07.02.2011 12:15

Valdés beating personal records

Edgar Fornós

Víctor Valdés is showing just what great form he is in game after game this season. The keeper has conceded just 11 goals in his 22 La Liga games so far this campaign, better than any figures he’s ever recorded before for the team at this season.

Football is just as much about not conceding as about scoring goals and although the focus tends to centre on Barça’s fantastic 70 goals so far this year, the other side of the story is the mere 11 goals they have let in - the best stats at this stage of the competition for Valdes since he established himself in the first team in the 2004/05 season.

Best season yet

Valdes was 29 in January and in the seven years since he first made the number 1 jersey his own, he has consistently put in some great stats, but never as good as this year: he’s conceded two less goals than at the same stage last season and seven less than in the 2005/06 and 06/07 campaigns.

Consistency

His complete record over the last seven years in the first 22 games reads 15 goals conceded in 2004/05, 18 in 2005/06 and 2006/07, 14 in 07/08, 16 the year of the treble and 13 last season. Those numbers show how consistently he has performed and strongly suggest he is on his way to a third consecutive Trofeu Zamora this season– his fourth in all.