Raul Albiol to return to Valencia CF?

Its no secret that Manuel Llorente and for that matter the whole board of Valencia CF would like to see Raul Albiol back at Valencia CF as he is a Valencianista, played for the club for most of his life and has not found a regular starting place at Real Madrid, in fact almost every other player has been preferred over him to start matches.

For Llorente he wants to increase the Spanish and especially Valencian players in the club, as the fans have not been very happy with so few Spanish players and so he is determined to bring Spanish players in the club next summer and Raul Albiol is big part of his plans.

As you know Raul Albiol hasn't featured much in Real Madrid at all and while he wasn't too keep on returning last season to Valencia CF, recently he has given signals that he may be open to coming back to Valencia CF. Valencia CF president Manuel Llorente has talked to his agent numerous times and reports have it that the last time they talked, Albiol's agent told them that he would like to return to Valencia CF.

Of course he has a long term contract with Real Madrid and he is not likely to come cheap. Valencia CF has good relationship with Real Madrid as the club has purchased several players from them in the past few seasons and also sold them Albiol. This means Real Madrid are not going to push for the absolute most they can get and would likely take about 8-10 million for Raul Albiol, of course assuming Raul Albiol would be serious about joining Valencia CF.

With recent reports that Anzhi is interested in Adil Rami and his buyout clause falling significantly next summer Raul Albiol could be a replacement for Adil Rami, assuming Rami doesn't extend his contract with Valencia CF or doesn't want to leave, which would be really hard, especially if some big salary offer comes his way with a lot more richer clubs than Valencia CF.

Beñat Etxebarria to Valencia CF?

Real Betis midfielder Beñat Etxebarria has a contract agreement with them till 2014, but he has refused to extend his contract and will be leaving this summer. Last summer they got several offers of up to 10 million for him, but they rejected them all, but the following summer they will have no option but to look at offers as they don't want to loose him in 2014 for free.

Valencia CF is highly interested in Beñat Etxebarria and has already made contact with his representatives, trying to asses if he would like to join Valencia CF. Reports are that he would be interested in joining Valencia CF and while there hasn't been talks about salary he would be offered around 1.1 million euros, which would be over a million more of what he earns now.

Beñat Etxebarria is 26 years old and is one of Betis key players this season and last. He is a central midfielder the text book one and not a convert from attacking midfielder or defensive one. He has the playmaking skills, passing skills.

According to Spanish sources several clubs are interested in acquiring his services, including few clubs from England, German Wolfsburg is still interested in him and Atletico Madrid from Spain are interested in him as well, so Valencia CF really has tough competition to get him and will likely need to churn out the 10 million to get him.

This would of course mean that Parejo, Tino Costa or even Banega may leave. I don't think its going to be Banega as he has huge talent and can play even better than his recent showings, but one of Tino or Parejo is very likely to leave. First there is the money issue, as Valencia CF would need to get the money and while they are going to get around 10 million for Diego Alves that would only cover say going in for Iago Aspas.

Nelson Valdez becomes Valencia CF player

Nelson Haedo Valdez is officially a new Valencia CF player. Valencia CF purchased him for 3 million euros from Rubin Kazan with club officials impressed by his performances and the fact that he is a really down to earth and loyal player.

He was given a 2 year contract that will have him stay with Valencia CF until 2015. Nelson Valdez in a press conference stated that he is very happy that he has become a permanent player of Valencia CF and is looking forward to giving his all for his new club.

I like this decision as he has shown that he is useful to Valencia CF, but he also doesn't give problems for not being a starter. I think this is a smart decision, maybe the 3 million price was a bit on the high, but overall its a good deal.

Sofiane Feghouli to be sold in the summer

Sofiane Feghouli is set to be sold in the summer if an offer of 15 million euros or more comes to Valencia CF. The club has plans to bring in Iago Aspas from Celta Vigo, Víctor Machín Pérez Vitolo from Las Palmas,  Alejandro Arribas from CA Osasuna and obviously one more defensive midfielder as I don't see Gago staying and with Albelda almost certainly ending his stay at Valencia CF we need one more quality defensive midfielder or if Victor Ruiz is fully converted to that position then another defender for all of which the club would need at least 20 million euros, money which the club doesn't have. The likely option for defensive midfielder right now is Vicente Iborra from Levante for about 6 million euros, which is his buyout clause.

There could be a significant gain if the team goes through the round of 16 in the Champions League, but it wont be a game changer and from the now almost guaranteed sale of Diego Alves the club could cash in around 12 million if lucky, still at least 8 million short, most likely more.

The assessment right now is that Sofiane Feghouli is over rated and officials see Pablo Piatti, Vittolo and even Barnat on the right wing as more than able to replace Feghouli. Since Feghouli has garnered a lot of attention if he reaches a transfer fee of 15 million or more he will be sold.

