Will Voro be the next man caught in the Valencia crossfire?
Managerial re-shuffles at the Mestalla are becoming as predictable as the changing of the seasons, as Cesare Prandelli was the latest man to move on from Valencia’s poisoned-chalice of a hot seat.
Expectations are, for some reason, as high as ever on the east coast of Spain. Rather than scaling down as the quality of their playing squad, confidence and general mentality erodes away, many may see Valencia as a club that should still be in the running for Europe when the reality is that Los Che should instead focus on getting their own house in order and avoiding the drop.
Cesare Prandelli arrived with all of the right things to say. Just as Nuno Espirito Santo, one of his unfortunate predecessors, had a way with words and building up an idea of what the outside world should expect his squad to embody, the new boss promised much of what the fans may have hoped to hear. For a couple of months, the Italian was clear about what he wanted from his charges, but his words must have got lost in transmission before reaching his superiors’ ears.
“For two months, I’ve worked very hard, with pride, desire and a will to improve the team,” Prandelli said in an early December outburst. “I’m very angry and disappointed at the moment. I want to see the players suffer for this shirt.”
And suffer they have though for rather different reasons. Prandelli may have envisioned his players showing a resilience and battling spirit on the pitch, but they have instead had to split their efforts between surviving both what has been happening on the Mestalla’s turf and what goes on both in the stands and away from the stadium altogether.
Suffering has taken the form of abuse on matchdays, in captain Dani Parejo’s case abuse in the street, and the players have even needed to develop a thick skin to not be shaken by the sight of the club’s ultras charging at their club bus after a match, flares in hand.
“Before speaking about the transfer market, I want to see my players wanting to suffer and fight for the shirt and those who really want to stay here to do so. Whoever doesn’t have the personality or character can leave,” Prandelli went on. Ironically, the man questioning his squad’s personality and character was the first to jump ship, leaving Valencia with no choice but to appoint well-known caretaker Voro once again.
Rather than solemnly staying on board a sinking vessel and watching his managerial credentials sink potentially into the murky depths of Spain’s second tier, Prandelli did the most proactive thing that has been done at the Mestalla in recent seasons - realised that the problem was far bigger than himself and left.
Though his words to the media may have suggested that the blame can only fall onto the doorstep of his playing personnel, the straw that broke the camel’s back fell some way from both the first team or even a training field. “[Peter] Lim told me to bring in four players, and on December 29th the plan became [Simone] Zaza or a midfielder,” Prandelli told Marca. “I could choose one. We went from four to one.”
When unrealistic expectations are met with broken promises, it is tough to see how Voro can succeed after Prandelli’s exit. As suggested by the outgoing Italian, this squad needs some reinforcements and to rally both on the pitch and in terms of their mindsets - 2016 was a terrible year for Los Che, after all.
Dani Parejo and Mario Suarez have been the club’s best performers, with the likes of Nani and Rodrigo failing to hit the levels of consistency required to kick on during this campaign. Key summer signing Ezequiel Garay has struggled with injury problems, with the sales of Shkodran Mustafi and Paco Alcacer being hard-felt. The negative impact of the two key departures have Valencia sitting level with 18th-placed Sporting Gijon on 12 points.
While the fans believe in Voro, and so they should give his past record as care-taker boss, since Prandelli has walked their focus has further shifted. After a loss against Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, there were demonstrations outside the ground that spoke out against owner Peter Lim, with sporting directors and other important club officials getting their fair share of abuse from the stands during the game too. There is fast becoming nowhere to hide.
Rather than Valencia being all about the football, and having the logistics and infrastructure in place to focus solely on improving what is happening on the pitch, it has turned into a blame game of pointed fingers and expletives. Even Phil Neville, former coach at the club, turned to Twitter to share his negative view of the situation.
As the scenario at the Mestalla threatens to turn into a stand-off between the board and their fans, their managerial hot-seat is fast turned into a role that can only be tenable for somebody who has a genuine care for the club, their fans and seeing their fortunes turn around. This is a job that will take far more out of you than the benefits on offer.
