They are over 450 kilometres apart. One is based in the north of Spain and the other in the south One is twinned with Pittsburg, the other with Sacramento. One enjoys its Marmitako the other its very own Paella.
Athletic Bilbao and Valencia are the respective football teams, but in this curious case they break the norm as they are both going though unusually difficult times in La Liga this season. The pair have only taken eight points from nine games to date, and are level in the bottom half of the table with lowly Granada. Aside from Deportivo de La Coruna, the newly-promoted sides sit comfortably above them.
Bilbao’s fall from grace was only inevitable, but no one could have predicted it to be this dramatic over a short period of time. Breezing past the likes of Manchester United in convincing fashion as they stormed to two cup finals last term began to take its toll on a thin squad at the back end of April. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid ultimately profited from their decline, as they lost both the Europa League and Copa del Rey finals.
After a long campaign, the summer did not prove entirely comforting either. Coach Marcelo Bielsa came close to resigning over complications with building work at their Lezema training facilities. Meanwhile, key players such as Javi Martinez and Andre Herrera were protagonists in Spain’s disastrous Olympic campaign under the guidance of Luis Milla.
The eccentric Argentine tactician instilled an ‘all out’ approach that saw them out-run and out-muscle many a better side last season, but it came at a price in the end. His intense training sessions initially rallied the troops, but whispers from the Basque country suggest many have since become disinterested. Fernando Llorente and Martinez both vied for a move, but only the former was successful with a controversial transfer to Bayern Munich in August.
Valencia were always going to have settling-in issues having seen influential Coach Unai Emery jump ship to Spartak Moscow in early May. There was a sense the team were getting all too comfortable in third place, and complacency was beginning to set in among several sections. Having finished exactly 30 points behind Barcelona in second, there was no potential for short-term progression to be made either.
“It got very bad, players began to believe they were in charge,” confirmed Roberto Soldado on the state of the dressing room during the summer. These ‘bad influences’ apparently disappeared under new man Manuel Pellegrino, but many concluded that they could face the same fate as Villarreal if they were not careful. While still focusing domestically, success in the Champions League should have been their main aim.
The sale of Jordi Alba to Barcelona was a clear-cut hit, but welcome additions such as Fernando Gago and Andres Guardado dampened the blow. Holding on to Soldado as the likes of Tottenham Hotspur were sniffing around was no mean feat either. It is crystal clear that things are not all well in the Los Che camp though, as commitment levels have taken a serious nosedive as seen in the willingness on the pitch this season.
This Saturday the Mestalla will be anticipating a memorable contest. Two teams with very different backgrounds will be looking to change a rare similarity they hold in their respective misfortunes on the pitch in the 2012-13 campaign.
