Can Unai Emery lead Valencia to their first title since 2004 when Rafael Benítez steered the ship at the Mestalla to their second title in three years?

Through the first six rounds in La Liga, Valencia CF led the way at the top of the ladder with sixteen points, one point ahead of Villarreal, two points ahead of Real Madrid, and three points ahead of FC Barcelona.  Along with Real Madrid, Valencia remained only one of two teams still undefeated in the league, and the early murmurs among the Spanish press signaled that Barcelona and Real Madrid would not run away from the others as they did last season.

Valencia’s surprising start has less with whom they lost in the summer and rather with what they gained in those absences.  The club earned a total of €84.2 million in transfer fees, with headliners David Villa garnering €40 million and David Silva €30 million.  €22.7 million of the €84.2 million went into buying players to replace those sold, including a new strike force in Aritz Aduriz and Roberto Soldado and reinforcements in the midfield Mehmet Topal and Tino Costa.  The rest of the money went toward scaling down the massive debt that the club continually increased over the past decade.

How did Valencia maneuver itself to owing €550 million to various creditors?

Click here to see a significant chunk of that debt. Without securing the sale of the current Mestalla, then-President Juan Bautista Soler gave approval to the construction of the Nou Mestalla, a 75,000 seat, state-of-the-art stadium that would compete with the Camp Nou and the Santiago Bernabéu for revenues and the hosting of European finals.  Building of the stadium halted in February 2009 when the funds went dry, and the Nou Mestalla currently sits as the white elephant in Valencia as a symbol of financial irresponsibility.

As with most of the high-profile European clubs, player and manager wages accounted for a substantial part of the budget.  As late as the 2008-09 season, Valencia’s player wages outweighed their total revenue earned throughout that campaign.

The ghost of Ronald Koeman still haunts the Mestalla, even though he was sacked in April of 2008 after a disastrous campaign that saw the two-time champions mired in a relegation battle when Valencia made the change.  Even though his previous stints as manager with Ajax, Benfica, and PSV Eindhoven brought little compared to expectations, Valencia felt Koeman would fare better than Quique Sánchez Flores, who was a mere four points off the top spot when Flores received his pink slip in October 2008.  As part of the deal to bring in Koeman from PSV, one of the clauses stated that if Valencia qualified for the UEFA Champions League in the three seasons following Koeman’s move, Valencia would pay PSV €1 million.

Despite earning a Champions League berth by finishing third last season long after Valencia fired Koeman, the clause still applied, so the total expenditure on the transfer, appointment, and discharge of the former Barcelona great stood at €2.8 million.

(On a side note, AZ Alkmaar did not learn from prior history because they took a chance on Koeman after Louis van Gaal left following their first Eredivisie crown since 1981 to become the manager of Bayern Munich.  Koeman was gone in December after floundering in mid-table.)

All these financial transgressions transpired throughout the course of the past few years, and yet they had a chance to legitimize their credentials as a top-table team on Saturday against an FC Barcelona that has looked less than their absolute best in La Liga.

Valencia’s early season schedule has not been the most strenuous, and against Atlético Madrid, their toughest opponent in their first six matches, they squeaked out a 1-1 draw late, even though Valencia virtually controlled the entire match.

Against Manchester United in the Champions League, Sir Alex Ferguson looked happy to settle for a 0-0 draw at the Mestalla and sat back while Valencia kept a large majority of the possession.  Valencia could not capitalize on the chances they created, and the one decent opportunity that Manchester United had, Javier “Chicharito” Hernández buried the ball into the back of the net in the final quarter of the match to hand the Red Devils the three points and temporary control of the group.

If Valencia were to further Barça’s shocking woes at the Camp Nou, Los Che would need the courage to press Barcelona, close the margin of possession that Barcelona typically has against their opponents, and convert on their scoring opportunities.  In the first half, Valencia accomplished the first two objectives, but while they did score a goal to lead at halftime, they missed a promising opening at the end of the half to double their advantage and further plant seeds of doubt and panic into a Barcelona team that has hardly had to deal with such emotions since Pep Guardiola took over the club in the summer of 2008.

The opening forty-five minutes played out as though both team switched uniforms because Valencia scoured the pitch with a penchant for suffocating defensive pressure, an ability to recover possession quickly once it was lost, and an assuredness with the ball when they had possession, whereas Barcelona almost planned to sit back in their own half of the pitch and break on the counter-attack.  A strange combination of nervous murmuring and breathless hush enveloped the Culés in the Camp Nou, as Valencia seemed to have all the answers.

