Juan Bernat sign professional contract to 2015 with Valencia CF

Preseason discovery player Juan Bernat has signed a professional contract with Valencia CF that will keep him at the club until 2015.

Technical secretary Braulio Vázquez said of the player, "It's very important to have quality players, which Bernat is, and he also has great commitment to Valencia. Bernat is a boy with great qualities, he's fast, technical, can score goals, and has personality. But I like is humility and willingness to work."

The player himself said that he is humbled to be given a professional contract and said that he will work hard to be useful to the team.

Juan Bernat sign professional contract to 2015 with Valencia CF

Preseason discovery player Juan Bernat has signed a professional contract with Valencia CF that will keep him at the club until 2015.

Technical secretary Braulio Vázquez said of the player, "It's very important to have quality players, which Bernat is, and he also has great commitment to Valencia. Bernat is a boy with great qualities, he's fast, technical, can score goals, and has personality. But I like is humility and willingness to work."

The player himself said that he is humbled to be given a professional contract and said that he will work hard to be useful to the team.

UD Almeria vs Valencia CF - Match Preview

First let me give support for Paco for the loss of his father Paco senior, RIP.

Now today at 19.00PM GMT+1 time Valencia CF will have the last match of the preseason and with that being the final match before La Liga kicks off hopefully on 21st of August and the strike nonsense is being worked out.

Valencia CF won the last match against Roma on home soil and had the nice presentation of the players. According to reports Guaita, Mata and Albelda got the biggest cheers from the crowd.




Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego Alves and Vicente Guaita
Defense: Bruno Saltor, Miguel Brito, Ricardo Costa, Angel Dealbert, Adil Rami, Jeremy Mathieu, Jordi Alba.
Midfield: Mehmet Topal, David Albelda, Ever Banega, Hedwiges Maduro, Alberto Tino Costa, Pablo Hernandez, Sofiane Feghouli, Juan Bernat, Pablo Piatti, Juan Mata, Daniel Parejo.
Attack: Aritz Aduriz, Jonas Goncalves and Roberto Soldado.

UD Almeria vs Valencia CF - Match Preview

First let me give support for Paco for the loss of his father Paco senior, RIP.

Now today at 19.00PM GMT+1 time Valencia CF will have the last match of the preseason and with that being the final match before La Liga kicks off hopefully on 21st of August and the strike nonsense is being worked out.

Valencia CF won the last match against Roma on home soil and had the nice presentation of the players. According to reports Guaita, Mata and Albelda got the biggest cheers from the crowd.




Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego Alves and Vicente Guaita
Defense: Bruno Saltor, Miguel Brito, Ricardo Costa, Angel Dealbert, Adil Rami, Jeremy Mathieu, Jordi Alba.
Midfield: Mehmet Topal, David Albelda, Ever Banega, Hedwiges Maduro, Alberto Tino Costa, Pablo Hernandez, Sofiane Feghouli, Juan Bernat, Pablo Piatti, Juan Mata, Daniel Parejo.
Attack: Aritz Aduriz, Jonas Goncalves and Roberto Soldado.

Valencia CF 3-0 AS Roma - Match Report

This was the presentation match played in Valencia in the Mestalla in front of the home crowd and basically a must win match for Valencia CF. The team did not disapoint and disposed AS Roma by 3 goals to zero.

The first ten minutes of the match both sides we fighting for possession with Roma having more of the possession, but Valencia being more dangerous from the flanks. Pablo especially was cousing the Romans some trouble down the right flank.

On the other side though Alba would send a cross that barely missed Piatti on the far post in the 14th minute of the match and Bernat and Alba would link up well, but fail to create a scoring opportunity. Soldado would take things into his own I guess it would be legs and steal a ball from the Roma defender and passing it into Pablo Hernandez who passed the ball towards the incoming Piatti, but it would be Roma's defender Federico Viviani that would score an own goal.

From there on Valencia would threaten quite a lot and there were several half chances on both flanks. Pablo would once again be in the midst of the proceedings in the 29th minute as he surged down the right flank and passed the ball to the lone Piatti, but Piatti shot at the goalkeeper.

Then after a Roma attack failed, Dealbert would pass the ball to Piatti and this one sprinted forward, came in a clearing and passed the ball towards Soldado and he would make it 2-0 for Valencia CF.

From there on the chances for Valencia would keep coming, with Soldado stealing the ball from a Roma defender once more, but ultimately the first half would finish 2-0.

Second half started with Roma putting more pressure the first ten minutes and seemed as they would make a comeback which culminated in Bojan hitting the bar in the 54th minute, but Piatti, Bernat and Pablo would make a stop to that with their constant runs from the flanks and put Roma on the defensive.

Valencia then had the following 12 minutes of play with dangerous plays from Piatti, Pablo, Soldado and Bernat when the substitutions started happening in the 63rd minute and the tempo of the game changed.

The substitutions would do good with Banega, Mathieu and Mata combining well on the left wing and creating an opportunity, then Mata would have a free run, but only to lob the ball over Roma defense, but also over Jonas.

The Paco Alcacer would come on for Soldado and almost immediately score a goal after Jonas played a good through ball to Mathieu and this one provided the cross to Paco.

Ultimatelly it was a great match from Valencia CF in which we really saw the attacking powers of our team, even though the defense is still probably our weakest link.

Technical details:
Valencia CF (3): Alves, Bruno, Rami, Dealbert, Alba; Albelda, Tino Costa, Pablo, Bernat, Piatti y Soldado. También jugaron Banega, Parejo, Topal, Jonas, Mata, Mathieu, Miguel, Maduro, Ricardo Costa, Alcácer.
AS Roma (0): Lobont, Rossi, Burdisso, Heinze, Jose Ángel; Viviani, Pizarro, Perrotta; Borriello, Bojan y Totti. También jugaron Verre, De Cesare, Cassetti, Stekelenburg, Taddei, Antei, Caprari, Okaka, Simplicio.

Goals: 1-0, m.20: Viviani (o.g); 2-0, m.36 Soldado; 3-0, m.83 Alcácer.