Personally I think 15 million euros is decent enough of a price to sell him, I mean its a risk that he may improve even more and go on to be world class or he could stay at the current level or improve insignificantly and thus his sale won't be a big deal, but these things are always a gamble. Of course there is still a lot of time till the summer and things can certainly change.

Real Zaragoza 2-2 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF scrapped away with one point from what was a very competitive and difficult match against Real Zaragoza.

I knew the defense won't be on par for this match as Ricardo Costa and Victor Ruiz haven't played together too much and Ruiz was coming from a midfielder perspective in the past several matches and so that proved correct as Valencia CF conceded 2 goals, though there is a bigger problem right now and that is Ricardo Costa got injured during the match and had to be substituted.

So right now Valencia CF only has one central defender in Victor Ruiz and we need to see if R. Costa's injury is serious or if he can recover in several days.

The first half was equal for both teams, neither being able to control the game and create too many chances, though Real Zaragoza took the lead early on as they got a penalty awarded to them. Diego Alves for being known as penalty saver hasn't really shown his skills there and really hasn't saved any penalty.

Real Zaragoza would increase their lead in the 32nd minute through H. Postiga, though Valencia CF would be quick to respond and Jonas would score a goal in the 36th minute to keep Valencia's chances and give the team the belief that they can still get a decent result.

In the second half Ever Banega would replace Sergio Canales with just 7 minutes passed and Valencia CF would gain a stronger control of the ball which in turn did provide Valencia CF with few chances.

It would be Jonas again in the 69th minute who would equalize the score who managed to strike the ball and put in into the net.

Valencia CF would be able to score again in the 77th minute, but Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Leo Franco would come out of his goal and even penalty area and touch the ball with his hands which of course saved the goal, but he got a straight red card. From the resulting free kick Parejo would shoot accurately on goal, but the newly arrived keeper would save that.

Towards the very end Real Zaragoza would score, but the referee whistled foul on Diego Alves and save Valencia Cf the blushes. Ultimately I'd say a 2-2 result was fair and Valencia CF didn't deserve more with the play it showed for most of the match.

Technical details:
R. Zaragoza (2): Leo Franco, Movilla, Álvaro, H. Postiga, Apoño (Stefan, min. 46), Montañés, Fernández, José Mari (Alcolea, min. 82), Loovens, Abraham y Rochina (Oriol, min. 74).
Valencia CF (2): Alves, Cissokho, Albelda (Valdez, min. 80), Jonas, Feghouli, Soldado, Joao, Víctor Ruiz, R. Costa (Mathieu, min. 65), Dani Parejo y Canales (Ever, min. 52).
Goals: 1-0 Min. 4 Apoño (p.) 2-0 Min. 33 H. Postiga 2-1 Min. 35 Jonas 2-2 Min. 69 Jonas

Player Ratings:
Diego Alves 5.5 - Did have few decent saves, but this wasn't one of his best matches and as a penalty expert he sure hasn't given justice to his nickname.
Joao Pereira 6.5 - One of the most consistent player on the field with great striking potency and defended very well as well.
R. Costa 5.5 - Was a little insecure and his partnership with Ruiz looks shaky, though as time passed he got more confident and comfortable, but got injured in the second half.
Ruiz 5.5 - Not good defensively, caused the penalty, but he did provide the crucial header to Jonas who scored a goal from it and gets an assist to his name.
Cissokho 7 - Went forward to great extend, especially in the second half and also provided the cross for the first goal. Did well enough in defense as well.
Albelda 5.5 - Unfortunately failed to shield the defense good enough and was rather slow in midfield, having been overrun in the first half by Real Zaragoza midfielders.
Parejo 5.5 - Mixed bag performance with really inefficient first half and several mistakes throughout the match reminiscent of his bad form days of last season and early in this season.
Feghouli 5.5 - Was very ineffective in the first half and slightly better in the second half as Valencia CF took more control on the match and had few good crosses, but nothing major.
Canales 5 - I'd say a lacking performance from Canales who had the chance to really stand out and provide something more, but I think its still too early in his recovery for him to be giving 100% and would hope he doesn't start too much and is eased into action.
Jonas 7.5 - Was his usual self that doesn't do too much overall, with the added exception of being in the right places at the right times and scoring two goals. He should look to score more goals like this every time he plays.
Soldado 5.5 - Some reports say he provided the assist to Jonas, but to me it seemed like Soldado missed the ball or deliberately left it. Either way he wasn't a big threat in the match and apart from few good combinations further away from goal he didn't do much.
Subs:
Banega 6 - Brought in  more control when he came on and while he wasn't too directly involved he had a positive influence on the team and combined well in midfield.
Mathieu 6 - Good defensive performance and had one key interception and few won duels, had also a good header on goal that was saved. Overall a good comeback from the Frenchmen after a long injury.
Valdez N/A - Did not have time to make an impact and he didn't.

