Thursday, April 25, 2019

Valencia All-time team for Spanish Players

Pasieguito and Puchades.

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
Real MadridBarcelonaValencia,
Atletico MadridSevillaAtletic Bilbao, 
Deportivo La Coruna  Real Sociedad,
Real BetisReal ZaragozaEspanyol
Valencia All-Time Team for Foreign Players
Valencian Community

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club.  The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.


Valencia is among the most successful clubs in Spain.  In 1980, they won a Cup Winners' Cup.  Then, in the 2000's, the team reached its Golden period.  They won two La Liga titles.  In 2003-2004 season, they won the Double: La Liga and the UEFA Cup.  They also reached the Champions' league two years in a row. They won back-to-back Fairs Cup in 1962 and 1963. 
Gaizka Mendieta and Santi Canizares 
Team
GK: Santiago Canizares 
Santiago Canizares was a youth product of Real Madrid. He went to Valencia in 1998, where he led them to two Champions' league Final and winning the 2004 UEFA Cup.  He won Ricardo Zamora Trophy 4 times: 1992–93 (shared), 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04. He received 46 caps. He also spent two seasons with Celta. He went to six major international tournaments, but was mainly used as a backup, except at the European Championship in 2000.

GK: Ignacio Eizaguirre
Ignacio Eizaguirre started his career after the Spanish Civil War in 1939 with Real Sociedad.  He played one season and moved to Valencia in 1940.  From 1940 to 1950, ge won three La Liga titles and two Ricardo Zamora trophies for being the best goalkeeper of the season with Valencia.  He also played for Osasuna. At the international level, he earned 18 caps. He was the starting keeper for Spain at the World Cup finals in 1950.
Ignacio Eizaguirre
GK: Andoni Zubizarreta 
Andoni Zubizarreta represented La Roja in 4 World Cup Finals. He was at one point Spain's cap record holder.  He started with Athletic Bilboa.  He also played for Barcelona and Valencia.  He won Barcelona's first ever Champions' League in 1992.  After the 1993–94 UEFA Champions League, where Barça lost 0–4 to A.C. Milan in the final, Zubizarreta was deemed surplus to requirements. He joined Valencia.

RB: Jose Carrete
Carrete started with Real Oviedo and gained promotion from the Segunda División with them in 1974–75, although following their subsequent relegation he was transferred to Valencia in 1976.  Valencia won the 1979 Copa del Rey and the 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final against Arsenal.  Carrete made two appearances for the Spain national football team in 1978.

SW: Ricardo Penella Arias 
Ricardo Penella Arias spent 15 seasons out his 16 professional seasons with Valencia and payed 377 matches, winning the 1980 Cup Winners' Cup.  He followed the club to the lower division as it relegated after the 1985-1986 season.  For the Spanish national team, he only played a single game for Spain in 1979 against Portugal.

CB: Miguel Tendillo 
Tendillo started his career with local Valencia CF, being an automatic first-choice since the age of 18 in 1979, winning the 1980 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.  He played there until 1986. After a single season with Real Murcia,  he joined Real Madrid in 1987.  Tendillo earned his first cap for Spain in 1980 before hwas 20. Subsequently, he was called for that year's European Championship and the 1982 World Cup, appearing in a total of 27 matches.
Miguel Tendillo 
CB: Carlos Marchena 
Carlos Marchena played for Benfica, Sevilla, Valencia, Villareal and Deportivo La Coruna. His peak came with Valencia, where he won the Double in 2002-2003 season.  For the national team, he had 69 caps.  He was a starter at European Championship in 2008 where Spain won its first major trophy since 1964. He also played at Euro 2004 and two World Cup Finals.

CB: Francisco Camarasa
For 13 professional seasons he played solely with local Valencia CF, making his first-team debuts during 1987–88 (one game, as the Che had just returned from the second division). Eventually, he became an undisputed starter, amassing more than 300 overall appearances with the club.  Capped 14 times.  He played in the 1994 World Cup Finals.

LB: Juan Ramon Santiago
Juan Raom started his career with Deportivo Alavés in the first division before making his name with  Gimnástico FC in the 3rd division.  In 1934, he joined Valencia.  After the Civil War, he continued with the club, where he retired in 1952.  With the club, he won three league titles and two Copa del Generalissimo.  In 1950, he won la Medalla al Mérito Deportivo of RFEF.  He was also capped twice, debuting in 1942

LB/CB: Manuel Mestre

Manuel Mestre estre was born in 1935.  He made his debut with Valencia as a 21 years old in 1956, where he played 14 seasons.  At one point, he was Valencia's all-time appearance record holder until Ricardo Arias.  For the international level, he played twice for Spain in 1959 and 1961 respectively. The two matches were against Austria and Morocco.

