Joaquín serious about Valencia chances

It has not been an easy season for Valencia CF but winger Joaquín can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Improvement
A traumatic start to the campaign included the October departure of coach Quique Sánchez Flores, yet even under successor Ronald Koeman the team crashed out of Europe and continued to struggle in the Primera División. However, a run to the Copa del Rey semi-finals has raised morale, while two successive league wins have lifted them to the point where victory at Getafe CF on Sunday could earn a top-six place. "Morale has improved," Joaquín told uefa.com. "We're quite excited after the good results and things are working out."

Fans keep faith
It is eight home defeats this season – not to mention a run of nine winless matches and 416 goalless minutes at the Mestalla – which have left Valencia out of European competition and playing catch-up. Indeed, only David Villa's goals against Joaquín's former side Real Betis Balompié last week prevented the scoreless sequence becoming a club record. Joaquín admits the Mestalla fans have "put up with a lot". But he insists they are right behind him and his colleagues. "Things change and they can see the team have improved," the 26-year-old Spanish international said. "The victories are starting to come and there's still time to achieve something. We have to carry on working hard to win games, and the supporters must stick by us till the end."

Wing role
Koeman's tactical tinkering at Valencia has resulted in Joaquín playing on the right of a three-man attack, a role he relishes. "The right wing has been my natural position since I turned professional," he said. "Now I have quite a bit of freedom, not just down the right but generally in attack. We also have to defend well as a team, but when it comes to getting on the ball I feel very comfortable."

Goalscoring
That does not mean Joaquín, who joined Valencia in 2006, is opposed to a more central berth. "When I have had to play that position, I think I have done a good job," he said. "The thing is that we already have great strikers like David Villa, Fernando Morientes and Nikola Žigić, who are more than capable goalscorers. Even so, when needed, the coach has used me and I think I did fairly well, scoring with two headers against Real Betis in the Copa del Rey."

Betis affection
It should be said, though, that Joaquín retains affection for the club he represented in 219 league games – witness his choice of pronoun as he discusses the Andalusians' relegation battle. "Us Betis fans have suffered a lot in the last few years and it's the same again this season," he said. "Betis have a good enough team to be higher up the table. Once they manage to put together a few wins, they'll be okay, there's still time." His priority, though, is Valencia. "We can't give up our ambitions," he concluded. "We must keep our hopes up and carry on playing the football we know best, which we played when we were a threat to our rivals. The important thing is to take it match by match."