Javier Aguirre praises Valencia’s character after debut point at Racing Santander

Javier Aguirre's first La Liga game in charge of Valencia finished 2-2 at Racing Santander in Racing Santander vs Valencia, and his post-match focus was on attitude rather than polish. He called it a fair result, praised the fight his players showed and admitted there were mistakes to clean up.

Valencia's response at El Sardinero

Speaking to Estadio Deportivo, Aguirre said: "A fair result. They had chances, we did too. Hugo Duro's last one was very clear. But I think it was an entertaining match. Our team showed character. It fought, it battled, it was supportive in the effort."

He was just as direct about the moments Valencia got wrong. "We lost the ball very easily. We were not making the first safe pass, honestly. We lacked safe passes. We switched to a back four, because we were three against one and it was my fault for not reading the match well. Then the second half was good. Better."

Aguirre also said three players finished with cramps, which fits the way the game kept stretching Valencia after they fought back from 2-1 down. The point does little to change their league situation, with Valencia still 19th on 4 points after 7 league matches.

Raba's start and Valencia's next step

The other big call was Dani Raba, who started and scored in 58 minutes before being substituted. Aguirre said: "Raba deserved to start and he had not played 90 minutes for almost a year." He also added that he had liked what he had seen from Raba and Elliott in training since arriving.

That selection mattered because it gave Aguirre a concrete example of the kind of decision he wants to make early. Dani Raba backed it up with a goal, and the coach's public defence of him was one of the sharper parts of the night.

Valencia's next home league matches are against Athletic Club on 2026-10-17 and Villarreal on 2026-10-24. If Aguirre is going to turn the character he praised into points, those two fixtures arrive quickly.