As Spain sat and watched a three-way title race last season, Valencia quietly set about restructuring their club and rebuilding their squad.
Against all expectations last week, they broke into that top three by moving ahead of Atletico Madrid into third.
This week, following a 4-0 thumping of Elche, they moved to within four points of Real Madrid, having already beaten the second-placed team this season.
A new owner and manager arrived last summer after Valencia failed to qualify for European football for only the second time this century.
Peter Lim is the Singaporean businessman with plans to restore the club to former glories. They still have a €230 million (Dh927.5m) debt, a hangover from their financial meltdown of the recent past, but new staff have been employed from England to increase revenue streams and improve sales of merchandising.
The move to their half-completed new stadium, untouched since 2009, is back on, but Lim first wants to see average crowds rise from 37,747 last season at their 55,000-capacity Mestalla home, which has been spruced up as a short-term measure.
That plan is on target: home crowds are up to 44,889, an increase of 18 per cent. Having a young and winning side that tears into opponents at home helps and no side has a better home record than Valencia in the Primera Liga.
Much credit must go to coach Nuno Espirito Santo, 41, the first client of hugely influential agent Jorge Mendes.
The Portuguese deal maker is close to Lim and brought the manager and several of his best emerging players to the club, including striker Rodrigo, Joao Cancelo and Andre Gomes.
Santo, who recently signed a contract extension to 2018, brought a 28-year-old Scottish assistant manager, Ian Cathro, who he met while doing his Uefa coaching badges. The pair worked successfully in Portugal with Rio Ave.
They have implemented tactical changes, with Valencia employing a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation. The five-man midfield, which the charismatic Santo said was concocted as a way of getting both Paco Alcacer and Alvaro Negredo, on loan from Manchester City, in the team, has been ditched.
Goalkeeper Diego Alves has been excellent and even though Valencia continuously sell left-backs, new ones keep popping up.
Jose Luis Gaya, 19, is another local talent reared through the youth system. Linked with Real Madrid, he has played for Spain at every age-level group up to under 19.
Centre-backs Nicolas Otamendi and Shkodran Mustafi provide power and ball-playing abilities, while Antonio Barragan completes a first-choice back four that has fewer changes to it than any Spanish side this season.
Valencia have a fine young side, albeit one without a standout goalscorer as they had in the recent past with David Villa and Roberto Soldado.
They do not even have a player in the top 10 for assists, while midfielder and captain, Dani Parejo, is their top scorer. He plays alongside Gomes ahead of Javi Fuego, a key defensive midfielder.
With Pablo Piatti on the left and Sofiane Feghouli on the right, Valencia’s central attacking options come from Negredo, Alcacer and Rodrigo.
Their 18 victories from 28 league games have only been bettered by three Valencia managers in their first season. Not playing European football, as they will surely do next season, may have helped.
Valencia go into the international break unbeaten in seven and having registered their best win in two years, that 4-0 victory at neighbouring Elche last Friday.
They have been beaten four times – Real Madrid has six defeats this season.
Valencia have also beaten champions Atletico, Sevilla and lost by a last-minute goal to Barcelona in November, their only defeat at home. They have lost only once since.
Though this Sunday’s home game against Villarreal will be tough, it will be even tougher for the visitors.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow our sports coverage on Twitter @NatSportUAE
MEDIEVIL (1998)
Developer: SCE Studio Cambridge
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation, PlayStation 4 and 5
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE medallists at Asian Games 2023
Gold
Magomedomar Magomedomarov – Judo – Men’s +100kg
Khaled Al Shehi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Faisal Al Ketbi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Asma Al Hosani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -52kg
Shamma Al Kalbani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -63kg
Silver
Omar Al Marzooqi – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Bishrelt Khorloodoi – Judo – Women’s -52kg
Khalid Al Blooshi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Mohamed Al Suwaidi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -69kg
Balqees Abdulla – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -48kg
Bronze
Hawraa Alajmi – Karate – Women’s kumite -50kg
Ahmed Al Mansoori – Cycling – Men’s omnium
Abdullah Al Marri – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Team UAE – Equestrian – Team showjumping
Dzhafar Kostoev – Judo – Men’s -100kg
Narmandakh Bayanmunkh – Judo – Men’s -66kg
Grigorian Aram – Judo – Men’s -90kg
Mahdi Al Awlaqi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -77kg
Saeed Al Kubaisi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Shamsa Al Ameri – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -57kg
2021 World Triathlon Championship Series
May 15: Yokohama, Japan
June 5: Leeds, UK
June 24: Montreal, Canada
July 10: Hamburg, Germany
Aug 17-22: Edmonton, Canada (World Triathlon Championship Final)
Nov 5-6 : Abu Dhabi, UAE
Date TBC: Chengdu, China
More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
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Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
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On sale: Deliveries start in October
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
SPEC SHEET: SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP5
Display: Main – 6.7" FHD+ Dynamic Amoled 2X, 2640 x 1080, 22:9, 425ppi, HDR10+, up to 120Hz; cover – 3/4" Super Amoled, 720 x 748, 306ppi
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Memory: 8GB
Capacity: 256/512GB
Platform: Android 13, One UI 5.1.1
Main camera: Dual 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) + 12MP wide (f/1.8), OIS
Video: 4K@30/60fps, full-HD@60/240fps, HD@960fps
Front camera: 10MP (f/2.2)
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Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC (Samsung Pay)
I/O: USB-C
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Creator: Jim Mickle
Starring: Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar, Stefania LaVie Owen
Rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
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Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
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SPECS
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QUARTER-FINAL
Wales 20-19 France
Wales: T: Wainwright, Moriarty. Cons: Biggar (2) Pens: Biggar 2
France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 0
Wolves 2 (Traore 80', 90+4')
Results
5.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Al Battar, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer).
6.05pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Good Fighter, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
6.40pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Way Of Wisdom, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Immortalised, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.50pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Franz Kafka, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
8.25pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Mayadeen, Connor Beasley, Doug Watson.
9pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Chiefdom, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
Company profile
Name: Tabby
Founded: August 2019; platform went live in February 2020
Founder/CEO: Hosam Arab, co-founder: Daniil Barkalov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Payments
Size: 40-50 employees
Stage: Series A
Investors: Arbor Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Wamda Capital, STV, Raed Ventures, Global Founders Capital, JIMCO, Global Ventures, Venture Souq, Outliers VC, MSA Capital, HOF and AB Accelerator.
Race card
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1.600m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 2,000m
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 1,200m
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 2,000m
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m