Vicente Moreno, Osasuna’s coach, is the most graphic example of how the world of sport has suffered and turned to the catastrophic damage that has devastated Valencia. Valencian and native of Massanassa, one of the towns most affected by the storm, he did not hesitate to travel to his town on Sunday to help with the cleaning tasks. With gloves and wellies, Moreno worked to bail out water and mud from his family home, in a town of 10,000 inhabitants devastated by the dana. I would have liked to arrive earlier. But La Liga did not consider it appropriate to suspend the matchday, only those matches that affected the clubs in the area. And he had to bite his tongue. “What I want is to be helping my family and my friends,” Moreno himself stated through tears in the press conference prior to Osasuna’s duel against Valladolid last Saturday. His team won 1-0. And after that, Osasuna, which will participate as a club directly in the reconstruction of Massanassa, gave its coach permission to travel to its homeland. The Navarrese team plays the Cup in Chiclana this Tuesday and it is all about that it will be Dani Pendín, Moreno’s second, who sits on the bench in Cádiz.
Moreno’s pain has been shared by many other Valencian footballers and athletes. As well as by many others who did not hesitate to bring up the topic at the end of their respective games. “Vicente was a very good coach, and he gave me everything to be in the First Division. “His people suffer, I saw him at the press conference, and I suffered a lot,” said Take Kubo, Real player and scorer of a goal against Sevilla, at the end of this Sunday’s match.
Vicente Iborra, Levante player, walked with his family the road to Paiporta with a cart where he stored water and some rakes to help clean the devastated area. She took her three children to carry out this relief work in Paiporta, another of the towns in l’Horta Sud, in the epicenter of the area most affected by the catastrophe. Footballers from Valencia and Levante have participated in relief efforts these days, distributing food and cleaning products to the victims. These were the cases of Pepelu, Gayà and Jaume Domenech, all from Valencia, as well as players from the women’s team, such as Marta Carro. Former players such as Robert Fernández, Vicente Rodríguez, David Albelda and Roberto Soldado went to the affected areas to help. The Mestalla stadium has already received more than one million kilograms of food and essential products from last Wednesday, October 30 to this Sunday, November 3.
After the weekend and with all the competitions taking place in Spain, except those that were to be held in the Valencian Community, the expressions of support and remembrance for the victims of dana have multiplied. Drivers such as Marc Márquez, Carlos Sainz or Jorge Martín, all the First and Second Division teams, the F League, the Endesa League, as well as international competitions such as the Premier League, among others, have paid tribute to all those affected by the floods. Márquez and Carlos Sainz raced with a black crepe on their helmets, while Jorge Martín raised, together with Pecco Bagnaia, two rivals today and former teammates in the Aspar team, a Valencia flag on the podium of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The reactions of the Valencian athletes are especially emotional. This was the case of Pablo Fornals, a Betis player and native of Castellón, who burst into tears after being interviewed after the duel between Athletic and Betis (1-1). “Fuck, we can’t control the environment, but we can control how things are done. “We all have friends there and it is not a day to celebrate anything,” he clarified, visibly moved. Fornals held up a Betis shirt with the motto “Fuerza Valencia” after scoring the green and white goal against the Basque team. Pau Torres, Aston Villa’s Valencian international defender, took to the pitch before the duel against Tottenham wearing a shirt in support of Valencia. The rest of his teammates from the English club, with Monchi in the sports direction and Unai Emery on the bench, supported him.
In all the stadiums of the First Division there were tributes to the victims. Especially graphic was that of Sevilla, who painted the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium in the colors of Valencia in the preview of the match against Real Sociedad. The Metropolitano, in the duel between Atlético and Las Palmas, was also the center of a good number of tributes to the victims of the disaster in Valencia. The Valencia anthem was played before the matches at the Sánchez Pizjuán and at the Metropolitano itself, before the matches between Sevilla and Real Sociedad and Atlético against Las Palmas. Simeone, after scoring his goal against Las Palmas, which opened the scoring, held up a t-shirt with the motto “Força i ànims”, in Valencian.
Request for new postponements in the Cup
This Monday, Valencia, Levante and Manises asked the Federation to postpone their Cup matches against Parla, Pontevedra and Getafe, scheduled for this week. The Federation, in principle, will grant these postponements, as well as the one corresponding to the clash between Ejea and Hércules. Valencia also requested the postponement of the Cup match that its women’s team was due to play this Thursday against Cacereño. Levante similarly requested the Federation and the F League to postpone the derby against Valencia next Sunday, November 10.
“Valencia understands that, in this time of great difficulty, all energy, attention and support must be focused on helping the people affected by the tragic Dana event. Football is in the background. We wish to convey our deepest condolences and our affection to family members, friends of the deceased and victims of this catastrophe that is leaving us devastated,” Valencia reported in a statement.
