{FM24} Real Valladolid: O Fenômeno, A New Golden Age

[Matty Aqua]

As a kid there wasn’t much football on TV down under and there wasn’t this magical thing called ‘YouTube’ where I could watch clips of certain teams and players and keep in touch with the world of football. I was familiar with the “household” names at the time - Manchester United, Arsenal, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona and I had a fair idea of who they were and their relevance, but there was one player who everyone knew....

I think back now to how very little exposure I had to world game of football when I was a kid, if I was lucky I would get some highlights on the late night news about Manchester United or some brief news about Australian players abroad Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell come to mind, but I can tell you that everyone knew the name of Brazil's striker Ronaldo, (and his haircut).

At school lunchtimes we’d play soccer and pretend to be like Ronaldo, kids were even cutting their hair like Ronaldol!, but we simply had no way of watching him play regularly and admire the true superstar striker he was, as we could only watch World Cup games being broadcasted on television. I realize now the influence the phenomenal star Ronaldo had on the world - long before modern day technology became a tool to facilitate a players marketing and global reach.

As a fully fledged football fan (sadly, no longer sporting a Ronaldo hair style) I have more curiosity as to what made him so great!, such a phenomenon?... what were the pieces Ronaldo had around him tactically?, what were his player traits?, how did he become this myth-like figure among the football world?, and naturally that led me to the current day like of Brazilian Ronaldo who is currently the owner of Real Valladolid.

CLUB HISTORY

The LaLiga is no easy league to conquer and operating with one of the smallest budgets Real Valladolid have been continually punching above their weight, and in the coming years are planning to make a push for European football, which would be a massive achievement for Valladolid and Ronaldo, considering staying in the league for three consecutive seasons has only happened once for Real Valladolid in the last 20 years. Between the years 1948 and 1964 can be referred to as La época dorada which translates to "The Golden Years"  for the club where they predominately played in LaLiga.

Real Valladolid is located about 190 kilometers northwest of Madrid with a population of just over 300,000 people. Being in relatively short distance from two giant clubs like Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid the closeness is seen as an opportunity to try and secure some loan deals for emerging young talent.

LA PUCELA

Derived from the word 'pucelanos' one of the great mysteries of Real Valladolid is why they are called "La Pucela", theories suggest the origin began in the 1940's and gained more popularity in the 1970's. Over the years, some of these assumptions have become more believable than others, here are the most compelling stories surrounding the nickname "La Pucela".

• In the fifteenth century some Knights from Valladolid took the way to France in order to defend the Maid of Orleans at the famous Hundred Years War against Britain (1337-1453). As in the old Castilian language of the time the word "maid" used to be called "pucela" these knights were nicknamed "pucelas" at his return to the city. 
• Another surmise of the nickname comes from the very location of Valladolid. Located between the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers and the Canal de Castilla, it was considered by many as a pond in a dry place. Therefore, from the diminutive "Pozuela" (Pond) derive the word "Pucela". 
• Finally, as one of the most compelling stories, the term "Pucela" is named after the cement trade that the Castilian city developed with the Roman town of Pozzuoli. At the time, Valladolid was the only city distributing materials from Pozzuoli and thanks to that industry promoted by their inhabitants, the Castilian town inherits that pseudonym which still is used to refer to the players Real Valladolid CF.

Whatever the origin of the word Pucela, it is common to find that Valladolid and Pucela are used as synonyms, Valladolid being considered the formal term and Pucela the informal or colloquial one. So, if one day someone from Madrid, for example, asks someone from Valladolid, “hey, where are you from?" It is not unusual for the answer to be: "me? from Pucela ”.

ESTADIO NUEVE JOSE ZORRILLA

The current stadium holds 27,000 and there are definitely ambitions to upgrade the stadium further.

Ronaldo has also invested €2.5 million of his own money to upgrade and modernize Estadio Nuevo José Zorrilla including upgrading the training facilities and corporate facilities.

  

    

WHY DID RONALDO BUY REAL VALLADOLID?

When Ronaldo arrived he was asked about his involvement in the club, he replied “Do you think I’m going to buy a football club and go on holiday the next day” - Just like his playing career he wants to make the best of it!.

After purchasing 51% of the club in 2018 Ronaldo also purchased a further amount in the club in 2020 meaning he now owns 82% of the club's shares.

This only solidified Ronaldo’s ambition to further develop the club and commit to the long haul project of stabilizing Real Valladolid as a regular fixture in La Liga. Having a high profile owner has its perks, Internationally the club’s brand has grown substantially over the last few years. Organizations such as Sky Sports, the New York Times and L'Équipe have covered the club more often and the presence of the La Liga legend has helped secure players and sponsors.

TACTIC

Luigi Simoni was in charge of an unstable yet very talented Inter Milan in 97/98 season and despite delivering the UEFA Cup, he was sacked after just a few months of the following season, less than a week after a superb 3-1 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League, and remarkably on the same day as he won the Golden Bench award for being the best coach in Italy, as voted for by the other managers in Serie A. Inter Milan never won the Scudetto in the 90's regularly finishing behind Juventus and rivals AC Milan.

With Ronaldo in charge upstairs now at Real Valladolid, I figured it would be a nice touch to try and re-create the 4-3-1-2 tactic used by Inter Milan in 97/98, of course we don't have the talent at Real Valladolid to match the Inter Milan side just yet, but the shape can be a structure with a view in mind for future players I'm hoping to recruit.

OBJECTIVES

1. Qualify Real Valladolid for European football for the first time in their history
2. Sign 2 Brazilians per season and integrate them into the Under 19's
3. Implement 4-3-1-2 tactic
4. Develop the Fenômeno youth academy (Youth facilities)
5. Upgrade the Estadio Nuevo José Zorrilla
6. Win the Copa Del Rey
7. Establish Real Valladolid as a top 4 club in La Liga
8. Sign and develop a top young striker to score 35 goals in a season

 

Thank you for reading, the likes, discussion and interaction on this thread is appreciated!. 👍

 

 

Edited October 9, 2023 by Matty Aqua

[Matty Aqua]

 

I generally like to take over a managerial position once a position is available, things haven't started off well for Real Valladolid and Paulo Pezzolano has been sacked just a few months after being relegated from LaLiga and taking over from Pacheta. We are now at the beginning of November and Real Valladolid is currently in 16th position, quite a way off the expected promotion push the board is expecting but that's where I'll be picking things up from. Just for some reader's context.

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by Matty Aqua

[Matty Aqua]

Reserved

[mannojunior]

Love saves like this. Really good intro and looking forward to following this 

[Carambau]

Loving this! You got a follower  

[Sizeman21]

Looking forward to this 😀