Player Ratings:
Diego 6 - Good performance by Diego, wasn't tested too much, but dealt with what came towards him well.
Bruno 5.5 - Wasn't too much troubled at the back and went forward quite enough to support Pablo.
Rami 6 - Destroys the opposition play before they begin an action and dealt well with who he marked.
Dealbert 6 - Had a bit of a mistake early on and then gave away a ball needlessly, but also marshaled the penalty area with conviction.
Alba 6 - Involved in a lot of the actions forward and did well defensively as well.
Albelda 5.5 - Covered well for the defense, but other than that was pretty much inactive.
Tino Costa 6 - Wasn't very influential at all, had a few good runs and passes, but didn't contribute much in attack, but did well defensively.
Pablo 7.5 - Great game from Pablo with an early shot, some great passes and crosses and was dangerous throughout the match.
Piatti 8.5 - Man of the match performance from Piatti. Run tirelesly all night, provided numerous passes and crosses in the penalty area, found himself in dangerous positions all the time, provided an assist and forced an own goal from a Roma defender.
Bernat 7 - Each week he gets better and better and with his pace and agility caused problems for Roma all match long. Linked up well with Piatti and Alba.
Soldado 7.5 - Great performance, stole two balls from the defenders, one lead to the first goal, the second one not so much, but was very involved and active in the game, some great movement and link up play with Piatti and Pablo.
Subs:
Parejo 5.5 - Had an amazing pass towards Bernat I think and with what time he got was pretty good overall.
Topal 5.5 - Made few clean tackles and won the ball back, did well in what time he got.
Banega 5.5 Wasn't as impressive as the last match, had 2 or 3 silly passes, but also did well on the left when he provided cover for Mathieu and Mata.
Mathieu 6.5 - Great match by Mathieu, provided an assist and defended great on his side.
Miguel 5 - Had little time to do anything right or wrong.
Jonas 5.5 - Provided a great pass to Mathieu that lead to the 3rd goal. Otherwise decent in the time he had.
Mata 5.5 - Decent performance by VCF most valued player, had few passes and crosses, but did not have enough time to do much.
Maduro 5 - Not enough time
Costa 5 - Not enough time
Paco 6 - Came in and scored a goal within few minutes. Great start for Paco.

Valencia CF 3-0 AS Roma - Match Report

This was the presentation match played in Valencia in the Mestalla in front of the home crowd and basically a must win match for Valencia CF. The team did not disapoint and disposed AS Roma by 3 goals to zero.

The first ten minutes of the match both sides we fighting for possession with Roma having more of the possession, but Valencia being more dangerous from the flanks. Pablo especially was cousing the Romans some trouble down the right flank.

On the other side though Alba would send a cross that barely missed Piatti on the far post in the 14th minute of the match and Bernat and Alba would link up well, but fail to create a scoring opportunity. Soldado would take things into his own I guess it would be legs and steal a ball from the Roma defender and passing it into Pablo Hernandez who passed the ball towards the incoming Piatti, but it would be Roma's defender Federico Viviani that would score an own goal.

From there on Valencia would threaten quite a lot and there were several half chances on both flanks. Pablo would once again be in the midst of the proceedings in the 29th minute as he surged down the right flank and passed the ball to the lone Piatti, but Piatti shot at the goalkeeper.

Then after a Roma attack failed, Dealbert would pass the ball to Piatti and this one sprinted forward, came in a clearing and passed the ball towards Soldado and he would make it 2-0 for Valencia CF.

From there on the chances for Valencia would keep coming, with Soldado stealing the ball from a Roma defender once more, but ultimately the first half would finish 2-0.

Second half started with Roma putting more pressure the first ten minutes and seemed as they would make a comeback which culminated in Bojan hitting the bar in the 54th minute, but Piatti, Bernat and Pablo would make a stop to that with their constant runs from the flanks and put Roma on the defensive.

Valencia then had the following 12 minutes of play with dangerous plays from Piatti, Pablo, Soldado and Bernat when the substitutions started happening in the 63rd minute and the tempo of the game changed.

The substitutions would do good with Banega, Mathieu and Mata combining well on the left wing and creating an opportunity, then Mata would have a free run, but only to lob the ball over Roma defense, but also over Jonas.

The Paco Alcacer would come on for Soldado and almost immediately score a goal after Jonas played a good through ball to Mathieu and this one provided the cross to Paco.

Ultimatelly it was a great match from Valencia CF in which we really saw the attacking powers of our team, even though the defense is still probably our weakest link.

Technical details:
Valencia CF (3): Alves, Bruno, Rami, Dealbert, Alba; Albelda, Tino Costa, Pablo, Bernat, Piatti y Soldado. También jugaron Banega, Parejo, Topal, Jonas, Mata, Mathieu, Miguel, Maduro, Ricardo Costa, Alcácer.
AS Roma (0): Lobont, Rossi, Burdisso, Heinze, Jose Ángel; Viviani, Pizarro, Perrotta; Borriello, Bojan y Totti. También jugaron Verre, De Cesare, Cassetti, Stekelenburg, Taddei, Antei, Caprari, Okaka, Simplicio.

Goals: 1-0, m.20: Viviani (o.g); 2-0, m.36 Soldado; 3-0, m.83 Alcácer.


Player Ratings:
Diego 6 - Good performance by Diego, wasn't tested too much, but dealt with what came towards him well.
Bruno 5.5 - Wasn't too much troubled at the back and went forward quite enough to support Pablo.
Rami 6 - Destroys the opposition play before they begin an action and dealt well with who he marked.
Dealbert 6 - Had a bit of a mistake early on and then gave away a ball needlessly, but also marshaled the penalty area with conviction.
Alba 6 - Involved in a lot of the actions forward and did well defensively as well.
Albelda 5.5 - Covered well for the defense, but other than that was pretty much inactive.
Tino Costa 6 - Wasn't very influential at all, had a few good runs and passes, but didn't contribute much in attack, but did well defensively.
Pablo 7.5 - Great game from Pablo with an early shot, some great passes and crosses and was dangerous throughout the match.
Piatti 8.5 - Man of the match performance from Piatti. Run tirelesly all night, provided numerous passes and crosses in the penalty area, found himself in dangerous positions all the time, provided an assist and forced an own goal from a Roma defender.
Bernat 7 - Each week he gets better and better and with his pace and agility caused problems for Roma all match long. Linked up well with Piatti and Alba.
Soldado 7.5 - Great performance, stole two balls from the defenders, one lead to the first goal, the second one not so much, but was very involved and active in the game, some great movement and link up play with Piatti and Pablo.
Subs:
Parejo 5.5 - Had an amazing pass towards Bernat I think and with what time he got was pretty good overall.
Topal 5.5 - Made few clean tackles and won the ball back, did well in what time he got.
Banega 5.5 Wasn't as impressive as the last match, had 2 or 3 silly passes, but also did well on the left when he provided cover for Mathieu and Mata.
Mathieu 6.5 - Great match by Mathieu, provided an assist and defended great on his side.
Miguel 5 - Had little time to do anything right or wrong.
Jonas 5.5 - Provided a great pass to Mathieu that lead to the 3rd goal. Otherwise decent in the time he had.
Mata 5.5 - Decent performance by VCF most valued player, had few passes and crosses, but did not have enough time to do much.
Maduro 5 - Not enough time
Costa 5 - Not enough time
Paco 6 - Came in and scored a goal within few minutes. Great start for Paco.

