Victor Valdes Fan

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has said that he will not be surprised if the replacement for Guardiola – Tito Vilanova – proves to be as successful as his predecessor with Barcelona. The club recently appointed the former assistant manager as replacement for Guardiola, who said that he decided to step down from his post as the manager of Barcelona after being burnt out in the last few seasons. Many are expecting a different approach from Barcelona, as Tito Vilanova attempts to build his own team. This has led to many saying that Barcelona will not be as successful as in previous seasons.

Victor Valdes, though, differs from this opinion because he is extremely confident that Tito Vilanova can succeed at Barcelona. He has cited the backing from the officials of the club, who are extremely desperate to see Tito Vilanova succeed. Barcelona had an incredible four seasons under the former manager Guardiola. They managed to lift 16 trophies in the span of four seasons, which includes an unprecedented six trophies in just one single season. Guardiola has also led Barcelona to 2 Champions League titles in the last four seasons, while they have also held a stronghold in the la Liga title as well.

“There is a very good chance, I think, with the commitment to Vilanova as our coach, and we will do our utmost so that Barcelona remain at a high level. Each [coach] has his way of working, his own style, although it is true that I do not expect many changes to the things we have been doing in the last few seasons. All I want is that Barcelona are champions by the end and that is what we work for every day,” said Victor Valdes ahead of the pre-season friendly matches for Barcelona. Barcelona kick off the pre-season with a match against Hamburg.

Barcelona and Spain goalkeeper Victor Valdes has said that he is extremely wary of the threat posed by Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo. The former AC Milan midfielder is one of the established names in world football.

He has been responsible for Juventus winning their first league title since 2003, which is surprising given that AC Milan allowed him to leave on a free transfer only last season. It has proven to be one of the worst decisions by a club in recent seasons after Pirlo has demonstrated his ability to influence the game in a huge manner on more than one occasion.

Barcelona and Spain goalkeeper Victor Valdes has said that he is extremely wary of the threat posed by Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo. The former AC Milan midfielder is one of the established names in world football.

He has been responsible for Juventus winning their first league title since 2003, which is surprising given that AC Milan allowed him to leave on a free transfer only last season. It has proven to be one of the worst decisions by a club in recent seasons after Pirlo has demonstrated his ability to influence the game in a huge manner on more than one occasion.

Spain will be coming into the Euro 2012 after having lifted the Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They know that pressure will certainly be on them after having achieved this unprecedented success in recent seasons. They are in the group containing Italy, who lifted the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Spain clearly know that the most difficult match of this group will be against Italy. Victor Valdes has said that Spain should concentrate on stopping Pirlo from influencing the game if they are to have any chance of winning three points in this opening fixture.

‘He’s the player that carries the Italian midfield. Everything goes through him. They have wingers that get forward a lot, they go on the attack. The strikers play quite deep, but they are always looking for that assist from Pirlo. We’ll have to keep an eye on him and how we can counter that type of play,’ said Victor Valdes ahead of their opening match in the Euro 2012.

“Italy can be struggling, perhaps not controlling the game, looking like they are not doing anything, but they are able to hold on, and then with one chance they can win the match,” said defender Arbeloa.

Despite winning the champions league on three occasions, La Liga on 5 occasions and the Copa Del Rey, it is surprising that Valdes has failed to achieve success on the international stage.

Despite having a better goals conceded record for the last 10 consecutive season compared to Spain’s first choice goalie Iker Casillas, Valdes has never been able to challenge his international counterpart for the no 1 shirt for the national side.

Despite winning the champions league on three occasions, La Liga on 5 occasions and the Copa Del Rey, it is surprising that Valdes has failed to achieve success on the international stage.

Despite having a better goals conceded record for the last 10 consecutive season compared to Spain’s first choice goalie Iker Casillas, Valdes has never been able to challenge his international counterpart for the no 1 shirt for the national side.

Valdes was even selected as third choice keeper during the World cup in South Africa, with Liverpool’s Pepe Reina being chosen above him. In fact Valdes only received his first cap in 2010 post world cup.

Now 30, Valdes future at Spanish giants Barcelona is increasingly uncertain with strong rumours linking 25 year old Goalkeeper Vicente Guaita for a move from Valencia to the Nou Camp with a view to challenging Valdes for his place and to replace him for the long term. Valdes who joined the Catalonian side as part of the clubs youth programme, will no doubt feel hard done by that his time at the top seems set to be cut short.

In essence this begs the question of to what extent goalkeepers are appreciated in modern football. Not many would list Valdes in the list of Barcelona’s best player, when the likes of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta among over grabbing the headlines.

