Eight chapters today!
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After Bernabéu's 3: 0 victory over Deportivo de La Coruña, it was November. Real Madrid had a nine-game winning streak in the new season of La Liga.
After defeating Atlético Madrid and Villarreal at the start of the league tournament, Real Madrid was finally going to face the group that was considered to be contenders for the championship at the beginning of the season.
Valencia, the Batros!
In the summer before the new season, Valencia signed a total of seven players, and the strength of the team was greatly improved.
The seven players were distributed across three lines. Every one of them was strong, but the total cost was only 30 million euros for Valencia, which was the same as the price of Real Madrid's center back, Pepe, who was brought in from Portugal.
Valencia signed Hildebrand because the main goalkeeper, Canizares, was getting older. He was already 38 years old, and it was urgent to bring in a new goalkeeper.
"Valencia signed Hildebrand to let him play as the main force."
An official from the club said.
However, Canizares' contract with Valencia expired in two years. Before he retired, the two goalkeepers were likely to compete for the position. Moreover, from the current situation, Canizares still had the advantage.
In the center back position, Valencia was also strengthened. They brought in Getafe's young center back, Alexis, and Real Madrid's Helguera. Alexis was a hot topic in the transfer market last season. Real Madrid wanted to bring him in, but in the end, Valencia took the lead. In addition, Canella, who was on loan, also returned from Sporting Lisbon.
But in terms of Valencia's strongest position, it was still the front line. Valencia's biggest deal this summer was to spend 17 million euros to bring in the giant Serbian striker, Žigić. In addition to the young player of Real Madrid's second team, Mata, the current "Batros" team had accumulated seven strikers. It could be said that it was overcrowded. The two main players from last season, Villa and Morientes, Arismendi, Silva, Angulo, and Flores, had too many choices.
There were also many players who left Valencia. A total of 11 players transferred or left on loan. However, most of them were peripheral players and did not have much impact on the strength of the team. Ayala left, and Helguera replaced him. Tavano, Legueiro, Viviana, and the others were also dispensable players.
Valencia wanted to strengthen the midfield, especially to have an outstanding midfield playmaker. but so far, their wish had not been fulfilled.
Valencia needed a midfield playmaker because Edu and Baraja had suffered heavy injuries last season. The former had not fully recovered, and the latter's form was not as good as before. had been sent to Osasuna. Viana, who had not performed well since joining the team....
Valencia had tried to purchase Sneijder, Luis González, and Carlstrom, but they had all failed. There was also no result on van der Vaart's transfer.
No matter what, Valencia was considered a strong contender for the La Liga title before the season started.
In the first two seasons, injuries had been a big blow to Valencia. However, this season, Valencia deliberately strengthened the team's bench. There were basically two players in every position. They also conducted special research to address the problem of the team's injuries and formulated relevant strategies.
However, when the league was not even halfway through, after the ninth round of the La Liga, Valencia officially announced the dismissal of their coach, Flores!
In fact, after losing 0: 3 to Villarreal in the opening game of the league, Valencia had won five consecutive games. It was just that they lost two games in the last three rounds!
Nine points behind Real Madrid in the standings did not seem to be a huge gap. However, considering that the league had only gone through nine rounds, the gap seemed to be huge. On average, they were one point behind Real Madrid in every round.
Moreover, the problem in the locker room had become complicated.
The idea of increasing the bench's thickness was good. However, more players meant more difficulty in management. Balancing the relationship in the locker room had become a difficult problem to test the coach's ability. Coach Flores could not control the locker room. After losing 0: 3 to Sevilla in the last away game, Valencia finally could not bear it anymore.
After all, Sevilla's recent form was not good. They had not won in four consecutive games. At this time, Valencia ran to give them warmth. Both the club and the fans naturally could not bear it.
The reserve team coach, Fernandes, became the caretaker coach until the team signed a new coach.
The media said that Valencia would sign the Dutch coach, Comain, after the team's game against Real Madrid!
The reason why Comain would not sign the contract to lead the team to Real Madrid in advance was actually the same as the reason why Bosque wanted to return to Real Madrid after the El Clásico last season.
The risk was too great!
Especially when Valencia was playing on their home ground.
The media naturally hoped that La Liga would show a pattern of heroes vying for supremacy. However, when the league tournament was not even halfway through, everyone had a hunch in their hearts: Real Madrid was going to dominate!
Real Madrid arrived at the Mestalla Stadium with an unparalleled momentum. The aura of Real Madrid was shocking.
Valencia, who was in troubled times, did not seem to be in the mood to continue fighting. The team's attention was seriously divided. In addition, the new coach was about to take office. What changes would happen to the players' respective fates? This would all affect the team's overall competitive strength.
On the night of November 1st, at the Mestalla Stadium.
The players of Real Madrid and Valencia walked into the stadium together.
The atmosphere in the stadium had changed a lot since Qin Xiong's last visit.
The fans' worries seemed to permeate the air. On the other hand, the Real Madrid fans were full of enthusiasm. They were in a particularly relaxed mood and did not feel nervous about the big game.
"Welcome to the Mestalla Stadium, the focus of the tenth round of the La Liga season will be played here.
Real Madrid, who has a nine-game winning streak in the new season, will be the guest to challenge Valencia, who has a six-game winning streak and three losses in the new season.
Real Madrid's state and recent situation need not be said. They are the most eye-catching team in European football today. They have a 14-game winning streak in all competitions. It seems that there is no game that Real Madrid cannot win.
Valencia suddenly entered a period of turmoil.
The club's large-scale recruitment in the summer made the locker room complicated. The young coach, Flores, was unable to control it. In the end, he was dismissed after losing to Sevilla in the last round.
Valencia could only rely on the reserve team's caretaker coach, Fernandez, to command on the spot in today's focus battle.
Introduce the starting lineup of both sides.
Valencia starting lineup: 442.
Goalkeeper: Hildebrand.
Defenders: Moretti, Helguera, Albiol, Miguel.
Midfielders: Joaquin, Albelda, Gavilan, Angulo.
Forwards: Silva, Morientes.
Real Madrid starting lineup: 442.
Goalkeeper: Casillas.
Defenders: Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Marcelo.
Midfielders: Robinho, Diarra, Guti, Snede.
Forwards: Qin Xiong, Raúl.
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