After Pablo Hernández opened the scoring in the 38th minute, they fashioned an even better opportunity to add a second three minutes later.  Éver Banega, the influential playmaker who made his first appearance in a month because of an ankle injury, fought down the right wing with two Barça players to slide the ball to Roberto Soldado at the right edge of the penalty area.  Soldado slid it across to Pablo in the middle of the penalty area, and with the whole left side of the goal open, Pablo tried to fool Víctor Valdés and go behind him to the right near post, but Valdés was up to the task and parried it out for a corner kick.

From that moment forward, Barcelona took over the match with a gusto and innovative flair that had been absent in the early days of this season.  Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández’s one-two that mesmerized four Valencia players accounted for the equalizer two minutes into the second half.

David Villa, wanting to shine badly against his former team although he played that down during the week, provided a pinpoint squared ball across the six-yard box that would have been a tap-in for Iniesta on the left back post if Jordi Alba had not somehow cleared it over his own crossbar from three yards out.  Another Iniesta through ball scythed the Valencia back line and sent Villa free for a one-on-one with César Sánchez, which César won by taking the ball away from Villa’s foot as Villa made his final move to try to get around César in the penalty area.

Carles Puyol, of all people, scored what turned out to be the game-winner after Xavi sent in another accurate cross from the right wing, and Valencia never really looked as though they could re-gather themselves enough to mount a serious challenge at squaring the match.

2-1 fulltime, and Barcelona found the invigoration and elixir that should propel them to boost their season.

Should this loss discourage Valencia?  Absolutely not.  Barcelona outplayed them in the second half and deserved to win the match, and when the superior team plays at its best, all Valencia can do is shake their hands and say, “Good match.”  Despite the talent they had to sell before this campaign, Valencia is a solid bet to finish in the top four.  Their title credentials, however, took a big hit with this loss to Barcelona on Saturday.

One match out of thirty-eight this might have been, and teams have won championships when they have not fared well against the established top two or three teams, but in their three most stringent tests in all competitions, Los Che have come out with one point out of nine.  As Valencia president Manuel Llorente stated:

“Now we are going to Barcelona at a good time, with a high rank and a different team from previous years.  We have a squad with a high capacity to work and it gives us enormous options.”

With Valencia at the top of the table and Barcelona under par in comparison to their normal high standards, Valencia played Barcelona at the perfect time, and through forty-four minutes, the confidence from within the organization was justified.  Championship contenders, however, put away teams when they have a foot on the throat, and Valencia enabled Barcelona to slither away from that foot and counter that threat with an attack of their own.  Valencia could not respond to Barcelona’s challenge.

Manuel Llorente announced that Valencia cut their overflowing debt from €550 million to €400 million, and manager Unai Emery and he are leading this historic team in the right direction.  In a couple of years, with more of this fiscal responsibility and outstanding play on the pitch, Valencia will contend for titles as they did in the first half of the 2000s decade, but for now, their goals should center on maintaining a top four finish and steady progression in the Champions League.

Fueras de Juego

- Cristiano Ronaldo scored two and assisted in two goals as Real Madrid rolled over a potentially dangerous Málaga side 1-4.  José Mourinho is known for building up players to stratospheric heights.  At Chelsea, he declared Frank Lampard the best player in the world.  At Inter Milan, Mourinho trumpeted that Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the most indispensable striker in world football.  At Real Madrid, Mourinho has done the same for Ronaldo, saying that it was clear to him that he is number one in the world with Lionel Messi number two.  The confidence shown by Mourinho to Ronaldo, even when Ronaldo found it hard to score in the opening matches of the season, now has come to fruition in the last few games, and expect more destruction from Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid as they look poised to dethrone Barcelona in La Liga.

- Espanyol defeated Mallorca 0-1 at the Iberostar Stadium despite the ejection of Pablo Osvaldo late in the first half to rise to sixth in the table.  The “other” team from Barcelona might be the most anonymous team in Spain, and in the eye of no one’s radar, their six goals scored in seven matches with an overall goal difference of -3 has los periquitos as the surprise team so far this season.

- In each of the ten stadia that held La Liga matches this weekend, they had a minute of silence prior to their matches in honor of Atlético Madrid legend Juan Carlos Arteche, who died from cancer on Wednesday night.  The Atlético hard man in central defense terrorized strikers in the 1980s with his physical style and “questionable” tackling, but he might best be known as a man that took a serious disliking to former Atleti president Jesús Gil, so much so that he retired at a relatively young age of 32 due to his conflicts with Gil.  Any man who stood up to the controversial, authoritarian, and misanthropic Gil was a brave man, and courage was never lacking with Arteche.  Rest in peace, Juan Carlos Arteche.

