From Riches to Rags

Out of Europe, out of sorts and out of money, Valencia is slowly but surely running out of luck. It’s been a decade of highs and lows for Valencia. From the early decade triumphs in Spain and Europe to its recent managerial go-round and battle with relegation, Valencia is headed down a slippery slope. How did the world’s third best club just eight years ago become the laughing stock of football? The last 18 months have witnessed the club’s demise as the penchant for instant gratification has seen the fortunes of a once successful club turn into a nightmare.

ON THE PITCH:

The Good

Following the imminent departure of Claudio Ranieri to Atletico Madrid in 1999, all eyes lay on ex-President Pedro Cortés. The pressure was on Pedro Cortes to find a suitable replacement for Ranieri, a man who led Valencia to its first major title in a decade as a team comprising of folk heroes Canizares, Carboni, Mendieta and Claudio ‘Piojo’ Lopez. This group defeated Atletico Madrid 3-0 to win the Copa Del Rey. Hector Cuper replaced Ranieri the following summer fresh off leading Mallorca to a Spanish Super Cup, a Copa Del Rey final, a Cup winners’ Cup final and a 3rd place league finish - Mallorca’s best ever finish in the Primera. Rare luck shone on Hector Cuper as Valencia defeated Barcelona to win the Spanish Super cup and finished 3rd place during Cuper’s first season. In Europe, however, Hector Cuper’s Midas touch paid dividends in Europe as the club reached its first UEFA champions league final in his first season. Once again lady luck frowned on Cuper as Valencia lost to Real Madrid 3-0 in the final. It was the same old story the next season as Cuper repeated the feat by leading Los Che to its second consecutive UEFA champions league final as they once again lost on penalties to Bayern Munich.
And then the chosen one arrived at the Mestalla.

There was a major shake up at the Mestalla during the summer of 2001. President Pedro Cortes resigned from his position due to personal reasons, cult hero Mendieta moved to Lazio to a tune of €48 million and Hector Cuper sought refuge in Italy as Inter Milan manager. The summer also saw the arrival of Jaime Ortí as the new club president with Rafa Benitez appointed as manager. In his first season as Valencia manager, Rafa Benitez - against all odds - led the club to its first La Liga title in over three decades as they set a new record by winning eleven consecutive games. Euphoria was in the air as the Los Che faithfuls were engulfed in a state of trance. Two years later, Benitez did the double as Valencia secured its second domestic title in three years and won the UEFA Cup.

The Bad

If the triumphs of the 2003-04 season cemented Valencia’s status as one of Europe’s top clubs, the past four years have been disastrous to say the least. After his Uefa Cup win, Benitez fell out with the board over a new contract as the Spaniard wanted total control over player transfers. The club stood its ground and thus Benitez left the club and joined Liverpool in the summer. Having lost its most successful manager in two decades, new club president Juan Soler re-appointed former manager Claudio Ranieri who had been recently sacked as manager of Chelsea. Ranieri’s second term was a bust; the team’s performance was woeful as the defending La Liga champions sat in 7th place in February. Ranieri was promptly fired and care-taker manager Antonio Lopez took control until the end of the season as the club failed to attain a European Cup spot. The summer of 2005 saw the appointment of former Valencia right back Quique Flores as manager. Much was expected of the 41 yr old ex-Getafe manager following the summer arrivals of Arsenal starlet Edu, former Barcelona star turned Newcastle flop Kluivert and prolific Real Zaragoza hitman David Villa. A successful first season saw Valencia finish 3rd place thus qualifying for the UEFA champions league. Like the previous season, the manager and the board became at odds as Flores began a public spat with former player turned sporting director Amedeo Carboni. Off the field, Flores won the cat fight and Carboni was replaced by by Angel Ruiz. On the pitch Flores lost the dog-fight as the team lost to Chelsea in the champions league quarter final and finished in 4th place.