Real Zaragoza vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Real Zaragoza vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Stadium: La Romareda

Date: 23.02.2013; 18:00 CET

25th matchday, La Liga

             Coaches: Manolo Jiménez and Ernesto Valverde

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a 2-0 victory over RCD Mallorca from last week in which Valencia CF continued its good form in the Spanish league and now finds itself in 5th position, just two points off of 4th position with a chance to overtake Malaga if Valencia CF wins over Real Zaragoza and Malaga lose.

The team did not fare as well in the Champions league, loosing the match at home 1-2 to PSG and going one step closer to going out of the competition, though good news is that Ibrahimovich got a red card and will not be available for the second leg and this gives Valencia CF small chance to actually beat PSG, although its going to be hard.

Real Zaragoza has been historically been a tough opponent, though this season hasn't been good for them and in the past 7 matches they haven't won, but have lost 5 times and drew 2 times, so their recent record is terrible and has left them sitting in 17th position on the table, just 4 points over relegation zone Celta Vigo.

For the fist time in a very long time Jeremy Mathieu is back in the squad after recovering fully from his injury and will be ready to start in the match, though the coach is probably going to choose Cissokho over him this time, with Guardado starting at left wing.

Ever Banega has also recovered from his injury and is likely to start with David Albelda and Daniel Parejo in the middle with Feghouli starting at right wing, though the coach Valverde had a long talk with him in one of the training sessions, because he was displeased with his performance and may even bench him for this match, though he would probably get another chance.

Valencia CF squad:

Goalkeepers: Guaita, Alves.
Defenders: Joao, Ricardo Costa, Víctor Ruiz, Cissokho, Mathieu.
Midfielders: Albelda, Éver Banega, Dani Parejo, Sergio Canales, Guardado, Piatti, Feghouli.
Forwards: Jonas, Valdez, Roberto Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Alves; Pereira, R. Costa, Ruiz, Cissokho; Albelda, Banega, Parejo; Feghuoli, Soldado; Guardado.
Tactics: High defensive line, own half pressure, high frequency wing attacks, mixed passing, doubling down in attack.

Result prediction:
Real Zaragoza 1-2 Valencia CF
While Real Zaragoza have been loosing a lot they haven't been outright outplayed and they know how to score a goal, with Valencia CF also having a change in the defense with Rami being injured and Ruiz to take his place for the first time in a long time and you have a recipe for Valencia CF to concede a goal. That said Valencia CF has been playing very good at home and should have enough firepower to outscore Real Zaragoza and win.

FC Anzhi to purchase Adil Rami for 12 million

Russian football giants FC Anzhi Makhachkala are preparing a 12 million offer to purchase Valencia CF central defender Adil Rami in the summer. Such an offer would actually reach Adil Rami's buyout clause which is 12 million euros right now. The buyout clause started out at 25 million euros, but each year it reduces and in the summer will only be 12 million euros, which means Anzhi can just buy out Adil Rami.

Adil Rami contract expires in 2015,so he still has a long stay if the buyout clause is not met, which could force Manuel Llorente to renegotiate and extend his contract sooner rather than later.

The player's representatives say, however, that Rami and Valencia CF have not received a concrete offer for the player.

Valencia CF interested in Sabri Sarıoğlu

Valencia CF  is very closely following Sabri Sarioglu, reports sabah.com.tr, with the intention of buying him in the summer. He is a versatile Turkish footballer, enlisted in the ranks of Galatasaray, who can play as right wing and as right back.

Sarioglu has a contract with Galatasaray until June 30, 2014 and has an option to renew on the table.

Reports have it that Valencia CF scouts were monitoring him last night at the match between Galatasaray and Schalke 04.

Valencia CF keen on getting Vicente Iborra

Reports from Spain are coming up that Valencia CF is seriously interested in acquiring Vicente Iborra from city rival Levante that the club is even willing to meet the payout clause.

With David Albelda all but having finished his career at Valencia CF and surely to leave in the summer, the cub officials have already found one defensive midfielder in Javi Fuego who will transfer in the summer to Valencia CF, but the club wants to add one more defensive midfielder and a more quality one so that there are absolutely no problems at that position and Vicente Iborra has been identified as the man for the job.

Vicente Iborra clause right now is 6 million euros with the ability to increase to 9 million euros.

Adil Rami out for a month with injury

Valencia CF central defender Adil Rami will be out for almost a month due to the injury he sustained in the match against RCD Mallorca. As expected he has a fractured muscle fiber and will need to rest for a longer period than first thought so that he can recover.

