Baraja: “The team look committed and motivated”

Valencia CF coach Rubén Baraja gave a press conference ahead of the 2023/24 LaLiga season opener against Sevilla FC, which takes place on Friday at 10 pm CEST at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.

How do you see the mood in the dressing room?

They seem raring to go. It has been a short preseason in which every team has played few friendlies, and the heat means it will be a very tough game physically.

The dressing room seems committed and eager for the competition to start, motivated to earn points and to be competing again in LaLiga and with the ambition of, using our virtues, and doing things well collectively to be able to compete tomorrow in Seville.

The transfer market

It is important that we make this issue clear. I already expressed after the Trofeo Naranja what I felt and what I did not think had to be normalised. From there, we have direct communication with the club, with the people who are working and have communication with the owner, and I am not going to be talking every day about whether players will come in or not.

I have to put my energy into what I have to do because LaLiga starts tomorrow and we have 3 important points at stake. Every action is important to achieve the objective that we set for ourselves. When the transfer market ends, the club will assess and say what the objective is for this season with the squad that we have on August 31st, 2023.

Possible signings

It is not a matter of commitment. The people who are working in Valencia, in contact with the majority shareholder, are looking for the best solutions for the team to be strengthened and I hope that the situation changes, but in the run-up to a match like tomorrow's, a LaLiga match in which we have points at stake, I'm not going to be wasting energy thinking about if they bring me a signing or not.

I am focused on tomorrow's game, evaluating the work by my players and trying to face the game with a great mentality. That's what I'm worried about and spending energy on. I want to focus on what matters to me, which is the competition and making sure that we all have those butterflies in our stomachs.

The transfer market is what it is and the situation is what it is. We have to focus on how immediate the competition is. I can't talk about situations, hypotheses or commitments. Work is underway for the moment that players can be signed, to have the players we need, and I trust that this will happen.

What the people want is to see Valencia CF competing in Seville, against a great side that had difficulties last year but ended LaLiga well, who won the Europa League and got a place in the Champions League.

The fans are waiting for signings, but tomorrow they want to see their team and have the excitement of seeing Valencia CF compete. We have to make them see a recognisable team, that they identify with and which complies with what the fans ask of us. There is a long way to go in the transfer market, you have to be patient and calm and when the end comes the situation will be assessed.

Sevilla’s focus with the European Supercup next week

I am expecting the best Sevilla FC side when the competition starts, all the teams take a step forward compared to what they did in preseason and I expect a difficult game. They are a high-level Sevilla FC who are playing an important European final next week and they will want to have continuity. I also expect a great response from Valencia CF and that we are brave and aggressive -as we have been throughout preseason.

The possibility of his resignation

I am not going to repeat the same thing. I have already explained that when the situation arrives we will assess it. I'm in the best place I ever dreamed of being. I am the coach of Valencia CF, of the team that I love, and that tells you everything.

Having three matchdays with the LaLiga transfer window still open

It's something that could be improved, because the fact that there are players who start with one team and move to another, players who might sign or not, doesn't help. There is international competition and we have to bring things forward, and these 3 or 4 games don't seem important but there are 12 points in them. It hinders you depending on if you have your squad defined or not. If the market is open while there is competition, it is something that is not positive and should be assessed to improve it.

Rafa Mir

I am not going to comment on players who are not Valencia CF players.

The squad

I am a sincere and clear person and I like to be told things the way they are. We have spoken with each player about what we want from them and their exact situation. Everyone knows what we think and then there are individual decisions.

They know what to expect and we have told them by speaking directly with them. There are players who will want to stay or maybe to look for something different, but we cannot control the transfer market. The only thing we have done is clearly tell each player what their situation is.

The start of LaLiga

When LaLiga finished there were many things to talk about and I didn't even consider how we would be today. I am happy to go to Seville as Valencia CF coach and try to ensure that my players have a good game and send a positive message that things can be done well.

Young players

I hope that the young players that we have in the team give us energy, hunger, attitude and the desire to earn a place at Valencia CF and in Spanish football, and that is always positive.

I believe a lot in the young players, in working with them, generating routines and habits that make them more complete players, and they have that desire to grow and improve. I hope that they improve individually and that strengthens the team.

Support from the club

They know what kind of person I am and that I am going to say how I feel, with the utmost respect. Communication is fluid and we all work thinking about improving the things we need to improve and trying to move forward.

The fans

The most important thing this season is for the fans to realise how important they were last season.

The experience of the previous year has to make us reflect that when Valencia CF have the fans on our side and go out there to compete, feeling that the fans are supporting and encouraging the team, it is different. We saw that last year at home and away in times of great difficulty.

The response from the fans is outstanding because we have more season ticket holders than last year. People believe in the possibility of Valencia CF and it is something that we cannot lose. They are the main asset that the club have. I hope we can give them more joy and that they suffer less than last year; that is the goal.

VCF Mestalla

We believe in the work of young people and we will use them as needed. The B team is there to help. They are also there to compete and meet their objective, but fundamentally to help the first team and get players to the first team.

Last year we did that with 2-3 players and this year, as far as possible, we will give opportunities to youngsters, who have to improve and grow and can contribute in the future.

Peter Lim

I would tell him the same thing that I'm saying here and that I said the other day: That we need to strengthen the team. I think he understands that this is also the case, but there are situations that we do not control, such as economic matters and Financial Fair Play, that do not allow us to move forward.

I am convinced that the majority shareholder also knows about the needs we have, and from here in Valencia they transmit it to him and let him know. We will have to wait for the moment when we can move forward and I am convinced that that moment will come, as it has come on other occasions, and the majority shareholder will understand that the team has to be strengthened.

Reasons to be positive

We have to demonstrate this starting tomorrow, but the preseason has been good, we have worked well on what we want to be as a team and I hope to give a good response tomorrow. I have no other concern than that. We want to compete well in the game and be close to getting points, trying to win the game with humility, and taking care of all the details with a lot of concentration because Sevilla FC are going to demand a lot from us. That is the mentality we must have.

In preseason I have seen our players compete. We are Valencia CF, we wear a shirt that is very demanding and we are going to defend the club everywhere, with the mentality of winning.

Almeida

He came back later because he was at the European Championships and I said that he was short on preparation. He is intelligent, he has a magnificent understanding of the game and what we want from him this season. We want him to be closer to the goal because he is a player who has a good pass, a good shot and a good finish. He will give us what we are looking for. He can adapt to either position because technically he is very gifted.

Fran Pérez

Fran Pérez is one of the players who started working at the beginning of preseason. Different situations have been evaluated, but his work gives him the possibility of getting minutes at a good level. He has worked well and we are going to see what the transfer market holds, always thinking of the best for him and for the team.

He is a player who needs to play, have minutes and be important. The idea is that either with us or elsewhere he can grow by playing minutes.

Diego López

Diego can playin any of the four attacking positions. He gives us solutions for each position.

He had a very positive breakthrough last year in terms of his determination and influence on results and goals, and he is another player who is at an age where he has to learn, grow and make mistakes. We have to help him so that this responsibility can be distributed among all his teammates. They are young players who are growing up, but they cannot carry all the responsibility, as that has to be shared amongst all of them.