Valencia, for most of the past eight years, have been at war with themselves. Divided within, civil discontent took its toll. It may not be the ivory tower that the Meriton ownership group sits in, but it’s undoubtedly pricey and out of reach, based far away in Singapore. Valencia shut down their social media comments so as not to hear the backlash, abandoned buildings were decorated in protest and the final game of last season saw more fans outside Mestalla than inside inside. No matter where you fall on the conflict, there is no denying its presence.
It looked like the ship had been leveled off three seasons ago when Marcelino García Toral battled his way to a Copa del Rey win over Barcelona. What should have been a purely celebratory display of fireworks blew a gaping hole in the hull, from which Marcelino, now Barcelona director of football Mateu Alemany, Carlos Soler and Goncalo Guedes have since been swept away. Marcelino claimed he was sacked for prioritizing the Copa del Rey.
Soler and Guedes were sold this summer, necessary evils to fit into their salary cap. This allowed them to renew their toughest soldier, leader and captain Jose Gaya for the next five years.
The Valencian left-back could have easily gone out as well. At 27, he is at the peak of his career. Gaya is probably an important part of Spain’s World Cup squad, if not a starter. His future was in his hands, having rejected several offers over the years, he was out of contract the next summer. While Los Che sold Soler and Guedes on the condition that they could renew Gaya, it was still his choice. Often linked with a move to Barcelona, he instead chose the team that finished ninth last season. Why did he stay?
“Well, in the end, I was brought up here since I was 11. I’ve been at the Valencia academy, and not just since I was 11 but even before that I was a fan. from Valencia, so it’s hard to explain.” he started. During a Q&A hosted by LaLiga, Goal’s Ruben Uria had asked him what Valencia meant to him but it also helped connect the dots on his big decision.
“You know, being a fan of a club and then being able to represent that club as a player, as a captain. I’ve been through all the different phases of the club, in good and bad times, but there are values that I always thought a player and an athlete should have. I think Valencia always gave me everything. Since I was very young, they always helped me.
Loyalty can be a pernicious term in football. Often expected of players when it suits clubs, frequently used as the last bastion of desperation when market forces combine to pull a player in a different direction. Still, Gaya’s words sound remarkably like the L-word – only in this instance used with purity of purpose rather than as part of an accusation.
Even so, you don’t get to international football or receive that kind of interest without ambition and drive. Football España asked Valencia’s captain what promises the club made to him. How have their ambitions translated into goals for the coming seasons?
“Well, at the end of the day, I’m not a player who likes to look to the future in football. You have to look at the present. And you just need to have a good season. The future is uncertain, you never know what’s going to happen. I’m an ambitious player, of course, and I would like the club to be one of the best. And for that we will really fight to achieve that, all the players. But you can’t set a goal beyond this season, beyond this week and beyond the next game.
In a time when thousands of fans have lost faith in the club – but perhaps not the team – Gaya maintains an almost holy devotion. Going back to his first answer, his answer is ironclad.
“I’m really happy here at Valencia and I’ve always said that, and as soon as I’m not happy here or don’t bring what I should be able to bring, I’ll be the first to say it. But at the moment where we’re talking, I’m really excited and happy to be at the club, to be an important player and to try to give Valencia what it really deserves, which is to fight to win things important.
“I’ve had the chance to play in two finals in the last three years, one of which we won. So I’m where I want to be, here at Valencia. You have to be loyal to a club that has everything for you. given.
Of course, what Gaya omits is how much he gave to the club. His new contract will end with him at 32 and he’s on course to become a one-club man – Valencia will likely get his whole career in return. If he comes to the end of this deal, he will have spent 21 years trying to make sure Valencia fight for important things.
The growing disparity in football, both in financial terms and in the level of ambition that clubs outside the top flight can reasonably aspire to, means that stories like these are becoming increasingly rare. More and more valuable too.
The fights are also exhausting. No one can claim the stamina that Gaya has shown since breaking into the first team for the first time, on an apocalyptic night in Llagostera, reaching the cold reaches of Catalonia towards the Pyrenees, there is now a decade old.
In most nations, battered and battered by political strife, there is a brain drain. People rightly seek better lives and better situations where progress is not stifled by this disharmony. Then there is the rare case of the engineer, builder, or lawyer who sets aside personal gain to repair the house from the inside. Stubborn, they believe in improving things from within.
Gaya’s situation can’t be directly compared to a country beset by conflict, but his role within the divided nation of Valencianism might be as close as football gets. It’s a natural human thought process to think that the grass is always greener on the other side. Gaya has so far resisted this temptation despite having many reasons to believe so. He’s the captain that money can’t buy. Gaya stays behind to make sure the grass is always green in Mestalla.
