Valencia’s return

I have been happy to see Valencia back where they belong, namely among the top of the Spanish league. After some hapless years with a stream of managers and players who did not perform, things seem to have stabilized under manager Marcelino, and three of the new players are surely becoming the revelation signings of the season: Goncalo Guedes is on loan from PSG, where he has no chance of replacing Neymar. But he is a talented youngster who has flowered in Valencia, and is now surely eyed by the biggest clubs in Europe.
Geoffrey Kondogbia was considered a huge talent when he started, but he faded a bit during his time at Inter, and was surely hoping to get attention again. And he certainly has: he fit perfectly into the Valencia midfield, where he has turned into a dynamo of energy, with running and tackes, as well as a fantastic overview of the field. Also on loan from Inter, they may look to get him back next season.
The Italian striker Simone Zaza was on loan from West Ham last season, and although he did not overly impress Valencia used the buy-out clause. This has proven to be very wise: with nine goals he is currently second, only to Lionel Messi, on the Spanish top scoring list, and looks highly motivated to give many more goals.
While these three players have stood out as new players, others, such as Jose Gaya, Rodrigo and Dani Parejo are also flourishing, and I just hope Valencia is able to keep onto all these players for the next few seasons at least.
Today Valencia, second in the league, played the league leaders FC Barcelona in what was a true test on whether Valencia are in the right direction. After a difficult first half (where Messi had a correct goal annulled, strengthening the call for video referees, something I have always thought was necessary) they put better pressure on the Catalonians in the second half, and even went ahead 1-0 on a goal by Rodrigo, following good combinations of the left side, where Guedes was giving Umtiti problems throughout the second half.
But Jordi Alba managed to equalize for Barcelona following a fantastic pass from Lionel Messi, and the match ended 1-1 despite Valencia getting close to scoring a second in the end. While this does not change the positions at the top of the league, there can be no doubt that Valencia intends to fight for the top, and maybe, probably too much to hope for, even a title....
Let us dream!

Valencia's transformation

It has not been easy to be a fan of Valencia over the last 10 years. In 2004 the club won the UEFA Cup and the League, but since then the team has been in huge financial troubles and besides a Copa del Rey title in 2008, has not been part of any European elite. Whenever there have been great players, these have been sold to some of the big teams of Europe to cover the mounting losses: David Silva, Juan Mata, David Villa, Raul Albiol, Roberto Soldado... they have all gone.
But times may be changing.
In May the Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim bought the majority stakes in the club, and he has brought in a long list of new players for the new season. Firstly, they have contracted some exciting new players: Rodrigo de Paul, an interesting 20-year old Argentine from Racing; Lucas Orban, another Argentine defender from Bordeaux, and Nicolas Otamendi from Oporto, an Argentine player who was highly sought in the market. Additionally, they got the young German world champion Shkodran Mustafi from Sampdoria and the young Portuguese defender Ruben Vezo from Vitoria Setubal.
But Valencia has also been out borrowing players: from Rio Ave the Brazilian defender Filipe August, and from Benfica the two exciting young attackers Andre Gomes and Rodrigo. After only five games both players have already scored goals, and both are on the verge of entering their respective national teams (Portugal and Spain).
Valencia has also borrowed two players from Manchester City: Alvaro Negredo and Bruno Zuculini. Negredo is still to make his debut, and the young strikers will surely not make it easy for him.
The most exciting young striker of Valencia is 21-year old Paco Alcacer, educated in Valencia's own ranks. He made his national team debut in August, and has a great career ahead of him.
Valencia's integration of its young players has been great this season: Antonio Barragan, Carles Gil and Jose Gaya are all from its own ranks.
Many big clubs have already had their eyes opened on the young defender Jose Gaya, but the great thing for many Valencia fans is that the club may now be able to hold on to its players. All the new blood is already making an impact, but Valencia was able to keep some of the most important players from last season, most notably Pablo Piatti, Dani Parejo, and Sofiane Feghouli, who after a great world cup with Algeria, was a highly coveted man!
After defeating Cordoba 3-0 Valencia is leading the Spanish league ahead of Barcelona, on goal difference. Of course, there is a long way to go, and Valencia are not really candidates for the title. That said, Valencia has announced its intention to return among the top of Europe, and with the young team at their disposal, will certainly be a force to be dealt with.

The curse lives

In 1961 and 1962 the legendary Hungarian coach Bela Guttmann led Benfica to two European Cup triumphs. Following the second victory, over Real Madrid, he left the club in a dispute over salary. When leaving he said that Benfica would not win a European title in one hundred years. Since then, Benfica have lost European finals in 1963 (AC Milan), 1965 (Inter), 1968 (Manchester United), 1983 (Anderlecht), 1988 (PSV Eindhoven), 1990 (AC Milan) and 2013 (Chelsea). Tonight was their eighth try as they entered the Europa League final against Sevilla.
It was a very tactical game, but Benfica surely had the best chances to score during the match, but continuously hit a wall of Sevilla players and the goalkeeper Beto. In the end it all went to penalty kicks, and this is where the curse may really have kicked in: Oscar Cardozo and Rodrigo looked more like little children with very weak penalty kicks that Beto easily saved. It was enough to give Sevilla a 4-2 victory.
Everyone cried: Benfica fans in desperation and Sevilla fans of joy.
The late Eusebio, who was brought to Benfica by Bela Guttmann, famously prayed at Bela Guttmann's grave to lift the curse, but this has not happened. The curse lives on, and maybe Benfica will have to wait to 2062 before they can win a European title again...