This bad news is offset with the news that Ever Banega is back and will be in contention for a starting spot for the next match in the Spanish league.

Ricardo Costa wants to extend contract with Valencia CF

Valencia CF central defender Ricardo Costa in a press conference today said that he wants to stay at Valencia CF and extend his contract with the club.

He said: "People already know what I want and feel. I want to stay in Valencia CF, but its not only up to me, its up to the club, the president and sporting director as well."
Ricardo Costa added: "I always give everything when I play, I'm one of the captains of the team and I'm happy here, but the club must decide."

About the coach Valverde, Costa said: "He's doing very well and the players are comfortable and happy with how things are going. He said that in the beginning of the season the players and coach change affected the team's performance, but that now they are settled and with Valverde in charge they have better understanding with the coach."

Valencia CF 2-0 RCD Mallorca Match Report

Valencia CF continues its good form in the Spanish league with another win, this time over RCD Mallorca and with 10 men for most of the match, after Tino Costa was dismissed in the 28th minute after a silly outburst of aggression, kicking a Mallorca player.

The match itself was not as interesting and had very few chances on both sides with the biggest chances for RCD Mallorca coming in the second half with two great chances, one from header and one a close range shot.

Valencia CF would basically sit back and defend the whole time with the occasional counter attacks, with the goals coming through a corner kick and the second one from a semi counter attack.
The first goal would come in the 59th minute with Ricardo Costa heading the ball in the net after a good corner kick by Canales.

The second goal for Valencia CF would come in the 80th minute through Roberto Soldado, who was released by Parejo with a wonderful through pass. The goal was pretty lucky though as Mallorca's defense and midfield were atrocious, with Parejo dribbling past 3 players before providing a great pass to Soldado.

Technical details:
Valencia CF  (2): Alves; Joao, Rami (Canales, min. 42), R. Costa, Guardado; Parejo, T. Costa; Feghouli, Jonas (Cissokho, min. 61'), Bernat; Soldado.
RCD Mallorca (0): Aouate; Luna (Casadesús, min.72'), Geromel, Nunes, Hutton; Tissone (Márquez, min. 68'), Pina, Marti; Alfaro (Pereira, min. 62'), Hemed, Giovani.
Goals: 1-0 Min 60’, Ricardo Costa. 2-0 Min 81', Soldado.

Player Ratings:
Diego 8 - several solid saves first two good saves in the first half and then two even greater saves in the second half to keep a clean sheet.
Joao 6.5 - Rarely troubled at the back even as VCF played with 10 men, but was beaten one or twice and could have done better.
Rami 6 - Good at the back until he got injured in what seemed like a stretched muscle.
R. Costa 7.5 - Solid at the back and dealt with everything that came his way, scored Valencia's first goal as well.
Guardado 6 - Good defensive play with the occasional forward array, but was limited in going forward.
Tino Costa 4 - Decent play before he was dismissed, but committed a needless and reckless challenge and was deservedly shown the red card.
Parejo 7 - Covered a lot of ground as the sole midfielder and did really great, providing good cover for the defense and bringing the ball forward. Provid5 - ed a great assist for Soldado's goal.
Feghouli 6 - Good performance, but nothing special. Mostly covered a lot of ground and went back and defended well.
Jonas 5 - Invisible for most of the match and barely got a hold if the ball. Surprised he was substituted last, although early in the second half.
Bernat N/A - Was sacrificed for a defensive substitution after Tino got red and did not have time before to do much.
Soldado 7 - Great performance by Soldado, always finding himself in dangerous positions and coming further down to claim the ball. Good run for the goal to get in a good spot.
Subs:
Ruiz 6 - Slotted well into the defense even though he was put in as midfield, after Rami was injured and did well.
Canales 6.5 - Wasn't too active, but was a decent outlet to receive the ball and provided the corner from which R. Costa scored.
Cissokho 5.5 - Mixed defensive display as he was beaten for the ball on one occasion where Diego had to make a big save to save Valencia and was suspect few more times,

Valencia CF players on national duty

Diego Alves was once again with the Brazilian team and he has become a regular there, taking over Julio Cesar, but that was not the case in the friendly vs England, as Diego Alves found himself on the bench.

Joao Pereira started as right back for Portugal and might wish he hadn't start at all, after a poor performance and an own goal.

Ricardo Costa was an unused sub in which Portugal lost to Ecuador.

Adil Rami much like Joao was rather lackluster in his performance and failed to provide adequate protection at defense, always looking like he's about to make a mistake.

Fernando Gago went on loan to Velez, but he is still technically a Valencia CF player and he had a great game for Argentina, forming a solid due with Mascherano.

Ever Banega had his first appearance for Argentina after his long term injury last year and replaced Gago in the 68th minute, continuing where Gago left over.

