan Perisic sent one into the side-netting after intercepting a poor pass by David Albelda, and the young Croatian then fired over from a free-kick.

The first half ended with Valencia back on the attack, but Ever Banega’s long-range shot was parried by the busy Stijnen and the scoreline remained the same heading into the interval.

Like in the opening 45 minutes, Valencia were quick out of the blocks following the re-start and Stijnen was again made to earn his pay with three key saves.

The first time saw him deny Villa following a brilliant mazy run by the Spain ace, and then the visiting custodian needed to produce a vital double stop to keep out a deflected effort from Mata before blocking Pablo’s follow-up.

Again Brugge battled back though, and both sides created some great chances in the final 11 minutes of normal time.

Valencia goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez did superbly to keep out shots from Perisic and Wesley Sonck, while Stijnen was again tested by Villa as the 90 minutes finished with the home side still leading 1-0, sending the match to extra time.

For the third successive time, Valencia started the new period on the front foot and Pablo brought a brilliant one-handed save out of Stijnen in the 95th minute.

However, Pablo was not to be denied moments later as he netted Valencia’s second goal, skipping past a Brugge defender just outside the area before drilling a low shot into the far corner past a motionless Stijnen.

It was all Valencia after that, but a mixture of poor finishing, desperate defending and brilliant goalkeeping saw Pablo (twice), Banega, Mata and Joaquin all thwarted to leave Unai Emery’s men facing a nervy finale.

Pablo finally settled all concerns in the 117th minute though when he rounded Stijnen to slot home Valencia’s third, and in the process securing a last-16 clash with last season’s UEFA Cup runners-up Werder Bremen.

AMUNT VALENCIA
Javier De Roque

The 2-1 victory for the boys in white and black was an edgy affair; but were it not for missing some huge sitters the score could have been much higher in Valencia’s favour.

Silva’s misses still have me bruised from the constant facepalms.

As much as some of you have said they didnt feel Valencia played very well i would have to disagree.

Villa and Chori and Silva tore open the Getafe defence on the counter attack time and time again.

The second half saw Valencia a man down and still attacking.

Isnt it delightful to watch Villa score 2 goals. Awww beautiful.

The discovery of the match.

Chori.. nice nice nice. I want to see this guy play more.

His runs at the net are brilliant.

His set up for Villa’s first goal was spot on.

He was unlucky not to score himself with his first shot forcing a save early on.

Chori’s signing is going to bring some much needed relief to Mata and Silva who play far too often, and the price was perfect.

Now we have a epic encounter midweek.

Brugge is back for part two and drunk off their last victory on the crispy frosty grass of their home field.

Valencia welcome Brugge and have plans for some payback.

Losing 1-0 was an unfair ended to a mediocre match.

The loss placed almost wholly placed on Moya’s shoulders for his fantastic ability to flub a weak shot.

This week in net .. Moya.

Yes we will surely have to suffer through a Moya filled affair but at the same time maybe he can redeem himself.

If the squad plays the way the did against Getafe then Valencia will win.

Unfortunately Silva is out on red cards… but Banega is back in. Hopefully producing more than he did in Mestalla monday.

Joaquin and Pablo failed to impress in Mestalla as well… very few runs; the show became the Chori spectacular.

Valencia need to score 2 goals at least to move ahead.

Its very doable especially if Valencia have recovered confidence in Mestalla after the Getafe rout.

My prediction for the line up.

Moya
Miguel Marchena Dealbert Alexis
Joaquin Albelda Banega Pablo
Mata
Villa

Valencia will win 3-1

What do you all think?

So the ref decided he wanted to be a major part of the game.

I have found over all the level of quality in refs has dropped alot in the past few year.

Monday was a joke in the arbitration dept.

2 yellows issued to Alexis saw him off the pitch in what fromt he match i was watching didnt merit a single card.

In fact other than one instance none of the cards handed out merited cards.

For you who understand spanish here is a post game interview with Alexis where he claims that his second card should be removed because he did not touch the player at all.

Here is the post match interview of Emery concerning the issues regarding the injuries and Alexis in defence as well as the match overall and the situation as a whole at Valencia.
He also talks about Chori’s performance and adaptation to Valencia’s style and fitting in the team.

Amunt Valencia
Javier De Roque

It feels weird thats for sure. Im not sure yet what the point to a single match on monday is but sure lets roll with it.

Well here is the matchup

Getafe travel to the Mestalla tonight, having recorded only one win in their last six matches, and the Madrid based side have now lost their last three away from home and scored just once in the process.

Roberto Soldado, who has scored a third of all of Getafe’s goals this season, is injured.