Injuries forced Vicente del Bosque to alter his standard squad for Spain’s forthcoming Euro 2012 fixtures against Lithuania on Friday and Scotland on Tuesday.  Xavi Hernández is suffering from tendinitis, Cesc Fábregas has an ankle injury, Jesús Navas is dealing with a thigh strain, Fernando Torres limped off against Blackpool on Sunday with a groin problem and Pedro Rodríguez sustained a hamstring injury on Saturday against Mallorca.

Del Bosque rewarded Villarreal and Valencia for their stellar starts to the campaign by calling up four players to replace the injured, two from each team, that rarely receive an invitation to the national team squad.  While Santi Cazorla, Carlos Marchena, and Joan Capdevila from Villarreal are regulars on the national team, del Bosque also included Bruno Soriano, a no-nonsense defensive midfielder with one cap to his name, and Borja Valero, a creative playmaker who will make his maiden voyage in international football with the Spanish national team.

From Valencia, del Bosque recalled Pablo Hernández, who has not made an appearance for La Furia Roja since scoring in a friendly against Austria in November 2009, and gave Aritz Aduriz, a physical center forward similar to Fernando Llorente, his first call-up to the national team.

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, Víctor Valdés

Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Álvaro Arbeloa, Gerard Piqué, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila, Nacho Monreal

Midfielders: Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Bruno Soriano, Santi Cazorla, Borja Valero, Pablo Hernández, David Silva

Forwards: David Villa, Fernando Llorente, Aritz Aduriz

Halloween will arrive in a few days, but for Atlético Madrid, this season has been a complete nightmare from the beginning.  Los rojiblancos hit their low point with a dull thud on Saturday when they could not fend off a nine-man Mallorca team and settled for a 1-1 draw at the Vicente Calderón.  Even though Abel Resino received a vote of confidence from the Atleti boardroom earlier in the season, those kinds of assurances were fleeting at best, and when Atlético delivered an impotent performance in the 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League, the writing was clearly on the wall for the former Atlético goalkeeper.

More often than not, a mid-season coaching change leads to a temporary spike in results.  Recent examples include Espanyol when Mauricio Pochettino replaced José Manuel Esnal, Real Madrid when Juande Ramos replaced Bernd Schuster, and Abel Resino himself when he replaced Javier Aguirre in the middle of the last campaign.  The jury is still out on the new Quique Sánchez Flores era, but from the showing Atlético Madrid displayed against Mallorca, Sánchez Flores has plenty of work to inspire these dispirited players.

Temporary manager Santi Denia had very little time to prepare this team after the sacking of Abel Resino, but he made a couple of adjustments to the starting eleven by preferring Raúl García over Cléber Santana in the center of midfield as well as starting eighteen year old David de Gea in goal instead of the number one Sergio Asenjo.  That change did not matter much in the early parts of the match as de Gea had little to do.  For the first twenty-five minutes, the atmosphere on and off the pitch was very muted.  Anxiousness permeated the Vicente Calderón as the uncertainty of the future for Atlético made the supporters and the players uneasy and unenthusiastic.  Then the break Atlético Madrid desperately needed fell right into their laps.

Mallorca right back Josemi, trying to prevent a Simão pass from reaching Diego Forlán, struck the ball with his bicep inside the box, and referee César Muñiz Fernández immediately pointed to the penalty spot.  Having already received a yellow card earlier in the match, Muñiz Fernández awarded Josemi a second yellow card for the incident, and Mallorca was down to ten men.  Forlán stepped to the mark, and…

it went wide of the post.  This ominous occurrence only helped in prolonging the growing despair.  With a 0-0 score line at the end of the half, the vociferous whistles rained down on their beloved Atlético, and Mallorca could not have written a better script after the unfortunate ejection of Josemi.

If Atlético Madrid did not want to take advantage of a fortuitous break, Mallorca gave them a second chance when Iván Ramis received a second yellow card for another handball inside the penalty area.  The ball seemed to play the arm rather than vice versa, but nevertheless, Ramis was gone, Mallorca had to play the final 40+ minutes with only nine men, and Atlético was twelve yards away from basically sealing the match.  Unfazed by his earlier penalty miss, Forlán coolly slotted the ball into the back of the net, and it was not if they would win but by how many.