Valencia CF vs AS Roma - Match Preview

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls this is it. Valencia CF is going to play the final preparation match tomorrow against Roma in the Mestalla for the trophy Naranja. This is the first match the home fans are going to watch the team and is going to be a representation of sort for the new players, as well as the official numbers and captains.

Now when I say final match, its not actually the last match, since Valencia CF is going to play against Almeria just 2 days later as has been agreed in the purchase of Pablo Piatti. Even though Valencia CF is going to play just 2 days later this is going to be the important match as Unai Emery is likely to field the strongest eleven on the pitch, play great and win in order to attract more fans for the upcoming season.

AS Roma has gone through a lot of restructuring recently with the change of ownership this year and the end of the Sensi family presidential reign which has spawned since 1993. The new owner is Thomas Richard DiBenedetto along with Unicredit who now own 67% of the shares of Roma in a 60-40% deal between the parties.

AS Roma have brought in Luis Enrique former Barcelona player and previous Barcelona B side coach as a new coach and new signings Erik Lamela and Bojan Krkic.

Roma's preseason has been a mixed bag and although they've won 4 out of their 5 matches, all but the one they've lost have been against a lot weaker sides. The one decent competition in PSG and they lost 3-0, so this match against Valencia is going to probably be their sternest test so far.


Roma results:
Vasas 0-1 Roma
Roma 1-0 Wacker
Roma 0-3 PSG
Roma 3-0 Sud Tirol
Roma 10-0 Brunico

Valencia CF has been a little bit more convincing, but stupid individual mistakes have cost the team so much, just as we saw in the last match against Liverpool where they won 2-0 because of individual mistakes by David Albelda and Angel Dealbert. So some matches have been great, while other very poor, so I'm keen to see how we play tomorrow against Roma and whether Valencia CF is competitive enough to challenge for at least Copa Del Ray honors.

The training has been going well with a lot of different practices and routines. From defensive training to technique, offensive moves, tactics and just physical strength it has it all, but will it all come together for some great team performance? I sure hope so and winning against Roma is going to be a good place to show it all.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego Alves and Guaita.
Defense: Miguel, Bruno, Dealbert, R.Costa, Jordi Alba, Mathieu.
Midfield: Maduro, Tino Costa, Banega, Albelda, Topal, Feghouli, Juan Bernat, Pablo, Piatti and Parejo.
Attack: Paco, Jonas and Soldado.

Technical Details:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Diego; Miguel, Rami, Costa, Mathieu; Feghuoli, Topal, Tino, Piatti, Parejo; Soldado.
Tactics: mixed passing, high opposing field pressure, 3-way attack and positional changes from the wings, interchanging with the CM and AM

Valencia CF vs AS Roma - Match Preview

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls this is it. Valencia CF is going to play the final preparation match tomorrow against Roma in the Mestalla for the trophy Naranja. This is the first match the home fans are going to watch the team and is going to be a representation of sort for the new players, as well as the official numbers and captains.

Now when I say final match, its not actually the last match, since Valencia CF is going to play against Almeria just 2 days later as has been agreed in the purchase of Pablo Piatti. Even though Valencia CF is going to play just 2 days later this is going to be the important match as Unai Emery is likely to field the strongest eleven on the pitch, play great and win in order to attract more fans for the upcoming season.

AS Roma has gone through a lot of restructuring recently with the change of ownership this year and the end of the Sensi family presidential reign which has spawned since 1993. The new owner is Thomas Richard DiBenedetto along with Unicredit who now own 67% of the shares of Roma in a 60-40% deal between the parties.

AS Roma have brought in Luis Enrique former Barcelona player and previous Barcelona B side coach as a new coach and new signings Erik Lamela and Bojan Krkic.

Roma's preseason has been a mixed bag and although they've won 4 out of their 5 matches, all but the one they've lost have been against a lot weaker sides. The one decent competition in PSG and they lost 3-0, so this match against Valencia is going to probably be their sternest test so far.


Roma results:
Vasas 0-1 Roma
Roma 1-0 Wacker
Roma 0-3 PSG
Roma 3-0 Sud Tirol
Roma 10-0 Brunico

Valencia CF has been a little bit more convincing, but stupid individual mistakes have cost the team so much, just as we saw in the last match against Liverpool where they won 2-0 because of individual mistakes by David Albelda and Angel Dealbert. So some matches have been great, while other very poor, so I'm keen to see how we play tomorrow against Roma and whether Valencia CF is competitive enough to challenge for at least Copa Del Ray honors.

The training has been going well with a lot of different practices and routines. From defensive training to technique, offensive moves, tactics and just physical strength it has it all, but will it all come together for some great team performance? I sure hope so and winning against Roma is going to be a good place to show it all.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego Alves and Guaita.
Defense: Miguel, Bruno, Dealbert, R.Costa, Jordi Alba, Mathieu.
Midfield: Maduro, Tino Costa, Banega, Albelda, Topal, Feghouli, Juan Bernat, Pablo, Piatti and Parejo.
Attack: Paco, Jonas and Soldado.

Technical Details:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Diego; Miguel, Rami, Costa, Mathieu; Feghuoli, Topal, Tino, Piatti, Parejo; Soldado.
Tactics: mixed passing, high opposing field pressure, 3-way attack and positional changes from the wings, interchanging with the CM and AM

Which center back should VCF buy? - Douglas Franco

Now that Valencia CF has failed to sign any of the central defenders it has followed and were top priority the club finds itself with no good options for the center back option and Llorente has said to Emery and Braulio that they must be convinced by a CB in order to sign and that he would not waste money on potential flops.

I've done a research in potential center backs that:

1. Are of great quality


2. Will come cheap


3. Are young and long term solutions

While I must say that there were too few candidates at this particular moment that fill all of Valencia CF benchmarks I've kept coming across Twente central defender Douglas Franco.

He is a defender of great quality and a lot of strong sides have tried to buy him over the last 3 years, including top Dutch club Ajax. He will also come cheap as his contract with Twente ends in 2012. So with only a year left on his contract Twente would be willing to sell if Valencia CF can manage to convince the player to come. He has certainly talked about the possibility of leaving if a big club from abroad comes and Valencia CF is a big club.

And thirdly he is young, only 23 years old and has enough quality and potential to be a long term solution to our defensive problems. He has certainly been rock solid in defense for Twente and I don't see any reason why that won't be the case at Valencia CF.

Born in Florianópolis, Douglas began his career with Joinville at the age of 16. He joined Dutch team FC Twente on trial prior to the 2007/2008 season, playing his first match in a friendly against Borussia Monchengladbach on 7 September 2007. Douglas made his competitive Twente debut on 22 December 2007, coming on as a 90th minute substitute in an Eredivisie match against SC Heerenveen. His first start came on 23 February 2008 against AZ Alkmaar, in a 0-0 draw.

