Valencia want final say

Each day until 31 December uefa.com will assess the fortunes of a UEFA Cup participant. Today we look at Spanish contenders Valencia CF.

Rivaldo's stunning last-minute winner against Valencia CF back in June may have sent the Catalan club's fans wild, but it was greeted with dismay by followers of Héctor Cúper's side.

Beaten finalists
The Brazilian's late strike enabled FC Barcelona to climb above Valencia into fourth place in Spain's Primera División and claim the last UEFA Champions League place. Meanwhile, by finishing fifth, twice-beaten finalists Valencia had to be content with a place in the UEFA Cup.

Sparkling defence
Cúper left the Mestalla stadium in the close season to take the reins at Internazionale FC but his successor, Rafael Benítez, has ensured Valencia maintained their sparkling defensive record. Domestically, his side have lost just two games all season, keeping seven clean sheets in the process, and are once again among in contention, although until recently a string of draws showed an inability to win away from home.

Team of 2001
The team's solid defensive nature is reflected in uefa.com's Team of 2001 poll, which features nominations for three Valencia defenders as well as Santiago Cañizares, the goalkeeper who kept ten clean sheets in 17 matches in the run to last season's Champions League final.

Sound understanding
Argentinian central defenders Robert Ayala and Mauricio Pellegrino have a sound understanding at the heart of the defence and Amedeo Carboni is belying his 36 years with his trademark runs up and down the left flank. But it has been phenomenal goalscoring that has propelled Valencia to the UEFA Cup's last 16.

Cúper on the cusp
No fewer than nine different players have found the net for Valencia in Europe this season as they eye their fourth-round tie with Servette FC and a possible reunion with Cúper and his Internazionale team in the quarter-finals.

Driving seat
Miguel Mista's solitary first round first-leg strike against Chernomorets Novorossyisk in Russia ensured Valencia would be in the driving seat when the two sides met for the return leg in the Mestalla stadium. Benítez's side cruised to a 5-0 victory in that game, with Juan Sánchez scoring twice and Adrian Ilie, Salvador Ballesta and Miguel Angulo completing the scoring.

Defence breached
Valencia conceded their first goal of the campaign when they travelled to Legia Warszawa in the second round but an Ilie penalty salvaged a draw and the Spanish side once again ran riot in the second leg. The match was essentially over at half-time, by which stage goals from David Albelda, Ilie, Miroslav Djukic and Pablo Aimar had put Valencia into a four-goal lead. Sánchez and Angulo added second-half strikes to make the score 6-1 and book Benítez's team a tough tie against Celtic FC in the third round.

Penalty drama
The Scottish champions were much harder to break down, although Vicente Rodríguez's late effort gave Valencia a narrow 1-0 victory in Spain. But Sweden striker Henrik Larsson scored the second leg's only goal at Celtic Park stadium, taking the tie to a penalty shoot-out. Miguel Ferrer was the hero for the Spanish side, converting the decisive penalty in the shoot-out after Joos Valgaeren had seen his effort saved by Cañizares in the Valencia goal.

Servette up next
But if Valencia are to face Inter and former coach Cúper in the quarter-finals, the Spanish side must first see off giant-killers Servette. The Swiss outfit, who have conceded just one goal in the entire competition, have already conquered Real Zaragoza and Hertha BSC Berlin and will be hoping to add another famous scalp to their list.