MADRID • There were repeated calls from supporters for Valencia coach Marcelino to be sacked when the Spanish LaLiga club were languishing in 12th position last December. Look who's having the last laugh now?
The 53-year-old Spaniard was feted by the travelling fans after the final whistle at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla on Saturday as Valencia secured Champions League football for the second year in a row by beating Real Valladolid 2-0 in their final match of the season.
Valencia, owned by Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim, clinched fourth place with 61 points, two ahead of Getafe, who drew 2-2 at home to Villarreal. Marcelino's side had to win to make sure of fourth spot and goals from Carlos Soler and Rodrigo guaranteed that.
Club president Anil Murthy told the Straits Times in a phone interview: "In the last five years since Peter bought the club, we've been in the Champions League three times and qualifying two times in a row is quite a feat.
"This year, we made history in the Spanish league. No team has come from such a difficult first half (of the season) to climb back up all the way to reach the fourth spot."
"It has been a very difficult year with a lot of demanding games," added captain Daniel Parejo. "We didn't make the best start but, by working hard, we've managed to turn things around."
Valencia will be looking to finish the season on a high when they face LaLiga champions Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final at the Estadio Benito Villamarin in Seville on Saturday.
QUICK REBOUND
This year, we made history in the Spanish league. No team has come from such a difficult first half (of the season) to climb back up all the way to reach the fourth spot.
'' ANIL MURTHY, club president, on Valencia working hard and turning things around after making a wretched start this season.
Qualifying for the Champions League and reaching the Copa del Rey final had seemed like a distant dream early on in the season when they won only one of their first 11 league matches.
The rebellion against Marcelino began during a 1-1 draw in December with Sevilla when angry fans waved handkerchiefs, the traditional signal of dissatisfaction in Spanish stadiums.
The protests reached boiling point during a game against then basement club Huesca later that month and not even a last-gasp winning goal could quell the anger, as fans continued to furiously boo the team and their coach after the final whistle.
After a limp defeat by Alaves in January, reports were rife that Marcelino would be sacked by Valencia, but he was helped by public support from his players and clung on to his job.
In the space of four months, Marcelino has gone from persona non grata to becoming the first Valencia coach to secure successive top-four finishes since Unai Emery in 2012.
They also reached the semi-finals of the Europa League before losing to Arsenal 7-3 on aggregate.
Murthy said: "It's a mixture of factors (for the turnaround).
"What happened in the first half (of the season) was that our defence was good, but we weren't scoring enough goals so we had to change our strike force.
"(Michy) Batshuayi went to Crystal Palace and we brought in a couple of players. The big difference in the second half was that we started scoring more goals and chalked up 38 points compared with 23 in the first (half of the season).
"And, while most people expected us to change our coach, we chose stability and decided to support Marcelino."
And Murthy hinted that Marcelino will stay on at the Mestalla, saying: "He has proven himself in the two years as our coach.
"In football, results matter the most and he has delivered results."
Asked about the club's plans for next season, the former diplomat said the club's focus is solely on the "huge" Copa del Rey final against Barcelona.
"The first objective is to beat Barcelona on Saturday," he said.
"Now that we're in the Champions League, we will refine the team with players who can compete with the best in Europe.
"This year, we beat Manchester United (2-1 in Valencia) in the Champions League. I don't mind getting Liverpool in our group next year."
REUTERS
- Additional reporting by Xener Gill
REUTERS: Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has been charged with misconduct for his behaviour during Monday's (Apr 22) 2-2 Premier League draw with Burnley, the English Football Association said.
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri charged with misconduct by FA
I would like to receive news and stats from the Premier League, twice a week, {title}} Created with Sketch. Spurs hope Pochettino stays and take club to next level. 1/2.
Champions League: Spurs progress has put Pochettino's project
ROME: Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic hailed his team for pulling off a "miracle" to secure their top flight survival with a 3-3 draw at Lazio on Monday enough to keep the northerners in Serie A
Bologna earn 'miracle' Serie A survival in six-goal Lazio
Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has revealed that no one from Barcelona has contacted him over a move for Antoine Griezmann. The France World Cup winner will call time on his five-year
Antoine Griezmann admits move away from Atletico Madrid is
Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has said his team must win their seven remaining Premier League games, to pip Liverpool to the title. City have the slight advantage in the title race, sitting top by a point after the 2-0 win at Fulham, having played the same number of games as Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola reveals what his Man City side MUST do to beat
PSG star Neymar accuse of rape PSG and Brazil star Neymar has been accused of raping a woman in a Paris hotel. However, Neymar has moved swiftly to deny all the allegations in a 7-minute video posted on his Instagram channel.
