Give Us a Chance!

By: Cesar | October 10th, 2008

With this being an international weekend jam-packed with World Cup qualifying, it’s a nice time to sit back, relax and enjoy our status as the top team in Spain.

It’s early, but that doesn’t mean we can’t revel in what our club’s accomplished. After last season, I think we have that right …

Anyways, who’s going to rain on our parade? None other than top Spanish journalist Guillem Balague, who says we’re not yet good enough to win La Liga.

Guillem’s a good journalist. And while I admire his opinion, I wish he’d let the season play out before making prognostications. Nostradamus, he ain’t …

So what did Guillem say?

The fixture calendar has been very kind to them at the start of the season and we should not overlook the fact that their five wins from their opening six matches are a result of beating Valladolid, Deportivo, Malaga, Osasuna and Mallorca. That is not to say that any of those are easy games, especially away from home, but it has granted them the breathing space to improve and recover some much needed confidence.

I would really like to see how Valencia do against one of the much stronger sides in Spain because I have real concerns over their midfield: both in an attacking and defensive capacity.

One thing that has happened is that under Unai Emery – a coach who I really admire – Valencia have tightened up defensively. The new coach is obsessive about the detail and his preparation is meticulous, and that, coupled with some good centre halves like Albiol and Alexis – plus Marchena when he returns – means that Valencia are much tighter at the back and picking up points where they would have thrown it away last season. Another improvement over last term is in goal, where the new keeper, Renan, is looking very comfortable as well. Now that Valencia aren’t conceding as many goals – and with Villa, Mata and Silva you are guaranteed chances at the other end- Valencia are beating the teams that they should be, where as last season they weren’t.

However, I have a real doubt that the Valencia midfield can control or dominate a game against one of the bigger sides. Its all very well not conceding against a side like Depor and relying on goals from David Villa, but when you are up against a side like Barcelona, I suspect that this will not be enough.

Without controlling the game, will Valencia have enough to cope with the Barcelona attack for an entire match, will they hold out against Real Madrid and will they cope with the more complete football of Sevilla? I have real doubts as to whether they can.

You have asked where I think they will finish up in La Liga come the end of the season and you suggest that they are up their with Sevilla and Villarreal. I’m going to stick my neck out and predict that Valencia will not finish in the top three as they are a level below Barcelona, Real Madrid and Villarreal and that by next May we will see Valencia battling it out for fourth place alongside Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.

So … what do you think?

For starters, I think he’s right on a few points. We have had a soft schedule to begin the season.

But that’s not our problem. We play the teams put in front of us. We beat those teams. As we should have. For that, we deserve some accolades. Besides, the schedule gets much tougher in early December, when we play the big boys of Spain in consecutive weeks (starting the weekend of Dec. 7th, we play Barcelona, Espanyol, Real Madrid, Atletico, Villarreal and Athletic to close out the first round of games).

Balague goes on to say that he’s wary of us in attacking and defensive capacity.

I beg to differ. For one, our attack has been rock solid these past few weeks. He makes a strong point regarding our midfield, but he wonders if we can hang against the likes of Barcelona.

Question is, can they hang with us? It’s not like we’re Real Betis over here, who hung tough with the Catalan giants. And what about Madrid, who lost out to a tough Depor side?

I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’re a tough out. We’re not a slouch. And with the confidence we garner beating clubs we should in the early part of our schedule, we should do fine against the big fish of Spain.

We all know we have defensive frailties. But Albiol and Alexis have played well together of late. And now, captain Carlos Marchena is back to man the ship.

As Balague points out, coach Unai Emery is a stickler for defensive play. Who’s to say we won’t get better in this department in the next few weeks?

He predicts we’ll be battling Sevilla and Atletico for a Champions League spot come May, as we’re ‘a level below Barcelona, Real Madrid and Villarreal.’

C’mon … what does that mean? What did it mean in 2002? In 2004? Nothing!!

Let the games be played and let’s see what we can do … for now, I’m confident we can do well against the giants of Spain.

One person who is trying to temper some of the excitement regarding our fast start to the season is Valencia chairman Vicente Soriano (I need a nickname for this guy …).

Soriano feels obliged to keep expectations realistic.

“We have to be careful, sensible and quiet because worse times will come, and we have to make sure we can manage those as well,” he told the press, taking his glasses off and biting his lip while staring warily into the far off distance …

He added after a pause of 15 minutes, “At the moment we look down at the other clubs below and it fills me with so much pride.”

Me too … but what’s this about worse times ahead? Excuse me???

Final bit of news … the Copa Del Rey draw was held today and the COPA DEL REY CHAMPIONS VALENCIA were drawn against Third Division minnows Portugalete (see club logo, above).

Who?

The modest Basque club, from just outside Bilbao, have home advantage for the first leg on Oct. 29 and are the lowest ranked side left in the competition.

“At home we will battle away, try not to concede a goal, and work hard in defense. Beyond that, we have no alternative but to try and enjoy ourselves and see if we can nick some of their shirts,” Portugalete player Iker Arzubiaga told Radio Popular.

“I don’t think for a moment we have a chance of progressing. If it was a one-off game we could cause an upset winning at home, but later to go to the Mestalla will be tough.”

Sounds like a smart man … but as I said, anything can happen in football …

By the way, anyone care about defending the championship this year?

I say the Copa is a good excuse to give guys like Curro Torres a run. Poor guy’s been selling cotton candy in the Mestalla and dressing up like the Valencia Bat mascot just to be part of the squad. I say he deserves to stretch his legs some against Portugal or whomever we’re playing …

By the way, have you noticed how I said we had a chance against the big clubs yet I refuse to grant that same respect to Portugalete? I’m awful …