Very good news for Los Che
Valencia should beat Getafe.

Getafe will find it difficult to score, even against a Valencia back four that has been decimated by injury. Jeremy Mathieu is out for the season, Bruno for at least a couple more weeks, Alexis was struggling and so was Navarro.

But Miguel Dealbert Marchena Maduro can still defend enough to prevent too many attacks.

Especially since Getafe will have to be on their gaurd for most of the match.

The Che attack can be ferocious.. and it isnt limping.

Valencia will have theirs in the starting XI. David Villa has scored almost 40% of his side’s goals, and it is rare that a game goes by without him finding the back of the net.

Mata, Pablo, Joaquin, Chori, Banega all are gamefit and ready to play in front of a home crowd.

Expect goals.

My prediction.

Valencia will dominate the match and win at home.

AMUNT VALENCIA
Javier De Roque

This week its Brugge.

Brugge currently sit second in the table of their league but also faltered this past weekend with a 1-1 draw as Valencia did.

This is the first match of the elimination round of the Europa league and Valencia will be sure to want to make an early impact and get some away goals before the return leg.

Valencia’s offensive powerhouses Villa Mata Silva and Pablo backed up by Ever Banega in the midfield would surely make Valencia a clear favorite.

But it is unlikely we will see Valencia’s A squad on Thursday.

Banega gets to watch the match from home as he has accumilated to many cards and will miss out on this one.

The inclusion of Chori seems likely.

Zigic could also see some minutes with possibly Silva or Villa taking a seat.

In defence it is now nearly certain that Miguel Dealbert Marchena and Matthieu will all be playing with the possibility of Maduro popping in someplace.

Bruno will be out for a month with an injury which means not only will he miss the Brugge encounter but also the upcomming matches with Getafe, Atletico Madrid, Racing Santander and Barcelona.

Navarro also picked up an injury and will not play.

Moya will most certainly continue to play between the posts in this Europa encounter.

So what will these changes mean to Valencia’s performance.

Thats hard to predict.

While all our players are excellent the chemistry of our bench sitters versus that of our starters is clear.

This away match will be critical in a sense that los Che cannot allow Brugge to get away from them and score.

With the defence that will be playing that shouldnt be a problem.

While a loss is possible a blow out is unlikely.

Can a frankenstein ofence create goals?

The answer is yes.

This offence is still very capable of scoring and winning.

Zigic with his power to pull goals of desperation out of the air is known.

Chori is clearly very talented and could be explosive if he is given a full game to prove himself.

The question will remain who will play the flanks.

If Joaquin is healthy he should be expected to play.

In which case the Right Wing is in good hands and should be very dangerous to the opposing defence.

Brugge are not to be underestimated.

They can certainly pull out a win.

Especially in front of home fans.

The Europa League is far more important to them than it is to Valencia and they are sure to take it far more seriously.

However while Brugge could pull off a win at home, it is unlikely they could then go and do so again at Mestalla.

So they need to win, and win big.

And attacking Brugge should have holes in it for Valencia to take advantage of.

My prediction is a Valencia victory.

According to las Provincias the chief worry of Valencia is the weather; packing all the winter gear and termal clothes they can jam on the plane.

Lets hope that is indeed their biggest concern.

Some fun facts.

Valencia currenly hold the Spanish record for longest undefeated streak in Europe 18 matches and could certainly add to that tally this weekend.

Los Che have not been defeated in European play since November 6, 2007; where they lost 0-2 at home to Rosenburg (gah i remember) in the Champions League.

A draw or win here would tie them with european teams Ajax of 94-96 and Bayern Múnich from 2001-2002 who hold a record of 19.

Ahead of them for europe undefeated streak are Juventus that went 20 matches without a loss in 1969 to 1972 and Manchester United with 25 and current overall leader, achieved 2007-2009.

Not to shabby for los Che.

Thats some quality company.

AMUNT VALENCIA
Javier De Roque

Whenever Valencia play a top tier team its going to be a stressful.

Watching the match this weekend was far more than stressful or emotional.. it was disappointing.

While i continue to be a fan of Emery for what he is accomplishing with Valencia i could not shake the notion that the tactics employed when he has a clear advantage are often disastrous.

This experiment backfired in the most complete way on Sunday.

It was Tenerife all over again.

Clearly the players need to take responsibility for the result as well. The midfield was slow and inaccurate. The attack non-existant.

Our defence was laughable.

I think what is most frustrating is that nobody knows where Emery’s decisions stem from.

Why is Dealbert not playing. He was brilliant all year then suddenly benched. For Alexis ?

