Rubén Baraja Tactics At Valencia 2023/24: How The Los Che’s Legend Stopped The Club From Free Fall – Tactical Analysis

The last decade for Valencia has been truly tumultuous, to put it mildly.

At the turn of the millennium, the club was undoubtedly one of the most prominent in Spain, having won two titles, a UEFA Cup and a UEFA Super Cup between 1999 and 2004.

During this period, the club also reached two UEFA Champions League Finals.

However, the years following 2004 proved to be less fruitful for the side and with less success, a few signs of instability began to appear.

One of the most significant signs of this instability was the revolving door of managerial appointments, with young managers such as Unai Emery and Ronald Koeman all having stints at the club, as well as a few other interim managerial appointments.

Amidst all of this, the side still had many talented players on their books, with the likes of David Villa, Juan Mata and David Silva helping the club secure a Champions League spot in the 2009/10 season. 

Although having several talented players, the club was forced to administer outgoings to balance their books, with David Villa sold to Barcelona and David Silva sold to Manchester City.

In the resulting three years after these exits, Valencia still remained competitive, finishing third twice as well as fifth.

However, the issues surrounding the debt incurred by the club persisted, with Los Che facing administration in 2014. 

In August of the same year, Peter Lim purchased 70.4% of the clubs shares and subsequently became the owner of the club after negotiations with the creditors of the club.

Nuno Espírito Santo was trusted with the managerial responsibilities and, in his first season, managed to guide the side back into the Champions League places after a two-year absence.

Following an exodus of talent, the club made a notable attempt to improve the sides strength by bringing in players such as Álvaro Negredo and André Gomes. 

Although starting off brightly, Espírito Santo could not maintain the same form the following season and had a poor start to the 2015/16 La Liga season, resulting in his dismissal.

The following years consisted of another spell of Valencias personal managerial merry-go-round with several managers entrusted with the head coach responsibilities at the club.

As a result, Valencias on-pitch performances struggled, and questions began to be raised about Peter Lims ownership.

In 2017, the club turned a new corner with the appointment of Marcelino García Toral, who managed to guide the club to successive top-four finishes as well as a Copa Del Rey. 

Nevertheless, with fans firmly against Peter Lim and Marcelino publicly showing his disgruntlement towards the ownership, the Spanish coach was sacked by the club.

Once again, the situation surrounding the clubs financial stability resurfaced, with the club forced to sell key players such as Dani Parejo, Rodrigo Moreno, and youngster Ferran Torres, all for below-market transfer fees.

Four years on from Marcelinos departure and the wedge between ownership and the fans the largest it has ever been, Rubén Baraja, who played for the club as a midfielder in their successful years in the early 2000s, was appointed by the club at the start of 2023, with Valencia floating dangerously close to the relegation zone. 

This scout report will provide a tactical analysis of how the Los Che former captain aims to address the tactical issues that plagued the side last season, as well as examine Rubén Barajas tactics being deployed at the start of this season. 

Valencia Struggles Before Rubén Baraja Arrival

Valencia CF Shots Map

When examining their underlying numbers, it is clear that Valencias attacking output is not the most significant cause of their 16th-placed finish last campaign, with the side scoring the 12th most goals in the division with 42 in total.

When looking at their goal figures from an xG perspective, Los Che underperformed by 11 goals, which, considering the xG totals of other La Liga teams, would have been the 9th-best goal tally in the Spanish top flight.

This suggests that the side did not necessarily struggle to create chances last campaign but instead struggled to put them away. 

Valencia CF Shots Against Map