Valencia CF

Valencia CF and FC BATE Borisov will face each other at the Estadio de Mestalla in Spain. This will be the second encounter between the top two teams of the 2012-13 Group F UEFA Champions League (UCL) season.

What will transpire between the two teams? A review of the team is needed before predicting the outcome.

Valencia CF

Valencia started the Group F UCL campaign with a loss to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. The team learned from its defeat and prepared for its next two matches.

The Blanquinegros went on to defeat Lille and BATE Borisov, home and away respectively. The two goals from Jonas were decisive in the 2-0 victory against Lille.

In a tough encounter with BATE Borisov in Belarus, Valencia prevailed with three electrifying goals by Roberto Soldado in a 3-0 win. Soldado's first goal was a penalty kick on the stroke of halftime, before the former Real Madrid man struck twice more in the second half.

Valencia CF is currently No. 10 in the 2012-13 UEFA Ranking system.

FC BATE Borisov

FC BATE Borisov took the UCL by storm this year, defeating Bayern Munich in Belarus. They were able to accomplish this feat despite 62 percent possession for Bayern.

The goals by Aleksandr Pavlov, Vitali Rodionov, and Renan Bressan were instrumental in the shock victory against the Bundesliga giants. While BATE Borisov defeated Lille in its first match, no comparison can be made with the victory against Bayern Munich.

BATE Borisov were left empty-handed by Valencia in Minsk because of Soldado. FC BATE Borisov is currently No. 56 in the 2012-13 UEFA Ranking system.

2012-13 Group F UEFA Champions League Ranking

Valencia, BATE Borisov, and Bayern Munich each have six points in the group, while Lille are winless. The goal differentials for each team are the following: Valencia (plus-4), BATE Borisov (plus-1), Bayern Munich (0) and Lille (minus-5).

Conclusion and Prediction

BATE Borisov will attempt to avenge its previous defeat to Valencia in this match, while the Spanish club will try to advance to the next round by defeating their Belarusian counterparts.

Both teams cannot afford to make mistakes in this crucial UCL match. It is expected to be a tough battle, with my predicted score at Estadio de Mestalla:

FC BATE Borisov 2-3 Valencia CF

The UEFA Champions League (UCL) Group F match between Valencia CF and FC Bayern Munich was a disaster for Los Blanquinegros. Valencia CF lost to Bayern Munich and they made mistakes during the match.

The next match for Los Blanquinegros will be against LOSC Lille. The venue will be at the Estadio Mestalla in Valencia, Spain.

What must Los Blanquinegros do to defeat LOSC Lille when they meet on October 2, 2012? They can discard the tactics and attitudes present in their first UCL match.

Valencia CF has to effect change as soon as possible. According to the UCL Group F Table referenced from ESPN Soccernet, Valencia CF is in third place behind BATE Borisov and Bayern Munich.

The purpose of this article is to explain the mistakes made by Los Blanquinegros. This will be followed by how the team must deal with them.

Fear and Respect

Mauricio Pellegrino, Valencia CF manager ,admitted that his team had "fear and respect" for Bayern Munich. Jupp Heynckes, the Bayern Munich manager expressed in Goal that the team was confident before the match started.

Bayern Munich was the favorite in the match but Valencia lost the game before it started. When a team fears and respects its opponent, the match is over.

In the match against LOSC and future opponents, Valencia should participate with a desire to win. At the same time, there should be respect without fear of the opposing team.

Sir Steve Redgrave summed self confidence as "the iron in the mind" in an article in The Telegraph.

Concentration

It is uncertain if Valencia CF was paying attention to the match. According to Heynckes, Bayern Munich lacked concentration in the second half.

Valencia CF must remain focused when they play future matches in the UCL. The team whose players concentrate more is more likely to win the majority of its matches.

Activity In Field

Diego Alves was a great goalkeeper but was unable to block Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos from scoring. Adil Rami was expelled for his foul against Arjen Robben of Bayern Munich.

The Valencia CF offense was not organized and Bayern Munich took advantage to possess and score. Valencia CF will have to reinforce its offense, defense and midfield in order to play effectively.

Valencia CF will also have to be consistent in the field and assist Diego Alves.

Conclusion

If Valencia CF wants to be taken seriously in the UCL, it has to play without conceding possession. I would like to see what will happen when Valencia meets LOSC.

Group play in the 2012 Champions League features Valencia and numerous other teams that bowed out in the same stage last season. There are also several teams that made it into the quarterfinals and beyond, including Bayern Munich who lost to Chelsea in the final.

