All right, let’s get the stats out of the way. Victor Valdes has won a total of 19 titles, which include five La Liga titles, three Champions League titles and two Copa del Rey titles. He has won the Zamora trophy, which is awarded to the goalkeeper who has the lowest goals-to-games ratio in a league season, a record five times and has the most appearances in goal for FC Barcelona. In pure statistical terms, he makes us wonder what Iker Casillas has done to pip Valdes to a place in FIFA World XI time and again. Maybe FIFA thought that Valdes doesn’t play in La Liga and therefore doesn’t meet the selection criteria!
Anyway, when you are Victor Valdes – the most successful keeper in the club’s history, and you have been offered a chance to do one better, you either grab it with both gloves or as is the trend nowadays, you treat it with nonchalance while your agent does what he is paid to do. However, Valdes has surprised everyone – the club, the coach, the players and the fans, by refusing to sign a contract extension which expires in 2014. This is what Andoni Zubizaretta had to say, “Before we could make any proposal or discuss anything, his agent said that the decision was already made and it is an irrevocable decision”. Apparently, the drinks haven’t even arrived yet!
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The rumour mill immediately swung into action claiming that Valdes is set to reunite with Guardiola who had just signed for Bayern Munich (seriously? Manuel Neuer – Age 26, Valdes – Age 31). While I cannot speculate as to what went through Valdes’s head (I tried that on a few occasions in vain) when he made this decision, but one thing that stands out in this entire episode is Valdes’s professionalism, love and respect for the club he had joined as a 10-year old and also vice-versa. ”Victor has given us 18 months to look for another goalkeeper. He is honest”, said Vilanova, although I doubt that they will need all the 18 months.
Being a Barcelona keeper is a tough job because ironically it requires you to be being idle for about 80 minutes of the total 90, thanks to Barcelona’s tiki-taka carnival. It is like staring at a computer screen for days and waiting for a super deal which lasts only for a few minutes. It requires high powers of concentration, otherwise you might as well take a seat in the crowd and enjoy the beautiful game. The second pre-requisite is that you have to pass well. This is something Valdes has taken to heart very seriously, to the extent that he committed some horrendous errors, against Real Madrid no less. Otherwise, he is calm and composed under pressure and always tries to pass the ball and start the play from the back. Finally, there is his confidence and fearlessness, which in my opinion is by far his greatest asset. The number of times he made one-on-one saves, when the match was still in the balance! And we all know what opposition teams do when they go one goal up against Barca.
Therefore, Barcelona will, without doubt, miss him as a goalkeeper, but more importantly, he will be missed as a member of a group whose strength lies in its unity. Whether or not it is the best team on the planet, this current Barcelona unit is undeniably the most cohesive unit in world football right now. One need not look too far to see the difference between a team united in its spirit and a team immersed in conflict issues, even though they are equally matched in the talent department. Yeah, you guessed it right and if not, google ‘Real Madrid 2012-2013?. That is why Barcelona has been giving out new contracts like Halloween candy and the players too have been signing them without much ado. Therefore, Valdes’s decision kind of puts a dent in Barcelona’s long term plans.
However, as Vilanova put it, “Barcelona is a maginificient place, but we all have the right to go off and play in other places, cultures and clubs”. A lot of players do it towards the end of their careers although Valdes is still only 31. With the kind of experience he has and his abilities, I am sure he will succeed wherever he goes and I am also sure that he will get the kind of farewell that the best goalkeeper and a great servant of the club deserves.
How Casillas must have felt when Valdes refused the new contract and he is still not 100% sure of his place in the first XI is anyone’s guess!!
