The Copa and Our Chances
By: Cesar | October 28th, 2008
Tomorrow, Our Beloved begin defense of our Copa Del Rey championship against Segunda B minnows Club Portugalete.
Although Portugalete are enjoying a bit of an economic and sporting renaissance (they recently secured 1.5 million Euros from the local council to upgrade their training facilities and have won 12 consecutive home games), Valencia are expected to cakewalk against the Basque side.
And why not? Even though Unai Emery will rest many of his starters, giving subs such as Asier Del Horno and Hugo Viana the chance to stretch their legs, our boys are simply too strong for the Segunda B team.
In fact, Emery has already said that Alexis, Albiol, Miguel, Moretti, Albelda, Fernandes, Joaquín, Mata, Angulo and Villa will not play in this game. Three players from the Valencia B squad were called up for the game: Ximo Navarro, Jaume and Michel.
So this game is a good opportunity to give our first team a break, what with the cluttered FIFA calendar that includes league matches, domestic Cup matches, European Cup matches and international cup qualifiers.
Having said that, what happens from here on out?
As has been mentioned on the comments board, Valencia are in a weird position.
We’re leading La Liga by one point, but we’ve yet to play any of the teams expected to compete for the championship.
We’re in the UEFA Cup group stage and although it’s an honor to be there, who would sacrifice the chance to finish in the top four in Spain for this title?
We’re the defending Copa Del Rey champions, but what does this title mean to us this season?
The main problem as expressed in the comments section is our lack of depth. We did very little in the transfer market this off-season.
Who can blame us? We hired a new coach, went through three sporting directors and managed to secure three owners. Throw in our struggle to keep stars David Villa and David Silva and one can see why our transfer activity was less than fruitful.
Still, the composition of the team is a cause for concern.
Let’s see where our squad stands at the moment …
Keepers: Timo Hildebrand, Renan, Vicente Guaita
Timo’s basically gone, told he’ll probably leave in January.
Where does that leave us? Renan is an adequate ‘keeper, but has he really been tested?
And Guaita … who?
Defenders: Curro Torres, Raul Albiol, Carlos Marchena, Asier Del Horno, Ivan Helguera, Alexis, Miguel, Emiliano Moretti
This has been a surprisingly solid group this season.
Albiol and Alexis have looked decent together. With Marchena now back from injury, the central defense will only be better.
Curro Torres is injured and has been so since about 1987.
Asier Del Horno is a sub, no more.
Helguera is old. And a Madridista …
Moretti is adequate.
Miguel looks inspired and has lost weight.
Still, a sub at right back would be nice. And we know how tenuous this group is. An injury here and there or a match against a super offense and we could come unglued.
Midfield: Maduro, Albelda, Baraja, Vicente, Joaquin, Fernandes, Pablo, Silva, Edu, Viana.
This is, save a creative, scoring midfielder, an area of strength.
Maduro is a sub, no more.
Albelda has been surprisingly spry, proving Ronald Koeman wrong.
Vicente has stayed healthy but is still sluggish after so much time off.
Joaquin has looked decent at times. But he’s inconsistent.
Fernandes has been very good this season and his energy has inspired.
Pablo is still an anomaly.
Silva’s injured.
Edu is serviceable but his time seems to have passed.
Viana is a sub, nothing more.
As you can see, it’s a surprise we’ve done so well with Joaquin being so inconsistent, Silva being injured, Vicente getting his legs under him and Pablo struggling …
We’re thin, yet we’re not. Does that make sense?
Think of what someone like Wesley Sneijder or Rafael Van Der Vaart would have done for this squad, in the middle, distributing the ball … now, come down from those lofty heights, because they’re not coming.
Forwards: David Villa, Morientes, Angulo, Zigic, Mata
Here’s an area where we’ve gotten great service, but where we’re woefully thin.
Villa has been unstoppable.
Morientes is a super sub and nothing more.
Angulo has been dreadful.
Zigic is serving drinks over at Manolo’s bar across the street.
Mata has been the revelation of the league this season, even though we knew he’d be good since last season.
An injury to Villa would be devastating to the forward corps. We’d have to rely on someone like Angulo, which would be comical in a sad way. Mata is great, but he’s mainly great as support to Villa. How would he do without El Guaje?
Forward is a position we need to focus on come the January transfer window. There are many names that have been bandied around the comments and the ‘Net over who we’ll pursue. No matter who it is, we need someone who can score, who is dependable and who can grow with the team. In other words, someone cheap and good.
What does this positional break down tell us?
For one, we’re thin in some areas.
