# 2013–14 Valencia CF season

The 2013–14 season was Valencia Club de Fútbol's 96th in existence and the club's 27th consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football.
Valencia endured its worst domestic season since 2007–08, following a serious hamstring injury to star goalkeeper Diego Alves. Contrary to the previous four seasons under the guidance of Unai Emery, Mauricio Pellegrino, Ernesto Valverde and Miroslav Đukić, Valencia's offence malfunctioned, and in December, Đukić was fired by the club, with successful former San Lorenzo coach Juan Antonio Pizzi taking over.
With Pizzi at the helm, Valencia managed to salvage some respectability by reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League, where they were eliminated by eventual champions Sevilla. Following that narrow defeat, Valencia failed to qualify to Europe for the next season for the first time since 1997–98 due to a lowly eighth-place finish in La Liga. In June 2014, the club was sold to Singaporean consortium Meriton Holdings, owned by Peter Lim.

## Season summary

Valencia continued its increasingly frustrating run without the league title, which was extended to ten years following a chaotic season. Coach Miroslav Đukić was fired when the side did not perform to the expected level, and the season saw a further two coaches (Nicolás Estévez and Juan Antonio Pizzi) trying to lead Valencia without much success. Under Pizzi's reign, Valencia recorded a surprise 3–2 victory over Barcelona at Camp Nou in February and a 2–2 draw against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in May. Despite the chaos, the side managed to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League, where it lost to eventual champions Sevilla.
Another worry was the injury problems affecting goalkeeper Diego Alves, who only played in 26 of the 38 league matches.
After the season, Valencia signed Rodrigo De Paul from Racing Club for a fee of €4.6 million to help out with the goalscoring, while successful ex-Rio Ave coach Nuno Espírito Santo was appointed in the hope he could help Valencia return to winning ways. José Sevilla Álvarez, owner of Bankia, sold the club to Singaporean Peter Lim to help Valencia clear its debt.

## Players

    The numbers are established according to the official website: www.valenciacf.com
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | BRA | Diego Alves |
| 2 | FW | ARG | Pablo Piatti |
| 3 | DF | POR | Rúben Vezo |
| 4 | DF | SUI | Philippe Senderos |
| 5 | DF | ESP | Víctor Ruiz |
| 6 | MF | ESP | Oriol Romeu (on loan from Chelsea) |
| 7 | FW | BRA | Jonas |
| 8 | MF | ALG | Sofiane Feghouli |
| 11 | MF | MLI | Seydou Keita |
| 12 | DF | POR | João Pereira |
| 13 | GK | ESP | Vicente Guaita (2nd captain) |
| 14 | MF | ESP | Juan Bernat |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | ESP | Javi Fuego |
| 16 | FW | ESP | Paco Alcácer |
| 17 | FW | CHI | Eduardo Vargas (on loan from Napoli) |
| 19 | DF | ESP | Antonio Barragán |
| 20 | DF | POR | Ricardo Costa (Captain) |
| 21 | MF | ESP | Dani Parejo |
| 22 | DF | FRA | Jérémy Mathieu |
| 24 | MF | ESP | Míchel |
| 25 | FW | BRA | Vinícius Araújo |
| 28 | MF | ARG | Fede Cartabia |
| 29 | MF | ESP | Portu |
| 31 | DF | ESP | José Luis Gayà |

### From Valencia Mestalla

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 26 | GK | ESP | Jaume Domènech |
| — | DF | ESP | Carlos Delgado |
| — | DF | ESP | Salva Ruiz |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ESP | Robert |
| — | MF | ESP | Mario Arqués |
| — | DF | ESP | Alberto Tendillo |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 3 | DF | FRA | Aly Cissokho (at Liverpool until 30 June 2014) |
| — | MF | ESP | Carles Gil (at Elche until 30 June 2014) |
| — | MF | ESP | Jonathan Viera (at Rayo Vallecano until 30 June 2014) |
| 4 | DF | FRA | Adil Rami (at Milan until 30 June 2014) |
| 11 | FW | COL | Dorlan Pabón (at São Paulo until 30 June 2015) |
| 18 | MF | MEX | Andrés Guardado (at Bayer Leverkusen until 30 June 2014) |
| 9 | FW | POR | Hélder Postiga (at Lazio until 30 June 2014) |
| 10 | MF | ARG | Éver Banega (at Newell's Old Boys until 30 June 2014) |
| — | DF | ARG | Nicolás Otamendi (at Atlético Mineiro until 30 June 2014) |

