Albelda: Soler and Koeman ´destroyed´ Valencia

David Albelda has voiced his disappointment that Valencia are no longer able to challenge Barcelona and Real Madrid for the La Liga title.

Albelda won two La Liga titles with Valencia in 2001-02 and 2003-04, but they have been unable to replicate those successes in recent years, and the influential midfielder blames former president Juan Soler and head coach Ronald Koeman for their recent slump.

“It really hurts that we cannot really compete right now. We had the best team in Spain and had closed the gap with Barcelona and Real Madrid,” Albelda told El Mundo Deportivo.

“However, then president Juan Soler destroyed everything that we had achieved. He fired Quique Sanchez Flores when we were only four points off the pace. The club then appointed Koeman and we were nearly relegated. The club is still recovering from that period.”

“We are doing an extraordinary job now if you bear in mind that we constantly have to sell our best players. We have to be inventive in order to return to the top.”

Valencia are third in La Liga, 24 points behind league leaders Real Madrid, and host PSV in th Europa League round of 1 on Thursday.