Andres Guardado started and played for 79 minutes for Mexico in what was a 0-0 draw against Jamaica. Andres Guardado had a mediocre game and was a big disappointment as much was expecting from him and he failed to deliver.

Nelson Haedo Valdez started for Paraguay and played for 45 minutes in what was an 3-0 victory for Paraguay over El Salvador.

Jonas Goncalves was dropped from the Brazilian team as they recently had a coach change and Jonas never really made a claim for a starting spot, though judging on the performance against Brazil he may return.

Roberto Soldado was also dropped from the Spanish national team in favor of Negredo.

Alberto Tino Costa didn't impress when he was called previously for Argentina, so he is unlikely to get a new chance anytime soon and was obviously omitted for the international game.

Valencia CF interested in Alejandro Arribas

Valencia CF is interested in bringing CA Osasuna central defender Alejandro Arribas to its rank in the summer. Valencia CF only has 3 central defenders right now and with Victor Ruiz being transformed into a defensive midfielder the club is going to need defensive reinforcements in the summer and Alejandro Arribas fits the profile.

Alejandro Arribas contract expires in 2015 so that means in the summer he would only have 1 more year on his contract, he is 23 years of age and can obviously improve, his transfer value at the moment is also at 3 million euros, though its likely Valencia CF can get him on the cheap with 2 millions or less as Osasuna are fighting relegation and may drop to the second division, but even if that isn't the case they don't have much negotiating room.

From what I've seen of him he is a decent option, Albiol would be preferred, but he is going to be too expensive and his salary would be rather large, so I don't think Valencia CF can afford him and that is why they are looking at Alejandro Arribas. Also he is Spanish and we all know Llorente is looking to add as many Spanish players in the club, so expect most of Valencia's transfer in the summer to be Spanish.

Bernat and Paco debut for Spain U21

Valencia CF players Juan Bernat and Paco Alcacer had their debut for Spain under 21 in the friendly match against Belgium. The match ended in a 1-1 draw with Paco Alcacer featuring from the start and was replaced by Juan Bernat in the 66th minute.

Here is the full match if you want to watch it, note there is about 30 minutes of pre match warm up, so you need to skip forward for the actual match:

Andres Palop back to Valencia CF?

Andres Palop to return to Valencia CF?

Sevilla FC goalkeeper Andres Palop could return in the summer to Valencia CF. As you know Andres Palop is a Valencia CF product, though found himself as a second goalkeeper most of the time due to the fact it was in the time when Santiago Cañizares was Valencia's first goalkeeper.

The 39 years old goalkeeper has basically half a year contract left and will be a free agent in the summer, according to few Spanish media his agent has already been contacted about the possibility of returning to Valencia CF and supposedly Andres Palop would be happy to return.

He has supposedly been offered a one year contract with the possibility to extend it one year. Valencia CF is likely to sell Diego Alves in the summer, as we've learned from Manuel Llorente few days ago he said Guaita would stay for many, many years and I've reported it for months now that Llorente is under pressure to have more Spanish players in the squad, more Valencianista and he is working towards that goal.

So I'd expect Valencia CF to sell Diego Alves, there are many clubs that would like to secure his services and his transfer fee can easily reach 14 million euros. Andres Palop would be the perfect replacement as he is a Valencianista and at the end of his career, so its not a problem for him to sit on the bench, while helping Guaita and sharing his experience with him, who will also be able to deputize when needed as he is a great goalkeeper.

So its a strong possibility that we may see Andres Palop back at Valencia CF and it will all depend on the contract negotiations as its likely that few more La Liga clubs would like to get Palop in their teams.

Valencia CF 1-1 FC Barcelona Match Report

The match ended 1-1 in what was an exciting match and one that yet again, for the 4th year in a row a referee helps Barcelona. In fact if it wasn't for that non existent penalty Valencia CF would have won.

The match started with a strong battle in the middle of the park as Valencia CF players were positioned high up the pitch and pressuring the Barcelona players all the way to their own goal basically, this start created some dynamic play in midfield with neither team managing to control possession for long periods of time and frequent mistakes and bad passing on both sides.

Valencia CF would have a decent chance in the 7th minute as Bernat and Joao Pereira combine well with one-two pass, enabling Joao to found space and crosses into the penalty area, but the Barcelona defense is alert and clears.

We would see a fierce battle in the middle of the park for the next 10 minutes, with neither side having any chance, until once again Joao Pereira sends in a cross to Soldado, Soldado's shot is blocked, but the rebound goes to Guardado who shoots, but his shot is blocked as well.

Then in the 22nd minute Soldado is fouled in a dangerous position, after he received the ball in an empty field and got away two players, but he was ultimately fouled just outside the penalty area in order to prevent him to come to a good shooting position.