DM/CM: David Albelda 
Except for two loan spells, David Albelda played his entire career with Valencia.  He was the heart and soul of the team that won two legaue title, an UEFA Cup and two runnerup medals at the Champions' league.  He was known for his midfield partnership with Ruben Baraja. He also served as their captain from 2001.  He was capped 51 times for Spain. He went to two World Cup Finals and a single European Championship.  He narrowly missed the European Championship in 2008, where Spain won their first major trophy since 1964.
David Albelda
DM: Antonio Puchades
From 1949 to 1958, Antonio Puchades played for his hometown Valencia, his only club. He won the only league title in his debut season, but he only played 4 games that season.  For Spain, he received 23 caps between 1949 and 1954, and went to the 1950 World Cup Finals, starting every game. Spain finished 4th in Brazil. He was born in 1925.

LB/LW/MF: Vicente Asensi 
Asensi spent all his career with Valencia CF where he played 308 games and scored 33 goals. Together with Epi, Amadeo, Mundo and Gorostiza they made up one of the best attacks in the 1940s. He played as left winger during most of his career but was moved further back as he grew older and ended up playing as a defender. At international level, he also gained six caps with Spain between 1945 and 1950.

CM: Ruben Baraja 
Baraja started his career with Real Valladolid and moved to Atletico Madrid.  Atletico Madrid relegated after the 1999-2000 season which allowed him to join Valencia and his career took off.  Forming a midfield with David Albelda, Valencia won two La Liga titles and the 2004 UEFA Cup.  He was also a part of the losing side at the Champions' league Final in 2001.  He earned 43 caps.  he played in WC 2002 and Euro 2004.
Ruben Baraja 
CM: Jose Claramunt 
From 1966 to 1978, Jose Claramunt played for his only club, Valencia.  He won the league title in the 1970-71 season, but also lost three Copa del Rey Finals in row during the early 1970's.  He earned 23 caps, six of which as the captain, but he never played in any major international tournament. His brother Enrique also played for Valenca at the same time.

CM: Pasieguito 
As a player, in an 18-year career, Pasieguito played with Valencia, Levante and Burgos. CF. In 1942, he made his debut with Valencia.   he later played with Levante and Burgos before he again played for Valencia between 1948 and 1959. With Valencia he won La Liga in the 1946–47 season and the Copa del Rey in 1954.  With Spain, he was capped 6 times, making his debut in 1954 against Turkey during Spain's failure to qualify for the World Cup Finals.

RW: Epi

Epi started with Real Sociedad. From 1940 to 1949, Epi played with Valencia, where he was known for playing with Asensi, Amadeo, Mundo and Gorostiza., where Valencia dominated the decade.  Later, he played with Real Sociedad between 1949 and 1955.  At the international level, he made his debut in 1941 against Portugal, where he would gain 15 caps between 1941 and 1949.

AM/RM: Gaizka Mendieta 
Gaizka Mendieta was a big star while playing for Valencia between 1993 and 2001.  He led them to back-to-back Champions' League Final in 2000 and 2001.  He moved to Lazio in 2001, but he failed to find his form.  Then, he played one season with Barcelona, where the club only finished 6th at the league.  He would also play with Middesbrough FC. He earned 40 caps. He went to Euro 2000 and the World Cup Finals in 2002.
Gaizka Mendieta
AM: Fernando Gomez Colomer 
Better known as Fernando, he has the appearance record and 4th highest scorer for Valencia. He made his professional debut wuth them as a 18 years old. He was voted the best player in La Liga for 1988 and 1989.  He also played for English First Division side Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of his career for a single season. He played 8 times for Spain.  He went to the World Cup Finals in 1990 for Spain, making a single appearance in the Finals against South Korea.
Fernando
LW: Vicente Rodriguez 
Vicente moved to Valencia from Levante in 2000.  He was a part of the great team that won two League titles and the 2004 UEFA Cup. At his peak, he was among the best wingers in the world, but his injuries limited his career.  He later played with Brighton & Hove Albion in England at the end of his career. For the national team, he only managed 38 caps between 2002 and 2005. He only made it to Euro 2004.