Strangely, Atlético, whether by the instructions of Santi Denia or by the players’ own apprehensions, protected their 1-0 lead instead of trying to increase it.  They dominated the possession, as they should with a two-man advantage, but rarely created significant goal-scoring opportunities that would ruin any chance for Mallorca to get anything out of this match.  Forlán hit the target a couple of times, Simão forced Dudu Aouate into some good saves, and Cléber Santana’s header from a set piece traveled inches over the crossbar, but their attacking play, as a whole, appeared stunted compared to normal circumstances.  Their careful and cautious attitude would prove costly when Mallorca amazingly equalized in the 91st minute to earn a point that should not have been there to retrieve.

From José Luis Martí’s free kick at midfield, Atlético somehow allowed Borja Valero to control the ball with his foot near the byline.  Valero’s ensuing ball was meant to be a cross across the six-yard box to Pierre Webó, but in attempting to smother that cross, David de Gea allowed it to go between his legs.  If the ball went straight through his legs, Webó and Atlético defender Álvaro Domínguez each would have had a 50/50 chance at it, but as the ball squeezed through de Gea’s legs, he diverted the ball off its path with his left heel into goal.  Would Sergio Asenjo have committed the same error?  Call it fate, destiny, the football gods, or any other supernatural event; Atlético Madrid could not win a match that Mallorca tried to give away.

As absurd as this may sound, Mallorca actually deserved to merit a result from this match.  The equalizer transpired from a slice of good fortune, but their tireless work ethic and their unending belief gained many admirers, and they dug themselves out of a hole they created instead of slumping their shoulders and admitting defeat before the match was over.

What does this mean for Atlético Madrid going forward?  Quique Sánchez Flores has had successful spells with Valencia and Benfica, but he faces the most challenging managing job of his career.  Initially competing to retain its Champions League place, Atlético’s goals for the season need to be scaled back slightly.  The sale of John Heitinga in the last minutes of the summer transfer window to Everton may not have been a glaring loss at the outset, but Atlético has employed three different right backs this season, including lifelong central defender Tomáš Ujfaluši.  None filled the position adequately, and a weak link in a defensive line cannot be masked when a decent attacking team puts pressure on them.

For an attacking force that includes Argentine budding superstar Sergio Agüero, Simão Sabrosa, Maxi Rodríguez, Jurado, and current European Golden Shoe winner Diego Forlán, ten goals in eight matches in La Liga as well as zero goals in three Champions League group stage games fall well below their high expectations.  The service from the midfield is of mediocre quality, and the intricate passing game in the final third lacks the fluidity that they showed last season.

While Sánchez Flores and his technical staff can work out these problems on the training ground, instilling the poise and confidence that Atlético used to possess will be their most arduous task as they try to lift los rojiblancos from the dregs of their current form.  Without these intangible traits at full tilt, they will continue to surrender meekly against their future opponents.  All is doom and gloom at the moment, but fortunately, they will not have too much time to mull over their soul-crushing draw as they have their Round of 32 Copa del Rey cup tie against Segunda División B side UD Marbella on Tuesday.  Atlético Madrid will likely use many of their young and bench players against Marbella, but any potential win at this point can be used as a confidence-booster in their long journey from the abyss.

Fueras del Juego

- It is more of relief than congratulations for Villarreal as they recorded their first victory of the season 2-1 over Málaga on Sunday.  It was also a first for Villarreal record signing Nilmar as he netted his first La Liga goal for the club.

- El Golazo de la Jornada goes to Pablo Hernández, whose forty-yard effort floated over a humiliated Diego Alves as Valencia beat Almería at the Estadio Mediterráneo 0-3 on Sunday.  Alves was clearly out of position, but the foresight and technical skill necessary to execute the shot by Pablo was exquisite.

- Before the Racing de Santander – Osasuna match, there was a minute of silence for the recent death of José Manuel López Alonso, former president of Racing.  Near the end of the minute, referee Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez was about to blow the whistle when he realized the minute was not quite over.  Luckily, he did not blow the whistle at that moment, but his facial expressions of surprise and embarrassment were priceless.

Based on their records coming into this fixture, the Valencia – Atlético Madrid Saturday fixture did not look to be an appetizing match, but knowing each team’s penchant to go forward, their stature in Spanish football, and their performances over the past few years, this game was the one to watch, and they did not disappoint.

