Defining Day in Valencia History

By: Cesar | July 24th, 2008

Oh my … Valencia has just become the Titanic … we’re the laughing stocks of the football world …

It’s been a madcap day in Valencia as Juan Soler and Juan Villalonga have been locked in negotiations, meetings and press conferences trying to figure out the future of our beloved club.

I’ve lived through gut-wrenching games, clicking the F5 refresh button over and over again while at work, trying to gauge the events of a match. But I’ve never done that for a press conference or for reports of a meeting. My mind’s been racing all day, but what else is new with Valencia CF?

Here’s what we know so far (well, what we thought we knew … keep reading … it gets worse):

- Juan Villalonga is OUT as CEO of Valencia.
- Juan Soler still owns his Valencia shares, which account for about 37% of the club.
- Villalonga offered Soler 76.7 million Euros for his shares but was turned down. Apparently, Soler wanted the money right now and Villalonga needs to scrape the money together … So …
- … Villalonga has 15 days to come up with the money and Soler has promised he’ll sell the club to him. Gentleman’s agreement …
- In those 15 days, neither Villa, Silva or Joaquin will be sold.

So … what does this mean?

It means we sweat it out for 2 weeks and a day to see if Villalonga, the ex-Telefonica chief, can come up with the cash. If he does, we’ll have a new owner and a new vision.

Villalonga is very optimistic about the future of this team, saying he thinks Unai Emery is one of the best coaches in the world and that Valencia will be a club top players from around the world will want to play in.

He also said Valencia can win the Champions League in 3 years time. Wow! Imagine that?

It also means the pressure is squarely on Soler’s shoulders. Villalonga gave an eloquent speech that gave the Valencia faithful hope and aspiration, something Soler’s regime hasn’t done in … well, never. So the aficionados definitely want Soler to sell his shares. He better buck up and not go back on his word, or I doubt he’ll ever walk into the Mestalla without an armed guard.

But … (it never ends …) Soler spoke after Villalonga and said he threw Villalonga out of the club because the ex-Telefonica CEO is a ‘dreamer’ and doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

He also said the current state of affairs at the club was Villalonga’s fault. (What?)

And he also said this: ‘”No outsider needs to come here and tell us what to do in our house … we’re mature and we know what we’re doing.”

Oh ya? So that’s why Valencia is in such a pitiful state?

Ok Soler …

He went on to say that:
- Juan Sanchez is back as the sporting director. Xabier Azkargorta is out.
- Vicente Soriano (another majority shareholder) is now the new president of the team
- Soriano, not Villalonga, will buy his shares …
- They’ll try to keep Villa and Silva.

Oh. My.

Does your stomach hurt as much as mine? Is this F’N crazy or WHAT???

He’s an angry man and this doesn’t bode well for Villalonga, gentleman’s agreement or not.
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see … One thing is for sure … Soler is out.

And a new era in Valencia history is upon us.

The drama never, ever ceases to amaze me …