Is there a way out for Valencia this time?
Has Valencia finally run out of answers?
Founded in 1919, more than a century ago, Valencia gained promotion to the Primera División for the first time in 1931. They went on to establish themselves as a major force not just within Spain, but on the international front as well. Twice winners of the UEFA Super Cup, they also claimed the UEFA Europa League in 2004 to add to their 1980 success in the now defunct European Cup Winners’ Cup. Furthermore, that famous Los Ches side guided by Argentine tactician Héctor Cúper came so close to UEFA Champions League glory only to finish as runners-up twice in a row at the dawn of the millennium.
With their record of achievements also featuring the 1999 Supercopa and eight Copa del Rey trophies, Valencia have been crowned Spanish champions six times, most recently in 2004. And although the club has arguably seen better days, they can still boast to have only been relegated once in 93 years.
Decline under Lim
In fact, it would be almost unthinkable to include the words “Valencia” and “relegation” in the same sentence up until almost a decade ago. Since Peter Lim bought a club already in financial turmoil in December 2014, Valencia’s situation has worsened instead of improving. Yes, they won the Copa del Rey in 2019, but they have only featured in European competition a mere three times throughout this past decade (most recently in the ’19-’20 Champions League). And indeed they have ended up in the wrong half of the La Liga table another four times during Lim’s reign.
Three wins in a row in April, including a famous 2-1 at Barcelona, kept Valencia six points above the drop zone in 2016. They finished 12th again the season after that, 13th in the ’20-’21 campaign and only avoided going down by two points in 2023, largely thanks to a 1-0 downing of Real Madrid at the end of May.
Selling, not investing
There are reasons of course behind the decline. Despite the occasional investment, mostly during his first years in charge, Valencia’s transfer balance under Lim shows that they’ve only spent 21.75 million euros more on buying players compared to earnings from selling. And the list of talent to have fled Los Ches in the past 10 years is extensive, including the likes of Nicolás Otamendi, André Gomes, João Cancelo, Ferran Torres, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Gonçalo Guedes, Carlos Soler and most recently Giorgi Mamardashvili, who’s already been sold to Liverpool for 30 million euros.
With the best players leaving, it’s almost impossible for coaches to deliver. One of the reasons why new boss Carlos Corberán is the eleventh head coach hired by Lim during his term – not counting club legend Voro, who’s stood in no fewer than six times since 2015!
Can they beat the drop?
So, are Valencia doomed?
Not necessarily, although they will have to exceed expectations. Besides Mamardashvili, one of the world’s top goalkeepers, Corberán still has players he may count on to drag the team out of it. Captain José Gayà, Hugo Duro, Diego López, Pepelu and Luis Rioja, to name but a few. Starting with this weekend’s clash against Celta, Los Ches have ten of their remaining 18 matches at home, with Espanyol, Leganés and Getafe all cited as must-win games. The downside is that two of their three final away matches of La Liga are also against direct rivals in the fight for survival: Las Palmas and Alavés.
In 1986, the year of their only relegation to date, Valencia went down fighting, winning three of their last four matches including a 1-0 final day victory over Cádiz, who survived only by a point. Loved by millions, the current Los Ches owe it to their fans to at least show the same spirit again. And then, who knows? Anything is possible in football.
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