5 Valencia Heroes, 5 Valencia Villains

By: Cesar | November 20th, 2007

First off, congratulations to Spain (Diet Valencia, Valencia Lite) for their Euro 2008 qualification. La Seleccion gained entry to next summer’s tournament with a 3-0 victory over Sweden on Saturday.
It’ll be fun to see the lads running around in Austria next summer. Let’s hope they don’t disappoint like so many times in the past. La Furia Roja (lots of nicknames, eh?) play again Wednesday against Northern Ireland. Expect another rout.

The Euro qualification period gives me time for reflection. There’s not much Valencia news, except for the fact that Zigic isn’t available this Saturday because he was injured in his Euro qualification match with Serbia. And is that really news?

So I’m racking my brain for something to say. This isn’t necessarily a positive thing. But for readers of this blog, it’s an even worse thing because it gives me strange ideas for posts.

5 best-looking player girlfriends/spouses …
5 best nightclubs to see Valencia players in …
5 worst-dressed Valencia players …

Etcetera, etcetera … see what I mean?

Luckily, after the consumption of mass amounts of alcohol, I’ve hit upon a good topic. 5 Valencia heroes, 5 Valencia villains.

Here, I list my 5 favorite Valencia heroes, players/coaches who’ve represented the badge proudly.
And I present my list of 5 Valencia villains, players/coaches who’ve either soiled the shirt or just been plain nasty towards us.

Have a go. What do you think?

Heroes

5 – Gaizka Mendieta

Sure, Mendieta (pictured, left) left us under a cloud of acrimony. He publicly stated he’d rather play for Real Madrid than for our boys, where he made his name as one of the best midfielders in Europe. Shame, really. Because he was truly a joy to watch. Who can forget his wonder goal against Atletico Madrid in the Copa Del Rey final in 1999 or his laser shot against Barca? If he was in his prime, who wouldn’t love to have him on our current team? Truly a Valencia legend.

4 – Kily Gonzalez

‘Kily! Kily!’, the crowd would chant for their favorite diminutive Argentinian, one in a long line of great Argentinians at Valencia (as you shall see). He made UEFA’s ‘Team of the Season’ in 2001 and deservedly so, helping ‘Los Che’ into successive Champions League finals. He was well-loved for his hustle, his relentless passion and his passing acumen. No one since has had the same intensity as Kily.

3 – Pablo Aimar

Aimar, another Argentinian, came to the club in 2001 from River Plate with lofty comparisons. Scouts around the world said he was the ‘new Maradona’ and the man himself, Diego Maradona, said that Aimar was “his legitimate successor as the world’s best player” and that he would pay to watch Aimar play.
Unfortunately, Aimar never lived up to the hype. Injuries killed his creative style of play. Still, El Payaso (Little Clown) entertained the Valencia faithful with dashing runs and stunning goals, including this beautiful effort against Liverpool in the Champions League in 2002. Ahh, what could have been with this amazing talent …

2 – Rafa Benitez

Our only coach on the Heroes list, Rafa came from 2nd Division side Tenerife in 2001 to replace Hector Cuper. Everyone said, ‘Who?’ But no one will ever forget what he did. Rafa introduced a more attacking style of play and it immediately paid dividends. With the core of the team inherited from Cuper’s Champions League finalists, Rafa guided Valencia to their first Spanish title in 31 years. After a disappointing 2003, Valencia came back strong to pull off the Doblete, the Spanish title and the UEFA Cup championship. Rafa shipped off after requesting a table and getting a lampshade (a quote he made in reference to transfers. ‘I asked for a table and they bought me a lampshade’). We all know what he’s done since (winning the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005 after being down by 3 goals to AC Milan). We all saw that potential in him. Too bad he didn’t win the big one with us.

1 – Claudio Lopez

Who but? The Argentinian El Piojo (The Flea) reigns supreme as the greatest Valencia player of the modern era. His tenacity, vision and eye for goal will never be forgotten by Valencia faithful. Remember this goal or how about that great goal against Atletico in the 1999 Cup Final (go to the end to see it, but watch the entire video to see other wonder goals by Valencia and Piojo).
He showed a happiness for playing not often seen by professional athletes. He also cared for his audience, showing affection for the cheering masses who chanted his name week after week. He left us after the Champions League final in 2000 and we’ve yet to replace him, no offense to David Villa. Great player who always played with heart. I still miss him.

