Ricardo Arias analyses the first days of José Bordalás as the new coach of Valencia CF. The Valencian ambassador and legend spoke to VCF Media and highlighted the ambition, enthusiasm and demand of the new man in the dugout.

Optimism and desire

I've had the opportunity to meet him and speak with him for a few minutes. The feeling between us was very good. There's a lot of optimism and a desire to come here and work. I have to admit that I'm very satisfied to see that somebody from Valencia has taken on the role. The fact that he's very excited about coming here to coach a club like Valencia CF brings calm in a sense. He's a coach who wanted to come here and do big things.

Ambition

He's said it on several occasions: He wants to bring back the Valencia CF DNA, prestige and footballing status that the club have strayed away from in the last 2 seasons. I think that it's good. It's phenomenal. For somebody from outside to come in and talk about what the club has always represented says a lot about what he wants to achieve. That gives me a lot of optimism about what he intends to do here. A drastic change is needed, and I think that the sense of ambition, excitement and demand that he gives off can make things easier for the team. We want the team, the club and the players to get back to how we've always been: A team against whom nobody looks forward to playing.

Demanding

He was very clear that he has his style and his way of working. Above all, he was clear that the level of demand will be 100%. I would prefer to have a demanding coach, who pushes me every day in training and in games, over a coach who uses a lot of dialogue and then doesn't demand anything of you. That just leads to a player relaxing and you not getting the best out of them. So I think that his way is very good.

It's very important that the players understand him and give what he transmits to the dressing room the utmost importance. Quality without being demanding of yourself is useless.

Mestalla

He's said that he's come here and experienced it firsthand. He knows what Mestalla is, and he knows what the fans provide and can lead you to achieve. The stadium is hugely important and crucial to us. Beyond whatever happens around the club, the squad and whoever is picked to play in games, we have to be united. We've seen that a team that is united with the fans is almost unbeatable.