From the opening moments, the predictable and customary caginess that occurs in a big match was absent as both teams looked to score immediately.  Sergio Agüero obliged with a 7th minute goal whose build-up was more impressive than the actual finish.  Making a run on the perimeter of the penalty area, Jurado took two defenders with him and audaciously back-heeled a pass to Diego Forlán inside the box.  In plenty of space, Forlán squared a ball to Agüero who finished the attack with aplomb, and it was 0-1 to the visitors.

As is typical with this Atlético squad, a one-goal lead was not safe by any means, and Los Che responded with opportunity after opportunity without any tangible result to show for them.  Atlético almost made Valencia pay for their lack of finishing in the 20th minute when Agüero intercepted a pass from Alexis at the midfield line and stormed toward the Valencia goal.  Outpacing Alexis, Agüero was one on one with Valencia keeper Miguel Angel Moyà, but Agüero took the ball too close to Moyà, and he closed the angle just enough to have his shot roll by the right far post.

In a span of two minutes, Valencia showed why Atlético accumulated only two points from their first four matches.  In the 25th minute, Éver Banega lofted a ball over the Atlético defense onto Pablo Hernández’s run into the penalty area.  Atlético captain Antonio López was able to contest Pablo in the box, but Pablo’s touches bamboozled López, and Pablo was able to get by him and score from three yards out for the 1-1 equalizer.  Two minutes later, Valencia would take the one-goal advantage when David Silva sprung David Villa open with a cutting ball through the heart of the Atlético defense.  Taking a couple of dribbles into the left side of the box, Villa executed a clinical finish that explained why the big European clubs clamor for his services.  As he was about to take the shot, he opened his body as if he were to go for the right far post.  Atlético keeper Roberto, who is deputizing for Sergio Asenjo because of his involvement for the Spanish national team in the U-20 World Cup in Egypt, saw Villa’s body actions and leaned toward that direction.  At the moment of impact, Villa closed his foot, lifted the ball to the near post, and slotted it past Roberto; Roberto thought he did everything correctly, but the brilliance of Villa made Roberto’s efforts seem feckless.  The Atlético Madrid defense was supposed to be improved from last year’s forgettable fifty-seven goal tally, but thirteen goals in five matches does not bode well for an Atlético side looking to keep their Champions League spot for next year.

Throughout the rest of the match, there was always a feeling of inevitability that Valencia would concede as Atlético pressed for the second goal.  With a man advantage for 65+ minutes against Sporting Gijón last Sunday, Valencia had complete control, but a 86th minute goal by Grégory ruined their 100% record and made David Villa publicly criticize manager Unai Emery’s tactics concerning their play when it was 11 vs. 10.  Both teams equally fought for the next goal, with Villa hitting the post from an outrageous jumping back-heel in the 53rd minute and a trio of clear-cut goal-scoring prospects missed by Forlán, Cléber Santana, and Maxi Rodríguez.

In the latter stages of the match, Valencia continued to play a no holds barred style as they looked to salt the game away with a third goal rather than sit on the 2-1 advantage.  While this strategy was commendable for its ambition rather than its cynicism, it left them with holes in the back from time to time, and Atlético capitalized in the second minute of stoppage time when Maxi scored to gain a valuable point and a 2-2 draw.  Antonio López crossed from the left flank, and Alexis’ header failed to clear the ball towards the midfield.  Instead, it flicked on to a wide-open Maxi, who was free on the right post to take the shot first time and beat Moyà.  Valencia left back Jérémy Mathieu, who had a solid game before the second goal, was equally culpable as he fell asleep and gave Maxi the space when the ball arrived at his feet.

Usually the match of the week on paper does not fulfill its promise as such, but Valencia’s 2-2 draw with Atlético Madrid on Saturday night at the Mestalla proved its worth.  With Los Colchoneros in the relegation zone because of earning two points out of the first twelve, Valencia knew to be wary of Atlético not only because of their attacking prowess but also of the wounded animal theory.  In short, an animal is most dangerous when it is hurt because it will fight back with all its might just to survive.  Atlético needed to embrace this attitude and that they certainly did; however, Valencia had the one-goal advantage into stoppage time and looked to win the three points.  Another last stage goal concession by Valencia leaves them seven points behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, and with no signs of either club slowing down, the four points needlessly dropped against Sporting Gijón and Atlético Madrid should prove lethal in Valencia’s attempt to win La Liga for the first time since 2004 and possibly a Champions League spot.