Corberán's Valencia revolution: Respected by peers but points don't follow
A year into Carlos Corberán's Valencia reign, rival managers can't stop singing his praises – but is all that sweet talk actually hurting his results?
The Valencia gaffer has earned admirers across La Liga in his first year at Mestalla, but the love-in from fellow coaches hasn’t translated to points on the board.
One year on
It’s been a full 365 days since Carlos Corberán took the reins at Valencia, arriving like a knight in shining armour when the club was staring relegation square in the face. The Cheste-born manager pulled off a right Bobby Dazzler of a rescue job in the second half of last season, steering Los Che away from the drop zone with some spectacular form.
Fast forward to today, and while things aren’t quite as dire as they were when he first walked through the door, there’s still plenty of aggro at Mestalla. The team finds itself languishing in the lower reaches of the table once again, showing precious little consistency when it comes to grinding out results.
The numbers make for proper grim reading:
- Just 3 wins from 17 league matches this season
- A measly 16 points collected from a possible 51
- Back to square one, albeit in slightly less desperate circumstances
The Corberán paradox
What’s particularly interesting about Valencia under Corberán is the disconnect between performances and points. To the naked eye, there’s been a clear improvement in their football – the style, structure and approach have all taken steps forward. But for all that progress on the pitch, the league table tells a different story.
Everyone loves Carlos
Perhaps the most curious aspect of Corberán’s tenure has been the extraordinary chorus of praise from his fellow managers. Before facing Valencia, opposition coaches have been queuing up to shower him with compliments – something that’s hardly standard practice in the cut-throat world of Spanish football.
When one or two managers do it, you might not raise an eyebrow. But when more than ten of your peers go out of their way to big you up before matches, it starts to feel a bit suspect. As the old Spanish saying goes, “praise weakens” – and there might be something to that.
It’s almost as if these warm words have become a curse. The more his fellow tacticians talk him up, the more his team struggles to deliver. His colleagues clearly rate him, but they’ve also consistently found ways to outfox him on matchday.
As Corberán enters his second year at Valencia, he’ll be hoping that fewer compliments from the opposition dugout might actually lead to more points. Sometimes in football, it’s better to be feared than admired.