33rd minute goal Ever Banega after a dangerous cross in the penalty area by  Soldado is headed by Dani Alves, but only to Ever Banega who find himself in a good position and scores.

Just two minutes later another big chance for Valencia CF after some good work once again from Joao Pereira on the right wing, Soldado doing the scissors move, but just barely being successful.

38th minute the referee comes to the rescue of FC Barcelona as he awards them with a non existing penalty. Pedro's theatrics and the referees suitcase with money he surely had received was enough to whistle a penalty. If these were the types of situations penalties were awarded for, then we'd be seeing 3-4 penalties being awarded every game.

Anyways Guaita guessed the position of the shoot, but Messi's shot was just too good and he scored to equalize the score to 1-1.

44th minute Guardado finds himself with good space around him and tries a long range shoot, but Valdez saves.

The first half ended with Valencia CF being the better team and getting once again beaten by the referee, just like the first match against Barcelona this season, just like last season, just like every time we've played Barcelona the past 4 years.

The second half started with Valencia CF dominating once again and in the 50th minute great cross by Guardado to Soldado, but his header goes just wide.

54th minute huge chance for Fabregas as he is released from the middle and finds himself alone on goal, but his shot goes just wide.

59th minute Soldado fins himself in a similar situation as Fabregas, but is a little bit more of an angle and his shot goes above the goal.

65th minute chance for Soldado once again as he gets a hold of a long range cross and finds himself in a similar situation as previously, but this time again his shot goes wide.

The newly arrived Canales on for Banega finds himself in a chance instantly after a great solo run by Guardado sets him up for a shoot, but Valdez saves.

Barcelona would start controlling the match more from around the 65th minute and becoming more dangerous, but it was still Valencia CF with the chances and in the 74th minute after a great solo run by Cissokho, beating few Barcelona players and passing the ball to Soldado, he doesn't quite get it, but the ball goes to Tino Costa, but his shot just wasn't powerful enough.

82nd minute Pedro finds himself in a good position inside Valencia's penalty area, shoots, but Guaita saves.

88th minute huge chance for Valencia CF, but Valdez saves Barcelona from a loss, first from Canales and then saves a shot from Soldado. This action was once again created by Cissokho who passed the ball towards Canales, his shot was blocked by Valdez and the rebound found his way to Soldado who shoots, but Valdez was up already and saved the goal.

Barcelona did have a decent chance by Villa and Messi, but nothing concrete and the match ultimately ended 1-1.

Line Up

Valencia				Barcelona
		Guaita				Valdés
		A. Cissokho	40'			Dani Alves
		A. Rami				Piqué
		João Pereira				Jordi Alba
		Víctor Ruíz				Fàbregas	72'
		Ricardo Costa				Xavi	90 (1)'
		É. Banega	33'64'			Iniesta
		A. Guardado	76'86'			J. Mascherano	23'55'
		A. Costa				Busquets
		Juan Bernat	70'			L. Messi	39'
		Soldado	47'			Pedro
		Coach: Ernesto Valverde				Coach: Tito Vilanova
Substitutions 64' Canales ON for É. Banega 70' P. Piatti ON for Juan Bernat 86' Jonas ON for A. Guardado				Substitutions 55' Puyol ON for J. Mascherano 72' David Villa ON for Fàbregas 90 (1)' Thiago Alcântara ON for Xavi

Player Ratings:
Guaita 6 - Didn't have too much to do, was lucky on few occasions as Barca players missed the goal and had two good stops as well as good positioning to prevent a goal early in the first half.
Joao 7 - Was a constant presence forward making some marauding runs and linking up superbly with Bernat, was less confident in defense and was beaten several times.
Rami 7 - Great defending from the Frenchmen who was rock solid all night and made several key blocks and interceptions.
R. Costa 6.5 - Had one key block when he seemed to injure himself to do it, but returned to the match and did very well in defense, dealing with the Barcelona players confidently.
Cissokho 7.5 - Superb defense and had some amazing runs down the left, completely beating Dani Alves and Pique often and providing at least two great passes that Soldado and others failed to convert. Was solid all night in defense.
Ruiz 6.5 - Solid defensively and provided some much needed cover for the defense. Made simple and short passed, but he was accurate in them and never lost possession.
Tino Costa 6.5 - Was a bundle of energy in the middle, providing cover for the defense and helping out in the offense as well, having few good crosses and one good shot from free kicks.
Bernat 6 - Impressive performance from Bernat who linked up really well with Joao as well as the midfield, providing some good passes and additional body to pass to. Wasn't as penetrative himself, but did put in a few decent crosses.
Banega 6.5 - Scored the goal for Valencia's lead and was very dangerous when given a bit of space, starting up few attacks. Was wasteful sometimes in possession and didn't track back as much as he could and should have.
Guardado 7 - Great presence on the left side and was a key player in the match, providing some great passes, crosses and much of all cover for the defense as well. Had one particular solo run towards the end.
Soldado 6.5 - Was very active all night long and found himself in good positions  having at least 3 good chances, but wasn't at his best tonight and really should have scored a late chance from a rebound that happened off Valdez, but his shot was too in the center of the goal and Valdez saved his shot.
Subs:
Canales 6 - Instantly involved in the actions, had some good moves and two good passes to start attacks, tracked back a lot more than Banega, but didn't have the presence and ball retaining skills like Banega.
Piatti N/A - Not enough time to make an impact.
Jonas N/A - Not enough time.

