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Can Valencia finish in the top two in La Liga this season?

Samrin Hasib, January 19 2012,
Valencia seems to always fight for a third-place finish in La Liga. Can they finish in the top two this season?
Vicente Rodriguez
Vicente Rodriguez
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Valencia was trailing Barcelona by just four points just two weeks ago. When they fell 0-1 to Real Sociedad last week, they allowed Barca to skip ahead and form a seven point bridge. One fact will give Valencia some hope. This season, Barca is dropping points quite often. They even squandered a 2-0 lead against Real Betis before going on to win 4-2.

While Barca might have lost only once, they have dropped points in no less than six matches. Valencia has dropped points in eight matches which include four losses. When the two sides played each other, Valencia led 2-1 but had to be satisfied with a draw thanks to Cesc Fabregas. Valencia was the better team for the better part of that match and later rued missing so many opportunities.

Valencia started the season well and even took charge of the table at one point. As is so often the case, they dropped points in matches they should have won. Valencia lost to Real Betis and drew against Real Zaragoza as well as Mallorca. They should have beaten Barcelona. They lost to Real Madrid 2-3 at home- they should have at-least earned a point at the Mestalla.

Valencia’s squad might no longer boast the big names of the past- David Villa, David Silva and Juan Mata all departed for greener pastures. However, the current Valencia team boasts a long line of talented players as well. Pablo Hernandez is one of their most reliable stars. Roberto Soldado provides the goals up front.

The former Real Madrid striker is a bit of an enigma- he sometimes cannot stop scoring but at times tends to miss sitters as he did against Barcelona. Jeremy Mathieu, their wing-back is also enigmatic- his attacking skills are brilliant but his defending sometimes leaves heads shaking. Ever Banega is another gifted player who plies his trade at the club.

2004 was the last time that Spain crowned a champion not named Barcelona or Real Madrid. Valencia lifted the crown on that occasion. Valencia overall has the fifth best record as far as total league titles are concerned. They have won the La Liga a total of six times.

Valencia’s style of play under Unai Emery is exciting and easy on the eye. They use their wings to launch plenty of their attacks. They use different ideas on the pitch and their players can score brilliant goals. Sergio Canales, Pablo Piatti and Hernandez are capable of scoring flashy goals. Valencia also produces some brilliant ‘team’ goals. A neutral would want to support Valencia considering their style.

Valencia next plays Osasuna in La Liga. Osasuna is a team that can cause Valencia some trouble considering that they are sitting in sixth, eight points behind Emery’s side. Valencia needs to start beating the teams sitting beneath them in the league in order to challenge for a top two finish. They have somewhat stagnated- they cannot seem to finish above third.

Valencia will perhaps finish in third again at the end of this season. However, they are capable of a top two finish and with a little more consistency will perhaps make it. Also, if another team fights for the title besides Real and Barca, the neutral La Liga fan will tune in more often to watch matches.

The season hasn’t even reached the half-way mark yet. If Valencia is close to the top two with ten match-days to go, the title race in Spain could turn out to be a memorable three-way fight.

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