Valencia fans are on the brink of despair and plan to boycott the match against Real

On Sunday afternoon, Valencia brought a dismal year to a close with a match against Alavés, a game emblematic of the struggles that have defined the club in recent times.

Just when it seemed the nightmare was about to deepen, Joan Jordán's penalty in the closing minutes threatened to hand yet another loss to the home side. However, deep into stoppage time, Daniel Gómez salvaged a point and, perhaps more importantly, some semblance of dignity for the embattled team. Despite the late equalizer, the draw leaves Valencia tied for last place with Real Valladolid during the holiday season a bitter pill for a fanbase that has seen its beloved club fall from grace. The mood in Valencia, known as the city of oranges, is anything but sweet as Christmas approaches.

The local newspaper Superdeporte reflected the despair permeating the fanbase with scathing criticism of the team’s performance. The publication handed out failing grades to eight players for what was described as a lackluster and uninspired display. "For Valencia, the end of the year feels more like Halloween than Christmas. Yet another humiliation in the league at Mestalla has added a new chapter to the horror story that Valencia fans are enduring. It’s the last one of the year, but not of the season. Things can still get worse and all signs point to that," the newspaper lamented, capturing the overwhelming frustration among supporters.

The match itself was not just a reflection of the team’s struggles on the pitch but also a stage for the ongoing battle between the fans and the club's management. Yellow signs emblazoned with anti-Peter Lim slogans filled the stands, a visual representation of the mounting discontent with the Singaporean owner. Coach Rubén Baraja's team was relentlessly jeered, and protests continued long after the final whistle, with fans making their anger known outside the stadium.

The chaos surrounding Valencia extends beyond the pitch. Before the match against Alavés, a scheduled meeting with club members had to be canceled due to incidents that underscored the volatility within the organization. The purpose of the meeting was to approve budgets for the upcoming season, a procedural step that is usually a formality. However, the tensions surrounding the club's operations reached a boiling point, preventing club president Lay Hoon Chan from even starting her speech to open the meeting. This incident highlights the deepening disconnect between the club’s leadership and its supporters.

As Valencia limps into the new year, their schedule begins sooner than most other teams in the league. On January 3, they will face Real Madrid in a rescheduled match, which had been postponed earlier in the season due to the devastating effects of the DANA natural disaster. However, this match is shaping up to be less about football and more about a dramatic statement from the fanbase. Activist group Libertad VCF has called for fans to boycott the game entirely, urging them to leave Mestalla Stadium empty as a show of defiance against Peter Lim's ownership.

Lim has been the target of fan outrage for years, with his tenure marked by a sharp decline in Valencia’s fortunes. Under his leadership, the club has gone from competing at the upper echelons of Spanish football to a regular presence in the relegation zone. For years, banners with the message "Lim go home" have been a familiar sight at Mestalla. Now, however, the fans’ resistance has taken on a new form, with Libertad VCF advocating for complete disengagement by refusing to attend matches.

The clash against Real Madrid offers a prime opportunity for the protest to gain attention. The rivalry between the two clubs, combined with the national and international visibility that comes with a high-profile fixture, makes it an ideal platform to broadcast the fans’ grievances to a broader audience. In their statement, Libertad VCF outlined their motives in no uncertain terms: "We will not allow them to murder our club in the name of greed. We will not be silent accomplices to this crime."

The call for a boycott is the latest chapter in a turbulent saga that has seen Valencia spiral into chaos. The club, once a powerhouse in Spanish and European football, now finds itself fighting for survival on and off the pitch. With the Segunda División looming ominously on the horizon, the stakes could not be higher. The match against Real Madrid may serve as a symbolic turning point—not for the team’s fortunes but for the resistance movement against the current ownership. Whether the fans’ actions can force meaningful change remains to be seen, but their determination to reclaim the soul of their club is undeniable.

As the holiday season brings a time of reflection and renewal for many, for Valencia, it represents a period of uncertainty and turmoil. The year ahead promises to be pivotal, not only in terms of results on the pitch but also in the ongoing struggle for the club's future. For a fanbase that has endured so much, the fight for Valencia’s identity continues, with their passion and persistence serving as a reminder of what football means beyond the game itself.