On August 6 and 7, eight prestigious clubs from across Europe and the United States will call South Florida home for two days as they compete for the coveted International Champions Cup Trophy. In the sixth of an eight part series, we take a look at Valencia.
One of Spain’s largest and most respected clubs, Valencia has won six La Liga Titles, seven Copa del Rey Trophies, and three UEFA Cup titles.
Most recently, Valencia finished fifth in the 2012-13 La Liga season.
Valencia is led by striker Roberto Soldado, a Spanish national who also used to play for Real Madrid, where he was a part of the team that won La Liga in 2007-2008. Soldado also competes for the Spanish National team, with whom he competed in the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013. This will be the second time this summer that Soldado will be playing in Sun Life Stadium this summer, as he was here when Spain defeated Haiti on June 8th.
Other standouts for Valencia included Argentinian Ever Banega, Mexican Andres Guardado, as well as French nationals Aly Cissokho and Adil Rami.
Banega started his playing career with the Argentinean club team Boca Juniors before joining Valencia in 2008, where he has played except for a short period from 2008-2009 when he was on loan to Athletico Madrid. Guardado, a left winger, has been with Valencia since 2012, and was part of the Mexican National team that won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2011.
Valencia is managed by Miroslav Dukic, who was appointed to the position in June of this year. Dukic is no stranger to Valencia, as he played for the club from 1997-2003, during which the club saw much success.
Valencia starts its 2013 International Champions Cup campaign against AC Milan in a game that will be played at Mestalla, the home stadium for Valencia. This upcoming match will mark the first time that the two clubs have ever met, and will also be the only International Champions Cup game held outside of the United States.
Before heading to South Florida, Valencia will travel to MetLife Stadium in New York to face either Chelsea or Inter.
For more information regarding the International Champions Cup,
and to purchase tickets to see Real Madrid play at Sun Life Stadium,
click
here.
