«There is nothing wrong with your web browser. Do not attempt to adjust the brightness of your tablet or smartphone. We are now controlling the transmission. If we wish to make it edgier, we will bring up the some more insults to the table. If we wish to make it softer, we will say Valencia’s football is just fine. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner fan’s mind to… The Outer Limits».
How else can you explain the despicable football displayed over the last week and three wins as a result? Madness, indeed. An ‘Outer Limits’ episode wouldn’t be enough to explain such phenomenon. Valencia seems now one of the top dogs in the league with four wins in seven games. Nine points amassed over six days. Numbers from another time, from another space.
Similarly, we could dissect the outstanding performance of Jonas, a player who has fans divided amongst those who believe on his unquestionable skill and proficiency scoring goals every season, and a portion of the crowd who has months ago decided to become exasperated with his apparent indolence and little fighting spirit. He isn’t a star, a man destined to become the leader of the squad. But Jonas is an asset that few teams possess: he is able to score whenever and wherever, without needing to achieve predominance amongst the team. He is a silent killer. A smooth criminal. He is another of the characters of this week’s ‘Outer Limits’ episode.
Being injured for over an hour and completing a game. Diego Alves could also be the main character of this week’s plot. The Brazilian goalie refused to be substituted after a physical problem when the game had just started. As Guaita was absent from the game, the replacement in the bench was youngster Jaume Domenech, who saw extremely close the dream every kid has when they start playing this beautiful sport: becoming the goalkeeper in a Primera División team. Alves’ effort, though, came with a catch: the injury became even worse and he will be KO for one month.
The plot thickens when we analyze the current state of affairs in the Curva Nord crowd, leader-less after the resignation of its president and several of its key members. They didn’t like what they saw on the last couple of weeks. Elections are coming and they will try to return with more power, order and without some of the most radical and dangerous fans in their ranks. Kudos to them. Surely the young fans in the Curva Nord stand will chose wisely and responsibly. And that, my friends, will happily not be an ‘Outer Limits’ episode. The less strange things happen in this issue, the better.
Paco Polit (@pacopolit)
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