The 2009-10 La Liga season is nearly upon us and we here at Mad About Futbol will breakdown the chances and player movement of all 20 teams in Spain's 1st division for the 2009-10 season. This time we will breakdown the team also known as Los Che.



LAST SEASON (2008-09):
Valencia was the only team other than Barcelona to be on top of the La Liga standings for more than 1 week. The strong start turned into a massive midseason slide as injuries and poor form saw the club hit a surprisingly low 8th place. A late season charge and a Malaga collapse in the last 3 weeks of the season allowed Los Che to sneak into a Europa League spot and finish 6in 6th place.

KEY PLAYER ADDITIONS:
For the 2009-10 season Valencia will be looking for Serbian forward Nicola Zigic to show the same form he showed for Racing Santander on loan. The 6 ft. 6 inch striker scored 13 goals for Racing last season. He should provide the big body in the box for Valencia's aerial attack and should have a lot of space to operate along side star striker David Villa.

Jérémy Mathieu is another big man acquired during the summer transfer window. The 6ft. 3 inch Frenchman helped Toulouse to a surprise 4th place finish in France's Ligue 1 as TFC finished with the best defense in the league. He is a left back and will replace Italian Emiliano Moretti who was sold to Genoa.

KEY PLAYER SUBTRACTIONS:
Raúl Albiol's sale to Real Madrid helped ease some of the club's financial burdens but the 23 year old was a versatile & durable performer in defense. Albiol's place as a defender & sometimes holding midfielder now falls to Hedwiges Maduro. The Dutchman's performance will be critical in Valencia's success as coach Unai Emery will look to him to display the same characteristics that made Albiol a valuable commodity.

PLAYER TO WATCH
When you talk about Valencia, it is always about David Villa but this year Nikola Zigic is the one to keep an eye on. Villa scored 28 of his team's 68 La Liga goals. That's 41%, one person scoring 41% of the goals will not fill your trophy case with any silverware. Zigic must score 15-20 goals to take pressure off Villa if they are to win any silverware this season.

FINAL ANALYSIS:
Despite the transfer speculation surrounding Juan Mata, David Silva, and David Villa they are all still wearing the Valencia shirt. The core of Valencia's attack is intact and should continue to terrorize defenses in La Liga and Europe. If Hedwiges Maduro can fill the role of Raul Albiol well and they can avoid major injuries, Valencia is a Top 4 team. Los Che are the best threat to challenge Real Madrid & Barcelona for a Top 2 place.