Valencia vs. Chelsea: the agony and the ecstasy

By Emerald Gao
Written on April 10, 2007

You know, I knew Valencia couldn't hold on even with the one-goal advantage going into the break. The ref was utterly awful, and Chelsea are never pleasant to watch, but still, Valencia were capable of so much better. Their inability to defend set pieces was disturbing, and eventually Chelsea capitalized, which any team worth a place in the semis should have done, so you know, credit to them.

Now, about Quique Flores. With a few more years of experience, he will be ready to manage the team's priorities better (he's still too predictable when defending leads, for example), and he'll also be more tactically sound, but it's still a fantastic growing experience -- to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League in only his second year in charge is still something to be really, really proud of.

And Quique loves being the manager of Valencia, I can see it. Before the match, he stood there in the tunnel and touched each player's badge as they walked out onto the pitch. He loves these players, even if the club still doesn't trust him yet, even though he doesn't have the kind of control he would have elsewhere.

Valencia's lone goal was beautiful. Of course it had to be Morientes. Of course it did, after coming so close just minutes before. He would have made a difference in the first leg, but that's the dumb luck of injuries, I guess. It was also a fantastic assist by Joaquin; he didn't go for the obvious choice (Villa, who was double marked), but saw the other option, and placed it perfectly, just in Morientes's reach.

It should have been two after another few minutes, but somehow Chelsea were able to keep it out. A second goal would have put a serious dent in Chelsea's spirit, I think, and the crowd wanted it too, but alas.

Caņizares came through big for his team a couple of times, especially that beautiful save just before the half, clawing away Drogba's header, which seemed to be so perfectly placed -- but somehow he got to it. Somehow the fans continued to breathe, and their hearts continued to beat.

I had to leave for class right after the restart, and as in most cases, it's more excruciating to miss the second half than the first. I'm not glad to have missed the disappointment, not at all. I wanted to see the team go out, even in the most typical way I could have imagined -- broken at the very tail end. It's what I always expect from this team.

So what's next? Seal up the cracks, Quique. Concentrate on demolition at home. And come back sturdier next season. (My heart kind of breaks for Ayala, though. He really deserves another medal around his neck.)

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