Valencia 2001: Year of the Scorpion Soccer

Valencia soccer club in Spain has an outstanding season in 2001-2002 and captures the coveted La Liga title and seeks to defeat Germany's Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champion's League.

I've always been a huge fan of soccer, at the national and international and club levels. I enjoy watching and tracking rising stars in Europe and South America and enjoying major tournaments including the World Cup and the UEFA Champion's League. I even enjoy women's international soccer and cheer the USA women's team seeking yet another title, but mostly I cheer men's soccer.

One of my favorite international club teams (from Spain) is Valencia, a team which has boasted incredible stars such as Pablo Aimar (Argentina) and David Villa (Spain). Valencia had an outstanding season in 2001-2002, capturing the coveted La Liga title in Spain and seeking a rematch with Germany's Bayern Munich team in the UEFA Champion's League Final. Spain arguably boasts the world's finest club soccer teams, even though England and Italy and South America also claim to offer incredible competitive club-play. However, Valencia has stood out in its coaching and team flow, and I cheered the team on in that incredible 2001-2002 season, which included an attractive 3-2 victory over rival Spanish club team Barcelona (which at the time boasted greats such as Brazil's Rivaldo and Holland's Frank de Boer!).

So this sports 'fan-fiction' short-story is a toast to that incredible Valencia 2001-2002 season, and even though I'm an American, I do enjoy great international (televised!) sports, and for those fans of soccer who relished following Pablo Aimar's shiny Valencia team that year, you know about all that terrific diarism...

Thanks for reading!

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The 2001 Spanish La Liga soccer club season kicked off with high expectations. Fans of soccer in Spain eagerly watched as great stars such as Patrick Kluivert (Barcelona) and Pablo Aimar (Valencia) prepared to offer audiences examples of thrilling and elegant play, and in the new millennium of media, everyone could purchase and view or watch such games for free on cable television! It was an anticipated season, and many of the more erudite fans of world soccer were playing close attention to Pablo Aimar's Valencia team. In fact, retired Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona commented that Pablo Aimar was arguably the new era's finest soccer and midfielder and enjoyed tracking him on television. Aimar hailed from Argentina himself and stood out in the junior leagues and then in the pro-leagues before signing a great contract with Spain's Valencia team. However, Aimar's Valencia team would have to stand up against other great Spanish teams including Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Real Madrid boasted Portugal's finesse-played Luis Figo, and Barcelona boasted Holland's great striker Patrick Kluivert. If Aimar's Valencia team, still considered something of an 'underdog' was to take teams like Real Madrid team down in the Spanish La Liga in 2001-2002, they'd have to coordinate team-flow and play and give Aimar opportunities to orchestrate beautiful offensive maneuvers. Of course, Aimar was capable and up to the task, but he'd have to pray to Jesus Christ to see if his entire team could work together finely enough to challenge and destroy teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona. The winner of the La Liga title in 2001-2002 would then be in good stead to be serious contenders in the iconic UEFA Champion's League tournament which would invite the best soccer club teams from around the world. Aimar knew the test was great, and he wanted Valencia to sail past Real Madrid and eventually face Germany's ambitious and machine-like focused club team Bayern Munich.

The season kicked off with exciting play for Aimar and Valencia, as the team eyed the coveted La Liga title and the ensuing UEFA tournament. The coach favored his prodigy midfielder Aimar whom many claimed would reinvigorate international soccer and give fans around the world cool memories of yesteryear's special brand of elegant and fluid like team play, something audiences had arguably not enjoyed since the early 1990s and late 1980s! Aimar therefore had incredible expectations to meet and wanted to please his fans and his critics. Valencia boasted a skilled goalkeeper (Canizares), a cool defender (Ayala), a decent striker (Salva), and of course, the wonder-midfielder Pablo Aimar. In the opening La Liga game on August 25, 2001, Aimar's Valencia team defeated Real Madrid 1-0. They then tied Barcelona 2-2 in October and took down Zaragoza 2-0 in that same month! Valencia defeated a talented Athletic team in February (2002) 2-1 before defeating rival Barcelona (again!) 2-0 in late February.

The press was calling Pablo Aimar the prodigy conductor of Valencia's exciting offense. Aimar's Valencia team finished their outstanding 2001-2002 team with a convincing 2-0 win over Betis and then grabbing the eventual La Liga title! Aimar told reporters that Valencia would be the new Ajax (Holland) and surpass the great deeds that Dutch greats did for that incredible European club team. Aimar personally just wanted to face Germany's Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champion's League final. Fortunately, Aimar's bravado matched his play and he guided his swift Valencia team to the UEFA final where they did indeed face the machine-like Bayern Munich club team from Germany. In that tight and nerve-wracking game, the score remained 0-0 and unfortunately had to be decided on penalty-kicks. Bayern Munich outshined Aimar's Valencia team in the penalty-kick contest and took the UEFA trophy. However, Aimar told reporters and fans after the game that Valencia not only stood out in that glittering 2001-2002 season, but they also proved themselves as worthy of praise. It was substantive international club soccer play in Europe that year.

Valencia topped the Champion's League table with 21 wins and only 5 losses and stood out ahead of rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona. Even though Aimar's team lost to Bayern Munich in the UEFA tourney, reporters and fans agreed that Aimar was injecting special 'medicine' in international club soccer. Everything was televised, and whether fans were enjoying games on free cable TV or purchased cable TV games, the new era of media was tying fans of soccer together and making televised soccer a thing of beauty. Would Aimar become Argentina's next great legend? Would Valencia continue to produce stars and successes to fulfill Aimar's special prophecy that Valencia would be Europe's next great club team and even surpass Holland's Ajax club team? Aimar said in an interview that he had a dream one night in which he envisioned Valencia would be legendary in years to come. It was uncertain if soccer would become as popular as basketball on the world stage, but Aimar's Valencia team in 2001-2002 reminded eager fans that their sport was special because it was so certainly dreamy! Argentine soccer legend and Aimar fan Diego Maradona called Aimar the new 'decisive scorpion' of televised soccer.

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