Valencia Are Finally Realising Their Massive Potential

Valencia Are Finally Realising Their Massive Potential
16:09, 26 Sep 2017

Valencia know a thing or two about false dawns. So much so, it feels as though there is a permanent one hanging over the Spanish coastal city at times. It doesn’t just concern the football team too.

Some say the Spanish financial crisis began in Valencia, and it’s hard to disagree that. As you head out of the Old Town towards the port, you come to the City of Arts and Sciences. It was a project supposedly set to cost 300m which turned into 1.3bn. It’s not the only thing. A disused Formula One track still engulfs the city, abandoned after five races, it was another thing filled with promise. The astronomical overspending still haunts the city today, and in it, the football team too.

Valencia’s got their own relic. A new stadium, simply known as Nou Mestalla, is rotting away in the north west of the city. Work commenced in 2007 but was soon shelved as the club became the wrong sort of symbol for the city. The costs were untenable at the time, in regards to construction and land, but the project still got the green light. Such was the culture of ignorance and greed at the time.

As a city, Valencia had to swallow some of its pride after the financial crisis. The club, knee deep in one of their own, also had to take a step back. For many Valencia fans it was hard to take after being used to years of glory. Downsizing was not supposed to happen at their club. It did however and the club became known for its debts, and asset stripping. Stars were sold before they barely kicked a ball for the club, the youth academy continued to be pillaged and there was no David Albelda or Ruben Baraja type figure to get the blood pumping in the creaking stands of Mestalla.

Now, for the first time in a long time however the veins of the fans are throbbing again, and the heart is beating as rapid as the counter attacks Valencia roll with. The false dawn engulfing Mestalla has seemingly been replaced by a bright sunshine. There is a feeling, and you may whisper it, that Valencia may be for real this time. A breathtaking start to the season has seen Valencia remain unbeaten in six games, smashing in 12 goals and conceding just the 5. This includes a visit to the Bernabeu in which they won a point, and holding Atletico Madrid to a draw at Mestalla. On Sunday, against an exciting, young Real Sociedad, they won at Anoeta for the first time since 2010.

Not only are Valencia bringing in the points, but they are doing so with a clear style. Defensively they seem more secure than ever, with Marcelino very much aligning by the old cliche of building from the back. When they do move up the field they do so with clarity and speed. Several speedsters were brought to the club, and the idea is make sure these players receive the ball early so they can break at a rapid rate. Two of the goals against Real Sociedad came from vicious counter attacking moves, as on-loan PSG outcast Goncalo Guedes went through the gears to deliver telling blows including an assist for the winner.

The cantera continues to blossom too, and while whispers of exits persists for the brightest in-house talents for now they are delivering the goods for Valencia. Toni Lato, Nacho Vidal and Carlos Soler are all boyhood fans now in the team, and every time they produce on the field a picture is thrown up on social media of one of them in a baggy, classic Valencia shirt. There is a desire to reaffirm they are Valencia products, and not of la Masia or la Fabrica. Soler, perhaps the brightest of them all, has been a season ticket holder all his life and his parents go to every game.

Beyond the results however, there is an identity being restored. One of Valencia not backing down to anyone, or having a crisis of confidence. Valencia are a big club, but in between telling themselves they are, there have not been many indications they truly believed it. Marcelino’s idea is to help them find that faith, and thus far his players are all pulling in the right direction. Diego Simeone is often praised for bringing trophies to Atletico Madrid after a barren spell, but it’s the identity of the club which changed under his guidance, that is the greatest achievement.

This is what Marcelino’s striving for at Valencia. Bit by bit, it might rub off on the city too. That’s not to say the 52-year-old can save this city still suffering, and haunted by the ghosts of its past that wander the streets. But if he can have some sort of positive impact long-term, it might help shed the tag of failure, and false hope. Valencia might well have something to be proud of again, and while the shadows loom long from the abandoned building projects there is still room for the sun to shine on this not once great, but still great, club.

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