By Matthew Day ⋅ October 1, 2007 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Champions League, Chelsea, Global, La Liga, Premier League

Quique Sánchez Flores’s Valencia job has been on the line for the last year, with constant murmurs of discontent and the failure to last in the title race edging the Spaniard closer to the edge at the Mestalla. Ultimately, Los Che finished a lowly fourth having had their Champions League ambitions ended in unsatisfactory circumstances against Chelsea at the quarter-final stage, and the season was deemed a disappointment.

Flores was in constant battle with former player and sporting director Amedeo Carboni, and it was clear one would be forced out of the club before the 2007/8 campaign could begin free of the turmoil and rifts of the previous 12 months. President Juan Bautista Soler eventually decided that Carboni would go – a minor vote of confidence for Flores, but also confirmation that another season of failure would not be welcomed nor accepted.

Entering his third season in charge Flores, who is just 42 years of age, realises that although major silverware is not an express target, challenging doughtily for La Liga and the Champions League is. The last campaign did little to suggest Valencia were even close to winning one of the two despite a talented squad, and repeating Rafael Benítez’s double success of 2004 hasn’t looked likely under Flores. And, despite the positive messages coming out of the club over the summer, which suggested the squad were united and would be seeking trophies, the 07/08 temporada began in embarrassing fashion with a 3-0 home defeat to local rivals Villarreal. David Villa and Joaquín, Valencia’s two most valuable players, were sent off and the traditional Spanish sack race might have begun within 48 hours of the season’s start.

“Valencia have, if unconvincingly, turned their fortunes around with seven consecutive victories in all competitions, all by a one goal margin”

It proved to be the proverbial kick up the backside the team needed. The pre-season talk was worthless and only actions would convince the ardent fans that the club was moving forwards, rather than the backward steps of recent months. And Valencia have, if unconvincingly, turned their fortunes around with seven consecutive victories in all competitions, all by a one goal margin. They have scored just 12 times in this unbeaten run but conceded on only five occasions, edging out vital victories as the best teams do. Just look at Manchester United’s recent form in the Premier League. Valencia now lie in third position, level on points with second-placed Villarreal and a point off Real Madrid. With Sevilla well off the pace after last year’s heroics and Barcelona yet to hit top gear, Spain’s third most popular team are most definitely in the title race.

Flores and Mourinho were compared ahead of the Champions League last-eight showdown in April: two young, good-looking, and promising coaches. The analysts handed Flores the plaudits after his side’s 1-1 draw in West London but Mourinho won the rapturous applause following a second leg victory in the Mestalla inferno. Few clubs, especially in European competition, come to the impressive arena confident of a satisfactory result and Chelsea were no exception.

Mourinho’s side were not playing well, and Valencia went in as favourites. Yet in arguably Chelsea’s most impressive performance of the entire season, the visitors recovered from a goal down at half-time to score the two goals – the second in the last minute – that they needed to progress. The home crowd were left disgruntled; the result personified Valencia’s year.

The clubs meet again, in Spain, on Wednesday night but under very different circumstances. Valencia already have the initiative in Group B having snatched a victory at Schalke on matchday one; Chelsea could only meekly draw with Rosenborg, and while one team has built up momentum, the other is lying in limbo and uncertainty. Flores experienced these sentiments when the teams met in April, but almost six months on, the tables have been turned. The ex-Getafe boss is evermore secure but his opposite number, Avram Grant, could hardly be in a more precarious position. Even at the height of his unpopularity Flores was not subjected to the kind of abuse Grant received in the dire home draw with Fulham last Saturday as Chelsea fans clamour for a Mourinho return.

“The Champions League remains elusive for such a grand club. Glory in Moscow next May would forever put doubts over coach Flores to bed and club Valencia would again be seen as one of Europe’s greatest.”

The odds on Flores outlasting Mourinho would have been very short just a few months ago, but the former won his internal political battle and therefore ensured a future for himself, something the latter didn’t manage as he caved in to Roman Abramovich’s interventions and decided no more could he last at Stamford Bridge. Despite the juxtaposing starts to the campaign, both sets of supporters – and indeed the clubs’ chairman – haven’t budged on their expectations for the next eight months. Trophies are anticipated, and the Champions League crown rises above the rest in terms of prestige. It is no secret Abramovich craves European success while Flores’s best shot at redemption might be on the continent. While Benítez won the Uefa Cup and La Liga three years ago, the Champions League remains elusive for such a grand club. Glory in Moscow next May would forever put doubts over coach Flores to bed and club Valencia would again be seen as one of Europe’s greatest.

Grant and Flores have questions persistently hanging over their future. Grant doesn’t appear to have the backing of his players and Flores has much work to carry out in spite of Valencia’s promising start to the season if the sceptics are to be persuaded. Unlike when the clubs previously met, the hosts are in a far better position than where their opponents find themselves in, but nothing has been achieved or won yet. One thing is the same however: Valencia are favourites and nothing less than a win is predicted. Can Chelsea come and spoil the party again? For Grant’s future, a polished performance and at least a point are required, but Valencia are the home side and so must seize the initiative early on in the encounter.

With Chelsea out of form and suffering from a crisis of confidence and a lack of direction or purpose, failure to take the game to the opposition and secure maximum points would leave Flores red-faced again and facing further calls for his head to be fastened onto the roof of the picturesque Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, never to be removed. Valencia’s supporters simply don’t have the time to wait for Flores to turn his promise into ability, and their restlessness is only eased with tangible progress. Beating Chelsea would be a clear indicator that the team are equipped to avenge last season’s bleak memories and lift their first trophy in four seasons.

Can Valencia avenge last season’s European exit on Wednesday? Share your views by leaving a comment below.

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