La Liga Preview: Would Valencia Give Up a Lim to Be Like Atletico Madrid?

It was the Diego Simeone mantra as we've known it, but with a twist. "The only thing that matters to me," started the man who essentially owns partido a partido, "is Valencia, and then Valencia and after that, Valencia."

When the Atletico Madrid boss uttered those words, Los Che weren't a threat to his side; they were simply their next opponents as Atleti reached a final gauntlet. But in the 12 months that would follow, Valencia would be a threat, and it's remarkable to remember how recent that was. 

As these teams prepare to meet at Mestalla on Sunday—the visitors as title challengers and the hosts as a club trying to avoid complete implosion—they're little more than a year removed from when, for Simeone, all that mattered was Valencia, and then Valencia and after that, Valencia.

Only two seasons ago, the Argentinian had repeatedly said the men from Mestalla were his club's direct rivals, and when the final day of 2014-15 arrived, the stakes were high. An Atleti loss and a Valencia win would have seen them switch places. Simeone's men were away to Granada, and the lot chasing them were away to Almeria.

Third spot and the final guaranteed place in the following season's Champions League were on the line.

Though Atletico Madrid and Valencia are different clubs, right there, in that moment, they looked strikingly similar. 

Not now. Valencia enter Sunday's meeting with their fourth manager since that day in Voro, and he's had the position twice. After stepping in when Nuno Espirito Santo departed in late 2015, the man who is normally a club delegate has it again following the rapid-fire sackings of Gary Neville and Pako Ayestaran. According to AS, Cesare Prandelli will take over next week, meaning Valencia will have had five managers across six stints in 10 months. 

Would they give up a Lim to be like Atletico now? Yes, but sort of no, too. It's complicated. 

When Peter Lim assumed control over Valencia in 2014, it was meant to mark the beginning of a surge for the club in both Spain and Europe, but that's not at all what's unfolded.

After a bright first year under the Singaporean billionaire, Valencia have fallen apart, gripped by structural issues that have translated themselves into countless others. 

The overriding problem is that Valencia don't seem to know who they want to be. This is a club that discarded an existing structure and inserted a new regime with little footballing experience; a club that has somehow spent both recklessly and in an underwhelming fashion at the same time; a club that has turned to cozy relationships rather than expertise. And it keeps going. 

Valencia is also a club that has sold its best players despite promising not to; a club at which the suspicion exists that agent Jorge Mendes' influence is far too strong; a club with European ambitions that is lingering in the lower reaches of the table; a club caught between two stadiums; a club whose captain was demoted and then wanted to leave but couldn't; a club whose fans are fed up; a club run by an owner who was meant to bring change but hasn't changed anything. 

The complicated part? Lim has rescued Valencia from financial ruin. But that's all so far. 

On Sunday, Valencia will enter the clash with Atletico on the back of consecutive wins, but like everything at present, those have deceived as well.

Though the six points were valuable, they came against Alaves and Leganes—two of the three newly promoted sides this season, one back in La Liga for the first time in a decade and the other in the top flight for the first time ever. 

Against Alaves, Voro's men needed a pair of gifts from their visitors—an own goal and a careless penalty—to get over the line. Against Leganes, they needed Diego Alves to save a penalty to get them over again. And though those wins might have eased tension just a fraction, they haven't solved anything.

The squad remains unbalanced, the defence is alarmingly leaky, the attack is wasteful and another coaching project is about to begin, "another" being the keyword. 

Atletico don't have any such problems. Simeone's side will arrive at Mestalla following five wins in six, the only minor blemish a 1-1 draw with Barcelona.

In that run, thrashings of Celta Vigo and Sporting Gijon have pointed toward progress in an attacking sense, and on Wednesday, they continued to give a figurative finger to the rest of Europe, hustling Bayern Munich again, cunningly out-thinking them with the conviction of a side that know who they are. And they do. 

It's incredible to think of where these clubs were when Simeone arrived in Spain. Atletico were stuck in mid-table, plagued by colossal debt and instability; Valencia had their issues, too, but they were still quite comfortably the best of the rest outside Barcelona and Real Madrid. How times change, eh?

With one astonishing coach, a collective resolve and smart restructuring off the field (ESPN FC's Vivek Chaudhary explored that last point in-depth), Atletico have become what Valencia could have been. According to AS last year, the club's debt has almost been wiped out, now allowing the lot from the Vicente Calderon to retain stars and buy more; to compete year after year; to soon fulfil the goal of transitioning to a new stadium. 

On Sunday, Valencia will get an up-close look at all that, a glimpse at a side containing Antoine Griezmann, Yannick Carrasco, Koke, Saul Niguez, Kevin Gameiro and a whole lot of ambition, clarity and know-how. Could it have been them? Maybe. Would they give up a Lim to be them? It's complicated, as only Valencia know how. 

Not to Be Missed

• Granada became the second club already this season to sack a Paco/Pako when they ended Paco Jemez's reign after just six games this week. As expected, he wasn't pleased either. "I'm used to being told that football projects are medium to long term, but that's all a lie," he told El Larguero (h/t Football Espana). What it means for Jemez's prospects could be quite damaging, but what it means for Granada is yet another season of managerial turnover and bottom-of-the-table scrambling. With two points from 18, the Andalucians host Leganes on Saturday, with B-team coach Lluis Planaguma in charge for now. The club from the capital might be small and newly promoted, but they've already beaten Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruna, and have tested both Atletico Madrid and Valencia. 

• Real Madrid have been held to three straight draws by teams wearing yellow. "There has been some talk of Real suffering from a form of psychosis when faced with the yellow; a flavescent form of kryptonite for Real in recent times," wrote AS rather, err, colourfully. On Sunday afternoon, Madrid welcome Eibar to the Santiago Bernabeu, and below is Eibar's away shirt. Sadly, for the sake of fun, Eibar have confirmed they're going to wear their home kit. 

• Barcelona tackle Celta Vigo at Balaidos. If it's anything like last season's corresponding fixture, it should be a belter. 

• After two early setbacks, Athletic Bilbao are going for five straight wins in the league against Malaga on Sunday. You sense they have a real shot at the top four this season. 

• Espanyol host a strong Villarreal on Sunday and need to get going quickly. One win in six is not enough for a club with ambitious new ownership. Tick tock. 

• Villarreal are just worth watching. 

• So are Sevilla, provided they're playing at home. And they are this weekend. 

• It was before the Seville derby two rounds ago that Real Betis' Gus Poyet said he'd had enough of Friday night fixtures. "The weekends are when football is supposed to be played. We are a little bit sick of this," he said. To that point, his team had already featured on Friday twice; after the derby, they got handed the time slot again against Malaga, and on Friday they have it once more at Anoeta against Real Sociedad, making it four in seven rounds. Keep an eye on Gus. 

Follow @TimDCollins