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Another round of international games brings with it that same old question: why is Victor Valdes constantly overlooked by the manager and coaching staff of the Spanish national squad?
Currently, the Barca keeper finds himself in the form of his life, having just completed the most succesful season in footballing history. Yet, with numerous top-class performances to his name, he somehow still finds himself left out in the cold by Vicente del Bosque and co., and although as Barca fans, we have come to expect the ommision of Valdes’ name from any potential Spain squad list, it does seem unthinkable that he is not at least third choice in the pecking order of current Spanish keepers.
As we speak, he is leading the race for the prestigous Zamora award ahead of Spain’s prefered number one Iker Casillas, with the Barca man having let in just 13 goals in the league during this campaign, as opposed to the 17 conceded by Iker. Both players are far ahead of Spain’s second and third choice keepers when it comes to goals conceded; Liverpool’s Pepe Reina has been beaten 28 times, Villareal’s Diego Lopez 37 times. With stats like that, you really do begin to question just why Victor isn’t getting a chance.
There must be some other factor we are missing and I think to find the answer we must look a little closer at ourselves as FC Barcelona fans. It seems no matter what Valdes does, he is not given the respect he deserves by certain sections of the Barca support. He has had at least two or three fine seasons between the posts for the club and yet we ourselves can’t agree if we actually like him and want him to stay, or if we should sell him and replace him with Cech, Asenjo, Reina, et al. If we, as fans of Valdes’ own club, cannot agree on his value as a player, then it makes sense that no Spain manager is going to be willing to take that risk either.
Having said that, his recent performances cannot be overlooked. In the past 18 months, he has improved immensely, his confidence and understanding of the game growing ever stronger under the stewardship of Pep Guardiola. Think back to some of the biggest games in recent memory for Barca and Victor’s importance cannot be denied – a fine save against Drogba at the Camp Nou in the Champions League semi-final, two hugely important saves in the Champions League final, not to mention a handful of outstanding stops in the most recent Classico against Madrid, where his reading of the game and speed off his line proved tantamount to the end result.
His reflexes are second to none and with his growing confidence is coming a growing bravery. He is more in control of his 18 yard-box now than he has ever been before and seems far more willing to come and catch crosses and corners than he once was. And note that is catch not punch, something Spanish keepers are not renowned for, but something all great keepers must do well!
This can be, at least in some part, attributed to the standards set by Pep Guardiola and his goalkeeping coach Juan Carlos Unzué, who seem to have simplified Valdes’ game right back to the basics – concentrate, come for the ball as quickly as you can and play it on the ground to one of your back four. Simple. Quiet. Almost invisible.
Perhaps this is the problem. Valdes plays for Barca, arguably the most famous exponents of attack-minded, free-flowing, possession football in the world. Whereas the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, and even Real Madrid play a more changeable, pragmatic kind of game, reacting to what they expect the other team will do, with Barca the brand of football is set in stone, arriving at the stadium almost before the squad does.
Like Brazil, Barca keepers just aren’t the main stars of the show and as such are often overlooked. Valdes may make half a dozen important stops in a game that Barca win, but if in that same game Messi scores an unbelievable solo effort or Pedro adds yet another wonder goal to his tally, then which feat is going to grab the headlines? Great saves are just not what’s expected.
But of course there are some criticisms to be made of big Vic.
The main thing that springs to mind for many people when the name Victor Valdes is mentioned is his mistakes and it is a justified criticism. The lad does make some silly mistakes, with the most notable in recent times being his dreadful misplaced pass straight to Ivan de la Pena during the Barcelona derby last February, a goal that saw Espanyol beat Barca at the Nou Camp. But even the best keepers make mistakes, with notable blunders coming from Casillas, Cech, and Reina in the past eighteen months, all of whom are considered some of the best keepers in the world today, if not the best. So it can’t just be Victor’s mistakes that cost him. So what else is it?
At moments, his positioning can let him down. Many times he is beaten at his near post or from angles that a top-class keeper should never be beaten from. The first goal against Atletico Madrid springs to mind here. This may be down to a lack of concentration or a misjudgement with his angles, but either way it is one of the first things they teach young keepers – do not get beaten at your near post!
He can also be found wanting when coming to collect crosses, often needing more than one attempt to make a clean catch, dropping balls or looking too quickly for a foul to be given in his favour from referees. Perhaps he could work on his kicking in order to speed up those new counter-attacks Barca can wage with Ibra leading the line, but maybe that is something that will come with time as he gets used to playing that kind of game.
So maybe it is more of a personal thing? Maybe he is a disruptive character to have around the squad, encouraging conflict and grievances? This may well be the case, what with the notable exclusion of Raul apparently down to such factors. But having not heard any case to justify this, and looking from the outside in, Valdes seems like a quiet, grounded, and well-liked character within the Barca squad, many of whom feature for Spain, so it seems a highly unlikely cause for his being overlooked.
Still, even after such discussions and notable criticisms, it does seem ridiculous that so many people have such little regard for a keeper who has been a constant in a Barcelona side who have won the European Cup twice in the last five years. He has played a crucial part in the sextet winning team, made unbelievable saves from some of world football’s best strikers, and won ten caps for his native Catalunya. I can certainly think of a few countries who would love to have him in their ranks. Maybe he should apply for an English passport?
So why the constant international snub? It seems a far too complicated question to answer right now but one thing is for sure, Valdes is a big enough man to deal with the constant shunning, and as Pep Guardiola said recently, “The good thing with Victor, beyond everything else I think is his indisputable mental strength, his ability to overcome any bumps in the road. My confidence is total in him in such a way that he can make all the mistakes he wants.”
Maybe we as Barca fans should back that sentiment a little more ourselves and perhaps only then will wider aknowledgment come.
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