Aside from Valencia, the squads in the former bracket include Shakhtar Donetsk, Ajax Amsterdam, FC Porto and Manchester United, among others. They would love nothing more than to assert themselves beyond where they fell last year.

Man U is a prime example of a proud historical franchise craving an opportunity to showcase its might at least into the Round of 16.

In general, the teams that lost in 2011 group play cannot afford a slow start again this year. It would reflect quite badly on the strength of these franchises moving forward, not to mention helping facilitate a similar fate as last year.

With that in mind, let’s highlight five specific clubs who fall into that category.

Valencia

Here’s one squad who is looking to avoid a repeat Champions League performance.

Valencia played in Group E in 2011 and became a casualty in its final match of the round.

It opened group play by drawing 0-0 with Racing Genk, then splitting its home-and-away with Bayer Leverkusen. Los Che also drew even with Chelsea 1-1 and crushed their former Belgian opponent 7-nil.

But Valencia found itself in enemy territory for a deciding match with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Both clubs accumulated eight points. Bayer Leverkusen was already in with nine. Whichever team earned the victory would advance alongside the German squad.

Unfortunately for the Spanish giant, it was a day for Didier Drogba and Peter Cech, as the attacking forward and goalkeeper fueled the Blues victory.

Now in the current Champions League season, Valencia is once again looking out from underneath. It suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of German juggernaut Bayern Munich. Los Che mustered just five shots in a lopsided affair which the score did not necessarily indicate.

Playing last year’s finalist or not, this was an awfully slow a start for the La Liga members.

The next match in the confines of Estadio Mestalla against Lille could not come soon enough.

Manchester City

Manchester City was one of the four teams comprising Group A in 2011.

It compiled a record of 3-1-2, with its 10 points falling just one behind Napoli and three fewer than runner-up Bayern Munich, falling far short of the Round of 16.

This year, Man City finds itself in Group D with Borussia Dortmund, Ajax Amsterdam and Real Madrid. The Spanish powerhouse advanced to the semifinals last year and recently took down City 3-2 in its opening match on Tuesday as Cristiano Ronaldo scored the heartbreaking game-winner in the 90th minute.

After falling into that unfortunate position, Man City must right the ship Wednesday, Oct. 3 against Borussia Dortmund.

The German club took down Ajax Amsterdam 1-0 on Tuesday.

Roberto Mancini’s team will look to match its Champions League play with that of its Premier League standing on the back of Carlos Tevez and other Man City front men.

Olympiakos

Olympiakos also did not fare well in its opening match of 2012.

The Greek club lost to Schalke 04 by the score of 1-2 when Klaas-Jan Huntelaar knocked in a goal just one minute after Djamel Abdoun tied it up.

Belonging to Group B this year, Olympiakos fell into Group F in 2011 with Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Marseilles.

It finds itself in the same group as Marseilles and Arsenal for the second year in a row. The Reds travel to the Emirates Stadium next Wednesday.

This team cannot afford a déjà vu experience of last season when it fell just two points behind Arsenal for a chance to advance, which was all the more gut wrenching because Olympiakos handled the Gunners 3-1 in its home matchup.

Based off its closely fought match on Tuesday, it should find ample momentum heading into next week.

Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson’s club sits one point behind Chelsea in the Premier League standings. He’d really like to replicate that success in this year’s Champions League to erase the embarrassing memories of last season’s performance.

Manchester United won its only two matches against a lowly Otelul Galati squad that went 0-6 in group play. It couldn’t seal the deal three other times in draws to Benfica (twice) and FC Basel, its remaining Group C foes. What’s worse, the Red Devils had a chance to move on, but fell 2-1 to FCB in its final match.

Man U landed in Group H in 2012 with Galatasaray, Braga and CFR Cluj-Napoca.

It certainly got off to the start it wanted with a 1-nil defeat of Galatasaray at Old Trafford. Michael Carrick scored within the opening 10 minutes for the game’s only goal.

The Red Devils next match is on Tuesday, Oct. 2 against their Romanian group mates. Expect a much more resounding victory from Robin Van Persie and Co.—at least more so than the 1-0 variety.

Ajax Amsterdam

This powerful Dutch force of years past fell into a slight hole after its first group match in the 2012 Champions League.

Ajax lost to Borussia Dortmund in shutout fashion (1-0). This came courtesy of Robert Lewandowski’s goal in the 87th minute and goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller’s stifling efforts.

Last season, AFC Ajax experienced some curious and unfortunate developments in Group D.

It dominated Dinamo Zagreb 6-0 through two games. Yet, it played to two nil-nil draws against Lyon and was shutout 3-0 twice by Real Madrid.

