Fired up Joaquín 'raring to go'

Joaquín steps out at the Mestalla on Tuesday aiming to impress the new manager who was his boyhood idol, while urging the Valencia CF fans to play their part as they attempt to revitalise their UEFA Champions League campaign.

Koeman appointed
The 2-0 defeat by Rosenborg BK in Norway two weeks ago not only cast a cloud over the Spanish club's bid to advance from Group B but helped to end the managerial reign of Quique Sánchez Flores. Step forward Ronald Koeman, who left PSV Eindhoven to accept the challenge of transforming the two-time finalists into a more formidable unit.

'Expertise'
Joaquín, 26, is pleased with the appointment having followed Koeman's career closely when he was a youngster dreaming of taking part on the big stage himself. "We are very happy because the coach played many years with [FC] Barcelona and we all know what a good player he was," he said. "Whether any of that expertise rubs off on us, we'll have to see. We want to help him as much as we can and wish him good luck." The Dutchman is the third coach Joaquín has worked under since joining Valencia from Real Betis Balompié in 2006. Even so, the Spain winger says "practically nothing has changed".

'Everybody's happy'
"Each trainer tried to give the team as much as they could and tried to get better results than the team had achieved before," he added. "After the [RCD] Mallorca game [a welcome 2-0 victory after a run of three successive defeats] everybody's happy and we'll see after this game on Tuesday if our spirits are still high. We knew Rosenborg would be a strong team at home and they came out as we expected them to do. We probably deserved a bit more from the game. Now at home we will have lots of options. We are going to play like we did on Saturday because there are lots of things you can do at home that you can't do away."

'Raring to go'
With two home reverses in October, against RCD Espanyol and Real Madrid CF, Joaquín knows he and his team-mates have to get the Mestalla faithful back on side. Trailing Group B leaders Chelsea FC by four points and Rosenborg by one, only a victory will suffice. "We know the supporters are not very happy with our results at home, but we cannot be concerned all the time with what they are thinking," said Joaquín. "We have to get hold of the game from the first minute and if the fans are with us, that will be positive. The most important thing is that we come out on the pitch ready and raring to go. Only that way will we get a good result."