The Final

By: Cesar | April 15th, 2008

First off, some links and other stuff ahead of tomorrow’s Copa Del Rey final against Getafe.

- Valencia president Agustin Morera said winning the King’s Cup will not make up for a “disastrous season” … you said it, Mr. Morera.

“It isn’t possible to make amends for Valencia’s season. We have an obligation to win the cup to give the fans something to cheer about after the disastrous season we’ve had,” Morera told Radio Marca.

“It is to be expected (the fans are unhappy). I think it is Valencia’s worst campaign at home that I can remember and I understand them.”

Well said …

- Getafe are Europe’s darlings after their loss to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup. According to club captain David Belenguer, a focus on the team rather than individuals is the key to modest Getafe’s recent success.

Whatever …

- Are Ronald Koeman’s days numbered? Let’s hope so …

According to the article, ‘A report in Marca suggests that club directors decided weeks ago that Koeman was not the man to take the club forward, but decided to keep him at the helm so as not to upset their preparations for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey final with Getafe.’

Cup win or not, I think we all know my feelings on this. Stay tuned.

- Ruben Baraja made an enlightening comment in the previous article.
Baraja said before the weekend defeat to Racing that cup success should be seen as “a gesture of pardon to the supporters, more than something to be celebrated.”
Good man … well said.

- Check out Valencian newspaper Las Provincias Copa Del Rey coverage (in Castellano, of course).

- Also, check out Super Deporte’s excellent coverage as well as Foroche.com’s awesome retrospective.

- Not to be outdone are the Spanish rags MARCA and AS.com, who provide round-the-clock coverage of the upcoming Final.

- Found this interesting interview with former Valencia and Getafe coach Quique Sanchez Flores ahead of the final.

He says he’s not bitter at not being at the final. I almost wish he were still with us … yes, it’s become that bad.

A good read …

- Thanks to my friend Rafael who came up with this fun link to some classic Valencia songs …

Also providing a link is Tristan, moderator of the great Che-UK supporter’s club. Songs and many other wonderful multimedia links can be found at Ciberche.net, one of the pre-eminent Valencia websites out there.

- So what do I think?

Honestly, I still don’t know how to feel.
I’m still ambivalent about the whole thing.

As Baraja said earlier, the Cup will simply be a tonic for what ails us at the moment.

The poor form, the near-relegation, the flaccid coaching, etc. I almost get the feeling I’d rather the season just end than endure more of this … I have a bad taste in my mouth about Valencia 2007-08.

Saying all of that, this *IS* a Cup final. In technical terms, we could have a better season than teams like Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, etc.

But we all know the reality. This season has sucked big time …

You know what I want for tomorrow?

A good game.

I want us to play well, to leave the fans with a good impression.

I want to enjoy the game, sing some songs and revel in the fact we’re in a Cup final.

Nothing more.