It all apeared rosy at the onset of the 2007-08 season as Valencia began its domestic campaign with seven wins and three losses. David Villa was firing on all cylinders and the team sat in 4th place, four points behind leaders Real Madrid. Europe was a different story though as Valencia struggled to get going. Three matches into the European campaign, the team sat at the bottom of its group after a shocking away loss to Norwegian minnows Rosenberg. Impatient Valencia fans called for the head of Quique Flores as rumors swirled about unrest within the club’s dressing room. Media reports claimed Flores was unable to motivate his expensive signings, €25mil Joaquin and €20mil Zigic. His 53% win percentage in the league in two years as manager did little to help his cause. The players began questioning his tactics which had resulted in the team scoring a measly 10 goals whilst conceding 9 in its first 8 games. Several days later the board sacked Flores, much to the delight of several Los Che supporters. In an attempt to win back its supporters, the board compiled a short list comprising of 3 world class managers and Ronald Koeman. The list included the names of recently deposed Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, ex-Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello and Italy’s World Cup winning manager Marcelo Lippi.

Fabio Capello wisely ignored the calls of the Mestalla faithfuls as well as Marcelo Lippi, who decided a fishing trip on the Spanish coast paid more dividends than taking the reins of a troubled Spanish club. The various phone calls, love letters and bouquet of flowers failed to persuade Jose Mourinho. With a growing concern for a quick resolve to its managerial vacancy, club President Juan Soler turned to Ronald Koeman. On October 31st 2007 Koeman signed the dotted line and became Valencia’s manager. As they say, the rest is history.

The Ugly

In Koeman’s first official game as the club’s manager, the team beat Mallorca 2-0. This was followed by a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Rosenberg at the Mestalla. In Valencia’s next ten league games, the team recorded six losses, three draws and a single win whilst scoring five goals and conceding fourteen. The disaster in Europe continued as the team finished bottom of the group thus missed out on UEFA cup football. Not willing to accept any blame, Ronald Koeman turned on the team’s veteran players. He blamed the team’s performances on the power structure that existed amongst the club’s long time servants. The trio of veterans Canizares (10 yrs at Valencia), Angulo (12 yrs) and captain Albelda (13 yrs) were banished from the club’s training grounds. With the exclusion of the perceived trouble makers, Koeman hoped for a turn-around but the club fortunes took another major blow prompting fans to call for the Dutchman’s head. Despite a show of public support from the Valencia board, many suggested the Dutchman’s time was up as the team found itself on the wrong side of the table. The prospect of relegation to the Segunda division loomed large as the team suffered losses to Espanyol, Murcia, Mallorca and Racing Santander. While Valencia struggled to find its footing in the league, it defeated Barcelona to reach the final of the Copa Del Rey. On April 16th 2008, Valencia beat Getafe 3-1 to win the Copa Del Rey. The following day, Koeman received his pink slip as first team coach Voro took charge for the remainder of the season. Castaway’s Canizares, Albelda and Angulo were welcomed back to the team as they Valencia climbed its way up the table to finish 10th.

OFF THE PITCH:

The Fans

It’s hard not to feel pity for the faithfuls of a beleaguered football club but in all honesty the Los Che fans are partly responsible for the club’s downfall. During the eras of Hector Cuper and Benitez, Valencia fans called for the replacement of the men who had led the team to consecutive Champions league finals, two league titles and a UEFA cup. Rafa Benitez’s achievements were quite remarkable. Valencia winning the La Liga title is akin to Aston Villa winning the Premier league title TWICE! As British columnist and Spanish league expert Sid Lowe wrote, “…a tendency not just to hit the self-destruction button but to batter it into submission has long existed at Valencia..”, Two years later as the club enjoyed relative stability under Quique Flores, the fans whistles became ever so loud as they sought a replacement. Out went Flores and in came Koeman - the latter whose name is taboo amongst club fans. The desire for instant success following the glory days of Benitez looms large at the Mestalla. Some Valencia fans are oblivious to the fact that it will take decades for their beloved team to match the glories of Barcelona and Real Madrid. Patience, no matter how much of an anomaly it seems in the world of football, has its virtues.