AM/LM: David Silva 
David Silva became a starter at Valencia in 2006 which forced Palbo Aimar to leave the club.  In 2010, he joined Manchester City helping the club to win their first Preimership in over 40 years. For Spain, he had over 120 caps from 2006 onward.  He was a key player throughout the period as Spain won the "triple crown": two European Championship and a World Cup.  He also represented Spain at every major tournament from 2008 onward.
David Silva
FW: Vicente Guillot
Vicente played for Mestalla CF from 1959 to 1961  From 1961 to 1970, he played for Valencia CF, where he became a star.  His fans over there were known as "Guillotistas" while his teammate Waldo had his own fans better known as "Waldistas". He moved to Elche CF in 1970. At the international level, he was capped 6 times for Spain.  He was best remembered for scoring a hat trick against Romania in 1962.

ST: Manuel Badenes
Badenes started his career at CD Castellón. His first season at the club saw him score four goals in ten games which resulted in a move to Barcelona in 1947. He spent two season at the club, winning two La Liga titles before moving to Valencia in 1950. He scored 90 goals in 97 games at Valencia before moving to Real Valladolid, where he won the Pichichi trophy awarded to the top scorer in La Liga in 1958.

ST: Mundo 
Edmundo Suárez Trabanco was known as Mundo.  He is the highest scorer in Valencia's history and remained one of the top scorers in La Liga's history.  He started his career with Athletic Bilbao, playing a single game before the Spanish Civil War cut short his stay.  He played for Valencia after the War between 1939 and 1950.  Capped 3 times.

ST: David Villa 
David Villa is the all-time leading scorer for Spain.  He was known for a part of the Golden Generation for Spain, where Spain won three straight international titles: Euro 2008, the World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012. He was the Golden Boot winner at Euro 2008 and the Silver boot in the 2010 World Cup Finals.  He was best remembered for his club career with Valencia. He also played for Barcelona, Seville and New York City FC.
David Villa

Honorable Mention
Juan Mata, Gerald Lopez, Daniel Parejo, Raul Albiol, Miguel Angel Angulo, Joaquin, Ricardo Alós, Quique Sanchez Flores, Roberto Fernandez, Mista, Miguel Ángel Angulo, Paquito, Enrique Saura, Guillermo Campanal.

Team Explanation-
-- David Villa, David Silva, Santiago Canizares, Ignacio Eizaguirre, Andoni Zubizarreta, Ricardo Penella Arias, Miguel Tendillo, Carlos Marchena, Antonio Puchades,  David Albelda, Ruben Baraja,  Jose Claramunt, Vicente Rodriguez, Gaizka Mendieta, Fernando and Mundo are on my all-time for Valencia.
-- The three goalkeepers selected are obvious. Ignacio Eizaguirre and Andoni Zubizarreta were ranked among the greatest Spanish goalkeepers.  Santiago Canizares played with the team during Valencia's greatest era.  Andoni Zubizarreta spent 4 years here even through his career was associated with Barcelona.
-- Centerback Miguel Tendillo and Francisco Camarasa edged out Raul Albiol and Juan Carlos Díaz Quincoces for the last centerback spot.  Carlos Marchena also took one of the spot.
-- Quique Sanchez Flores was seriously considered for the second rightback.
-- Antonio Puchades played his entire career with Valencia.
-- Gaizka Mendieta was one of the best midfielders in the world with Valencia.  He contributed to Valencia for reaching back-to-back Champions' League Final.  His career after Valencia might not be as successful.
-- Ruben Baraja and David Albelda formed one of the greatest midfield in club's history.  I selected the pair together 
--Injuries kept Gerald Lopez from reaching the potential.  
-- Los Che has three great players named Vicente. Injuries kept Vicente Rodriguez from reaching full potential, but he was an important part of the great team of the early 2000's. He was among the best wingers in the world while playing for Valencia. 
-- Vicente Guillot formed forged a letal partnership with Waldo, but I do not have space for him.
-- Mundo formed the famous line with Vicente Asensi alongside Epi, Amadeo and Guillermo Gorostiza.
-- I also have three "Davids" on this team.  They are David Silva, David Villa and David Albelda. All three of them are obvious choices for this team.  David Silva and David Villa were key players as Spain won back-to-back European Championships and the 2010 World Cup.
-- Fernando Gomez was the 4th leading scorer for the club as an attack midfielder.
-- Pasieguito and Paquito have similar names, but they played in different eras.  I selected Pasieguito from the 1940's.
-- The team has a lot of midfielders.  I do not have space for Juan Mata and Miguel Angel Angulo.
-- Ricardo Alós only made honourable mention. He was the first Valencia player to win the Pichichi trophy. I also have no space for Roberto Fernandez. Mista made honourable mention as an important member of the team that won four major titles.  
-- Angulo also made honourable mention only.

Formation