Reds All Over Europe: Valencia C.F. - UEFA Cup 2nd Rd 2nd leg, 3rd November '98.
Valencia CF: As Valencia CF play in white
shirts and black shorts you may be confused as to why the club
badge proudly boasts red and yellow stripes (And yes, that is a
bat!). Be confused no more, Dr John is here with the answers.
Valencia is part of the great Catalan nation whose national flag
is made up of those two colours. You may have seen red and yellow
flags at Barcelona games and been similarly confused. Whilst
Barcelona is the Catalan capital and dominates Catalan culture
and, undoubtedly, Catalan football, Valencia is the third largest
city in Spain (after Madrid and Barca), and the Catalan heartbeat
pulses strongly here. The official language of Valencia is a
local dialect of Catalan which is widely promoted by the local
government, intensely proud of it's roots. However, Spanish is,
of course, used and understood throughout the region. (see 'RAOTL
essential lingo' below)
.
Valencia CF (known as 'Los Ches'), and Rumanian World Cup star, Ilie.
The club president, Francisco Roig, is Spain's asnwer to Jack Walker. He has pumped millions into the club and brought expensive foreign signings to Valencia, such as Brazil's Romario in 1996 and more recently the brilliant Rumanian, Adrian Ilie. Valencia's most famous names, I suppose, are Argentina World Cup star Mario Kempes back in the late 70s and early 80s, and current goalkeeper Antonio Zubizerreta. Valencia are known as 'Los Ches', a familiar form of address in the city - a bit like Liverpool being called "The La's" or "The Lads". Valencia qualified for the UEFA Cup by winning the InterToto Cup during the late summer and currently lie in mid-table in the Primera Divison. Valencia, unfortunately, have knack of beating English teams in big European games: they beat Arsenal on penalties (remember Graham Rix's miss?) in the 1980 Cup Winners Cup Final in Heysel, and beat Notts Forest on the away goals rule (1-2 (a), 1-0 (h)) in the Super Cup Final later that year.
Pressident Roig also has an ambitious, 4 billion peseta plan to expand and re-design the stadium. In so doing the capacity will rise from the current 49,000 to 75,000. And this from a club with 33,000 socios (members). They're clearly not a club lacking in ambition, and having knocked Steaua Bucharest out in the last round they'll be a very tough test..
Valencia Club Honours:
Spanish League Champions: (4 times) 1942, 44, 47, 71. Domestic Cup: (5 times) 1941, 49, 54, 67, 79 Cup Winners Cup: (Once ) 1980 Fairs Cup (now the UEFA Cup): (Twice) 1962, 63 Super Cup:(Once) 1980.
Stadium:
La Mestalla, previously known as the Estadio Luis Casanova - Capacity 49,000 (33,000 seats) . Many terraced places mean a reduced capacity for the UEFA Cup tie of around 35,000 to 40,000. La Mestalla is a large, inner-city stadium with only one covered main Stand, large open terraces behind each goal and corner floodlight pylons. Sounds just great, doesn't it? The stadium was used for the 3 host-nation group games during the Espana '82 World Cup. You may recall Northern Ireland's Gerry Armstrong scoring here in the famous 1-0 win over the Spanish. You may also recall from that tournament - and other World Cups - the famous fat drummer who follows the national side: 'Manolo'. Well, Manolo is a Valencia supporter, follows the club side and owns a bar very near the stadium.
La Mestalla holds 49,000, with plans to add another 25,000 places. The covered stand is the 'Palco Preferiente', opposite is the 'Tribuna Numerada' (where we will probably be - in sector 27?), to the left is the 'Fondo Sur' and to the right, the home fans' favourite end, the 'Fondo Norte'.
The stadium is found on the Avenida de Aragón. Buses from the city centre that go out to the stadium are numbers 12, 21, 71, 89 and 90. Though La Mestalla is only a short distance from the centre of town, the traffic means that the journey could take 20 minutes. From the train or bus station you can also take the Via Circular bus ( a sort of Valencian Shiel Road circular) to the bottom of the Avenida de Aragón, and walk from there (about 10 minutes). A taxi will cost about 750ptas (less than £4).
If you go over without tickets the stadium ticket office is on the corner of c/Artes Gráficas and Avenida Suecia. The most expensive part of the ground is the covered main stand, followed by the open 'tribune' on the opposite touchline. Both open terraces behind the goals are relatively cheap.
Travel:
Valencia does have an international class airport at Manises about 15km south-west of the city. 'Cercanías' trains go from here to Valencia's Estacion del Nord, every half hour. The journey takes 30 mins and costs around 200 ptas (80p). However, scheduled services into Valencia from the UK are NOT cheap. We were quoted £660 return from Manchester. There is the option of taking the ferry from the South coast to Santander and getting the train to Valencia via Madrid. See below for details of air tours to the game. Click here for general information: < Valencia >.
Valencia's main tourist office is at Plaza de Ayuntamiento 1 (open Mon-Fri 8:30am to 2pm, 4-6pm) Tel. 96/351 0417. If you want to book before travelling then click here for accommodation details: < Valencia Hotels > (Link removed).
Millwest Travel of Manchester are doing a 2 night stay in Benidorm, flying into Alicante. Flies from Manchester Airport on Monday the 2nd early in the morning and returns late on the Wednesday. Price is around £285 and includes all transfers, coach to the stadium etc. . Phone Millwest on (0161) 228 7258 and ask for Mick. Say that John Mac from RAOTL put you onto them.
