The continuing Valencia crisis

I had really hoped that the arrival of Cesare Prandelli as Valencia manager would change things for the (now tiny) Spanish giants. But I was wrong, after only three months in charge, and only one league victory, Cesare Prandelli has resigned in a way that has to make Valencia fans wonder if the problem with the club is the managers (there have been nine managers since 2012) or something more systemic.
Mr. Prandelli's qualities as a manager cannot be doubted, and he is just one among many successful managers who have left Valencia without success. So what is wrong with Valencia? Is it a management who thinks more of numbers than about football? Is it players who have no commitment for the club? Is it fans who are not supportive enough of young talented players?
Or is it rather a combination?
Truth is that Valencia, who ten years ago was among the great clubs in Europe, is now nothing more than a mediocre club that fights to avoid relegation. And as a fan of Valencia, it hurts to realize this.

The new face of Valencia (hopefully)

I have always been an admirer of Cesare Prandelli: as Fiorentina manager he made them play good football, and also as Italy manager, he created a much more see-worthy Italian side, playing passing and pressing football, than at any time in Italian football history.
So it is with great happiness and expectations that I see him appointed as Valencia manager. That said, being Valencia manager is no easy task from a club whose fans and management have always been too demanding and too easily have fired managers who have gone to great success in other clubs. I certainly hope Cesare Prandelli will not be the same, and he has started positively, with defeat to Atletico Madrid, a victory over Sporting Gijon, and last Saturday a 2-3 defeat to mighty FC Barcelona, whom Prandelli's Valencia did not make so mighty. FC Barcelona had to win on a late penalty by Lionel Messi and some help from a hapless referee. But positively for Valencia it may look like good things ahead under Prandelli!

The good, the bad and the surprise

Jose Pekerman had his debut as Colombian coach with a good 0-2 away victory against Mexico in a friendly match yesterday. Colombia seemed to play with more discipline and were cool-headed in the most difficult situations, taking advantage of their stars, who played with heart, perhaps wanting to prove to the new coach what they were worth. They also took advantage of their strong striking power with goals by Atletico Madrid's Radamel Falcao and Lecce's Juan Guillermo Cuadrado.
Undoubtedly this victory will give Colombia an important boost of confidence as they begin a new interesting era under Pekerman.
Colombia were good last night!

Venezuela has over the last year had one of its best footballing periods ever, and in my view, it started with a match last June against Spain in Puerto la Cruz. In spite of the 0-3 defeat, Venezuela played a good match against the defending world champions, and when they corrected the silly mistakes that gave Spain the victory, Venezuela went on to surprise everyone at the Copa America, making it to their first semifinal ever. Since, they have also started the South American world cup qualifiers, giving the few Venezuelans justified hope that they can make it to Brazil in 2014.
They will not make it, nor will they be missed, if they play like they did last night against Spain. Spain won 5-0, without a sweat, with three goals by Roberto Soldado, who even missed a penalty! Venezuela was bad, in particular in defense, where they made basic mistakes and were continually outrun made to look by clowns on the flanks. If a match against the world champions cannot motivate a team, then nothing can, and I doubt after last night that Venezuela has the edge that will be necessary to take them to Brazil.
Venezuela were bad last night.

Jurgen Klinsmann is one of the most exciting, yet debatable, coaches in international football, and after he was made coach of the USA, with full control of all teams, many have wondered whether he was the right man to take the USA, with its enormous potential, to the next level of international football. Klinsmann did not start well, but the team has been getting steadily better as Klinsmann finds the right players. In January, I watched USA versus Venezuela, and found the way Klinsmann was trying to play quite intelligent and refreshing. Last night, Klinsmann played a friendly match against the four-times World Champions from Italy in Genoa, and Klinsmann got his first big scalp as USA coach; USA defeated Italy, 0-1 on a goal by Fulham's Clint Dempsey. Although one may say that Italy's coach, Cesare Prandelli, made a lot of experiments, one should not take away this historical result, the first time ever the USA has defeated Italy!
It will continue to be very exciting to follow Klinsmann in the USA.
USA's victory was the surprise.