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Marcelino: Valencia fired me for winning Copa del Rey

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Marcelino claims that ending Valencia's 11-year trophy drought was the reason behind his dismissal as the club's manager earlier this week.

As Valencia was preparing for a pair of important matches against Barcelona and Chelsea, it was announced Wednesday that the club was parting ways with the Spaniard after two years in charge and just three games into the new season.

"I'm absolutely certain that what triggered this (sacking) was the Copa. During the season, we received direct messages from certain people that we had to reject the Copa (in order to concentrate on La Liga)," Marcelino said during a news conference, according to ESPN FC's Adriana Garcia.

"But the fans wanted to fight for it. The players too and so did the coaching staff. Who would have told me that this would trigger this situation?"

Despite allegedly going against orders from club owner Peter Lim, Valencia managed to qualify for this season's Champions League after finishing fourth in La Liga.

"We never received any congratulatory messages from the club owner after winning the Copa," Marcelino added.

"When I went to Singapore on July 19, he (Lim) only congratulated me for the Champions League qualification and not for the Copa. You can imagine my surprise."

Valencia were unable to add to their trophy cabinet since 2008 before winning their eighth Copa del Rey title in May.

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