Forget Messi, Valdes could be Barca’s hero

It’s hard to tell who the best keeper is in the world right now, but I can assure you Barcelona’s Victor Valdes is one of them, the guy is top class, but I can’t believe some people still doubt that. What a shame that he has to compete with Reina and Iker Casillas for the Spanish national team number one jersey. Valdes would definitely start in any other team. Yes, I know his critics don’t want to hear any that, but how many keepers are better than him, bar the two mentioned above and Van der Saar? However, with Casillas seemingly on the decline, while Valdes is on the rise, even though both are almost the same age, I would like to see the latter stating for Spain, not because he has been La Liga’s best keeper for the last three consecutive seasons but because he deserves a crack at that shirt.But one thing is for sure, Barca would not trade Valdes for any other goalkeeper, and few would probably disagree. He makes big saves for Barcelona match after match, yet, inevitably all the praise go to outfield stars, Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Alves and Puyol. When wondering about Barcelona’s general success over the past three seasons, many pundits and observers right away attribute it to the likes of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta. However, when you sift underneath Barca’s radar, Valdes has been as critical to the team’s rise to the top of European club football as these artists we sing about time and again in every bar, newsroom. A club academy product, Valdes is so underrated to the extent that to a casual observer, he only looks good simply because he plays for the best club team in the world! Really, can that make one as good as this 28-year-old, who has won La Liga’s best goalkeeper’s award for the last three season running? Every top club in Europe’s top leagues has a good keeper; Manchester United have Van der Sar, Chelsea have Petr Cech, Inter have Julio Cesar, Milan used to have Dida, Real Madrid have Cassilas…and Barcelona have Valdes. Thanks to Barca’s dominance, Valdes rarely has too much work to do unlike his opposite numbers, yet he regularly rises to the occasion when called upon, something that his critics prefer not to take in the grip with. In fact, he could turn out to be Barcelona’s hero against Manchester United in tonight’s Champions League final. Don’t take your eyes off him. Predictably, while the whole world awaits what promises to be a mouth-watering final at Wembley stadium in London, all the talk has been about if, whether and or how United’s midfield will be able to cope with Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, but the battles could be won or lost elsewhere. Even though Valdes is no Van der Saar, it nonetheless doesn’t make him a mean figure at the back of Barcelona’s much touted side, which is odds on favorite to claim a fourth European title, their third in six seasons. Indeed, if the game is to be decided on penalty kicks, which is very much possible despite both teams being capable of winning it in the normal 90 minutes, I wouldn’t hesitate to put my money on Valdes being the hero for the Catalan side. Enjoy the game nku78@yahoo.com