And without further ado, the Villains … UGH …

Villains

5 – Raul

Raul’s never played for Valencia so he’s not high on the list. Still, I can’t stand him.
From scoring the heartbreaking final goal in the 2000 final to flopping on the ground to get a penalty against us in 2004, I’ve never fancied the striker.
He’s scored more goals than anyone else in Champions League history with 58 and is the all-time goalscorer for the Spanish national team with 44. He’s won everything there is to win with club side Real Madrid. Still, who wouldn’t like to wipe that smug look off his face? What exactly does he do that is that good? You know, besides score goals and all that? As of my writing this, Spain’s clamoring for him to be called up to Diet Valencia, yet coach Luis Aragones will have none of it, seeing the same thing so many of us see: he’s just not that good!

4 – Gonzalo de los Santos

This is a more personal choice. I just can’t stand the guy. He played for us from 2001-2004 and basically did nothing. I remember games where the entire Mestalla would groan every time he’d get the ball. Completely, utterly useless in every aspect of his game, he’d pass the ball to a spectator in the 2nd tier or try to dribble it a la Zidane and fall flat on his face. He’s currently plying his trade at 2nd Division side Hercules, who also happen to be our greatest historical rivals. See what I mean?

3 – Jorge Valdano

Talk about a smug, unhappy man. Just look at that picture. Valdano coached us from November 1996 to September 1997 and didn’t do anything to differentiate himself from your average, everyday coach. He had a stellar playing career but lacked the qualities to lead a team to victory. After his spell with us, he became sporting director of Real Madrid. Need I say more? From his lofty perch, Valdano took out his revenge, calling us a small club and the ‘cheerleaders of the league’. I so wanted to punch this guy in the face. To make things worse, Raul named his first son after the director. Another reason to hate both of them.
Valdano has since left Madrid and is now a ‘journalist’, in the same sense that I call myself a journalist. Meaning, he’s not a journalist. He caused some trouble last year when he vomited this doozy:

Football is made up of subjective feeling, of suggestion – and, in that, Anfield (home stadium of Liverpool) is unbeatable. Put a sh*t hanging from a stick in the middle of this passionate, crazy stadium and there are people who will tell you it’s a work of art. It’s not: it’s a sh*t hanging from a stick [...] if football is going the way Chelsea and Liverpool are taking it, we had better be ready to wave goodbye to any expression of the cleverness and talent we have enjoyed for a century.

Did I mention he writes for MARCA? Shut up!!

2 – Quique Sanchez Flores

Yes, I dislike QQ. Read the blog’s archives to see my thoughts on our ex-coach, who along with tag-team partner Juan Soler have dragged our little club down the slippery slope of mediocrity. Thanks, QQ. I won’t waste anymore words on the former Madrid star. Uggh …

1 – Predrag Mijatović

Before Barca’s Luis Figo was Madrid’s Luis Figo, Valencia’s Predrag Mijatović was Madrid’s Luis Figo, a beloved player who quickly became hated. This clown broke many Valencian hearts with his transfer to hated Real Madrid in 1996. ‘Judas’ became his new moniker, Valencian fans chanting this when Mijatovic made his ‘triumphant’ return to the Mestalla wearing the royal shirt of Madrid. ‘How could you?’, ‘Why did you betray us?’ and, ‘We hate you so much because we loved you so much!’ poured from the rafters, along with various objects intended to hurt the Serbian midfielder.
Why the vitriol?
Pegrag came to us in 1993 and immediately earned a starting spot, scoring 16 times in 35 appearances his first season. In the 1995-96 season, Mijatovic garnered Spanish Footballer of the Year honors for leading us to 2nd place in Spain, scoring 28 goals in 40 matches from the midfield. This earned Madrid’s attentions and after saying he wouldn’t leave us, Judas packed his bags for the capital anyways.
There, he ended Real’s 32-year drought without the European Cup, scoring the decisive goal against Juventus in the 1998 Champions League final. A weaker effort, I’ve never seen (here’s the goal against Juve, if you must …).
Real realized what a bum he was and dumped him to Fiorentina in 1999. He showed up in Valencia with Levante in 2002 but didn’t feature much, forcing his retirement.
Guess where he is now? Well, any devout football fan knows he’s currently Real Madrid’s sporting director, making decisions like firing coach Fabio Capello after the Italian guided Madrid to their first Spanish title in 4 years. Good guy, eh?
He broke a lot of Valencian hearts with his transfer and he’ll not soon be forgotten. Too bad. He could have done more with us.