€185 million on 33 Players Since 2004 = UGGH!!

By: Cesar | December 28th, 2008

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and didn’t stuff themselves too much.

I feel like I’ve gained enough weight to be confused with ex-Real Madrid striker Ronaldo … time to get back to the gym, me thinks.

Also time to see what Valencia CF has been up to. They return to practice tomorrow and let’s hope Miguel hasn’t gained as much weight as I have …

Double sessions on Monday and Tuesday should get the players back into shape before their match against Atletico Madrid this Saturday at the Mestalla. They’re going to need to be in shape. Atletico are one of the hottest teams on the continent – they haven’t lost a match since losing to Real Madrid back in October — that’s 15 straight games undefeated in all competitions.

Even through all that Atletico remain tied on points with Our Beloved (30), ahead of us on goal difference.

Coach Unai Emery seems to be ok with that. He’s happy where the club is at, even though we’ve struggled lately.

“The balance is positive. We’re in the mix with teams of a similar level to us, with the exception of Barcelona, who are standing out from the competition.”

Only two points separate Sevilla in second from Villarreal in sixth, so Emery is under no illusions about the road ahead. Continuing, he stated “We need to continue to add points so we can climb the table and close the gap on the leader. In the end we need to be competitive, while imposing the unique Valencia style and personality, and showing a constant desire for improvement.” (Oh, I like this quote!)

Emery then looked ahead to the immediate future, namely two massive home games against Atletico and Villarreal, saying “Playing in front of our home crowd should help us impose our mentality. I hope the fans support us during these two games, because they are very important and we feed off their energy. When they are behind us, the players notice a positive lift on the pitch.

Finally, he spoke of the Copa Del Rey and the UEFA Cup, where Valencia face Racing Santander and Dynamo Kiev respectively, saying “The Copa is an important tournament for us, since we are the defending champions, and the final will be played at the Mestalla. The cup games will arrive thick and fast, and we need to prepare with the adequate concentration and play at a high level, because all our opponents, like us, will also be seeking to go as far as possible.”

Fair assessment by the gaffer … we’re right where we need to be and right where we should be, like it or not. And honestly, we’re much better off today than we were a year ago with Ronald Koeman and Juan Soler, the tag team champions of idiocy.

One of the reasons we’re where we’re at is our malignant transfer situation.

As many of you know, we just loaned Serbian T-Rex Nicola Zicic back to Racing Santander. We signed the Eastern European Peter Crouch from Santander last season for something in the neighborhood of €15 million. And now he’s not even on the squad, having never settled with either Koeman or Emery.

Many see the Zigic loan move as a failure of the Valencia scouting system … I’d say, ‘Ya think?’

We wasted a ton of money on this guy and he never fully transitioned to the first team. Why?
I’m sure there are many variables but at the heart of it, we spent a lot of money on this guy and it never worked out.

With the club in financial peril month after month, does anyone think our free-spending transfer policy of the last few years might have something to do with it?

Since 2004, Valencia have spent a whopping €185 million on 33 players … that’s more than HALF the cost of the New Mestalla … and how many have panned out?

Here’s a list of the 33 players and what’s happened to them:

Ludovic Butelle – Free. Loaned out to Lille.
Stefano Fiore – 8.3 million. Never panned out and now back in Italy.
Bernardo Corradi – 8.3 million. What did he do? Sat bench? Sold to Manchester City for 1.5 million.
Marco Di Vaio – 10.5 million. Scored 11 goals his first season, but never earned QQ’s trust and was sold to Monaco.
Emiliano Moretti – 2.8 million. One of the few still with us.
Marco Caneira – 1 million for a loan deal, 4.5 million for a full transfer. Awful defender sold to Sporting Lisbon.
Edu - Free. Hurt every other game.
Patrick Kluivert – Free. Nightclub Pat was always hurt and loved the nightlife a bit too much to care.
Jose Enrique Sanchez – 0.7 million. Who?
Juan Luis Mora – 0.25 million. Sat bench and … sat bench. Kinda feel bad for the guy … but he knew what he was signing on for.
David Villa – 12 million. A bargain.
Mario Regueiro – 1.7 million. i never knew why this guy didn’t play more. I always liked him …
Miguel – 8 million. Big boned but fast as anyone.
Hugo Viana – 0.35 million for a loan deal, 4 million for a full transfer. I’ll never understand why we bought this guy … he’s there simply as eye candy … or a Manolo bar back.
Fabian Estoyanoff – 3 million. Wore the Valencia shirt once, at his presentation. Professional loaner, loaned out to Cádiz, Deportivo, Valladolid and Peñarol.
David Valle – Free. Who??
Asier Del Horno - 7 million. Waste of money anyone? Used to be one of the best but has slipped quite badly.
Fernando Morientes – 5.5 million. Great back-up striker. Love this guy.
Francesco Tavano – 9 million. Never had a chance. In the middle of the Carboni-QQ Wars and was let go.
Joaquin - 25 million. A lot of money for the confusing winger. Good one game, awful the next. The most expensive transfer in Valencia history.
Timo Hildebrand – Free. Left on a free a few weeks ago. Just didn’t settle as we expected but not an awful ‘keeper.
Alexis – 6 million. Good central defender but often hurt.
Ivan Helguera – Free. Uggh. I hated this guy. He’s gone. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Zigic – 14.5 million. He could score but was he ever given a chance? Bad transfer.
Arizmendi – 6 million. Save for a goal against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu last season, did nothing spectacular. One of Valencia’s stranger signings.
Juan Mata – Free. A coup of a signing. Going to be one of the best very shortly.
Sunny – 1.8 million. Never played and now loaned out to Osasuna, where he never plays … Uggh.
Manuel Fernandes – 18 million. He’s getting better and better, but had a rocky start after being arrested early in his Valencia career.
Ever Banega – 17 million. Wanted to be a porn star more than a footballer. Thought more of the nightlife than the pitch. Loaned out to Atletico Madrid these days. A HUGE waste of money.
Hedwiges Maduro – 3 million. A Koeman signing, he’s Curro Torres’ back-up at Manolo’s, meaning he never plays.
Renan – 4 million. He’s so-so. But he’s the best we have.
Nacho Gonzalez – 1 million. Loaned out to Newcastle, where he was immediately injured.
Thiago Carleto – 3 million. The new Roberto Carlos or the new Asier Del Horno? We’ll soon find out …

When you think about it, the reason we’re in this financial peril and sporting disarray is directly related to our transfer history the past 4 years.

Rafa Benitez left Valencia in 2004 saying, “I asked for a table and they bought me a lamp.”

Well, we bought many a table the past few years. Sure, we lucked out with Villa, Mata and Miguel. But for those lads, we also suffered through Di Vaio, Tavano and Kluivert.

And look at our current financial situation … makes ya think, eh?

The disparate budget has caused us to look for bargains … we’re currently in the mix for 2nd Division defender Angel Dealbert of Castellon.

Dealbert is regarded as one of the best defenders in the Segunda and his contract was set to expire next June, leaving him as free agent.

For this reason, Valencia have come in before the summer to snap him up, making sure they sign him rather than another side.

It is not yet known what fee they will pay for the defender, but it can be assumed to be small, and his contract is likely to be on a similar level as Renan and Carleto (approx. $500,000 a year).

The fact that Valencia need another central defender is no secret, following the injury to Alexis and the loss of Iván Helguera, and this could be more shrewd business from Emery.

Still, no offense to Emery or Dealbert. But we’re supposed to be a big club … what’s up with promoting 2nd Division players to play for us?

Look at our last 4 years of transfers and our current budget and you’ll know why …