Great Start, Great Start

The good thing about ESPN in New Zealand is that they have the Serie A and the Spanish La Liga. Tonight I was able to watch my favorite club Valencia go up against Sevilla in the Mestalla. To tell you the truth, the groundskeeper needs to work on the pitch because there were way too many patchy areas. It looked like the pitch is in mid-season condition unlike the pristine conditions it should be in. (I guess that's what happens when you don't have money). This game was a good early examination to see if Valencia will be able to mount some sort of challenge for a Champions League spot. I'm not dismissing the title but Barcelona and Real Madrid are on a planet on their own. So getting a third place finish and getting that Champions League money will be important especially with keeping key players and such.

You would think in a game where David Villa was average that it would be a long night. However many other players stepped in tonight and did pretty well. Ever Banega had a very good game in the heart of the midfield. Mata was causing Konko, Sevilla's right fullback, lots of problems. Pablo on the other side was dangerous also. The game was flowing nicely with nice passing from both teams however everything broke down in the final third. Alexis and Dealbert impressed me at center defense. Frustrating Luis Fabiano and Frederic Kanoute who both seemed disinterested in the game. Especially with Kanoute getting two yellows in the first half and leaving Sevilla with 10 men.

That was the difference in the game because when even it was just going back and forth but nothing was happening. However in the second half Valencia dominated much to my delight. Mata scoring two minutes after the starting of the second half. And the fluid movement of the team's front six was nice to see and a promise of something special this season (I know I might be jumping the gun a bit). Pablo Hernandez scored 10 minutes from the end to finish off the game in Sevilla's eyes. Banega was in the heart of both moves. Dribbling across the edge of the box and laying it off to Mata. In the second goal, he dashed through three players and struck a firm outside-foot pass to Pablo who finished with a first time chip over Palop.

The new signings were pretty good. I've already said that Dealbert was impressive in his first run out. He was sure-foot on just about every tackle and header against the taller Kanoute and Fabiano. I couldn't really point at any time that he made a mistake. He was solid. Bruno was okay. Tommy Smyth, the ESPN commentator, was loving him because he had grit, but he left me wondering with his touches often going out of play and didn't really get forward as he needed to. He did have to deal with Jesus Navas which is a pretty tough task for any left fullback. Then again, I didn't really have much expectations of Bruno to begin with so maybe I'm being rough on him. When Jeremy Mathieu came on for Bruno, I thought he was much better than Bruno. Got forward often and actually quiet down Navas a lot for the second half. He did make some mistakes towards the end of the game but I'll forgive him for that. In my opinion, he should be the starting option at the left fullback position. Bruno just didn't cut it for me.

I think Unai Emery has got this time on the right track right now. I'm sure David Villa will be better in the next game. I don't think that I even needed to say that because he's world-class and will probably bang in 20 goals this season. Hopefully Mata, Pablo, and David Silva can bag about 30 between them. And Emery giving Banega more freedom in that central area of the midfield will make teams nervous when they go against Los Che. It's still early and we'll see what will unravel in the rest of this season. A run in the Europa League and a top four finish will make me a happy person.

The Nonsense III: Valencia- so you don't pay your players?

Warning to the casual reader: This is a footy(soccer) post, so if you have no desire of reading anymore than you should probably stop and I will try to be as clear as I possibly can. My B

The team I started supporting when they made two consecutive Champions League finals with the likes of Santiago Canziares, Gaizka Mendieta, and Claudio Lopez (who actually plays in the MLS with the Kansas City Wizards). It was a new and hip team to support for me, I didn't want to jump on the Man Utd bandwagon like everybody else did. None offense to them, I can't blame any of them because that's the team that we saw in the late 90s in the US since soccer wasn't shown predominantly during that time. Well that's not what I want to talk about anyways. I want to discuss the current situation here with Los Che. They are so far in debt that they aren't able to pay their players weekly wages. It's kinda strange that David Villa isn't getting paid his wages when he is one of the best strikers in the world right now.

The current credit crunch is hurting this club more than others. And then when you add the fact that they were trying to build a new Mestalla stadium it only amplifies the problems that this club has. Midway through February I read in goal.com that the club couldn't pay their players the weekly wages that they've earned. In an earlier post I said that I didn't think that they should sell star players like David Villa and David Silva but now it looks more than likely especially for the survival of this club that they should sell these key players. There will be an empty portion of my heart when they leave. And I have to follow my lil nigs Silva to where he goes when I play fifa because he drops ridiculous bombs on that game (yeah I brought up my 360). I think the club can survive without these two stars, it will be a rebuilding process and we shouldn't worry about making the Champions League for the next couple of years. We still have quality players coming up from the ranks. Mata, Manuel Fernandes, Pablo, Alexis, and Maduro for a few can hold down the ship for the team if we decide to sell both of our star players. My honest opinion I think if we make the Champions League this year, we should sell one, scrap the new stadium plans and just go with what we got. If disaster strikes and we miss out on a CL spot then more than likely both of them go. The pessimistic side of me says that both will go and that will be sad for me.

What is even more impressive about what the squad is doing, they are actually continuing to play while they aren't being paid. That's incredible. If I'm not being paid then what incentive do I have of going out there and playing the game? I mean these guys have already been paid real well to begin with but when you know the check isn't coming in then some guys end up turning off and not playing at all. Villa and Silva are still out there playing and they aren't doing what most premier league players would do, even players like Craig Bellamy, who plays for Manchester City now, would go on a temper tantrum to get out of his former club of West Ham and his money was still coming in. No telling what would happen if he didn't get a check at all. So I'll give it up to the players in that regard, However...

Now they are still playing but the performances have been subpar at best. It really looks like they don't really care. I know its easy for me to say sitting on my couch but the performances of earlier this season aren't matching with these. I can think that there's a correlation between what's going on with the club at the moment. They'll tell us that they will continue to play and they should be respected for that but I mean it doesn't matter how hard they play. What happens when they miss practice? You can't fine someone who you aren't paying. What you are going to fine with taking away their lunch privileges?? "If I can't eat, I'ma whoop somebody's ass" I feel bad for Unai Emery, the manager of the team, how can he motivate these guys? Now I know they should play for the love of the game but they have busted their asses to get where they're at and these players should be getting paid because they earned the right to play at the highest level. Now they are treated as Sunday league players, "there might be food after the game but we aren't sure.... Sorry (sarcasm)"

Hopefully the situation doesn't go to Adminstration or whatever the equivalent is in Spain (Adminstration is when any business gets to the point where it is no longer viable financially,the owners as a last resort can call in administrators.) because I don't know if I can handle one of my favorite teams going to the second division and being docked 10 points. I'm sure things will work out with these guys and they'll be back to where they belong. They may have to make some significant changes but the manager we have is qualified enough to hold the club's players together. Hey Vicente Soriano (the club's chairman), you won't give the boys per diem money.