The Board

Ex- Valencia president Juan Soler makes Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy look like a saint.

Valencia’s current financial crisis began five years ago after Juan Soler became club president in 2004. During his four year tenure as president, the club’s debt soared from €150mil to a staggering €400 mil coupled with the €300 from the construction of a new stadium. The result is a €750mil debt. Unlike Man United who can rely on its global brand, obscene T.V revenues and on the field success to alleviate its €800mil debt or Chelsea who have a billionaire owner that is willing and able to pay millions for instant success, Valencia have neither.

After its 2004 UEFA cup triumph, the board at Valencia decided to take the Deportivo La Coruna route. The club grossly overpaid its players and spent above its means in the transfer market. While the club was in €150mil debt, it overpaid for Morientes (€10mil), Joaquin (€25mil) and Zigic(€20mil). While it would be very harsh to blame the club’s misfortunes on its transfer market dealings, Soler’s fantasy of a successful superstar laden side like that at Chelsea has been quite disastrous. As the club bought high and sold low in the transfer market, it failed to provide any stability by changing coaches ever so often. During Juan Soler’s reign, Valencia had five different managers and five sporting directors. Throw in three different medical chiefs and a couple of director generals, and it’s bloody obvious the club was in a dire state.

With over €300mil in debt from bad business management, the club decided it was a good idea to embark on another grand idea. The idea was the construction of a 75,000 state-of-the-art stadium three miles from the current Mestalla. To the average football fan, the signs were clear; an under performing overpaying club with massive debt should not look to add to its woes by acquiring more debt without an adequate plan to resolve its current financial crisis.

But Valencia is anything but average.

Juan Soler and his hench men were convinced the construction of the Nou Mestalla would be beneficial to the club. Soler argued that the club would sell the current Mestallafor €250mil which would help payback the €350mil bank loan. Add the T.V. revenue from the club’s domestic and European campaign. If all else failed, the club could rely on sale of some of its top players and increased revenue from the merchandising and tickets from the Nou Mestalla. According to Soler, the future of Valencia lay in pretty good hands.

Soler’s wishful thinking - because that’s what it was - and poor planning never came to fruition. With a cool €350mil bank loan in hand, the board embarked on the construction of the Nou Mestalla. Just when the situation appeared somewhat bright, disaster struck. The club crashed out in the group stages of the UEFA champions league and failed to make it into the UEFA cup. That’s a whopping €30mil in lost revenue.

Much of Soler’s plan hinged on the sale of the Mestalla. The Valencia board assured its fans that it had secured the sale of the club’s current ground. Well, it all turned out to be a big lie. The so called “investors” that were supposed to purchase the Mestalla for €250mil never materialized. Despite numerous attempts and promises that the current ground will the sold, the club has failed to find a buyer. Thus, Valencia are stuck with two stadiums - one it cannot get rid off and another one it cannot afford to purchase.

Due to the current economic crisis, the likelihood that the club will find a buyer for the Mestalla looks very slim. Also, the club has to pay €65mil to the banks at the end of the season. The current need for cash injection has caused many to suggest the club should sell its prized assets but that option will fail to remedy the club’s current situation. Valencia could sell David Villa for €50mil and David Silva for €25mil if it had manageable debt, but the club is over €750mil in debt and thus it makes almost no sense for the club to sell its players since the income it would generate for its best players will do nothing to resolve its current financial crisis.


The current situation at Valencia is grimmer than ever. Players haven’t been paid for over two months, the club has crashed out of the UEFA cup and the team has had one win in its last nine games. Several players have begun to question their future at the club as they fear the club will be forced to go into administration, thus they would not receive owed salaries. Several attempts by current president Vicente Soriano to remedy the situation by borrowing more money from banks and investors have failed so far. As the end of the season draws closer, fans are becoming increasingly worried that the situation at Valencia might turn into their worst nightmare.

Ladies and gentlemen, Valencia CF just might become a distant memory.

(Article published on SnippetSoccer on Mar 4, 2009)