That thinness could be our downfall when the games start piling up and the eventual injuries take their toll. A big league game sandwiched by a UEFA Cup match, a Copa Del Rey game and a World Cup qualifier would tax our squad.
I dunno about you guys, but I could care less about the UEFA Cup or the Copa Del Rey this season.
Of course, if we went to the final in either competition, I’d be overjoyed. But as it stands now, I’m all about concentrating on finishing in the Top 4 in Spain.
A trophy-less 2008-09 season where we finish third or fourth in Spain would be a success in my eyes.
We play with the hand dealt to us. And although this Valencia squad is thin in areas, we should enjoy the fact we’re in first place, gaining in confidence. Now what will the current sporting staff do to enhance our squad?
Category: Team News
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Comments
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i think we would want to finsih as the top four to get into CL, and there is another rout to tht, by winning Uefa,,,me i couldnt careless bout copa delray, but the uefa i think its worth trying! we need a striker and a left bk, and i think we will b ready to go only for tht season!
Posted from
United Arab Emirates
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I think you are clearly overrating our B-squad. Portugalete having won 12 consecutive games at home, Valencia with a B-squad with totally no rythm, i have seen too many matches like this and it wont be as easy as you say. I even would bet Valencia might be outplayed without some of their normal line up, or at least getting a draw out of this. Dont know why but i have seen Valencia against weak teams and they always suck! Now there might be a Segunda B team but they are on a really good streak, and no offence but we should not let down our guard. Of course, rest our players, but dont think we can take this side without a fight!!!
@ Ali,
yeah we need a RB and a striker, but the striker in january, not too big of a chance unfortunately. Worse, we will lose Zigic, normally no problem at all, but he is one of the only 3 real strikers we got…Posted from
Switzerland -
Zigic should be serving drinks over at Manolo’s bar across the street together with Angulo, Curro Torres, Pablo, Edu, Viana & Helguera. They should be called “the magnificent seven” (or “magnificent six dwarfs and a pole”) and shake cocktails.
Just offload them in january market, scramble some money and buy a few talented players. NOT Olic, please, he’ll be 30; we have El Moro, we don’t need another paps.Re UEFA & Copa: I’m with you, Cesar, we should just play our second team there, rest key plaers and see where this takes us. It could be a good motivating factor for rarely used players.
Remember how Arsene Wenger played Carling Cup with Arsenal youngsters only two seasons ago; they’ve managed to reach final against Chelsea, and when everyone expected from Wenger to lineup the strongest team for final, he just played with his kindergarten again. They lost but they sure showed character.Posted from
Slovenia -
quin.mi rio tanto que mi descojone…….absolute quality
Posted from
Spain -
I wouldn’t even if we’re out in the first round of Copa del Rey or we defend the championship. UEFA cup if the squad’s adequate, we should fight for it. But as you point out, liga’s the foundation. I think with transfers in Jan we should have the ability to make top four, or at least put on a good fight.
Pablo and Edu are very good players. Pablo was fantastic at Getafe and I believe under Unai he will shine. Edu’s quality, unfortunately injured for a long time. They are totally different from Maduro, Angulo and Curro. I just hope we rid of those three, maybe Angulo can stay because he’s a Vacianista all his life. We should make some money out of Timo and Zigic, buy a ST and RB and be set for the second half!
Posted from
United States -
I agree with most of the comments here, la liga should be our priority. I really hope none of the regulars get to play in the cup match. If our reserves cant beat Portugalete (regardless if they won the last 12 against other lesser teams) then we certainly shouldnt dream about competing in the Copa del Rey. Maybe we could use the next cup match (and the UEFA matches) to show the potential of some our reserves that we want to sell? (eg Zigic, Maduro, Timo and Viana).
As for Pablo, im still not convinced about him and his form.
Posted from
United States -
I read on espn soccernet that portugalete are a tercera side, not segunda b… does the uefa cup winner get automatic qualification for the champions league?
Posted from
United States -
I’m hoping Valencia can get another Attacking Midfielder and a backup striker. Maybe Fernando Belluschi from Olympiakos and then see if Guiza is feeling homesick.
Posted from
United States -
Cesar, just to let you know, Kalinic won’t come to club, it will be Olic, and I hope whole transfer will go trough… I can’t wait to see him in the club by the January or so. He was chosen as the best HSV player last year (despite they had V. der Vaart). That’s all I know about him in Bundesliga, but he is realy one great striker,one of a kind. I realy hope he’ll make it next to Villa and Mata. Amunt ^^
Posted from
Croatia -
i think olic is great, hes kinda old but they type of old tht doesnt effect him,, ex- van nestelroy -nedvid, id like to see olic, we need an experienced striker next to villa, so we wouldnt have 2 unexperienced strikers(mata and whoever we buy)…we need a LB to replace moretti as soon as posible! hes a whole in our defence! his crosses sucks when he assists! hes a waste of soocer shoes! he sucks, GO BK TO ITALY!
