As pre-season knockabouts go, the Trofeu Taronja in Valencia has history. The first goal of the inaugural edition in 1959 was scored by Pele, one of six he netted that summer as Santos claimed the prize. This year, it was Rafa Mir's turn to open the scoring.

His goal helped Valencia win 3-2 against Eintracht Frankfurt. The players seemed unsure whether to celebrate with the trophy - a wooden bat honouring the flying mammal on the club's logo - but Mir could be excused his joy. He's had to wait for his Mestalla moment.

"It means a lot," he tells Sky Sports afterwards, grabbing a quiet word in English after the striker has been peppered with questions by the Valencia press pack. "I was at this club for six years as a kid and I am very happy to be back. It is amazing to be home."

He has returned on loan from Sevilla, a protracted deal that was close to going through in January. Valencia have wanted to bring him back rather longer than that and Mir talks of it being "a difficult year for me to get here" - he fought to make the move happen.

Now 27, Mir...