### Detailed squad information

| Num | Pos | Name | Date of birth (Age) | Place of birth | Date signed | Signed from | Contract expires | Notes |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||||
| 1 | GK | Vicente Guaita | (1987-02-18) 18 February 1987 (age 37) | Torrent, Spain | 2 October 2008 (d) | Youth system, signed from Aldaya | 30 June 2015 | Originally from youth system |
| 13 | GK | Diego Alves | (1985-06-24) 24 June 1985 (age 39) | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 4 June 2011 | São Paulo | 30 June 2015 | |
| – | GK | Yeray Gómez | (1992-06-10) 10 June 1992 (age 32) | Selva, Spain | 11 July 2013 | Mallorca B | 30 June 2014 | On loan from Mallorca B, Valencia Mestalla member |
| Defenders |||||||||||
| 4 | CB | Adil Rami | (1985-12-27) 27 December 1985 (age 39) | Bastia, France | 3 January 2011 | Lille | 30 June 2014 | |
| 5 | CB | Víctor Ruiz | (1989-01-25) 25 January 1989 (age 35) | Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain | 30 August 2011 | Napoli | 30 June 2016 | |
| 12 | RB | João Pereira | (1984-02-25) 25 February 1984 (age 40) | Lisbon, Portugal | 24 May 2012 | Sporting CP | 30 June 2015 | |
| 19 | RB | Antonio Barragán | (1987-06-12) 12 June 1987 (age 37) | Pontedeume, Spain | 30 August 2011 | Real Valladolid | 30 June 2015 | |
| 20 | CB | Ricardo Costa | (1981-08-27) 27 August 1981 (age 43) | Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal | 17 May 2010 | VfL Wolfsburg | 30 June 2015 | |
| 22 | LB | Jérémy Mathieu | (1983-10-29) 29 October 1983 (age 41) | Luxeuil-les-Bains, France | 10 June 2009 | Toulouse | 30 June 2017 | |
| Midfielders |||||||||||
| 6 | DM | Oriol Romeu | (1991-09-24) 24 September 1991 (age 33) | Ulldecona, Spain | 12 July 2013 | Chelsea | 31 June 2014 | On loan from Chelsea |
| 8 | AM | Sofiane Feghouli | (1989-12-26) 26 December 1989 (age 35) | Levallois-Perret, France | 23 May 2010 | Grenoble | 30 June 2016 | |
| 10 | CM | Éver Banega | (1988-06-29) 29 June 1988 (age 36) | Rosario, Argentina | 5 January 2008 | Boca Juniors | 30 June 2015 | |
| 11 | LW | Pablo Piatti | (1989-03-31) 31 March 1989 (age 35) | Ucacha, Argentina | 6 July 2011 | Almería | 30 June 2016 | |
| 14 | LW | Juan Bernat | (1993-03-01) 1 March 1993 (age 31) | Cullera, Spain | 27 August 2011 (d) | Youth system, since beginnings | 30 June 2015 | Originally from youth system |
| 15 | DM | Javi Fuego | (1984-01-04) 4 January 1984 (age 41) | Pola de Siero, Spain | 1 July 2013 | Rayo Vallecano | 30 June 2017 | |
| 17 | AM | Jonathan Viera | (1989-10-21) 21 October 1989 (age 35) | Las Palmas de G.C., Spain | 6 May 2012 | Las Palmas | 30 June 2017 | |
| 18 | LW | Andrés Guardado | (1986-09-28) 28 September 1986 (age 38) | Guadalajara, Mexico | 28 May 2012 | Deportivo La Coruña | 30 June 2016 | |
| 21 | CM | Dani Parejo | (1989-04-16) 16 April 1989 (age 35) | Coslada, Spain | 14 June 2011 | Getafe | 30 June 2016 | |
| 23 | AM | Sergio Canales | (1991-02-16) 16 February 1991 (age 33) | Santander, Spain | 30 July 2011 | Real Madrid | 30 June 2017 |
| 24 | AM | Míchel | (1988-07-29) 29 July 1988 (age 36) | Burjassot, Spain | 29 October 2008 (d) | Levante | 30 June 2016 | Originally from youth system |
| Forwards |||||||||||
| 7 | SS | Jonas | (1984-04-01) 1 April 1984 (age 40) | Bebedouro, Brazil | 24 January 2011 | Grêmio | 30 June 2015 | Without European Union citizenship |
| 16 | ST | Paco Alcácer | (1993-08-30) 30 August 1993 (age 31) | Torrent, Spain | 11 November 2010 (d) | Youth system, signed from Monte-Sión | 30 June 2016 | |
Notes: (d), debut in first team in an official match