Paid referee to the rescue of Barca

I mean on, give me a break. This paid off referee just waited for the smallest chance to give Barca a penalty that didn't exist. Just absolute paid off referee !!!!

Everyone need to call for an immediate investigation, top level media need to call out the fraud as well.

Valencia CF vs FC Barcelona Match Preview

Valencia CF vs FC Barcelona Match Preview

Stadium: Mestalla

Date: 03.02.2013; 19:00 CET

22nd matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Ernesto Valverde and Tito Villanova

Valencia CF

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a hard fought 3-2 victory over Deportivo La Coruna the past weekend. The match was supposed to be quite straightforward with Valencia CF struggling to break Deportivo, but ultimately winning cleanly and I didn't expect a repeat of the first match between these clubs which finished 3-3, but that is exactly what happened. We saw pretty much a repeat of the first match and it took Valencia CF over 90 minutes to win in stoppage time after Deportivo La Coruna were reduced to 10 men for all of the second half.

As hard fought as that victory was, it was ultimately deserved with Deportivo La Coruna only having few real chances overall, with both their goals coming from mistakes in Valencia's defense. After that match Valencia CF coach Ernesto Valverde gave the players a two day rest, but when they returned to training unsurprisingly they were practicing defense as something the coach stated needs to be improved.

The coach is right of course, as Valencia CF has conceded a lot of goals this season and the defense has been shaky, especially in some key matches where the dam has broken, like with Real Madrid for example, and earlier in the season against Malaga and Real Sociedad. Moreover than that have been the constant leaks in defense, especially in those tight matches where only one goal would have made the difference. In all but 4 matches Valencia CF has conceded goals though, and this has reflected negatively on the team's ability to win matches and ultimately win points. The team needs to improve in defense drastically and stop conceding goals as much as possible, at least against weaker teams who are barely able to score goals otherwise.

So hopefully the defense practice Ernesto Valverde has set up will help improve the defense and the team desperately needs to improve defensively before the Barcelona match, in order to avoid another embarrassing loss like it suffered against Real Madrid in the league. Much importance has also been put in the midfield and the coach has said that he hopes and likes Valencia CF to really bring the fight to Barcelona in the middle of the field.

As far as injuries go Roberto Soldado has said that he wants to play against FC Barcelona and he is likely going to be ready to do so, after suffering from a smaller injury he got in one of the matches against Real Madrid. David Albelda is also back in training and with the squad and is likely to be fully fit to play, should Valverde so choose so, other than that Jeremy Mathieu as you know is still injured, but you can expect him to return within 10 or so days, at least in more advanced training.

One big news is that Fernando Gago has been loaned out for the rest of the season to Argentine Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield, as Gago has been frozen out of the squad for the past 2 matches and was made clear he wasn't going to be counted upon by the coach.

Valencia CF squad:
Goalkeepers: Diego Alves, Guaita.
Defenders: Joao, Barragán, Ricardo Costa, Rami, Víctor Ruiz, Cissokho.
Midfielders: Albelda, Éver, Tino Costa, Bernat, Piatti, Guardado, Canales.
Forwards: Jonas, Valdez, Soldado.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups): 
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Diego; Pereira, Rami, R. Costa, Cissokho; Albelda, Tino Costa; Piatti, Banega, Guardado; Soldado.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, all round pressure, counterattacking, mixed passing, high pressing.

FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona is coming to this matches after an eventful and interesting match against Real Madrid in the first leg of the semi final in the Copa del Rey that finished in a 1-1 draw, with FC Barcelona being a bit wasteful in front of goal and unable to seal the match, being punished for their wastefulness towards the end when Real Madrid defender Varane scored a goal and equalized the score to allow Real Madrid to get away with a draw.

The first half was more close with both teams fighting in the middle of the park and having exchanges and chances in front of goal, but towards the end of the first half and in all of the second half Barcelona got into their rhythm and dominated possession, being more threatening and ultimately missing few good chances.

FC Barcelona has also been impeccable the whole season in the Spanish league with 19 wins and only one loss and one draw. That one loss was recently against Real Sociedad in the league, but it came only after Barcelona broke all records of going without a loss and it was due to happen sooner or later just out of fatigue if not from something else. 

