Albelda: Valencia Must Beat Atletico And Villarreal

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David Albelda - Valencia (Marca)

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Valencia were one of the form teams in the early part of the 2008/09 league season, but their dazzling streak has faded a little towards the tail-end of the year.

Although they are currently occupying fourth spot in the Primera Division ladder, they have managed just one win in their last five competitive games.

And midfielder David Albelda acknowledged that things will not get any easier for them in 2009 as they kick-off the New Year against two direct rivals in the league, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal, both at the Mestalla.

“Atletico are a team that will challenge us directly for Champions League qualification. As such, we must start the year off well against them,” he told the club’s official website.

“After that, we have Villarreal, another direct rival. If we can beat both of these two very important opponents at home to begin the year, it would be great for Valencia.”

The 31-year-old then revealed that he is satisfied with the way Los Che’s season has unfolded so far.

He said: “We are all content with the way things are going. We have shown enough consistency to be well-placed in the league and we continue to fight with the other big teams to stay in the Champions League-qualifying zone.

“Our goal is to ensure that Valencia play in the Champions League [next season], although we cannot ignore the other competitions either.

“We are always hungry for more and we want to be top of the table, but it is necessary to go step by step and see what happens at the end of the season.”

Sandwiched between the two demanding league games against Atleti and Villarreal, Valencia will take on Racing Santander in the Copa del Rey on January 7, with the first leg being played away from home.    

KS Leong, Goal.com