Valencia is measured tonight (9:00 pm. Movistar LaLiga) to one of the players who right now would be irreplaceable in Gracia's schemes, even more so if Kondogbia's departure to Atlético ends up consummating. Nemanja Maksimovic returns to Mestalla at the controls of Getafe de Bordalás. Jesús García Pitarch, Valencia sports director who signed Maksimovic after being released from Astana, reveals in AS how was his signing and the evolution that has seen the current Getafe footballer.
And is that Pitarch, as happens many times in the scouting world, discovered Maksimovic watching another player. “We had a purchase option for Danilo Barbosa and watching the final of the U-20 World Cup, Brazil-Serbia, I loved Maksimovic, who scored a goal, and Milinkovic-Savic. For the latter I spoke with Lazio and it was impossible to sign him. My surprise came when they told me (Zoran Vekic) that Maksimovic ended his contract a year later “. And so began the follow-up and the seduction to sign him for free, a year later.”I started following him and I went to see him in Bern (Switzerland), at a Young Boys-Astana and there I met him and his agent. It gave me an extraordinary feeling. I realized that it would adapt very quickly, “says Pitarch.
The sports director who saw that it was the piece that fit the team: “I saw a Valencia midfielder for many years. At that time we had Enzo Pérez who the coach (Neville) did not like and Parejo, who was more offensive. We needed a box to box like him, although in Getafe he plays a little bit behind, “he explains.
And the day came when a pre-contract could already be signed, six months before ending his relationship with the Kazakh club. But the previous days were convulsive in Valencia, with the resignation of Prandelli. “So When he arrived on January 2 or 3, I went to Milan to sign him. Prandelli had just resigned and I signed on that trip to Maksimovic and Zaza and just upon landing I submitted my resignation, “he says.
About that resignation, Pitarch makes a point. “My idea was to pay 1 or 2 million to Astana and bring it to us in that month of January. Along with Zaza who also arrived and had very advanced the transfers of Kondogbia, which later ended up arriving at Valencia, and Evra… They were the four or five players that Peter Lim had promised Prandelli … But Prandelli I think he rushed, resigned and It left me in a very delicate position with that chair press conference …“, argues Pitarch.
Once he was out of Valencia, Pitarch continued to follow up on his signing. “I was surprised that they wanted to sell it (Alemany and Longoria) and signed Uros Racic. In any case It has been a great business for Valencia since it came free and earned more than 10 million with his sale to Getafe … Last year he had an offer of 25 million from the Premier for him, “he says.
In fact, Pitarch believes that Maksimovic had a place at Valencia for many years. “Marcelino did a lot of things well at Valencia but I think he was wrong by not giving Maksimovic more prominence, something that Bordalás has done and has given him a great performance. I was 20 when he arrived and He was a midfielder for Valencia for 12 or 14 years“, it ends.