Neymar arrives at police station in wheelchair to be quizzed
the land. The lonely cry of the gyrfalcon can still be heard in the hills of Iceland. But to this day their lives are still intrinsically intertwined; some gyrfalcons dine solely on
Pep Guardiola vowed not to walk away from Manchester City as he hit back at the Financial Fair Play allegations rocking the Premier League champions. In a wide-ranging press conference ahead of
Democrats Heighten Calls for Trump's Impeachment appeared to embolden opposition Democrats in calls for more investigations of Trump and possibly his impeachment. 22-month probe to build a
PressTV-Racial abuse surging in UK schools: Report
Define rub. rub synonyms, rub pronunciation, rub translation, English dictionary definition of rub. v. rubbed , rub·bing , rubs v. tr. 1. (of a bowl) to be
Gazzaniga, 27, has made 10 Spurs appearances this season, including two in the Premier League when Lloris was unavailable in September. Lloris is much more experienced than Gazzaniga, but Jenas fears that the Frenchman's poor form could cost Spurs a place in the top four if manager Mauricio Pochettino doesn't make a change.
Jermaine Jenas calls on Spurs to drop Hugo Lloris for Paulo
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City must beat Liverpool on Thursday in order to maintain their Premier League title bid. City shook off consecutive defeats to coast past Southampton 3-1 at St Mary's on Super Sunday , with David Silva and Sergio Aguero on target and James Ward-Prowse scoring an own goal.
"Yes, our title run has been affected and we are now having 70% chances. Had we won, we would have gone up to 90% chances of claiming the league title. They (Vipers) showed intent from the word go -exerting pressure which forced my midfield to drop back. But in the second half, we played our way (offensive) and missed a lot chances.
Partick Thistle: Alan Archibald rues missed chances in St
Jorginho fires Chelsea as recalled Kepa shines against Fulham Maurizio Sarri's side took the lead through Gonzalo Higuain before Calum Chambers equalised at Craven Cottage.
Premier League: Jorginho fires Chelsea as recalled Kepa
super soccer tv live streaming piala dunia
tv soccer live stream sky
watch coppa america live streaming crictime
watch hd soccer live streaming free
soccer tv live football streaming reddit
watch champions league live streaming match
watch champions league final online free live streaming
watch champions league live streaming live
watch coppa america live streaming sub eng
watch coppa america live streaming app
watch coppa america live streaming hd
watch champions league live streaming bola
watch soccer live streaming kenya vs ethiopia
watch coppa america live streaming espn
watch premier league live streaming yify
watch premier league matches live streaming
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online
watch champions league live streaming juventus
watch coppa america live streaming live
free watch soccer live streaming
watch champions league live streaming bt sport
watch soccer online free streaming live espn
watch premier league net live manchester united stream channel
watch soccer live streaming juventus vs manchester united
watch coppa america live streaming indonesia
soccer tv live football streaming garuda select
watch champions league live streaming zee tv
watch live soccer game barcelona vs real madrid
watch soccer am live stream
www.watch premier league live stream.com
watch champions league draw live streaming free
super soccer tv live streaming persib
watch sky sports premier league live streaming
free watch champions league live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming putlockers
watch coppa america live streaming game
watch coppa america live streaming quality
watch soccer online free streaming live english
watch coppa america live streaming in india
watch coppa america live streaming ronaldo7
watch premier league net live stream channel
watch coppa america live streaming rcti
watch usa soccer live stream
watch live soccer streaming on android
watch sky sports premier league online free streaming live
soccer tv live football streaming portugal
watch live stream soccer games online free
watch the champions league live stream
watch champions league live streaming pakistan
watch uefa champions league live streaming sportek
watch english premier league live streaming hd
watch premier league live streaming live free
watch coppa america live streaming ufc
watch champions league live stream gratis
watch soccer online free streaming live youtube
watch soccer live streaming xfinity
watch soccer online free streaming live canada
watch champions league live streaming live free
watch barclays premier league online live streaming
watch champions league semi final draw live stream
watch soccer live stream links
watch champions league live streaming putlockers
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online youtube
watch champions league live streaming vf
watch premier league live stream hd
watch soccer live stream app
watch bangladesh premier league live streaming free
watch soccer live stream apk
watch iceland soccer live stream
watch coppa america live streaming bola
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online reddit
watch coppa america live streaming without cable
watch soccer online free streaming live iphone
watch coppa america live streaming vivo
watch coppa america live streaming qatar
watch champions league live streaming video
watch coppa america live streaming mobile
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online india
#goal #sumbertv #juventus #coffeebreak #streamingbolaid #soccer #fcbarcelona #afcnews #seriea #Suarez #crossfit #petercrouch #golazo #cr7 #thebeatles #visubal #lionelmessi #arsenalnews #winner #realmadrid #Celtic #football #MSport #footballmeme #kopisusu #realmadridcf #coutinho #thomasmeunier #GarageCafeDxb #beatifulgame #tokyo #acmilan #BMW #MyDubai #copaamerica #lfc #premierleague #footballstreaming #watchlive #comico #coys #comics #soccermemes #livestreams #adidasslipon #mancity #uefanationsleague #oasisengland #myfootballuniverse #zinedinezidane #boxing #Sunday #commentimemorabili #arsenal #nikesoccer #lovefootball #firmino
0 comments:
Post a Comment