### Transfers
#### In

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee | Source |
| 15 | DM | Javi Fuego | 29 | EU | Rayo Vallecano | Transfer | Summer | 2016 | Free | As.com |
| 16 | ST | Paco Alcácer | 19 | EU | Getafe | Loan return | Summer | 2016 | N/A | Terra.es |
| 5 | DM | Fernando Gago | 26 | EU | Vélez Sarsfield | Loan return | Summer | 2016 | N/A | Clarín.com |
| 24 | AM | Míchel | 24 | EU | Levante | Transfer | Summer | 2016 | €0.42M | Superdeporte.es |
| 6 | DM | Oriol Romeu | 21 | EU | Chelsea | Loan | Summer | 2014 | N/A | ValenciaCF.com |
| | GK | Yeray Gómez | 21 | EU | Mallorca B | Loan | Summer | 2014 | N/A | Marca.com |
| 28 | MF | Fede Cartabia | 20 | EU | Valencia Mestalla | Promoted | Summer | 2017 | N/A | Superdeporte.es |
| 36 | DF | José Luis Gayà | 18 | EU | Valencia Mestalla | Promoted | Summer | 2018 | N/A | |
| 27 | FW | Robert | 20 | EU | Valencia Mestalla | Promoted | Summer | 2014 | N/A | Superdeporte.es |
| 9 | FW | Hélder Postiga | 31 | EU | Zaragoza | Transfer | Summer | 2016 | €3M | Superdeporte.es |
| 11 | FW | Dorlan Pabón | 25 | Non-EU | Monterrey | Transfer | Summer | 2018 | €7.5M | Superdeporte.es |
| 17 | FW | Eduardo Vargas | 24 | Non-EU | Napoli | Loan | Winter | 2014 | €0.5M | Superdeporte.es |
Total expenditure: €11.42 million

#### Out

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee | Source |
| 24 | MF | Tino Costa | 28 | EU | Spartak Moscow | Transfer | Summer | €7M | Superdeporte.es |
| 6 | MF | David Albelda | 35 | EU | | End of contract | Summer | Free | Superdeporte.es |
| 26 | GK | Felipe Ramos | 25 | EU | Deportivo La Coruña | End of loan | Summer | N/A | Riazor.org |
| | CM | Carles Gil | 20 | EU | Elche | Loan | Summer | N/A | ValenciaCF.com |
| 16 | ST | Nelson Valdez | 29 | EU | Al Jazira | Transfer | Summer | €3M | Marca.com |
| 5 | MF | Fernando Gago | 27 | EU | Boca Juniors | Transfer | Summer | €1.7M | Superdeporte.es |
| 9 | ST | Roberto Soldado | 27 | EU | Tottenham Hotspur | Transfer | Summer | €30M | ESPN |
| 3 | DF | Aly Cissokho | 25 | EU | Liverpool | Loan | Summer | €1M | Superdeporte.es |
| | DF | Salva Ruiz | 18 | EU | Tenerife | Loan | Summer | N/A | Superdeporte.es |
Total income: €42.7 million

## Club
### Technical staff

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Juan Antonio Pizzi |
| Second coach | Manuel Suárez |
| Physical trainer | Alejandro Richino |
| Goalkeeping trainer | José Manuel Ochotorena |
| Delegate | Salvador González 'Voro' |
| Kit manager | Bernardo España Edo 'Españeta' |
| Kit manager | José Manuel López |
| Kit manager | Vicente Navarro Navarro 'Serreta' |
| Kit manager | Iván Montero Rodríguez |
| Kit manager | Vicente Ventura Deval |
Source: Valencia CF Official Website

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Current position / round | First match | Last match |
| La Liga | — | — | 17 August 2013 | 18 May 2014 |
| Copa del Rey | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | 7 December 2013 | |
| UEFA Europa League | Group stage | — | 19 September 2013 | |
Updated to match played 9 July 2013 Source: Competitions

### Overall friendly trophies

| Trophy | Organizer | Type | Result | Place | First match | Last match |
| International Champions Cup | International Champions Cup | Tournament | | Mestalla, Valencia (Spain) MetLife Stadium, NYC (United States) Sun Life Stadium, Miami (United States) | 27 July 2013 | 6/7 August 2013 |
| XLII Trofeu Taronja – Estrella Damm | Valencia CF | One match trophy | | Mestalla, Valencia (Spain) | 10 August 2013 | 10 August 2013 |
Source: Pre-season and friendlies

### La Liga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 6 | Villarreal | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 60 | 44 | +16 | 59 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round |
| 7 | Real Sociedad | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 62 | 55 | +7 | 59 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 8 | Valencia | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 51 | 53 | −2 | 49 | |
| 9 | Celta Vigo | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 49 | 54 | −5 | 49 | |
| 10 | Levante | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 48 | |
* 1 2 Villarreal finished ahead of Real Sociedad on head-to-head points: Villarreal 5–1 Real Sociedad, Real Sociedad 1–2 Villarreal.
* 1 2 Since both the 2013–14 Copa del Rey champions (Real Madrid) and runners-up (Barcelona) qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, the 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams qualified for the group stage, play-off round and third qualifying round of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League respectively.