Douglas Franco is currently valued at 8 million euros by transfermarkt.co.uk but remember he only has one year left on his contract and if Valencia CF was willing to give 5 million for Mangala who although quite talented was playing in quite a weak league and he probably would have had troubles in Spain with the technical play the attackers exhibit.

Douglas on the other hand plays in the Dutch league, one of the most technical leagues in the world, second only to La Liga. Ajax as you all should know has been playing the "Barca" type possession football for over 20 years. So he will feel right at home in the Spanish league and wouldn't have any troubles adapting.

Again I don't write these things lightly and as seen already all the players I've suggested in my "who should Valencia cf buy" editorials all of the players prices have jumped over a period of only few months.
For example Ireneusz Jeleń from my winter transfer article price has increased from 4 million euros to 5.5 million euros and Leighton Baines has gone from 7 million euros to 17 million euros in value.

I suspect the same will be with my summer transfer recommendations and in a way it has already happened with Benedikt and Maximiliano Pereira who had a fantastic Copa America run with Uruguay and became champions.

So there you have it Braulio Vasquez your new transfer target and now you need to go watch some of his matches , make the assessment and get down to business and sign this player.

Which center back should VCF buy? - Douglas Franco

Now that Valencia CF has failed to sign any of the central defenders it has followed and were top priority the club finds itself with no good options for the center back option and Llorente has said to Emery and Braulio that they must be convinced by a CB in order to sign and that he would not waste money on potential flops.

I've done a research in potential center backs that:

1. Are of great quality


2. Will come cheap


3. Are young and long term solutions

While I must say that there were too few candidates at this particular moment that fill all of Valencia CF benchmarks I've kept coming across Twente central defender Douglas Franco.

He is a defender of great quality and a lot of strong sides have tried to buy him over the last 3 years, including top Dutch club Ajax. He will also come cheap as his contract with Twente ends in 2012. So with only a year left on his contract Twente would be willing to sell if Valencia CF can manage to convince the player to come. He has certainly talked about the possibility of leaving if a big club from abroad comes and Valencia CF is a big club.

And thirdly he is young, only 23 years old and has enough quality and potential to be a long term solution to our defensive problems. He has certainly been rock solid in defense for Twente and I don't see any reason why that won't be the case at Valencia CF.

Born in Florianópolis, Douglas began his career with Joinville at the age of 16. He joined Dutch team FC Twente on trial prior to the 2007/2008 season, playing his first match in a friendly against Borussia Monchengladbach on 7 September 2007. Douglas made his competitive Twente debut on 22 December 2007, coming on as a 90th minute substitute in an Eredivisie match against SC Heerenveen. His first start came on 23 February 2008 against AZ Alkmaar, in a 0-0 draw.

Douglas Franco is currently valued at 8 million euros by transfermarkt.co.uk but remember he only has one year left on his contract and if Valencia CF was willing to give 5 million for Mangala who although quite talented was playing in quite a weak league and he probably would have had troubles in Spain with the technical play the attackers exhibit.

Douglas on the other hand plays in the Dutch league, one of the most technical leagues in the world, second only to La Liga. Ajax as you all should know has been playing the "Barca" type possession football for over 20 years. So he will feel right at home in the Spanish league and wouldn't have any troubles adapting.

Again I don't write these things lightly and as seen already all the players I've suggested in my "who should Valencia cf buy" editorials all of the players prices have jumped over a period of only few months.
For example Ireneusz Jeleń from my winter transfer article price has increased from 4 million euros to 5.5 million euros and Leighton Baines has gone from 7 million euros to 17 million euros in value.

I suspect the same will be with my summer transfer recommendations and in a way it has already happened with Benedikt and Maximiliano Pereira who had a fantastic Copa America run with Uruguay and became champions.

So there you have it Braulio Vasquez your new transfer target and now you need to go watch some of his matches , make the assessment and get down to business and sign this player.

Vicente Guaita Profile

Name: Vicente Guaita Panadero
Playing position: Goalkeeper
Previous club: Mestalla
Number: 13
Birthday: 18 February, 1987 (Age 24)
Nationality: Spanish
Height: 1.90m
Weight: 80kg
Contract ends: 30 June, 2015
Player Rating: TBD



Market value:

Previous clubs:
Valencia Mestalla, Spain 2009
Recreativo Huelva, Spain 2009-2010 (Loan)

2010/11 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	SV	W	D	L	FC	FS	YC	RC
Valencia	La Liga	19	2	67	0	0	0	0	2	2	0
Valencia	UCL	3	1	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Season Totals		22	3	84	0	0	0	0	2	2	0

2009/10 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	SV	W	D	L	FC	FS	YC	RC
Recreativo Huelva	Seg	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Season Totals		30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0

2008/09 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	SV	W	D	L	FC	FS	YC	RC
Valencia	La Liga	1	1	9	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Season Totals		1	1	9	0	0	0	0	1	0	0

2007/08 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	SV	W	D	L	FC	FS	YC	RC
Valencia	La Liga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Glossary

GS: Games Started, SB: Used as Substitute, G: Goals, A: Assists, SH: Shots, SG: Shots on goal, YC: Yellow Cards, RC: Red Cards, FC: Fouls Committed, FS: Fouls Suffered, SV: Saves, OF: Offsides, W: Wins, D: Draws, L: Losses

Vicente Guaita Profile

Name: Vicente Guaita Panadero
Playing position: Goalkeeper
Previous club: Mestalla
Number: 13
Birthday: 18 February, 1987 (Age 24)
Nationality: Spanish
Height: 1.90m
Weight: 80kg
Contract ends: 30 June, 2015
Player Rating: TBD



Market value:

Previous clubs:
Valencia Mestalla, Spain 2009
Recreativo Huelva, Spain 2009-2010 (Loan)

2010/11 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	SV	W	D	L	FC	FS	YC	RC
Valencia	La Liga	19	2	67	0	0	0	0	2	2	0
Valencia	UCL	3	1	17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Season Totals		22	3	84	0	0	0	0	2	2	0

2009/10 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	SV	W	D	L	FC	FS	YC	RC
Recreativo Huelva	Seg	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Season Totals		30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0

2008/09 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	SV	W	D	L	FC	FS	YC	RC
Valencia	La Liga	1	1	9	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Season Totals		1	1	9	0	0	0	0	1	0	0

2007/08 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	SV	W	D	L	FC	FS	YC	RC
Valencia	La Liga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Glossary

GS: Games Started, SB: Used as Substitute, G: Goals, A: Assists, SH: Shots, SG: Shots on goal, YC: Yellow Cards, RC: Red Cards, FC: Fouls Committed, FS: Fouls Suffered, SV: Saves, OF: Offsides, W: Wins, D: Draws, L: Losses

Liverpool FC 2-0 Valencia CF - Match Report

Valencia CF lost for the second time in preseason and it was a ugly loss, since Liverpool were not showing any positive results before this match and Valencia CF were in great shape. What this match shows is that the players need to gel and its now time for Unai Emery to stop changing the whole team in 45 minutes and choose the best: Guaita; Miguel, Rami, ?, Alba; Maduro, Banega; Feghuoli, Parejo, Piatti; Aduriz and field them for 70 minutes the next 2 matches. I know Aduriz and Guaita are injured, but from what we've seen so far and from what we know from last season they are the best options now in their respective positions.