Posted from
United Arab Emirates -
Ive seen Olic play many times. He is nothing like Ruud or Villa where you would expect loads of goals from him. He’s a bit like Raul now, where he pulls the defenders with him to allow his teammates to score, he also does a few assists as well. I dont think he would be as good as Kerrison or Kalinic, but he is definitely better than Morientes, Angulo and Zigic.
Posted from
United States -
ok 1-4, seems like i was totally wrong haha. Good to see us also with our second team playing like this, but with Marchena, Vicente, Moro, Edu, Baraja, it is still strong hehe. Amunt mates, and off to the next round!!!
*goes diving into the snow, cause Zürich is turning white
Posted from
Switzerland -
Not bad eh?? We looked divine! AMUNT!!
Posted from
United States -
it was an easy match , Valencia dominated from start to finish. we played the “B” team and a few Valencia B players and even then the team was not pushed and had 73% of the possession. Pablo was in good spirits and played well. Valencia could have scored more if Pablo’s finishing was better. energy was conserved, away goals were scored and Pablo had a good game to boost his confidence, all in all this was a good game for Valencia.
Olic is not a world class striker but he would provide another attacking option. Hamburg are not known for scoring lots of goals but his goals to games ratio is decent. he would be a stable option but he would not have the upside of Keirrisson or Kalinic.
Posted from
United States -
Valencia in real life are playing even better than the Valencia in my FIFA 09 (still can’t quite master set pieces or timing runs for thru balls). A striker should be our #1 priority after we offload Zigic. If Villa gets injured for a substantial period of time, we’ll be screwed up front
Posted from
United States -
Great game huh; just the way it is supposed to be. Btw, poor Villarral!!! What a whooping.
Cesar, I forgot to mention, that’s a great picture, I like what you do with the blog; a great article with the elegance of a great picture.
Posted from
United States -
Btw i read in the Dutch media that Superdeporte today says Valencia is still after Kalinic and has the best cards of landing him… Seems we are the only ones with a formal bid, and that we are very much still in the race… But i couldnt find anything at SD website, anybody reading the printed SD today??
Posted from
Switzerland -
Unai want the fan to Celbrate before the sunday macth. i hope this will be in TV
Posted from
Saudi Arabia -
We definitely should offload Zigic if we wont use him, but I dont understand why Emery chooses to play Angulo before Morientes and Zigic. Maybe Emery should give Zigic a chance, he seems to score almost every time he plays.
Posted from
United States -
Hey People,
I am a die hard fan of valencia and i also want to be a scout for valencia.Its been fascinating to read the articles on this blog its great to know abt all the ssupporters of the best club in the world.Specially i want to add to the list of player whom i think may be able to make it big at our team..
These choices are bit of a gamble but is a gamble worth taking as these players will cost less and if they make it big they might add an additional power to our team.Especially with Emery in charge as he can get the best of the players and make them better,As with mata,alexis,miguel and even jaoquin.
ok here is the list,Kindly give your opinionsStrikers – We need someone like Villa,OF course it is not possibe,No one comes close but similar type of player,Fast and dedly accuracy,
1.Sunil Chetri – No one would have heard his name,He is an Indian,His international record 15 goals from 34 matches.India is not the great team,But he finishes whatever chances they create.Why i think he can excel.
He is fast,good ball control,and deadly accuracy in finishing ,I think with the chances our midfield creates he can be a real succes and he is only 24.2.Ronaldo – EL Phenomeno!!! Everyone knows him,He is old but if we can get him on loan this january,it would be great,He can score from anywhere,we just need to create the hunger iin him,He has already stated his desire to prove everyone one more time,It can be magical,Ronaldo-VIlla
3.Mateja Kezman – He scored 105 goals in 122 mataches for PSV,He is a talen,again similar to villa,Finishes well,Only emery has to instill desire and energy.
4.MIchael Owen – Man he is injured often ,But i think he can be a real asset if we can get him working ,He has excellant movement off the ball and can be a real goal getter and we can get him for cheap.He is still 28 only,we got atleat 2-3 years with him.
Remember ,all these players are eager to prove themselves ,thats why i consider them better than the youngsters.They have been there and done it.
Posted from
United States -
No just no to all those
Posted from
Canada
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