Valencia coach throws down the gauntlet
“There are some people in the squad who are not trying, and they have infected the rest,” a fuming Benitez, who threatened to leave the club or force a players’ clear-out, said.
After losing 1-0 at struggling Valladolid on Saturday, the reigning champions dropped out of the top four, losing an automatic place in Europe’s showcase event.
They also went down by the same score to Inter in the San Siro two weeks ago, which leaves them needing a win by two goals or more over the Italians if they are to progress to the Champions League semi-finals for the third time in four seasons.
“I have to ask if some people want to be here. We’ve been talking about the same matter for several weeks and it’s fairly simple: when we play well we win and when we don’t we lose. Some players don’t seem to understand this,” thundered Benitez.
“Some players are not hungry enough after winning the Spanish league last season,” he added.
“I want to carry on here for the two years remaining on my contract, but if the situation doesn’t improve there are only two solutions: change the coach or change the players.”
One of the players whom Benitez is likely to have his sights trained on is Valencia’s veteran Italian defender Amadeo Carboni.
“It will not be the end of the world if we lose against Inter,” he has said.
“We are in the quarter-finals now and so we know that we are one of the best teams in the Europe. If the league had gone better we would be talking about other things, rather than just concentrating on this game,” added Carboni, with a frankness which will not have pleased Benitez.
With the likes of Carboni in the squad, perhaps it is no surprise that Benitez was wondering aloud where some of his players’ loyalties lie.
Valencia (probable): Canizares; Reveillere, Ayala, Pellegrino, Carboni; Rufete, Baraja, Aimar, Vicente; Carew, Angulo.
Inter (probable): Toldo; Zanetti, Materazzi, Cordoba, Pasquale; Okan, Di Biagio, Zanetti, Dalmat; Vieri, Crespo.
Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark)
