Valencia teams entertain with ASPIRE teams and Qatar U-19 team

Valencia, one of Spain’s most popular football club and one of the world’s biggest teams arrived last week at ASPIRE with a squad of 32 players youth players – 16 players born in 1998 and a further 16 born in 1992. The ’98 squad took on ASPIRE’s ’97 team and proved victorious over two evening games with both matches ending with identical 1:2 score lines. Commenting on the performances, ASPIRE Football Head Coach, Michael Browne said: “Each encounter was closely contested and even though the boys were disappointed to lose, considering the two matches were some of their first ever 11 v 11 games, we were quite pleased with the overall performances.” Tuesday October 20th saw the Valencia ’92 squad lead by coach Ruben Selles Salvador take on the might of the Qatar U-19 national side, it was an evenly fought battle which saw a 3:3 draw. The ASPIRE ’92 team raised the bar for the Doha-based sports Academy and saw a turnaround in the Valencia’s fortunes with a 2:0 defeat at the hands of the hosts. A goal at the start of the game and one at the end sealed a comfortable victory for the ASPIRE side. Some information on Valencia Club de Fútbol: Valencia Club de Fútbol (also known as Valencia or Los Che) is a Spanish professional football club based in Valencia. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the predecessor to the UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cups and two Spanish Super Cups. They have also reached two UEFA Champions League finals in a row, losing to La Liga rivals Real Madrid in 2000 and then German club Bayern Munich in 2001. Valencia were also members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs. In total, Valencia have reached seven major European finals, winning four of them. In the all-time La Liga table, Valencia is in 3rd position behind Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. In terms of international titles, Valencia is again the 3rd-most successful behind Real Madrid and Barcelona - these three being the only Spanish clubs to have won five or more international trophies. Valencia were founded in 1919, and have played their home games at the 55,000-seater Estadio Mestalla since 1923. They are soon to move into the 75,000-seater Nou Mestalla in the north-west of the city in 2010. Valencia have a long-standing rivalry with Levante, also located in Valencia, and with another club in the Valencian Community region, Villarreal. Valencia is the third-most popular football team in Spain, only behind Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. It is also one of the biggest clubs in the world in terms of number of associates (registered paying supporters), with more than 50,000 season ticket holders and another 20,000+ season ticket holders on the waiting list, which will come into effect once the new 75,000-seater stadium is built.