1/15/2008

Valencia Club Crisis Could Harm Spain?



Valencia is one of the high profile teams in the La Liga. So far, they have been a favourite early in the season. I still remember how they won the Spanish league and UEFA Cup three years ago when nobody thought they could do that. As one of the favourites, Valencia has always filled with talented players. Every season they present a real threat to other favorites.
This season, we see different story from the Mestalla boys. As I write this post, Valencia sits on the 7th place of the table and has been knocked out of the European Champions League. The strings of bad result is a surprising one to me. Looking at their roster, I think Valencia could do much better in all competition. 4th place on the table and playing at the 1st stage of Champions League knockout round is where they supposed to be. The fact is, they are struggling just to get into the top 4 of the La Liga.
And then came Ronald Koeman to save the day. The Dutchman replace previous manager Queque Flores who has been sacked for obvious reason, of course. So far, Koeman didn't do anything magical for Valencia. They are still struggling with unease. The latest news is Koeman dropped senior players like Santiago Canizares, David Albelda, and Miguel Angel Angulo. They have been an integral part of the team for so many years but yet, Koeman dropped them since he feels those three can't give their best to the team.
Controversy is an instant impact of this decision. Some say that Koeman is to harsh to his players while others feel that Koeman is just being overreactive. I don't want to say much about this but I believe that manager has absolute power when it comes to determining his starting eleven. Controversy is something usual in football nowadays and Koeman knows that. I think he should be given full authority regarding his team. Any decision he makes is his responsibility and time will tell about the effectiveness of it.
Valencia contributes 6 players to the national team so far. They are three players I have mentioned above plus David Villa, David Silva, and Fernando Morientes. They are good players, actually, and I always enjoy their performance in the Spanish soccer. They also would be key players for Luis Aragones. However, Aragones can be worry now. Valencia's poor performance this season could damage their players morale and if this happens, Aragones will have problems. I don't think he can afford to have six of his key players spend the rest of this season with low morale. It could affect their performance in Spain national team and, eventually, could also harm Spain's chance in the Euro 2008.
So, Koeman has a tough job now. The fate of Spain national could rest on his arm.

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