Global, La Liga

Unpopular he may have been, undesirable definitely not. Valencia’s former coach Quique Sanchez Flores is sitting with his feet up at home with a smug look upon his face as he observes from afar the turmoil engulfing his former employers.

Flores’s successor, Ronald Koeman, was not the name Valencia fans had on their lips after the club promised a high-profile coach to elevate Los Che into a title challenge. José Mourinho was out of a job but rejected their advances, Marcello Lippi followed suit and, unsurprisingly, with October not yet over, there were few big names looking for a job.

Koeman arrived with a mixed track record. At only 44, he has already taken charge of Ajax, Benfica and PSV Eindhoven with varying degrees of success. The Dutchman began triumphantly at Ajax, winning the double in 2001/2 but trophies soon dried up and he resigned in 2005. In Portugal, Koeman could only lead Benfica to third in the Liga and he lasted just one full season before agreeing to leave with a year remaining on his contract. A return to Holland proved fruitful with an incredible – and perhaps unmerited – title success with PSV on goal difference along with a quarter-final appearance in the Champions League. This was enough to persuade Valencia to approach him, but his first six weeks in the job have proved a long way from the highs of the previous season.

Many would argue the Portuguese Liga is stronger than the Eredivisie, and Koeman’s failure at the former perhaps should have triggered alarm bells at the 2004 La Liga winners. Koeman’s honeymoon period was noticeable by its absence, and his players have fallen into a lull following Flores’s departure. They lack in direction and motivation and the latest coach has so far been unsuccessful in attempting to transform Valencia’s ominous-looking season.

Undoubtedly, the bad atmosphere born from last season’s frustrations at the lack of silverware or title challenge had lingered throughout the summer and into the new campaign, leaving Flores on a ticking time bomb. The president was ready to detonate at the first available moment, and after seven straight victories were followed by four defeats in five matches, the inevitable happened.

Between Flores’s exit and Koeman’s appointment, Valencia stunningly lost 5-1 at home to Real Madrid, a defeat that rocked the city and demonstrated just how far the club had fallen in barely three years. The Mestalla, up until the current campaign, has been a sweet home, with Valencia boasting an enviable record both domestically and in European competition. No longer.

The sour atmosphere has intimidated the players, who have openly spoken of the ‘difficult’ environment and even intimated that playing at the Mestalla is scarcely preferable to playing in away matches. The often vicious supporters have already witnessed six defeats at the grand but elderly stadium, with only four victories registered on home turf, and after being embarrassingly turned over by Rosenborg twice, the club are facing up to the prospect of no European football at all at the turn of the year.

Valencia must hope for a minor miracle just to make it into the Uefa Cup, and cannot make the knockout stages of the Champions League. However, it will allow Koeman and his squad to focus fully on the league, and more crucially reorganising and regrouping in the midst of an unresolved crisis.

Six games under the former Barcelona defender have yielded only two wins, and none of the performances have convinced anybody that Valencia will still be near the top come the final reckonings next May. A 2-0 defeat to Rosenborg at the Mestalla and most recently a 3-0 reverse, also at home, to mid-table Athletic Bilbao have left all wondering where it went so very wrong.

Questions are already being asked about Koeman’s suitability for such a leading job and the future of Valencia’s star man, David Villa, is in the balance. He previously warned that only trophies would prevent him joining another, more successful club, but the current turmoil has left him deeply unimpressed and silverware is some way off. In an interview with Soccernet, Villa was typically guarded against courting controversy, “I don’t know why the club decided to change coach and it doesn’t interest me. I will do what Koeman tells me; he has been good much like my previous coaches.”

Major clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid are all keen on El Guaje, and a move next summer looks increasingly probable. Tottenham are also in the mix with Villa’s agent, Jose Luis Tamargo, claiming, “Many clubs have contacted me to ask about the chances of a player who is guaranteed to score goals in England. But I am convinced if Spurs present an offer Valencia will study the subject.” The Spaniard is likely to fetch in the region of £25m, but his fantastic goals and assists tally vindicates such an investment.

Valencia lie in sixth place, already eight points behind leaders Real Madrid. From this tumultuous season, a top four finish and a little more harmony would prove a major result for Koeman. European football is off the agenda for the rest of the campaign and Los Che’s shock exit might be the catalyst for an end to the unrest and instability and, eventually, a return to the heady heights of 2004 when Valencia claimed both La Liga and the Uefa Cup.

Koeman must demonstrate that he has the ability to coach a club with grand ambitions like Valencia, in the biggest test of his youthful managerial career. He will be given until the end of the season at least, though if things remain as they are and a revolution is not impending come the summer, there is little doubt the impulsive and intolerant board will once again go in search of a new coach.

They hope for one who can bring in silverware, but that’s looking like an impossible task with the politics and in-fighting that dominate the headquarters in Paterna. Quique Sanchez Flores’s efforts during his two years in charge look more of an achievement with each week that passes.

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