Valdes says goodbye to Barca teammates

Behind the tough exterior and strong character of Barca stopper Victor Valdes both on and off the pitch, there also lies an intelligent and sensitive person.

Victor showed his other side yesterday as the goalkeeper himself organized a farewell dinner at the Can Ferran restaurant – a place where the first team usually says their goodbyes to teammates, coaches and assistants before having a well-deserved rest.

Those who turned up included members of the security personnel, the dining room of the training facilities including the cook, and a very special guest, Juan Carlos Unzué. Although Victor and Unzué became distanced last season, the Barca goalkeeper tried to regnite the excellent relationship remembering when they worked side by side from 2003 and 2010.

The only ones missing were Tito Vilanova, who returns today from New York, where this week he has undergone some new tests, Gerard Pique, who is in Los Angeles with permission from the club with Shakira and his son Milan, and Dani Alves who had an advertising commitment at the same time in the town of Gava, just outside Barcelona.

Victor made no public speech because, as one attendee remarked at the dinner, “words would have got in the way.” According to Spanish sports paper Mundo Deportivo, the keeper prepared an emotional music video with the best moments of his eleven years in the Barca first eleven, where he has won won a total of twenty titles: 6 Leagues, 2 Copas del Rey, five Spanish Super Cups, 3 Champions Leagues, 2 European Super Cups and 2 World Cups, not forgetting to mention his 5 Zamora trophies for best keeper.

In the Barca dressing room, everyone took for granted that Victor Valdes would end his stay at the Catalan club this summer – a wish that was fully confirmed after the dinner he organized yesterday.

Everything seems to point to Victor Valdes signing for Monaco after he leaves the club and all Barca has to do now is find a keeper of victor’s stature to fill the void he now leaves.