What we saw today from Ever Banega was amazing and if he can stay in shape, have his mind in the right place and work hard he can be our best player and really help Valencia CF finish high, high, high.

Pablo is also lacking in the preseason and Feghuoli has been at least 2x better than Pablo so far. Surely Emery must start Feghuoli before Pablo after being better in all matches. Its also obvious that Juan Mata is really out of form and that Piatti plays best at left or right and not as an attacking midfield. I'd reserve the AM position for Parejo and Canales.

This match showed that VCF really has a lot more work to do and with still almost 1 month left before the start of the competition we need to improve and the team needs to gel more, especially the new signings although each match is better and better.

As far as the play by play of the match goes Carroll scored an absolute crap goal with Albelda gifting him the ball and Carroll actually managed to hit the woodwork the first try and only managed to score in the second try, talk about someone sucking with his feet.

The second goal for Liverpool came from Dirk Kuyt after maybe they were played onside by ?Dealbert? maybe. I need to watch a replay to see it again, to me it seemed like a total mess in the penalty area and someone should have headed the ball out of the area  even before someone from Liverpool has a chance to shoot. Diego Alves should also have done a better job, the ball was moving with 1kph towards the net, anyone could have catch up to it and save it.


Technical Details:
Liverpool FC (2): Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Fabio Aurelio, Adam, Spearing, Henderson, Aquillani, Downing y Carroll. También jugaron Kelly, Robinson, Leiva, Kuyt, Cole, Maxi, Ngog, Flanagham y Kyrgiakos.
Valencia CF (0): Alves, Bruno, Rami, Topal, Jordi Alba, Pablo, Albelda, Parejo, Mata, Piatti y Jonas. También jugaron Miguel, Maduro, Mathieu, Tino Costa, Soldado, Bernat, Ever, Dealbert y Ricardo Costa.
Goals: 6min 1-0 Carroll; 89min 2-0 Kuyt.

Diego 5 - Poor performance, even though he did nice against Caroll first try he should have reacted faster in the rebound. Basically assisted Liverpool on 3 occasions with his bad passing or shooting.
Bruno 5 - Beaten twice by Downing early on, failed to offer much support in attack and was quite reserved with defending.
Rami 6 - Good and assured performance by Rami, managed to stop several Liverpool attacks before they progressed.
Topal 6 - Had two good interventions and surprisingly good in defense.
Alba 6 - Did well in defense, certainly not beaten by anyone, had 3 good runs forward and provided few crosses.
Pablo 5 - Apart from two decent runs, was largely ineffective and failed to provide any crosses, any passes or anything positive in any way.
Albelda 1 - Absolutely terrible performance from the captain. Passed the ball to Carroll for the first goal, made several similar mistakes, a stupid foul for a yellow card. Right now Maduro is certainly ahead.
Parejo 5 - Not the best performance from Parejo, had a lot of missed passes, although he had absolutely no help in midfield. Will want to improve upon this performance.
Mata 4.5 - Absolutely invisible and when he got the ball he usually stalled the attacks or lost the ball. Right now 35 million euros seem way too good to pass out if some1 is willing to pay.
Piatti 5.5 - The most consistent player in preseason failed to lift up Valencia this time, and as the rest he failed to provide much attacking threat. Was a little bit better than Pablo though with his direct running.
Jonas 5 - Few runs here and there, but failed to get in good positions or create some attack going.
Subs:
Mathieu 6 - This is the Mathieu we want to see. Great in defense, making timely sliding tackles and winning the ball or at least postponing an attack and making forward runs and really troubling Liverpool.
Miguel 6 - Great improvement over Bruno and his attack mindedness really helps Valencia in attack, as long as there is someone to cover for his absence.
Maduro 5.5 - Guaranteed his spot before Albelda tonight. Really good passing, made himself available to receive passes and helped out in defense when needed.
Tino Costa 5.5 - Works really hard and runs constantly, but unfortunately can not control the midfield. Does good though when more forward.
Feghuoli 6 - Makes Pablo look like a school boy or something. Absolutely deserves to start over Pablo. Had great link-up with Miguel and Banega, got into dangerous positions, all he was missing today was lethality to finish off the actions.
Soldado 5 - Pretty much the same as Jonas. Had one good chance, but failed to score. Needs to improve!
Bernat 5.5 - Small improvement over Mata, was more involved and had two good runs on the left, went missing a bit towards the late game.
Banega 6 - Amazing performance from Banega. When he is in shape and his head in the right place he is an amazing player. Single-handedly overcome Liverpool midfield and created few scoring chances with his direct passing.
Costa 5 - Calm and collected, did not have much to do in 15 minutes.
Dealbert 5 3 - He had a good block as soon as he came in, some good passing range shown, may have been at fault for putting onside Liverpool attack for the second goal. I need to watch a HQ replay to judge properly though. May rewrite this rating after seeing a replay. EDIT: Well I just watches a good quality replay and yes Dealbert did play the whole Liverpool attack onside. Costa isn't too innocent as well, they both moved and that was even before the cross flew, Costa stopped though and Dealbert kept running. Still its 100% Dealbert fault, he should have known better.

Liverpool FC 2-0 Valencia CF - Match Report

Valencia CF lost for the second time in preseason and it was a ugly loss, since Liverpool were not showing any positive results before this match and Valencia CF were in great shape. What this match shows is that the players need to gel and its now time for Unai Emery to stop changing the whole team in 45 minutes and choose the best: Guaita; Miguel, Rami, ?, Alba; Maduro, Banega; Feghuoli, Parejo, Piatti; Aduriz and field them for 70 minutes the next 2 matches. I know Aduriz and Guaita are injured, but from what we've seen so far and from what we know from last season they are the best options now in their respective positions.

What we saw today from Ever Banega was amazing and if he can stay in shape, have his mind in the right place and work hard he can be our best player and really help Valencia CF finish high, high, high.

Pablo is also lacking in the preseason and Feghuoli has been at least 2x better than Pablo so far. Surely Emery must start Feghuoli before Pablo after being better in all matches. Its also obvious that Juan Mata is really out of form and that Piatti plays best at left or right and not as an attacking midfield. I'd reserve the AM position for Parejo and Canales.