#### Matches
### Copa del Rey

Valencia began in the last 32, beating Segunda División B side Gimnàstic de Tarragona before losing to Atlético Madrid in the last 16.

### UEFA Europa League
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | VAL | SWA | KUB | STG |
| 1 | Valencia | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 13 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 0–3 | 1–1 | 5–1 |
| 2 | Swansea City | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 8 | Advance to knockout phase | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| 3 | Kuban Krasnodar | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 4–0 |
| 4 | St. Gallen | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 6 | | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | — |
* 1 2 Tied on head-to-head points (3). Head-to-head goal difference: Kuban Krasnodar +2, St. Gallen −2.

#### Knockout phase
## Pre-season and friendlies

Valencia began training on 8 July 2013. The stage of pre-season was in Speyer, Germany, from Wednesday 10 July until Sunday 21 July, all players were invited and Mestalla members invited were Fede Cartabia, Mario Arqués, Salva Ruiz, José Luis Gayà and Robert. Players joining days later included Ricardo Costa, João Pereira, Adil Rami and Jérémy Mathieu on 9 July; Paco Alcácer on 10 July, Jonas, Éver Banega and Sofiane Feghouli on 13 July; Andrés Guardado, Juan Bernat and Gayà on 22 July; and Roberto Soldado on 27 July. Fernando Gago did not join the team. On 21 July, they returned to Valencia to participate in the International Champions Cup, which began in Valencia, then continued in the United States in August. Valencia presentations and the Orange Trophy were played on 10 August.
Last updated: 11 August 2013. Source: Valencia CF

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

    Last updated on 17 May 2014
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | La Liga | La Liga | Copa del Rey | Copa del Rey | Europa League | Europa League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | BRA | Diego Alves | 35 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ESP | Vicente Guaita | 23 | 0 | 11+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | POR | Rúben Vezo | 8 | 1 | 5+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | SUI | Philippe Senderos | 11 | 1 | 7+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | ESP | Víctor Ruiz | 19 | 1 | 8+3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | POR | João Pereira | 38 | 0 | 23+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | ESP | Juan Bernat | 49 | 2 | 26+6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 11+2 | 1 |
| 19 | DF | ESP | Antonio Barragán | 31 | 1 | 17+3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4+5 | 1 |
| 20 | MF | POR | Ricardo Costa | 32 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7+2 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | FRA | Jérémy Mathieu | 47 | 4 | 32 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 10+1 | 1 |
| 31 | DF | ESP | José Luis Gayà | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 6 | MF | ESP | Oriol Romeu | 18 | 0 | 11+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ALG | Sofiane Feghouli | 45 | 7 | 22+10 | 4 | 2+1 | 0 | 7+3 | 3 |
| 11 | MF | MLI | Seydou Keita | 18 | 1 | 9+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | ESP | Javi Fuego | 40 | 2 | 25+2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8+2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ESP | Dani Parejo | 46 | 5 | 28+3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 10+1 | 1 |
| 24 | MF | ESP | Míchel | 27 | 0 | 13+6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ARG | Fede Cartabia | 40 | 3 | 16+9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10+2 | 3 |
| 29 | MF | ESP | Portu | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 2 | FW | ARG | Pablo Piatti | 29 | 7 | 13+4 | 5 | 0+3 | 0 | 3+6 | 2 |
| 7 | FW | BRA | Jonas | 40 | 10 | 23+8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4+4 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | ESP | Paco Alcácer | 37 | 14 | 17+6 | 6 | 1+2 | 1 | 8+3 | 7 |
| 17 | FW | CHI | Eduardo Vargas | 25 | 5 | 13+4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7+1 | 2 |
| 25 | MF | BRA | Vinícius Araújo | 6 | 0 | 0+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who have made an appearance or had a squad number this season but have been loaned out or transferred ||||||||||||
| 4 | DF | FRA | Adil Rami | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ARG | Éver Banega | 22 | 1 | 14+4 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ESP | Jonathan Viera | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | MEX | Andrés Guardado | 22 | 0 | 12+4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ESP | Sergio Canales | 27 | 2 | 7+12 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| 9 | FW | POR | Hélder Postiga | 23 | 4 | 9+6 | 3 | 2+1 | 1 | 3+2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | COL | Dorlan Pabón | 18 | 3 | 11+2 | 3 | 0+2 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |