La Liga
Wednesday 26th April 2017
Valencia! Mestalla! Magnificent!
Given that I grew up during an era when Los Ches were in the elite bracket of European clubs and frequently featured in the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League, then it's probably no surprise that I've got fond memories of them.
They had some top players; Gaizka Mendieta, Santiago Canizares, Pablo Aimar, Juan Sanchez, Aitor Karanka and Kiki Gonzalez are names which, two decades on, still roll off the tongue because they're forever etched into my memory from being a daft little kid watching them on TV.
At the turn of the century, they were a match for absolutely anyone whether that be Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester United, AC Milan or Bayern Munich. They could hold their own and were serious contenders amongst the elite.
A key reason behind their 'success' was their Estadio Mestalla home - an intimidating, old-school venue (not far from the tourist hot-spots), which has barely changed since it hosted games in World Cup '82. It's notoriously steep stands, partisan fans and intense 'edge of your seat' atmosphere made it a formidable fortress to visit - to put it into context, between 1993 and 2011, they lost only once on home soil in European football.
The Mestalla is also where Leeds United saw their 'dream' under David O'Leary, come to an abrupt end back in 2001 as they went down 3-0 in the Champions League semi-finals which was something of a precursor for the years of financial meltdown that followed in West Yorkshire.
Similar to Leeds, it was Valencia's success which, inadvertently, ended up being the root cause of their fall from grace.
Despite finishing as runners-up in the Champions League in successive years and lifting the UEFA Cup under Liverpool-bound boss Rafael Benitez in 2004, Los Ches soon made the bold choice to move away from their much-loved, albeit seriously outdated, stadium to a new home.
Construction on a new state-of-the-art 80,000-capacity venue began in 2007 before spiralling costs crippled the club's finances and threatened bankruptcy. The whole project was suspended a few years later - with the basic, concrete structure of the new stadium remaining practically untouched ever since as they've been forced to remain at the Mestalla!
Although they haven't been relegated since the meltdown at the end of the noughties (something which actually to their local rivals, Villarreal, in 2012), by the 2016/17 campaign, Valencia could, at best, be described as a team which were 'making up the numbers' in La Liga.
It was the season after Gary Neville's disastrous reign and their 'star' players included Eliaquim Mangala (on loan from Manchester City), Dani Parejo, Nani and Simone Zaza - the Italian playmaker, best remembered for being mocked in the aftermath of his country's Euro 2016 exit.
Needless to say that it was a far cry from the great Los Ches team which I remember so well.
However, despite everything, this was a cheap trip with flights costing just £10 each way from East Midlands Airport and a match ticket costing €10 - yep, less than a tenner once the exchange rate was taken into consideration and miles cheaper than the rip-off prices which Premier League clubs ask fans to pay if they want to see a game!
After a sweltering afternoon in the Spanish sunshine visiting some of the city's main attractions, it was soon time for the game and Estadio Mestalla proved to be every bit as magnificent as expected.
Packed in a tight neighbourhood around a 30-45 minute walk from my accommodation in the old town, upon reaching the stadium just before sunset, the notorious steep stands looked even more imposing from the streets outside. Inside, there was a sea of orange (thanks to the club replacing every seat in the stadium a few years earlier) and it slowly filled up as kick-off edged closer.
Due to various factors; such as the fact this was a midweek fixture against opponents from the extreme north (San Sebastian) and also that Los Ches were bang average, the attendance was officially given as being under 30,000 - even though it appeared to be much more full. Nevertheless, there was enough empty seats (and benefits to go with it) because nothing whatsoever was in place to stop anyone from walking all the way around the top tier and moving to 'better' seats if they wished to.
The game was exciting from the outset with Sociedad taking the lead inside the first minute thanks to a defensive howler from 'keeper Diego Alves who let a shot from the tightest of angles slip between his legs at the near-post. The visitors looked a cut above their counterparts - moving the ball around better, probing and creating much more danger and it eventually paid off when they won a penalty, which was duly dispatched, to make it 2-0 by the half-hour mark.
Sociedad were on top by a country mile and squandered further openings either side of half-time before they finally added a third goal after the hour mark; calmly tucked away by Mikel Oyarzabakl following some clever one-touch football in the build-up.
At this point, it seemed that Los Ches were in for a right walloping and most of their long-suffering fans were heading for the exits whilst those who remained to endure what was left were either waving their white handkerchiefs or certainly searching for them.
The last thing what anyone expected was any sort of comeback to materialise but when a visiting defender was penalised for handball just a few minutes later, it gave Valencia hope. The spot-kick was taken and dispatched by Nani to make it 3-1 with team-mate Simone Zaza opting to swerve the opportunity to score from 12 yards after his great big balls-up in the same scenario at the European Championship the previous summer!
Zaza then got in on the action by tucking home a deep far-post cross from the right-wing and all of a sudden (quite remarkably), it was 3-2 with momentum hugely favouring Valencia. They looked rejuvenated, refreshed, prepared to fight and were showing polar-opposite characteristics to what they'd showed in the preceding 60-odd minutes up to going 3-0 down. Those who'd been waving handkerchiefs just minutes earlier were suddenly roaring with passion whenever their team got the ball whilst some of those who'd already left were also starting to re-appear.
Ultimately, there were no further goals, which frustrated the locals and they probably felt the overall performance posed more questions about their team than it gave answers.
In the three years or so since this game, Valencia have improved and are back in the Champions League (though still don't look anywhere close to being the force they once were). Ticket prices have increased and though there's still only mooted speculation that work might resume on the half-constructed yet abandoned new home across town, it's probably a good idea to get this 'Bucket List' in the bag sooner rather than later because it definitely won't be around forever.
The photos don't do the stadium justice but it IS an absolute must visit...
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