Valencia’s new chapter began at Manises airport, where Javier Aguirre arrived on Tuesday morning to take charge of a club carrying the weight of Mestalla history and the urgency of a relegation fight. The 67-year-old Mexican coach inherits a side second from bottom after collecting four points from seven league matches, but he believes the current squad has enough ability to move clear of danger.
Aguirre, known as “El Vasco”, said Valencia’s stature was central to his decision. “I came because of Valencia’s history,” he said, describing the club, its support and its home ground as formidable. Asked whether this could be the final job of his long coaching career, he laughed and said the answer would depend on his wife, Silvia.
From Manises to Paterna
- Aguirre landed at Manises at around 09:30 and travelled directly to Valencia’s Paterna training complex.
- His assistants, Pol Llorente and Toni Amor, were already waiting at the club’s Ciudad Deportiva.
- The new coach greeted the players in the dressing room before taking to the pitch for his first session.
- Braulio Vázquez, Valencia’s newly appointed sporting director, joined Aguirre on the training ground.
The former Mexico manager made clear that there will be no time for ceremonial beginnings. “There is a great deal of work ahead,” he said. “There is still a long way to go in the league, but there is much to put right.” Aguirre added that Valencia’s players should not be in their present position on the evidence of their quality.
Two weeks before the first test
Valencia have given Aguirre a two-week preparation period before his competitive debut. His first match is scheduled for 11 October, away to Racing de Santander at El Sardinero.
Before that trip north, the coach is due to be formally introduced on the Mestalla pitch next Monday, bringing his arrival before the supporters whose expectations remain shaped by the club’s status as one of Spain’s historic institutions.
A contract built around survival and progress
Aguirre has signed an initial one-season agreement, with a further year available if Valencia qualify for the Europa League. The deal also includes a performance safeguard for the club during the first half of the campaign.
- The contract can be ended without compensation if Valencia remain in the relegation places by matchday 19.
- An additional season becomes possible should the team secure Europa League qualification.
For now, the immediate mission is more pressing than continental football: lift Valencia out of the bottom two, restore confidence around Paterna and give Mestalla a team capable of matching the scale of its past.
