Good draws against Barca and Madrid mate
Santiago Cañizares - A Managerial Journey
Rescuing Roma
September 2014
Fixtures:
Review:
The 1st match back in the Champions League for Valencia, after an absence of one year. This was the official draw for Valencia’s CL group, a very tough group:
The team started the Champions League at home against AS Monaco, the home of former Valencia players Éver Banega and Aly Cissokho. Valencia got off to a bad start, as James Rodriguez scored a direct free kick in the 21st minute. After 27 minutes, Cerci equalised for Valencia, and it was deserved. Then, in the 95th minute, new signing Garry Mendes Rodrigues scored a dramatic winner, that could prove to be a very important goal in this group.
After that came three La Liga matches in a row, the first one was at home against Athletic. Valencia had an easy match, winning 2-0. An interesting fact is that there were 3 disallowed goals in the match, all were offside. Next up was an away match against last season’s big underperformers Sevilla, who finished 17th. Valencia did at first have a lot of trouble at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, but eventually they won 3-1, after being 1-0 behind. The last Liga BBVA match of September was at home against Real Sociedad. Valencia completely dominated the game, with 67% possession, and 21 shots. This resulted in a great 4-0 victory.
Finishing off September was a match in the Champions League, against Olympiakos. While Valencia started the confrontation with a win from their previous game, Olympiakos had lost their previous match. They played Chelsea and lost 4-0 to Mourinho’s side. And again, Olympiakos lost a match in the Champions League, as Valencia won 3-1.
Player of the Month(s):
Centre back Nicolás Otamendi has once again made a great impression, helping his team defensively and offensively (2 goals in 7 games).
Priméra Division table:
Champions League Group F:
What good month, you did very good matches, and as you started in Europe, have a good chance to finish 1-2 in the group. Good luck !
October 2014
Fixtures:
Review:
A month with 5 games, starting off with 2 Liga BBVA matches. First up was a home match against Almería, and Valencia won easily: 3-1. Another dominant performance in the next game against Osasuna ensured the second victory of October, as Valencia won 2-1.
Next up was an important match, against Chelsea at the Bridge. Cañizares’ team could go top of Group F if they won this match against Mourinho’s star team. Valencia took a quick 2-0 lead, and fans were already celebrating. But Valencia got complacent, and at half-time Costa had scored twice to make it 2-2. In the second half, Yarmolenko also scored a brace, and Valencia were 4-2 behind in the 80th minute. Adding insult to injury was Oscar’s 95th minute 5-3, which sent the fans and players of Valencia home empty handed.
In the last two matches of October, Valencia played Elche and Villarreal. The first match, away from home, was won easily against the relegation candidate: 3-1. Last match in October was against rivals Villarreal, and Valencia won easily again: 4-1. With Guardado scoring three of the four goals.
Player of the Month(s):
Mexican winger Andrés Guardado has been in terrific form , with 6 goals and 2 assists in 5 matches.
Priméra Division table:
Champions League Group F:
You're doing great mate! Keep it up like this!
November 2014
Fixtures:
Review:
Another long and hard month for Valencia, with six matches in both La Liga and the Champions League. The two matches in the Champions League were of great importance, as the team could either go top, or go third, a spot which doesn’t get you through to the knock-out stages of the most prestigious international league of Europe. Before the vital home match against Chelsea, Valencia played Rayo Vallecano at the Estadio de Vallecas, and they won 4-0 because of another Guardado hat-trick.
Next up was a very big match in the Champions League for Valencia, but they started of abysmally: Valencia were 3-0 down after 30 minutes through goals from Costa, Terry and Oscar. The 1st place was now very far away, and the 2nd place was also in danger. In the second half, Valencia started firing, and scored two goals, but they didn’t manage to grab a third, and the game ended in a win for Mourino’s men.
Between the two Champions League matches were two matches. Match one was against Espanyol, and a win was expected. But Valencia played without heart, without a real plan, and they lost with 2-0: a very valuable loss. The last match for Valencia before the vital confrontation against Monaco was an away match against Levante. And after the shock loss against Espanyol, everybody was keen on a win. Valencia played great, and won dominantly: 5-0. One goal was a great free kick by playmaker Dani Parejo.
A vital match in the Champions League: a win would mean knockout phase qualification, and a loss would mean almost certainly no Champions League football. Los Che didn’t collapse under the pressure, they even totally outplayed Monaco and won 4-0. After the match fans were ecstatic, as this victory meant that Valencia progressed to the next round of the Champions League.
The last match in October was a league match against Getafe, and a win was necessary to ensure Valencia kept their 1st spot. Cañizares’ men won 1-0, allowing Getafe only got 3 shots in total.
Player of the Month(s):
Feghouli replacement Yacini Brahimi has had a good month, getting himself 2 goals and 2 assists in 5 games.
Priméra Division table:
Champions League Group F:
Congratulations European qualification in the next act! And shame of defeat in the championship! Good luck in the draw!
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