So far FC Barcelona are looking like they are going to win the league and get back the title from Real Madrid and without much competition, as they are sitting in first place with 58 points, 11 more than the second ranked Atletico Madrid and 15 more than Real Madrid. So they are in prime position to win the Spanish league and unless incredible happens I can't see them missing out on such a big lead, though there are still quite a lot of matches to be played though.

The biggest problem for Barcelona is going to be the fact that they just played in the cup and even though their players are used to this high intensity, 50+ games per season tempo they are still going to be significantly fatigued and not at their best, so there lies Valencia's chance to get a good results, though Barcelona is still a great team even when not at 100% and its likely going to be a very difficult match in which a draw against FC Barcelona would be a positive result.

We know that David Villa is not pleased with his situation at Barcelona and there were reports that Arsenal wanted to sign him, possibly offering Barcelona as much as 15 million euros to get him, but Barcelona didn't want to sell him in the winter as they still count on him to provide cover, but its more than likely that he will be on his way out in the summer, with Juventus, Asrenal and others interested in his services.

Another players that will be leaving Barcelona at the summer is their goalkeeper Valdes as he wants to try another challenge and have a change of scenery, with Barcelona looking at Vicente Guaita as the possible replacement for him in what could become a player exchange with Valencia possible giving them Guaita and getting Villa back to the squad, although this has really low chances of happening at least from this distance.

FC Barcelona squad:

Valdés, Pinto, Montoya, Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Puyol, Alba, Adriano, Busquets, Song, Thiago, Xavi, Cesc, Iniesta, Pedro, Alexis, Villa and Messi.

Technical Details FC Barcelona (probable setups):

Formation: 4-3-3

Line-up: Valdes; Alves, Mascherano, Pique, Alba; Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta; Fabregas, Messi, Sanchez.

Tactics: High defensive line, all round pressure, keep possession, mostly short circular passing, doubling up on the wings.

Results Prediction:

Valencia CF 1-1 FC Barcelona

The matches against FC Barcelona are always unpredictable as they can be very tight matches with few or none goals or very open with lots of goals and we've seen it go either way. Valencia CF most of the time plays good against Barcelona and have been very, very unfortunate with some of the referring calls denying Valencia CF from victories. I'm hopeful that tonight we won't be seeing any suspicious refereeing decisions and that we'll see a high quality match.

Barcelona is a bit weakened due to their mid week match against Real Madrid in the cup, and Valencia CF has been practicing their defending so I don't expect many goals, though its likely that both sides are going to score and I'm thinking it will probably end as 1-1.

Llorente: Vicente Guaita stays

Valencia CF president publicly stated today that goalkeeper Vicente Guaita will stay in Valencia CF and that FC Barcelona can forget about him.

Manuel Llorente as some of you may now has been under pressure to have more Spanish players in the squad, especially Valencianistas and so expect Diego Alves to leave, rather than Guaita. Now they may both stay, but that is very unlikely and both of them are likely to not be satisfied with that kind of decision as none of them really has a firm grim on the starting place and one week playing and then not playing doesn't give any of the goalkeepers momentum and to keep their form.

So now we know that Vicente Guaita is going to stay for many more years as Llorente said and expect Diego Alves to be sold, but even more than that expect several new Spanish reinforcements to come in the summer.

Banega apologizes, to be fined by the club

Ever Banega to feature vs FC Barcelona

Ever Banega took to twitter to apologize for arriving late in training. He said that he was sorry for his conduct, that it will not happen again and how he only thinks of beating FC Barcelona. He also didn't appear to have been drunk, so obviously some fabricated media controversy.

Valencia CF coach decided to put Ever Banega in the squad to face FC Barcelona as he is one of the key players and punishing him with not playing will be more of a punishment to the club, rather than the player.

Last match when Valencia CF and FC Barcelona met it was a very close match and FC Barcelona barely won over Valencia CF due to the fact the referring was so poor or nefarious.

Ever Banega drunk and late for training

Ever Banega came in late and drunk at today's training and Valencia CF coach just confirmed that he was indeed late and that the club will give him a punishment, though he said he hasn't decided yet if he is going to remove Banega from the team to face FC Barcelona tomorrow.

He said he and the assistant Voro would consider all options, but that Banega was needed to the team, so a decision to drop him out of the team would be less likely.

He went on to comments about Barcelona, saying they are a dangerous team, but that they are not invincible as shown by their recent loss to Real Sociedad. He said that the biggest danger does come from Lionel Messi and that the defenders will have to really be up to the challenge to stop Lionel Messi.

He also commented about Gago, saying that its not a big loss that he was loaned out and that his position is easily covered by several players.