Barca Conclusions

By: Cesar | April 27th, 2009

So now that my hangover’s subsided some after the 2-2 tie that was Valencia-Barcelona this Saturday, what do we make of the match?

Lots of good, some not so good.

The positives flow easily.

Valencia CF played one of their best games of the season against the Best Team on Planet Earth.

Not only that, we had them on the ropes for vast periods of time. We gave an exceptional image of what Our Beloved’s capable of when we put our heart and soul into it. And from what I saw and what I heard, the Mestalla was rocking … all in all, an exceptional weekend to be a Valencia CF fan.

Unfortunately, we didn’t grab the three points. We’re still in 4th place with 56 points, a point behind 3rd place Sevilla and a point ahead of 5th place Villarreal.

5 games remain. One against 2nd place Real Madrid. One against Villarreal. One against Atletico Madrid. So this is just the beginning of a difficult, season-defining stretch.

Some quick thoughts of the game this weekend:

- I love David Villa. Best striker in football, in my opinion. But is it just me or does he develop Ibrahimovic Disease in big games? Inter Milan’s fabled striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a deadly force against the likes of Bologna and Chievo, not so hot against Manchester United and Chelsea. He’s a big game bottler.

Now I wouldn’t say Villa’s a bottler. But he’s developed a propensity to disappear during big games. He’s called offsides a number of times. He takes wicked dives for no reason.

I’m not sure what to make of this. It’s not like he NEEDS to do that stuff.
I hope he comes up big in the next five games, because without him we’re fried.

We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for El Guaje. We need him now more than ever.

- Pablo Hernandez is my new favorite player. His positioning and work rate were exceptional all evening. His goal at the end of the first half was a terrific piece of footballing magic, as he cooly slotted past Barca ‘keeper Victor Valdes to give us a 2-1 lead. Take a look.

- Valencia as a whole were very ‘up’ for this match. There were early match jitters, to be sure. And there were times where I felt they respected Barca’s superior offense too much. Our Beloved sat back at times, allowing the play to come to them rather than dictate play.

But once they got rolling, Valencia’s counter attack and subtle passing did the trick. I felt Valencia had Barca on their heels through a good portion of this game. Had it not been for a terrible piece of Cesar goal keeping (more on that later) late in the match, Valencia might have walked away with all three points.

- Speaking of respect, Lionel Messi has all of mine. There was a flurry of action in the 1st half involving Messi that made me gasp at the kid’s amazing ability.

He gets the ball, streaks towards the goal, with 4 Valencia defenders around him like escorts accompanying the Queen to the ball. They move around him, in unison, none wanting to give the diminutive Argentinian the space to create, dribble or shoot.

He didn’t score. But that display shows how incredible Messi is. He’s a wonderful talent who affords the respect of every defense in world football. He’s THAT good and someone who can change the shape of a match in a heart beat.

Wonderful talent. Shame he doesn’t play for us.

- You know who wasn’t half bad Saturday? Carlos Marchena.

Sure, he received his requisite yellow card. He made his Marchena Face, pumped his fist at the linesman after Barca’s 2nd goal and generally made you want to punch him in the face.

But he played a decent match, by his standards. Hard tackles, in the middle of the action from start to finish and a general nuiscance (for us and them) throughout. I give it to you, Carlos. You know how to antagonize.

- Cesar, Cesar, Cesar … what were you thinking with that weak punch that led to Barca’s 2nd goal in the waning moments of the match?

Come on, lad. That wasn’t a good play for the ball.

First, Valencia’s defense looked weak during that free kick, letting Messi’s ball drift into the box to be punched out weakly by Cesar. Barca pounced and the tie was on.

Catch the ball … hit it out harder … kick Messi … I dunno … just don’t make that weak attempt! What would I have done differently? I don’t know … just not that! Frustrating to say the least.

- Spectacular pass from 87-year old Ruben Baraja that David Silva flicked over the bar in the first half that led to our first goal off a corner kick. Take a look …

He takes a lot of heat, especially from me. But he’s a Valencia legend and deserves accolades for playing a good match.