Despite this, legendary goalkeepers such as Casillas, Kahn or Gordon Banks to name a few all enjoyed long spells for their national team, receiving lots of praise and often highlighted as key to their teams success. However none of these keepers have achieved what Valdes has off the international stage. Clearly it seems for goalkeepers to really achieve a lasting legacy, they must win that coveted international shirt and keep it.

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has said that he is extremely confident that his teammates will be able to take their chances that they create at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona suffered their first defeat in the Champions League this season after the 1-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has said that he is extremely confident that his teammates will be able to take their chances that they create at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona suffered their first defeat in the Champions League this season after the 1-0 defeat at the hands of Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona came into the match as the superior team, but Chelsea produced a master class of defensive performance to shut out their opponents. As a bonus, they also scored through a goal from Didier Drogba just before half time. This makes them the favourites to progress to the final, as they can play for a draw in the second leg at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, though, reckons that Barcelona created a lot of chances in the match, but were unable to be clinical with them. However, he expects a lot more from his teammates back in their own backyard. He also reckons that it will be extremely tough for Chelsea to once again produce a defensive display of this magnitude because the pitch at the Camp Nou is significantly bigger than the pitch at the home of Chelsea – Stamford Bridge. Valdes lost the match, which was his 100th in the European front.

“We are confident that we can overturn this deficit. We generated many goal chances and we shouldn’t forget that. We will have our fair share of chances in the return leg and I think we will make the most out of them, no matter what,” Valdes said after the match. Barcelona will be facing Real Madrid in the final league El Clasico of the season on Saturday, while Chelsea will be making a short trip away to Arsenal. Barcelona trial Real Madrid by four points in the league.

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has said that superstar Lionel Messi is capable of defining a new era in world football.

Lionel Messi is widely regarded to be the best player in the world right now, while many are also of the opinion that he is comparable with the likes of Diego Maradona and Pele.

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has said that superstar Lionel Messi is capable of defining a new era in world football.

Lionel Messi is widely regarded to be the best player in the world right now, while many are also of the opinion that he is comparable with the likes of Diego Maradona and Pele.

Even though these players for not comparable with Lionel Messi in absolute sense due to the different conditions of playing, Victor Valdes has said that Messi is so good that he is capable of becoming the benchmark for defining greatness in the future.

Lionel Messi has won the FIFA Ballon d’Or award three times in a row now, while he has already scored 54 goals for Barcelona in all competitions this season. It is very much expected that Messi will go on to surpass the 75 goal mark, while he may also come close to the 100 goal mark as well.

Messi recently broke the record within Barcelona when it came to the most number of goals scored by any player. Messi has now 234 goals in all competitions for Barcelona, which becomes even more impressive when you consider that he is only 24 years old. Messi exemplified the dominance Barcelona had over Granada in a match between the two clubs recently, as he scored two goals to reduce the deficit at the top of the table to just six points.

“He has now surpassed Cesar’s record and if he goes on like this, he will define an era. This [the performance against Granada] is what we have to do now each week. The only thing we can do is win all of our own games,” Valdes said after the match. Messi is also the top scorer in the Spanish league now after having found the net 34 times so far.

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has said that there is every chance that Barcelona could still win the league.

Barcelona has dropped behind from Real Madrid at an alarming pace in recent weeks. After the loss to Osasuna, Real Madrid managed to extend their lead at the top of the table to 10 points, thus casting a real doubt on the ability of Barcelona to win the title for the fourth consecutive season.

However, their goalkeeper Victor Valdes is of the opinion that Barcelona are still good enough to win the league, but will have to rely on the results elsewhere.

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has said that there is every chance that Barcelona could still win the league.

Barcelona has dropped behind from Real Madrid at an alarming pace in recent weeks. After the loss to Osasuna, Real Madrid managed to extend their lead at the top of the table to 10 points, thus casting a real doubt on the ability of Barcelona to win the title for the fourth consecutive season.

However, their goalkeeper Victor Valdes is of the opinion that Barcelona are still good enough to win the league, but will have to rely on the results elsewhere.

The Spanish league has been in such a way that both Real Madrid and Barcelona rarely drop points. Hence, many have been considering that the domestic league is all but over after Real Madrid have 10 point advantage at the top of the table. In order to relinquish the 10 point advantage, Real Madrid have lose at least three matches from now till the end of the season. So far in the campaign, Real Madrid have lost only two matches, and hence the possibility of them losing three matches till the end of the season seems extremely improbable.

“Away from home we have not achieved the expected results, so we’re 10 points behind. But now, we cannot give up. We must keep believing in ourselves and the wins will come. I still believe we can win the league. We are professionals and we must accept victories and defeats in equal measure,” said Valdes at a press conference just before the Valencia match on Thursday.

Barcelona will be facing Valencia on Sunday in another crunch match. If Real Madrid once again manage to extend their lead even by the slightest margin, then one can be sure that Barcelona cannot win the title this season.