The Most Important Game

By: Cesar | January 28th, 2009

Tomorrow’s the second leg of our Copa Del Rey quarterfinal clash against the Andalucian Nightmares, Sevilla FC.

While everyone and their mother agrees finishing in the Top 4 in Spain’s La Liga should be our top goal, it seems the heads of Our Beloved would rather reap the rather minimal rewards of winning the Copa at home.

2010 UEFA Europa League, anyone?

Whatever. It’s a tie we should win, considering our rebound from the most obvious offside in football history in the first leg (go to :58 to see the magic of Spanish officiating), which we gallantly won 3-2 at the Mestalla.

Goal.com has their oh-so-dead-on preview up, predicting another loss for our lads.

While I’d love for us to win, this concentration of the Copa is downright maddening.
How about doing well in the league first, eh?

David Villa will not play in the match, so it seems his knock was more about injury than rest.

Joining Villa on the sidelines will be Renan, Alexis, Albiol, Curro Torres and Del Horno.

So maybe we’ll see the likes of Joaquin, Mata and Vicente. You know, because this is an important game and all.

Can you sense the amount of urgency I’m seeing in this match?

I know. It should be an entertaining affair. I’ll do my best to watch it before my Metallica show tomorrow evening. I just don’t see the need to win this competition again when 4th place and a chance at next season’s Champions League would be much more beneficial to the club. But what do I know?

Courtesy of our 3-2 win in the first leg, a draw and we’re through to the semis. Might as well go for the jugular, right?

Coach Unai Emery seems to think so.

“The team always plays to win. Sometimes it works out well, sometimes it doesn’t. The score is good for us, but I don’t want us to go and try to draw. Another way is to be intelligent and to try to attack in a more stable way. Everything that you can add to the scoreline is good, and we’ll be trying to win,” he told Spanish filth AS.

“I expect a Sevilla side that will come out to win, just like us. I expect a very flowing game, that has all the factors to be a good match, a lot of fight and spirit, that will be like a final, because whoever loses is out. Therefore we’ll confront it as a final.”

What about the absence of Villa?

“Villa is an important player, but not more so than the team. He’s not ready to play and we need everyone to be in top condition, so we go with players who are fit,” he declared.

Emery also said that he believes his team will turn things around after their defeat to Mallorca at the weekend, and that he doesn’t regret letting Nikola Zigic, Timo Hildebrand or Iván Helguera go.

“Each situation has reasons, and a decision must be made. That is what happened in the cases of Hildebrand and Helguera. In the case of Zigic there was a possibility of staying, of keeping him here, but he’s always had Villa and [Fernando] Morientes in front. He’s a great boy (dinosaur?) and a great player and I’m glad he’s doing well at Racing,” he confirmed.

Aside from that, Valencia’s never-ending soap opera continues.

First, Spanish network Telecinco is offering Our Beloved 275 million Euros over 5 years for the rights to our matches.

Not a bad chunk of change. And it’s coming at a pretty good time, what with the club hemorrhaging money.

Next, Juan Soler’s daddy Bautista wants Vicente Soriano to know he’s got until the end of the month to get his finances in order. Or else.

Uggh. This causing anyone else indigestion?

Finally, what’s this about Sevilla wanting bat meat?

The fun never ends, does it? AMUNT!!!