- Our defense was very good, especially against the likes of Henry and Messi. Albiol is a solid defender when he’s not scoring goals against us. Alexis is starting to come into his own and has a bright future with the club. He’s involved in every situation and has wonderful pace. Good job, defense! Wow, can’t believe I’m saying that …

- Did Valencia show Barca’s cracks? I’d say so. We played like a rejuvenated club, full of passion and drive. But Barca should be worried. There are 5 games left in the season and the race to the Spanish title is on. Chelsea and Madrid should watch the tape of our match this weekend.

When you sit back on their club, they’ll destroy you. They simply have too much offensive fire power at their disposal.

But when you pressure them, tiny fissures begin to show. They are fallible. They are human. Valencia showed that this weekend.

- Unai Emery praised the Valencia crowd today.

The Mestalla was noticeably vocal for the clash with the Catalans and nearly inspired Valencia to victory until they were denied late on.

Emery praised the efforts from the stands and said that they have shown they are in it until the end.

“I want to thank the Valencia fans for their support against Barcelona that kept us going for ninety minutes. They finished proud of the team and the team were proud of them,” he told the official Valencia website.

“They showed they are with the team until the end yet again and now, at this crucial stage of the season, they have shown their support. We do not need to ask them to keep it up against Real Madrid and until the end of the season because we know that they will do it anyway.”

As always, Mestalla is the class of Spain and world football … Jeez, I miss it there …

- I’m sure I’m missing something here.

But overall, a fair 2-2 draw against an excellent Barcelona squad.

Five games to go and it’s all there for us. Champions League or bust! And when I say bust, I mean BUST … financial ruin, turmoil, selling our stars, etc.

These five games will do more than determine our immediate future. They’ll decide our course of action for the next decade. C’mon lads!!

- Two good links …

First, an article from the Miami Herald about Our Beloved’s showing this weekend …

Anyone that witnessed Valencia’s performance in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Barcelona had to come away with a positive impression.

The team had just given one of the best clubs in the world all it could handle, and were even unlucky to come away with only a point, as Barca needed an 85th-minute goal from Thierry Henry to escape the Mestalla with a draw.

The packed stadium was filled with excitement as a collection of talented youngsters played one of its best matches of the season.

Striker David Villa played a typically strong game while fellow frontman Juan Mata, who turns 21 on April 28, showed why he has become a regular in the starting 11 for Los Che.

The team’s 24-year-old midfielder, Pablo Hernandez, scored a world-class goal, while a young back line led by a pair of 23-year-olds, Raul Albiol and Alexis, along with veteran Carlos Marchena, did a good job of slowing down a loaded Barca attack.

Based on this performance alone it would appear that in the next few years Valencia will be a threat to duplicate the success it enjoyed at the start of the decade, when during a four-year stretch, Los Che captured two league titles, the UEFA Cup and made two appearances in the Champions League final.

However, things are not always as they appear and the club that looked so promising on Saturday may bear little resemblance to the one that takes the pitch in September.

The reason?

A mounting debt that has reportedly reached an estimated $730 million.

Next, an excellent (for once) look at Valencia CF’s current plight, trials and tribulations from goal.com … it’s an interesting read.

There’s something about Valencia CF that compels you to love them and hate them at the same time.

They reach the final of the UEFA Champions League twice in a row, win La Liga twice in three seasons and win the UEFA Cup too, and then go the next five years winning nothing, except the Copa del Rey.

They boast one of the better stadiums in the country, show their ambition by starting to construct an even better one and then end up with two stadiums, one they cannot sell and one they cannot afford to complete. They appoint one of the most tactically sound coaches in modern times and then whistle and boo him away.

They show their intent by getting rid of the coach who leads them to just four points from the top because the team isn’t playing entertaining football and replace him with a coach who drags them to just two points above safety. They possess one of the best squads in the country, possibly in Europe, and then look forward to getting rid of the nucleus of that squad by axing three of the senior players and parading two of their best assets across Europe for sale.

They go six games without a win after the players stop getting paid, fall out of a UEFA Europa League place and then win five games on the trot after payment is assured and allow themselves a chance to finish third in the league. They lose to Osasuna and Numancia and then beat Sevilla and come close to defeating mighty Barcelona.

Welcome to the murky world of Valencia CF.

Real Madrid and FC Barcelona might be the big two in Spain and will remain so until the sun starts rising from the west, but no other club in modern Spanish football sparks as much pity, regret, pathos, delirium
and despair as Valencia do.

What do you think?

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