Valencia begins a journey for survival as La Liga resumes

Valencia is one of the biggest clubs in Spain, but they have 12 games to secure their survival in La Liga.

Los Che won their sixth Liga title in 2004 and have been in the Champions League on 12 occasions this century, including making the final in 2000 and 2001 but have hit upon hard times.

The club is languishing in the relegation zone, with the fans revolting against Peter Lim, the Singaporean businessman who has owned the club since 2014.

Since then, Lim has hired and fired coaches Albert Celades, Javi Gracia, José Bordalás, and Gennaro Gattuso and sold off key players like Ferran Torres, Rodrigo, Carlos Soler, and Gonçalo Guedes.

Things looked bright in 2019 when the team won the Copa del Rey and finished fourth in La Liga, but Lim bizarrely fired manager Marcelino and director of football Mateu Alemany four months later.

When the team lost at home to Athletic Club last month, several hundred fans protested outside the aging Estadio Mestalla against Lim, who has not attended a game in Valencia since 2018.

Lim’s latest move was to recruit former player Rubén Baraja as head coach-the club’s 10th permanent manager in less than nine years- to oversee the youngest squad in La Liga.

Valencia currently sits in 18th position with just 26 points and has only won two of their last 12 La Liga games. Their next game after the international break is at home to Rayo Vallecano.

However, Barcelona will hope to continue and extend their lead at the top of the table when they face Elche away from home. The Blaugrana lead with twelve points ahead of Real Madrid, who are at home to Real Valladolid on Sunday, twenty-four hours after Barcelona play their game on Saturday.

The first La Liga fixture after the international break is Mallorca hosting Osasuna on Friday. Athletic Club and Getafe will face each on Saturday after Girona and Osasuna’s fixture early on April 1.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu