Champions League: So Now We Know …

By: Cesar | August 3rd, 2007

So it’s official. Valencia play in the Champions League qualifiers starting August 14 or 15 against either Debreceni of Hungary or IF Elfsborg of Sweden.

Currently, Elfsborg lead the tie against the Hungarian unit with their 1-0 away win in Hungary.

So what do we know about these teams? Very little. Spanish bird-cage liner MARCA sees the tie as an easy one, regardless of who advances to play us.

You never know in these situations, though. As the tired maxim goes, ‘The games are played on the field, not on paper.’ That’s true, as we remember a few years back when Hamburg knicked us in the Intertoto Cup.

But I get the feeling we’ll do ok with either club. Here, some details from the awesome Wikipedia about our opponents:

IF Elfsborg: IF Elfsborg is a Swedish football club located in Borås. The club, formed 26 June 1904 (as Borås Fotbollslag), has won 5 national championship titles, the latest in 2006, and 2 national cup titles. Currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Allsvenskan, their main rivals are IFK Göteborg and Norrby IF.

A link to their website: Elfsborg

Debreceni: Debreceni VSC is a Hungarian football club from the town of Debrecen. The club’s stadium accommodates 9,200 seated spectators and 1,000 standing.

The clubs’ nickname is Loki (Lokomotiv), from its long-standing ties to the railways. The club was founded on 12 March 1902, initially being known as “Egyetértés Futball Club” but on becoming independent it was renamed “Debreceni Vasutas Sport Club” (Debrecen Railway Sports Club). In 1926 professionalism came to the Hungarian football scene, with the unfortunate result that “Bocskay FC” was formed using players from DVSC and city rivals DKASE and DTE, with the result that Bocskay ruled the football roost in Debrecen for 15 years while DVSC continued to struggle in the lower divisions. In 1940 the professional/amateur division of players was abolished and Bocskay suffered financial collapse, returning DVSC to top-dog position in the city. DVSC reached the Hungarian First Division for the first time in 1942-43, but then suffered something of a yo-yo existence for the next fifty years, suffering eight relegations in all, and even starting the 1967 season in the Third Division.

In the Communist era the club underwent a number of name changes. It became “Debreceni Vasutas Sport Egyesület” in 1948-49, “Debreceni Lokomotív” (hence the nickname) in 1949, “Debreceni Törekvés” in the 1955-56 season, and it was known as “Debreceni Vasutas SC” from 1957 to 1979. In 1979 the two city teams, DVSC and DMTE were united into one team, called DMVSC, but after ten years the clubs split again and the team adopted its current name.

DVSC’s most successful period has been since its most recent promotion to the First Division in 1993, since when the club has won its only national honours – the Hungarian Cup was won in 1999 and 2001, and the Hungarian League title for the first time in 2005.

DVSC managed to duplicate the feat and win the league in 2006 as well, after in the last round on June 3, they defeated Pápa 4-1, and the then-leader of the league Újpest FC (who had the same amount of points as DVSC but had more away wins) lost to Fehérvár in a climatic battle ending in 3-1, which also caused Fehérvár to place 3rd.

In 2007 Loki became again the hungarian champion on the 28th match-day.

A link to their website: Debreceni

So there you have it. What do you guys think??

In other news:

- Curro Torres was banished to his room and sent to Murcia on loan. Good luck.

- Racing Santander wants Juan Mata on loan. Now. Valencia’s obligated to send a player valued at more than one million euro to Santander as compensation for Marco Regueiro. And they fancy Mata, batting their eyelids at him at practice and what not. But Mata is included in Quique’s plans and our boys don’t want him to move. More on this, I am sure.

- Kallstrom. Sneijder. Lucho. Raul Garcia. Who’s next to snub the Mestalla? If you’re to believe the bile that passes as journalism in Spain, it could be Kallstrom, who is being asked to be a bad boy and whine over his lack of toys (and force his move to Valencia). Or David Casquero of Getafe, one of Quique’s old players from the capital, who is a bit long in the teeth at 31. For me, I’d like to still go after Sneijder, but what do I know?

- Often-overlooked Spanish rag El Mundo Deportivo says Real Madrid is also after Kallstrom. Figures …

- Nikola Žigić, the tall Serbian striker from Racing Santander, could be ours in a few days for 20 million Euro. That’s a lot of money, but imagine the crosses this giant-like man could bury into the net. Might be fun to watch.

- Someone suggested Sunny for my shirt. I’ll give him a few years. Someone suggested Vicente and I like that one, but I already have a Vicente senyera from a few years back and we all saw how that season turned out. I’m still saying Villa or Silva. Or maybe Judas for Madrid sporting director and Public Enemy #1, Pedrag Mijatovic.

- Someone (Lena) asked about Valencia’s budget. I think it’s pretty healthy, especially in light of the new stadium and the land deal that will go through once the Mestalla is sold.
What I think hinders Valencia is their lack of identity. What I mean is this: Are Valencia a big team? Spenders? Perennial title contenders?

Or are they a mid-sized team? Sellers? Hagglers? Unwilling to spend the dough?

With Valencia, they’re a team in limbo. They’re not really sellers (Mendieta, Farinos and Claudio Lopez are exceptions). They’re usually in the mix every year, for the title or the Champions League. And they’ve bought big-name players here and there (Aimar, Joaquin).

But are they a big club? Certainly not. They’re no where close to the levels of Barcelona and Madrid. Our boys have to win with smarts, guile and smart managing.

What’s frustrating is their desire to obtain second-tier players like Kallstrom and Lucho (no offense but these guys aren’t Kaka or Henry) yet be snubbed time and again. Is it lack of money or lack of character that denies them these picks of the litter?

We crawl back licking our wounds over these players and watch Madrid waltz in and make stratospheric offers for the same lads.

It’s frustrating. But I really believe Valencia needs to believe they belong in the same league as these other big clubs. They have the talent. We all know that. Now they need to walk and talk like they believe it.

Problem is, success came quickly for our boys. Two Champions League Finals. A Copa Del Rey. Two league titles. A UEFA Cup. Before the King’s Cup in 1999, it had been twenty years between titles. They were even relegated for a time in 1987.

Now, we haven’t won anything since 2004. The expectations are high, but is the club at the level of expectation? We’ll see. This season will tell us a lot.