Towns Travel of Liverpool are doing a variety of trips: a popular one will be the in-and-out (ooh, Matron!) from Manchester priced at £189.00. Phone Towns on (0151) 426 5133 and, again, say that you saw it on the RAOTL web site. That's the phone number of their head office in Prescot: Branches at (0151) 427 5122 (Garston), (0151) 525 1768 (Walton), 01744 24314 (St Helens) and (0151) 424 4218 (Widnes). Towns are also running at 2 day trip to Alicante from London Gatwick, accommodation is in Benidorm and costs £259.00.
Match tickets will cost extra on the above tours (No details as yet).
The Craic:
Now for the fun part: Valencian fans and 'entertainment'. Unlike the Italians (generally speaking), the Spanish are fond of a drink. The Valencia supporters 'Los Yumos' populating the Fondo Norte part of the stadium are known to enjoy the odd cold Spanish beer. The 'Los Yumos' are sworn enemies of Barcelona (which is fine by me, though their Catalan heritage probably means they also have a healthy distaste for my faves, Real Madrid). Like ourselves they are innovative supporters. They pioneered the use of coloured cards at Spanish league matches and are a tad noisy, so the atmosphere should be brilliant.
Valencienistes card display in a game last month.
RAOTL's own recommendations for refreshments are bottled 'San Miguel Selecta' and the local's favourite long drink: Agua de Valencia ('champagne', vodka and orange juice), served in most Valencian bars and clubs, and the local 'Aguila' beer.
Those of you who've been to Spain - be it the clubs of Ibiza or the Ramblas of Barca - will know that Spanish nightlife is, probably, the best in Europe. So you'll be be pleased to note that Valencia has some of the best bars, restaraunts and clubs in all of Spain. Valencia is NOT a tourist town and so eating and drinking out is relatively cheap.
Social life in Valencia revolves around the local bar which serves reasonably priced drinks until very, very late (sometimes til dawn). Draught beer usually comes in a 250 ml glass (una caña) and costs around 100-150 ptas (about 50p). A longer glass (un tubo) will cost 200-250 ptas (£1). The most popular beers vary from area to area but include Mahou (Madrid), Estrella Damm (Barcelona) and Cruzcampo (Seville). Wine costs about 150 ptas (60p) a glass and is either red (tinto), white (blanco) or rosé (rosado).
Out at the stadium, the fat drummer, Manolo, has a bar called 'Museo Deportivo de Manolo el del Bombo' on the Plaza Valencia CF. There are also bars all down Avenida de Aragón, Avenida Suecia, c/Artes Gráficas and c/Micer Masco. There are dedicated football bars at 'Bar Penalty' at Suecia 27 (opposite the stadium ticket office) or the 'Mestella' bar at Micer Masco 13.
In the city centre head for the Plaza Cànovas Castillo, an area full of clubs and loud bars. The seasoned traveller in you might want to try 'Cerverceria de Madrid' - an old-fashioned bar at c/de la Abadia de San Martin 10 , just below Plaza de la Reina. The walls are covered in paintings - and they serve an authentic Agua de Valencia (see above). A recommended football bar in the city is 'Circuito Oliag' at c/Circuito Oliag 6. Decorated with scarves and photos. You might want take over a Liverpool scarf or pennant for them to put up on the walls, and get yourself a few free San Miguels while you're at it. The drinking and snacking ends around midnight - when the SERIOUS drinking begins. Locals usually go on to spirits (copas) at this point. Large measures of booze with huge chunks of ice in a tall glass. After a lot of serious investigation RAOTL has discovered that the only real problem you'll have with bars in Valencia is leaving them. You may not have to - stick around late enough and then start on breakfast of hot chocolate and doughnut-like fritters (chocolate y churros).
Food: Two good things about Valencia (1) It is the home of paella. Traditionally eaten at midday, which means that as Valencia is not a tourist resort you might have trouble finding it in the evenings. Try the Paseo Neptuno - which is lined with small paella and marisco restaurants. and (2) Tapas. If you're short of a few bob or don't fancy a big meal, most bars do tapas at about 300 - 500 ptas a plate (that's about £1.50 - £2). Great to nibble with your beer until you stumble out at dawn looking for a curry. You can order a larger portion (una ración - about 500-1000 ptas (max. £4)) which will usually be enough for lunch.
The 'Barbacoa' cafe at Plaza del Carmen 6 serves a menu of the day (menu del dia) incl. barbecued meat for about £6 or £7 a head. It's small and very popular. 'Bar Canovas' at Plaza Canovas Castillo is one of the city's best tapas bars, perfect for a bite to eat when the evening's beer consumption has begun to kick in. Also recommended is the 'Casa Mundo' at c/Don Juan de Austria 7. It's run by a former Valencia player, a member of their legendary 'Delantera Eléctrica' (The electric forward line). It's in a central, pedestrianised shopping street and is a football themed tapas bar.
Essential Lingo:
¡ Hola ! ........................................ Hello.
She Crazy! ................................ Mr Fawlty, I agree, your wife is a barmpot.
Adiós ........................................... Goodbye.
Dos cañas por favor............... Two beers please
Gracias ....................................... Thank you.
¿ Donde está el estádio ? .... Where is the stadium?
Currency:
The Spanish currency is the peseta ('pta' - but referred to in RAOTL as 'pstas'). At the moment there are around 230 to the pound, 1000 pstas = roughly £5.50.