Besides seemingly enjoying duplicate scores, it could not produce near the consistent scoring necessary to advance. Both Ajax and Lyon accrued eight points, but the former scored just six goals to the latter’s nine.

Moving forward to 2012, Ajax must regroup against its nemesis Real Madrid.

These boys must overcome their awful lack-thereof scoring tendencies if they want to avoid succumbing to the Spanish club that knocked them out the year prior.

They’ll have a chance to accomplish that on their home turf next Wednesday.

Follow on Twitter @jlevitt16

Valencia CF is the latest La Liga BBVA Team of the Week.

The reasons?

Recent events placing the club in the spotlight and its rich history.

UEFA Champions League

Valencia CF will face FC Bayern Munich in their Group F UEFA Champions League (UCL) match this week. The teams will be facing each other at the Fussball Arena in Munich, Germany. According to the UEFA webpage, this is the first match between the two teams since 2001. The last encounter resulted in a victory for Bayern Munich on the result of penalties.

FC Bate Borisov, LOSC Lille, Valencia CF, and FC Bayern Munich form part of Group F UCL.

The UCL is not the only reason for Valencia CF being La Liga BBVA Team of the week.

Roberto Soldado

Roberto Soldado is a striker for Valencia CF and the Spanish National Football Team. Soldado was the only scorer in the 2014 World Cup Qualifying match against Georgia.

The match between Georgia and Spain was not easy for the latter, as the Georgian goalkeepers, Giorgi Loria and Roin Kvashvadze, had much success in deflecting scoring attempts by Spain. 

Soldado eventually scored for Spain in the 86th minute of the match, as he received assistance from Cesc Fabregas, who is a midfielder for Spain.

History of Valencia CF

Valencia CF (also known as the Blanquinegros or Black and White) was founded in 1919 in a bar located in Calle Barcelona—one of the main streets in Valencia, Spain.

According to UEFA, the purpose was for a group of football supporters to find a replacement for a previous club. The first match for this club occurred in the same year.

The Valencian Gimnastico club were Los Blanquinegros' first rivals, and the match took place in a town called Castellon. The result was a victory for Valencia CF in its debut.

The club initially played in Algiros before moving to their current location in Mestalla. In 1923, Valencia CF became part of the Copa Del Rey.

Valencia CF enjoyed a meteoric rise and an eventual promotion in La Liga. The Spanish Civil War in the 1930's briefly interrupted the club's activity, however.

The club enjoyed a golden era in the 1940's with Luis Casanova as president, as Valencia CF was the winner of the La Liga tournaments three times during that decade.

Valencia CF savored victory by winning the Spanish Cup two times within the 1940's. After the 1940's, Valencia CF waited until the 1970's to savor triumph with Mario Kempes and Alfredo Di Stefano.

The beginning of the 21st Century heralded another era for Valencia. Los Blanquinegros won the UEFA Intertoto Cup, Europa League, Super Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

In Spanish Football, Valencia won La Liga, the Copa Del Rey and the Spanish Cup.

The club is currently ranked 10th in the 2012-2013 UEFA Ranking.

Valencia is currently in 17th place with two points in the 2012-2013 La Liga Tables.

Conclusion

Valencia deserves more than just being named La Liga BBVA Team of the Week. The club deserves publicity and support in its UCL match against Bayern Munich.

I would like to thank the B/R readers for their time reading about Valencia.

My best wishes for all of you, until next time.

It must be difficult for Valencia fans to come to terms with the fact that they've hit a glass ceiling in La Liga. At this stage the only way is down, but are they good enough to finish in a much-needed Champions League spot once again this season?

The financial woes at Malaga would have been a huge relief to those at Valencia. This summer marked a huge swing in the fortunes of the Andalusian club, but before it seemed that we were witnessing the makings of another big power in Spanish football. The question, of course, was which of the other clubs in Spain would be sacrificed?

Valencia are a strange club to deal with at the moment. They've recently parted with a manager who took them to three third place finishes in the league, and from the outside, it seemed like Unai Emery could do no wrong.

But the feelings inside the Mestalla were greatly contrasting from what we were seeing as outsiders. The club's supporters were and continue to be frustrated more than anything. There is surely an understanding that very few, if any club, can consistently challenge Real Madrid and Barcelona, but they wanted to see their club do a little more.

Emery's tactical choices were not greeted warmly by the fans, and it seemed like the only logical conclusion to the story was that the manager would leave the club.

Now it's down to Mauricio Pellegrino to reach third place for the club again, yet also build a little more on previous points totals.