This match showed that VCF really has a lot more work to do and with still almost 1 month left before the start of the competition we need to improve and the team needs to gel more, especially the new signings although each match is better and better.

As far as the play by play of the match goes Carroll scored an absolute crap goal with Albelda gifting him the ball and Carroll actually managed to hit the woodwork the first try and only managed to score in the second try, talk about someone sucking with his feet.

The second goal for Liverpool came from Dirk Kuyt after maybe they were played onside by ?Dealbert? maybe. I need to watch a replay to see it again, to me it seemed like a total mess in the penalty area and someone should have headed the ball out of the area  even before someone from Liverpool has a chance to shoot. Diego Alves should also have done a better job, the ball was moving with 1kph towards the net, anyone could have catch up to it and save it.


Technical Details:
Liverpool FC (2): Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Fabio Aurelio, Adam, Spearing, Henderson, Aquillani, Downing y Carroll. También jugaron Kelly, Robinson, Leiva, Kuyt, Cole, Maxi, Ngog, Flanagham y Kyrgiakos.
Valencia CF (0): Alves, Bruno, Rami, Topal, Jordi Alba, Pablo, Albelda, Parejo, Mata, Piatti y Jonas. También jugaron Miguel, Maduro, Mathieu, Tino Costa, Soldado, Bernat, Ever, Dealbert y Ricardo Costa.
Goals: 6min 1-0 Carroll; 89min 2-0 Kuyt.

Diego 5 - Poor performance, even though he did nice against Caroll first try he should have reacted faster in the rebound. Basically assisted Liverpool on 3 occasions with his bad passing or shooting.
Bruno 5 - Beaten twice by Downing early on, failed to offer much support in attack and was quite reserved with defending.
Rami 6 - Good and assured performance by Rami, managed to stop several Liverpool attacks before they progressed.
Topal 6 - Had two good interventions and surprisingly good in defense.
Alba 6 - Did well in defense, certainly not beaten by anyone, had 3 good runs forward and provided few crosses.
Pablo 5 - Apart from two decent runs, was largely ineffective and failed to provide any crosses, any passes or anything positive in any way.
Albelda 1 - Absolutely terrible performance from the captain. Passed the ball to Carroll for the first goal, made several similar mistakes, a stupid foul for a yellow card. Right now Maduro is certainly ahead.
Parejo 5 - Not the best performance from Parejo, had a lot of missed passes, although he had absolutely no help in midfield. Will want to improve upon this performance.
Mata 4.5 - Absolutely invisible and when he got the ball he usually stalled the attacks or lost the ball. Right now 35 million euros seem way too good to pass out if some1 is willing to pay.
Piatti 5.5 - The most consistent player in preseason failed to lift up Valencia this time, and as the rest he failed to provide much attacking threat. Was a little bit better than Pablo though with his direct running.
Jonas 5 - Few runs here and there, but failed to get in good positions or create some attack going.
Subs:
Mathieu 6 - This is the Mathieu we want to see. Great in defense, making timely sliding tackles and winning the ball or at least postponing an attack and making forward runs and really troubling Liverpool.
Miguel 6 - Great improvement over Bruno and his attack mindedness really helps Valencia in attack, as long as there is someone to cover for his absence.
Maduro 5.5 - Guaranteed his spot before Albelda tonight. Really good passing, made himself available to receive passes and helped out in defense when needed.
Tino Costa 5.5 - Works really hard and runs constantly, but unfortunately can not control the midfield. Does good though when more forward.
Feghuoli 6 - Makes Pablo look like a school boy or something. Absolutely deserves to start over Pablo. Had great link-up with Miguel and Banega, got into dangerous positions, all he was missing today was lethality to finish off the actions.
Soldado 5 - Pretty much the same as Jonas. Had one good chance, but failed to score. Needs to improve!
Bernat 5.5 - Small improvement over Mata, was more involved and had two good runs on the left, went missing a bit towards the late game.
Banega 6 - Amazing performance from Banega. When he is in shape and his head in the right place he is an amazing player. Single-handedly overcome Liverpool midfield and created few scoring chances with his direct passing.
Costa 5 - Calm and collected, did not have much to do in 15 minutes.
Dealbert 5 3 - He had a good block as soon as he came in, some good passing range shown, may have been at fault for putting onside Liverpool attack for the second goal. I need to watch a HQ replay to judge properly though. May rewrite this rating after seeing a replay. EDIT: Well I just watches a good quality replay and yes Dealbert did play the whole Liverpool attack onside. Costa isn't too innocent as well, they both moved and that was even before the cross flew, Costa stopped though and Dealbert kept running. Still its 100% Dealbert fault, he should have known better.

Liverpool FC VS Valencia CF - Match Preview

Valencia CF is going to play the 6th preseason match tomorrow against English side Liverpool FC. From the looks of it Liverpool is not going to present much challenge to Valencia CF as Liverpool have been doing really poorly in their preseason matches so far and with their season to start earlier than Valencia it doesn't look good for the boys in red.

Valencia CF results so far:
PSV 0-2 Valencia CF
Leicester City 0-1 Valencia CF
Rapid Wien 4-1 Valencia CF
Sporting Lisbon 0-3 Valencia CF
Hamburg SC 1-2 Valencia CF

Liverpool FC results so far:
Malaysia XI 3-6 Liverpool FC
Hull City 3-0 Liverpool FC
Galatasaray 3-0 Liverpool FC
Valerenga 3-3 Liverpool FC

Liverpool FC ended last season on a very positive note with new manager Kenny Dalglish leading the team to a 6th place finish beating out Everton and acquiring the second most points of the second half of the season under Kenny.

Liverpool FC fans had every reason to be excited for the new season with new owner, new manager and some great signings in the winter transfer market last season, the likes of Suarez and of course the infamous and way overpriced Andy Carroll. He became one of the most talked about players and basically the laughing stock at English football and the overpriced English market.

Liverpool FC would do really nice in the summer transfer market as they brought in Steward Downing from Aston Villa, Charlie Adam from  Blackpool, the surprise player last season with his great performances. Apart from those purchases Liverpool FC were interested in Valencia's own Juan Mata and there was a lot of speculation that Mata could join Liverpool, but ultimately they decided to bring in Downing as he was a cheaper option, albeit a lot weaker option.

With Valencia CF being their last preseason match before the premier league kick-off Liverpool will be hoping to show their A game and be competitive against their toughest opponent yet Valencia CF.

