Correia gets first taste of Mestalla

Having put pen to paper on his contract with Valencia CF and spoken with VCF Media, next on the agenda for new signing Thierry Correia was a visit to Mestalla. The Portuguese had never played at the ground before, but was suitably impressed by the stadium that will be his home as of this week.

Correia got a feel for Mestalla in a private tour, but will soon be playing there in front of the fans.

“Even coming into the stadium when it's empty, the atmosphere is fantastic. So imagine it with 55,000 people watching a game. It's going to be incredible,” he said upon stepping out of the tunnel.

He would also move up into the steep stands themselves, where since earlier this year a statue of season ticket holder Vicente Navarro Aparicio - who lost his sight aged 54 but still came to Mestalla for games because of his feeling for the club- has stood.

“It's really beautiful. I've never heard a story like this before,” reflected Correia, who also spoke about the challenge that lies ahead for him and his certainty that coming to Valencia CF is the right move.

“This is a big club. Coming here represents great responsibility as well. My mind was at ease about coming here, because I knew that the players here had a lot of quality and that -with my will- I would be able to integrate into the team.

“The dream of any player is to play in the Champions League and - who knows? - maybe win it.”

Correia will have to wait for a few days to meet up with the entire squad, due to various international commitments for them, but he is aware of some of them from time shared at tournaments with Portugal.

“There are players on the first team who I know already. There is Ferran Torres, and Kang In. He played in the Under-20s World Cup. It's another source of motivation for me here”

Watch the video of Correia’s first experience of Mestalla to see his reaction to the stadium, and hear about which Portuguese players at Valencia CF have inspired him.