The club have done well to land talented youngster Sergio Canales from Real Madrid permanently, and the midfielder will be hoping to put his injury troubles of last year behind him.

Alongside Canales comes Fernando Gago, who was on loan at Roma from Real Madrid last season. The Argentine is a midfielder that doesn't necessarily fit the description of what the club really needed—a powerful holding midfielder in the centre of the park—but he is a good player whose technical ability should help him slot into the Valencia team.

Valencia, like many of the "other" clubs in Spain, are a selling club. They've just lost Jordi Alba to Barcelona, Mehmet Topal to Fenerbahce and Aritz Aduriz to Athletic Bilbao. Their biggest need, again like many, will be to stay afloat and continue work on the Nou Mestalla. But they will be very much looking over their shoulder as the season progresses.

Again, Malaga seem to be out of the picture, but Atletico Madrid will be keen to build on their European success of last season. In Falcao, they have one of the best forwards in Europe, let alone in Spain, and with Diego Simeone starting the season at the club, they will push for a top four place.

The worry for Valencia is how they will deal with injuries to key players and where the goals will come from besides Roberto Soldado. The money isn't there to go and buy a player like Falcao, but instead the club have done well to land winger Andres Guardado on a free transfer.

The new manager will need to gain a some consistency early and treat the fans to something a little more ambitious on the pitch. The supporters will want to be entertained, but there will be pressure on the inexperienced Pellegrino.

It's a shame that the club couldn't land someone like Rafa Benitez, as it would have given them a much stronger foundation. Again, the fans may not be too keen on some of Benitez's tactical ideas, but he did extremely well at Valencia prior to his move to Liverpool.

Consistency and hanging on to their star striker in Soldado will be the keys for this Valencia team. They can be beaten and overtaken by clubs like Atletico, but they have very little resources to do much better than they currently are.

Top four for Valencia certainly isn't out of the question, but nothing more. The gap between themselves and Real Madrid and Barcelona is simply too great.

Real Madrid have yet to make a major splash in this year's summer transfer window, but Wednesday saw the second Madridista leave the club for Valencia in a matter of 20 days.

Fernando Gago had already packed his bags for the Mestalla on July 19, but he has now been joined by 21-year-old Sergio Canales, who at one time was considered to be one of the brightest talents in Spanish football.

Canales had finagled a two-year loan deal at Valencia, which began during the 2011-12 season, but Real Madrid have confirmed that he has joined Los Che on a five-year deal, although Madrid did include a re-purchasing option that extends through the next two seasons.

It spoke to Canales's vast reserves of potential that in a summer when some £57 million was spent securing the arrivals of burgeoning superstars Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and Angel di Maria, it was a relatively modest fee of £5.3 million, deposited to Racing Santander, that generated some of the most buzz.

Then 19, Canales had shown dizzying skill as an attacking midfielder for Racing Santander along with the Spanish national team's youth set up.

He was included in Madrid's preseason tour of America that summer of 2010, and even opened the scoring in an Aug. 4 friendly 3-2 win over Club America in San Francisco.

But ever since those bright beginnings, Canales's career has seen its upward trend, which once looked near-exponential, begin to dip.

He found the Madrid first-team midfield almost impossible to crack during his debut season and only managed 11 appearances for Valencia last season while fighting off injuries.

This permanent transfer is a good start—it spoke to Valencia manager Mauricio Pellegrino's confidence in his young charge that Canales featured in heated Champions League matches against the likes of Chelsea last season.

A chance will be awaiting him when the new La Liga season begins at the end of this month. If he is to revamp his career, Valencia looks like the optimal setting.

Major League Soccer clubs Houston Dynamo and Portland Timbers have announced they will be hosting La Liga's side Valencia FC in a pair of friendlies set in May.

The historic Spanish club will first travel to the Pacific Northwest to the intimidating confines of JELD-WEN Field to take on the Portland Timbers on May 23. 

Eight days later, on May 31, Houston will host Valencia in its new BBVA Compass Stadium, which is set to open May 12th.

The bout between Houston and Valencia will be part of the BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup, which will be entering its fourth edition. 

“We are honored and privileged to be hosting such a prominent international soccer club in Valencia,” said Dynamo president Chris Canetti in a press release. “Their participation in this match helps bring major credibility to the tradition we are building in this event. We expect that the local soccer community will come out in strong support of this match, the first of its kind in our new stadium."

This announcement by Houston and Portland continues the tradition over the last few years of MLS squads welcoming European teams to the U.S. during the later Spring and Summer months for a string of friendly matches.