Valencia CF on the other hand are coming to this match quite comfortable and confident in their ability after a great showing in Germany against Hamburger SV. With Liverpool FC performing poorly in preseason our team will feel really confident, though hopefully not overconfident and Emery should talk to the players and put things in perspective. We can't start to relax now and we need to push even harder, beat Liverpool 3 or 4 goals to zero and go really prepared against Roma for the first match in the Mestalla.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego Alves and Adrián.
Defense: Miguel, Bruno, Dealbert, R.Costa, Jordi Alba, Mathieu.
Midfield: Maduro, Tino Costa, Banega, Albelda, Topal, Feghouli, Juan Bernat, Pablo, Piatti, Mata and Parejo.
Attack: Paco, Jonas and Soldado.

Technical Details:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Diego; Miguel, Costa, Dealbert, Alba; Feghuoli, Maduro, Tino, Mata, Parejo; Soldado
Tactics: mixed passing, high opposing field pressure, 3-way attack and positional changes from the wings, interchanging with the CM and AM.

Liverpool FC VS Valencia CF - Match Preview

Valencia CF is going to play the 6th preseason match tomorrow against English side Liverpool FC. From the looks of it Liverpool is not going to present much challenge to Valencia CF as Liverpool have been doing really poorly in their preseason matches so far and with their season to start earlier than Valencia it doesn't look good for the boys in red.

Valencia CF results so far:
PSV 0-2 Valencia CF
Leicester City 0-1 Valencia CF
Rapid Wien 4-1 Valencia CF
Sporting Lisbon 0-3 Valencia CF
Hamburg SC 1-2 Valencia CF

Liverpool FC results so far:
Malaysia XI 3-6 Liverpool FC
Hull City 3-0 Liverpool FC
Galatasaray 3-0 Liverpool FC
Valerenga 3-3 Liverpool FC

Liverpool FC ended last season on a very positive note with new manager Kenny Dalglish leading the team to a 6th place finish beating out Everton and acquiring the second most points of the second half of the season under Kenny.

Liverpool FC fans had every reason to be excited for the new season with new owner, new manager and some great signings in the winter transfer market last season, the likes of Suarez and of course the infamous and way overpriced Andy Carroll. He became one of the most talked about players and basically the laughing stock at English football and the overpriced English market.

Liverpool FC would do really nice in the summer transfer market as they brought in Steward Downing from Aston Villa, Charlie Adam from  Blackpool, the surprise player last season with his great performances. Apart from those purchases Liverpool FC were interested in Valencia's own Juan Mata and there was a lot of speculation that Mata could join Liverpool, but ultimately they decided to bring in Downing as he was a cheaper option, albeit a lot weaker option.

With Valencia CF being their last preseason match before the premier league kick-off Liverpool will be hoping to show their A game and be competitive against their toughest opponent yet Valencia CF.

Valencia CF on the other hand are coming to this match quite comfortable and confident in their ability after a great showing in Germany against Hamburger SV. With Liverpool FC performing poorly in preseason our team will feel really confident, though hopefully not overconfident and Emery should talk to the players and put things in perspective. We can't start to relax now and we need to push even harder, beat Liverpool 3 or 4 goals to zero and go really prepared against Roma for the first match in the Mestalla.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego Alves and Adrián.
Defense: Miguel, Bruno, Dealbert, R.Costa, Jordi Alba, Mathieu.
Midfield: Maduro, Tino Costa, Banega, Albelda, Topal, Feghouli, Juan Bernat, Pablo, Piatti, Mata and Parejo.
Attack: Paco, Jonas and Soldado.

Technical Details:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Diego; Miguel, Costa, Dealbert, Alba; Feghuoli, Maduro, Tino, Mata, Parejo; Soldado
Tactics: mixed passing, high opposing field pressure, 3-way attack and positional changes from the wings, interchanging with the CM and AM.

Official: Sergio Canales joins Valencia CF

Its official. Sergio Canales is a Valencia CF player. Just as I've reported a week ago the deal is 2 years loan deal with a double purchase option, for 12 million for Valencia CF and 18 million for Real Madrid.

Official: Sergio Canales joins Valencia CF

Its official. Sergio Canales is a Valencia CF player. Just as I've reported a week ago the deal is 2 years loan deal with a double purchase option, for 12 million for Valencia CF and 18 million for Real Madrid.

Valencia CF will destroy FC Barcelona

I don't want to come to conclusions early and hasty and I like to spend a lot of time analyzing these kind of things, but after yesterday trashing of Barcelona by Chivas with 4 goals to 1 I'm convinced that Barcelona's reign at the top of the game is officially over and Valencia CF will absolutely destroy Barcelona.

Yes the second half was filled with youngsters and that is going to be the excuse by Barcelona fans, but how do you attribute the loss to Manchester United previously and the draw with Hajduk? The game against Manchester United everyone except Xavi and Puyol played from their first team. Then there was the draw with Internacional and even though Barca won against Bayern in the Audi cup they weren't very convincing.

Barcelona is just past their prime and that is the truth about it. They've had 4-5 great seasons in which they've dominated football and made history by winning 6 titles in a row. But all those years of high intensity playing bring in casualties and Xavi has suffered last season, Puyol has suffered and has been out for half a season and David Villa seems to be past his prime as well.

Barcelona still have Messi, Alves and Iniesta, but you can't expect each season Messi to bail you out in all these games and certainly Dani's tireless forward arrays are going to start becoming tiring as we've already seen with Brazil where he was absolutely dreadful. Iniesta may still be young and probably has good 3 years left in him, but he is injury prone and he only works in tandem with Xavi as we've seen him struggling so many times when Xavi isn't there to keep possession.

Xavi is 31 years of age, riddled with injuries and won't be at the same standard he was even just few months ago.
Puyol is 33 years old and has been injured for most of last season and he is still injured now and even if he comes back soon at 33 years old and after such long injuries don't expect him to be good.
David Villa is 29 years old and he as well is not getting any younger, as seen even last season he is past his prime and while he is still able to score 10-15 goals in all competitions, he is not the 20+ scorer he was when he was in Valencia CF. Also the Barcelona possession football is not the most suited for Villa no matter what anyone tell you, because Villa requires space to be able to score and when the opposing team has 10 players in front of goal its hard for Villa to do much.
Dani Alves is likely to struggle this season as well as we've already witnessed with his play in Brazil at the Copa America. He has also been very lucky with not getting injured for so long and I feel like we may see him with a more serious injury this season and the fact that Barcelona don't have any cover for him will really expose them.
As for the rest of them Erik Abidal is 32 years old and as a left back at 32 years old you loose speed and agility and even though he has been good in preseason expect the amount of matches to catch up to him. Pedro has also been really poor in all the preseason matches and I really think he will be a fluke just like Bojan Krkic.

That leaves Barcelona with just few great performing members who are not past their prime and who can carry the team, especially Messi and Iniesta, but as we've seen from Messi in all his performances with Argentina he needs that support from Barca players for him to show his best and if Xavi, Villa and Pedro around him are not able to step up to the challenge Messi looses much of his strength.

