Valencia makes a major change and dismisses Carlos Corberán and CEO Ron Gourlay

The situation was unsustainable. Valencia, bottom of the League after earning only one point in five matches, after scoring a solitary goal in 450 minutes, after losing three times in the three matches played at Mestalla, after signing the worst start in its history, the history of one of the great clubs of Spanish football, the management has decided to make a U-turn and dismiss both the coach, Carlos Corberán, and the club’s football CEO, the Scot Ron Gourlay. Óscar Sánchez, head of the reserve team, will take charge of the team in Tuesday’s match in Vitoria against Alavés while waiting for the new coach to arrive.

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The social tension, with the fans roaring against the sports management, the coach and even the players, whom they called mercenaries, fueled the fire created by the poor results. On Friday, after the fourth defeat, this time at Sevilla’s stadium, the fans waited for the team to confront the players and the coach, again demanding his resignation.

The last match at Mestalla also left its mark. Not only because of the 0-5, an embarrassing result for a stadium historically difficult for opponents, but because that day, for the first time in a League matchday, Valencia’s president, Kiat Lim, took the seat in the box that had always been left empty. The son of the owner, Peter Lim, saw with his own eyes what this team has become, a toy in the hands of Barça.

The final blow came the next day, with the video showing Rodri, a highly respected player for his superb football, talking on the bench with Pau Cubarsí and, surprised, telling the central defender: “They are very bad, they are very weak.” The midfielder later apologized and even called José Luis Gayá, the white-and-black captain, to ask for forgiveness for a comment caught by a camera while the player was on the bench after being substituted.

But most of the fans were not angry; on the contrary, they fully understood that someone could think that of a Valencia that was swept off the Mestalla pitch from the first minute to the last. The more mocking even produced a shirt with Rodri’s phrase on the chest “They are very bad” and on the back the message many fans have been proclaiming for years: “Lim Go Home.”

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Gourlay, who joined the club 13 months ago, has been unable to straighten out an increasingly weak squad. The club has had no more patience and will not wait for the winter transfer window. Along with the Scot, who appeared last week to defend his management and show confidence in Corberán, members of his work team also leave: Lisandro Isei, Hans Gillhaus, Andrés Zamora, and Malek Shafei. “The decision is part of the Club’s desire to start a new stage in its sports structure and football management area,” states Valencia’s statement.

Carlos Corberán, a Valencian coach and Valencia fan aged 43, arrived at Christmas 2024 to take over a team that was in relegation places with Rubén Baraja on the bench. The coach managed to save the team, but the following season he was again fighting to avoid relegation for many matchdays. The third season was the worst of all and Valencia is bottom of the League with one goal scored and ten conceded. Unprecedented.

Since Peter Lim bought the club through Meriton Holdings 12 years ago, Valencia has changed coaches 18 times. One and a half coaches per season. Corberán lasted a total of 72 matches on one of the hottest benches in the First Division. The coach admitted after the last three matches that Valencia had not been up to the mark.

Valencia is immersed in the season in which it says goodbye to Mestalla, the oldest stadium in the League. The club trusts that the new stadium will provide an economic boost that, in turn, will bring sporting improvement. But the leaders also know that right now there is a risk of inaugurating next season a 70,000-seat stadium in the Second Division.

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