Trials and Tribulations

By: Javier | October 2nd, 2009

pincha Well its been quite the couple of weeks. Sorry about the lack of posting. The Offside did a update and it wasnt agreeing with my computer. But now all is well and you can expect to read my enlightened and grandious opinion once again from week to week.

So how was the week that past.

I guess that it started off sour and then turned out sweet. (anybody else have a craving for chinese food suddenly?)

Lets start off with the Sour.

Athletico Madrid.

boo There are few teams in the world that i dislike as much as Athletico Madrid.

Simao’s signing with them instead of us. Kun Aguero’s dives in the area. Forlans bouncy blond locks of hair.

I cant help it.. i just dont like them.

I dont like their style.. i dont like their luck.

This past weekend was no different. Once again we fought out of a hole took the lead and them let it slip away. It wasnt so much the fact that we left 2 points behind on the picth that would have kept us at pace with the top contenders.

It was the way we lost it.

Our defence was a complete shambles. We attacked well.. we controlled the middle but our defence was a welcome mat as per usual. Emery did his traditional faux pas. Bring on Maduro and take off Banega. And tada .. goal to the opposition.

why1 It was like having a bad dream all over again.

None of our previous lessons had been learned.

And i will be the first to admit that i saw the goal comming but was praying some devine being would grant us a moment of peace and save us from ourselves.

Of course it was not to be. And a draw was our reward.

That day i was livid. And hurt. And a whole lot of other emotions only women should express in public. But the day passed.. i calmed down and now i feel somewhat better.

You see at the end of the day it was a point against Athletico Madrid. They are a good team with an impressive attack regardless what their league possition says right now. They will be in the top half by years end and we managed to take a point at least from them. I truly believe we will get better in the back.. and our attack has already proved it is lethal. Once our Defence gets their act together, we will be a very impressive team.

Miguel Dealbert Bruno Matthieu have never played together until this season. It should be expected we are going to leak goals until they bond.

Moya.. im not as forgiving. I am finding that while better than Renan. He is no Cesar.

Which leads me to the Sweet.

EUROPA LEAGUE.

lol Valencia 3 – 2 Genoa

This scoreline was not a true representation of the match i watched.

Genoa was shell shocked by our attack and movement. Mata, Pablo, Silva, Zigic, Banega all attacked non-stop.

Our poor finishing and bad luck prevented this match from easily being 5 goals in favour of los Che.

Here is what ESPN had to say about the match in case you missed it.

A David Villa penalty earned Valencia a deserved 3-2 success over Genoa to end a four-game winless streak.

Unai Emery’s side opened their Europa League Group B campaign with a draw against Lille but were good value for this win at the Mestalla, although they fell behind to a Sergio Floccari goal for Genoa.

Valencia stormed out of the blocks in the second half and quickfire goals from David Silva and Nikola Zigic put them in front, before Houssine Kharja drew the Italians level from the penalty spot.

The match was finally settled when Villa was tripped in the box with 10 minutes left and applied the finish from 12 yards.

Juan Mata gave Genoa an early scare when he appeared to be clean through and although he steered the ball past Marco Amelia his shot also drifted past the post.

Jeremy Mathieu blocked a weak shot from Floccari from close range in the 12th minute and then Silva went close with a driven left-foot shot which just missed the bottom-left corner of Amelia’s goal.

Defender Salvatore Bocchetti blasted a shot into the Mestalla’s second tier after 20 minutes and Valencia striker Zigic was equally wasteful with a right-foot shot over the top after a smart interception and pass from David Albelda.

Genoa got themselves in front with three minutes of the half to play when Giandomenico Mesto headed the ball into the danger area and as Valencia pushed out for offside, Floccari stretched to volley past Cesar Sanchez.

The Spanish side drew level after five minutes of the second period after Ever Banega drove forward from deep and nudged a teasing ball into the left-hand channel.

Genoa defender Socratis Papastathopoulos should have dealt with it but stumbled at the key moment and Silva seized on the ball and steered a left-foot shot into the far corner.

Mathieu’s header then drew a save from Amelia and Banega drilled a right-foot shot wide after a typical burst from deep.

Emery’s men were relentless and they took the lead in the 56th minute as Silva slipped the ball through to Mata, whose low centre from the left presented an unmissable opportunity for Zigic from close range.

Incredibly though Genoa hit back when Raffaele Palladino spotted a clever burst into the box from Papastathopoulos, who made the most of minimal contact from Mathieu and tumbled to the ground, allowing Kharja to roll a cool penalty past Cesar.

Villa, on for Zigic just before Genoa’s equaliser, forced Amelia into a near-post save with his feet.

The Spain striker was in the thick of the action again with 10 minutes to go as he won Valencia a penalty after being hauled down by fellow substitute Andrea Esposito, and made no mistake as he took the spot-kick himself.

Amelia denied him a second after Villa made space to shoot in the box with a sublime drag-back