Why arent Fernandes Chori and Vicente getting minutes but Baraja is being considered?

Im sure there are perfectly good reasons, but not knowing why our stars arent playing makes Emery look like he has poor judgement.

A very risky thing to have thought of you in Valencia.

A loss is a loss however… so the facts.

We continue to be in 3rd place.

We have a 3 point buffer over Sevilla.

We face Valladolid at home next Saturday.

So lets talk about Valladolid.

Currently fourth from the bottom with a measly 18 points they are on the border of oblivion.

At the start of the year Valencia blew them out with a four goal fiesta.

While i do not expect the same this time around, i do expect that Valencia will win this match fairly comfortable.. though i now have my reservations.

Valladolid have not won a match since December.
They will not win in Mestalla.

The only real problem i see is that Valladolid do have a tendency of snatching draws. Currently leading the league with 9 stalemates.

Of course los Che have more than enough firepower up front with Villa Silva and Mata and Pablo all healthy and sure to play.

The worry is that Valencia do have alot of problems beating down a team that simply turtles and defends.

My preference would be to see Chori play in place of Mata this weekend. See if some Argentine creativity with Banega can crack open the shell.

Besides Mata has not produced in quite some time. I would be nice to See Silva on the wing and Chori in his place.

A run for Vicente later in the match would be nice too.

Vicente is very good at quick runs at the goal.. his speed could prove valuable.

Pablo does not look fully fit.

He was nearly invisible last week and its clear that he needs time to regain his play form.

It really is too bad Joaquin injured himself at a time when he was really starting to perform brilliantly.

Regardless of lineup i do think Valencia will win. But not by much.

My prediction. Valencia 1-0 Valladolid

This weekend everyone wear your Valencia Cf scarves just like everyone in the stadium will be.

I know i will.. cause its bloody freezing!

AMUNT VALENCIA
Javier de Roque

Fernandes hops a plane and starts taking italian lessons.

The transfer to Milan is a bitter sweet one to most Valencia fans.

Fernandes last season was our Ever Banega.

A champion playmaker; who didnt become an instant fan of his.

Like Banega, Fernandes also experienced a shaky start upon his arrival at Mestalla.

He was loaned out almost immediately.

A season later he returned amid alot of skepticism.

Fernandes proved those skeptics wrong.

In short time becoming our beloved midfield playmaker.

If not for his horrific injury we may never have discovered the young Ever Banega’s true talent.

Those days are behind us.

Apparently out of favour and with little chance of breaking into regular first team play, (why is beyond me) Fernandes has accepted a loan deal to Milan.

While Fernandes in my opinion is a huge loss in depth to our squad his moving to Milan is a very nice option.

He will now be playing for a brilliant coach.

If he shines it could mean an additional pot of millions increaing the chances of holding on to players like Villa and Silva.

Valencia is still in a very serious financial crisis.

Emery is doing wonders with the team he has been handed.

He has also accomplished all this without Fernandes on the field.

Surely Emery is confident that Valencia can make these types of loans and trades to keep Valencia financially afloat and keep the first team in tact at the while winning games.

Unlike the last few years.

I now have confidence in our coach… and our management.

So adios Fernandes.

Good luck in Milan.

May you lift the silverware you deserve.

Another Sunday is upon us.

The villain this week?

Sevilla.

Valencia’s position is considerably superior to Sevilla’s right now in the table, but as last week proved to us. That means little.

Sevilla this season has been a very hard team to predict.

They dominated their Champions league group and progressed with little difficulty.

They play very well against some very tough opposition.

Then the last few weeks of liga play have been unimpressive to say the least.

Relying on a lucky goal to scrape past Almeria.

Before that they were trounced 4 nil by Barcelona.

That was the icing on the cake of failures.

Four straight losses : Racing Atletico Getafe all had a go at humiliating Sevilla.

Valencia will go in slight favorites with an excellent away record to boot.

To Valencia fans on the other hand its hard to feel that we are favorites.

Tenerife must be put behind us.

The Valencia that trounced Villareal and Xerez must show up this Sunday.

Valencia are without a doubt in form.

Other than the hickup of last weekend; Valencia do have the ability to score.

The tradition of dropping points after the year has to end.

Sevilla has lost to us once already at the start of this season.

A win here will push Sevilla further from competing for a Champions league spots and will solidify our position as one of the top three teams in Spain.

A loss will put us back in the danger zone and increase the chances of losing our berth.

This game has been described by David Villa as a Final of sorts.

Its hard to disagree.

AMUNT VALENCIA
Javier De Roque