The positive thing about Barcelona is the arrival of Sanchez, but he is very young, inexperienced against strong opposition and is not accustomed to Barcelona's play style, so he is going to have a slow adaptation rate. With Affelay already been ruled out for 2 months its looking mighty fine for Valencia CF, but also Real Madrid.

Last season was the last season of domination for Barcelona and this year they will struggle for even second place as Valencia CF destroy Barcelona in each of the matches the clubs meet. Real Madrid on the other hand have looked super strong and are the favorites for the title, although I expect Valencia CF to really challenge for the title this season.

Expect this season the title fight to be between Real Madrid and Valencia CF and maybe, just maybe we can hopefully win the fight.

Valencia CF will destroy FC Barcelona

I don't want to come to conclusions early and hasty and I like to spend a lot of time analyzing these kind of things, but after yesterday trashing of Barcelona by Chivas with 4 goals to 1 I'm convinced that Barcelona's reign at the top of the game is officially over and Valencia CF will absolutely destroy Barcelona.

Yes the second half was filled with youngsters and that is going to be the excuse by Barcelona fans, but how do you attribute the loss to Manchester United previously and the draw with Hajduk? The game against Manchester United everyone except Xavi and Puyol played from their first team. Then there was the draw with Internacional and even though Barca won against Bayern in the Audi cup they weren't very convincing.

Barcelona is just past their prime and that is the truth about it. They've had 4-5 great seasons in which they've dominated football and made history by winning 6 titles in a row. But all those years of high intensity playing bring in casualties and Xavi has suffered last season, Puyol has suffered and has been out for half a season and David Villa seems to be past his prime as well.

Barcelona still have Messi, Alves and Iniesta, but you can't expect each season Messi to bail you out in all these games and certainly Dani's tireless forward arrays are going to start becoming tiring as we've already seen with Brazil where he was absolutely dreadful. Iniesta may still be young and probably has good 3 years left in him, but he is injury prone and he only works in tandem with Xavi as we've seen him struggling so many times when Xavi isn't there to keep possession.

Xavi is 31 years of age, riddled with injuries and won't be at the same standard he was even just few months ago.
Puyol is 33 years old and has been injured for most of last season and he is still injured now and even if he comes back soon at 33 years old and after such long injuries don't expect him to be good.
David Villa is 29 years old and he as well is not getting any younger, as seen even last season he is past his prime and while he is still able to score 10-15 goals in all competitions, he is not the 20+ scorer he was when he was in Valencia CF. Also the Barcelona possession football is not the most suited for Villa no matter what anyone tell you, because Villa requires space to be able to score and when the opposing team has 10 players in front of goal its hard for Villa to do much.
Dani Alves is likely to struggle this season as well as we've already witnessed with his play in Brazil at the Copa America. He has also been very lucky with not getting injured for so long and I feel like we may see him with a more serious injury this season and the fact that Barcelona don't have any cover for him will really expose them.
As for the rest of them Erik Abidal is 32 years old and as a left back at 32 years old you loose speed and agility and even though he has been good in preseason expect the amount of matches to catch up to him. Pedro has also been really poor in all the preseason matches and I really think he will be a fluke just like Bojan Krkic.

That leaves Barcelona with just few great performing members who are not past their prime and who can carry the team, especially Messi and Iniesta, but as we've seen from Messi in all his performances with Argentina he needs that support from Barca players for him to show his best and if Xavi, Villa and Pedro around him are not able to step up to the challenge Messi looses much of his strength.

The positive thing about Barcelona is the arrival of Sanchez, but he is very young, inexperienced against strong opposition and is not accustomed to Barcelona's play style, so he is going to have a slow adaptation rate. With Affelay already been ruled out for 2 months its looking mighty fine for Valencia CF, but also Real Madrid.

Last season was the last season of domination for Barcelona and this year they will struggle for even second place as Valencia CF destroy Barcelona in each of the matches the clubs meet. Real Madrid on the other hand have looked super strong and are the favorites for the title, although I expect Valencia CF to really challenge for the title this season.

Expect this season the title fight to be between Real Madrid and Valencia CF and maybe, just maybe we can hopefully win the fight.

Sergio Canales instrumental in Spain U-20 victory

Spain U-20 side just won against Ecuador U-20 at the World Cup for U-20 which takes place in Columbia. New Valencia CF signing Sergio Canales was instrumental in Spain U-20 win against Ecuador U-20 by scoring a goal just 10 minutes after coming on and then providing the assist for the second goal 5 minutes from full time.

Sergio Canales is yet to be officially announced or presented as Valencia CF players and rumors are the only wait is on Racing Santander who need to sign all the papers.

Sergio Canales instrumental in Spain U-20 victory

Spain U-20 side just won against Ecuador U-20 at the World Cup for U-20 which takes place in Columbia. New Valencia CF signing Sergio Canales was instrumental in Spain U-20 win against Ecuador U-20 by scoring a goal just 10 minutes after coming on and then providing the assist for the second goal 5 minutes from full time.

Sergio Canales is yet to be officially announced or presented as Valencia CF players and rumors are the only wait is on Racing Santander who need to sign all the papers.

Write for this blog

Hi there ladies and gentleman. I'm looking for a person who wants to write for this blog. I write a lot and all, but I feel having a back-up would be nice and would enable us to cover more news and stuff.

This is a voluntary position and you will not be getting paid for.
Job requirements:
Fluent in English
Expert knowledge about Valencia CF
Follows Spanish football
You are a big Valencia CF fan
16 years of age or older

What you can write:
Any kind of news. Transfer news, financial news, player news, etc...
Features, editorials and analysis
Youth players reports (other than Valencia's)- required once a month

What you can't write:
Match Previews
Match Reports
News about other clubs or other topics other than Valencia CF.

If you are interested please send me an email at: slickr12345_at_yahoo_dot_com (remove "_", replace "at" with "@" and "dot" with ".")

Write for this blog

Hi there ladies and gentleman. I'm looking for a person who wants to write for this blog. I write a lot and all, but I feel having a back-up would be nice and would enable us to cover more news and stuff.

This is a voluntary position and you will not be getting paid for.
Job requirements:
Fluent in English
Expert knowledge about Valencia CF
Follows Spanish football
You are a big Valencia CF fan
16 years of age or older

What you can write:
Any kind of news. Transfer news, financial news, player news, etc...
Features, editorials and analysis
Youth players reports (other than Valencia's)- required once a month

What you can't write:
Match Previews
Match Reports
News about other clubs or other topics other than Valencia CF.

If you are interested please send me an email at: slickr12345_at_yahoo_dot_com (remove "_", replace "at" with "@" and "dot" with ".")