Cesare Prandelli was officially presented as Valencia CF’s new coach on Monday afternoon, in an event held at Mestalla. The Italian was accompanied by VCF chairwoman Layhoon Chan and sporting director Jesús García Pitarch as he began his first day at his new club, and expressed his happiness with his appointment.

“It is an honour to be joining as glorious and important a club as Valencia CF, and we want to take the club back to where it deserves to be,” he told journalists in his initial speech.

“I am optimistic because there is a good base here, a team with a lot of capability for improvement and a very good mentality. What I also like is that the Valencia CF project is an attractive one with a Valencian mentality. I decided to come to Valencia because Suso (García Pitarch) conveyed a very interesting project to me, in which you have to work hard every day with a lot of motivation."

Prandelli expanded upon his expectations and hopes for his time in charge, stating that "if we can instill a team mentality in the players, this side can improve a lot. The players should feel responsible for the club they represent, and the fans as well. This is very important for the team. Our goal is to convey the values of the club to the players: Values of a club ​​with great success."

When asked about his footballing philosophy, the former Italian national team coach explained that his work is based on the collective. "The idea is to give all players a team mentality. It is a collective idea, as it is almost impossible to always have the ball. My idea of ​​is to have a compact team with a clear idea -not many ideas- and a focus on achieving big objectives. Talking over the last few days with Suso (Garcia Pitarch) has given me every guarantee of the enormous quality and commitment of the players, and we are very motivated as we start work.”

Before his appointment, Prandelli had travelled to Singapore to meet with the majority shareholder of Valencia CF, Peter Lim. He commented on their discussions at his presentation.

"It was a very interesting meeting with Peter Lim. He is a businessman who seems as if he is far away, but he is not. He is committed to a long-term project. When a businessman of his standing puts together a long-term project in football, the thing that should matter is the Champions League. I do not know if it will come in six months, one year, two years or more, but the idea is always to get back into the Champions League."

Valencia CF sporting director Pitarch also spoke to explain the process that led to Prandelli joining the club, and made clear that he had always been their first choice.

“There have been a lot of things published and a lot of debate, but the reality is that we met a few days ago with Cesare, Stefano and Alesio (members of Prandelli’s coaching staff) in Milan, and then there was another meeting in Rome at which Layhoon was also present. This indicates that Cesare was our first choice, with the utmost respect for other coaches such as Marcelino (García Toral, who had also been linked with the position)."



"We –like every club- seek stability. We want to give the coaches time to work and that the results come. That has always been the goal, but it depends on the results, and if they are not there, then you have to act quickly to reverse the situation."



Having been in attendance at Mestalla the previous day, the new Valencia CF coach has seen for himself the tremendous ability of Diego Alves to stop penalties. Prandelli said he had “never seen such a good goalkeeper at saving penalties. He is incredible!” and ended his address to the media with “Amunt Valencia!”