Valencia president Chan Lay Hoon talks to David Lee

You have an extensive and illustrious CV in corporate management, corporate finance and investments, hospitality and food and beverage. Has it helped in your role as executive president and chairperson of Valencia?

Chan Lay Hoon: Not really (laughs). I think it has been a very interesting and exciting experience the last 12 months.

Managing a football club is very different from managing any business. Business strategies for the club and financial considerations are important, but it is more than that.

There is one unique component to this project - the human aspect, which includes the fans, the Valencians, the community and the players. It can get very emotional, sometimes.

What is your typical day like at the club?

It is a very busy day from early morning to late at night. I may go to the training centre to watch training, or I'll start with a meeting in the office.

I will then have a business lunch because there are many people who want to connect with us on matters that could be sporting-related.

There will be people requesting our help to expand Valencia businesses to Singapore or Singaporean businesses interested in investing in Valencia.

There is also community work, which I attend sometimes in the evening. There are many, many local events which I receive invitations to and I try my best to attend.

Then there is all the office work, so it is normally a very, very long day.

And in football, it is a seven-day week because the matches are usually on the weekends, not just the first-team matches. I also go for the second-team matches and the women's first-team matches whenever I can.

Of all your appointments, this has to rank as the most taxing?

Yes, it is one of the most challenging jobs. But after these 12 months, I also find that it is one of the most meaningful and it gives a lot of satisfaction.

When we have a bad game, everyone is so down and unhappy, but when we have a good game, you see the joy and satisfaction at the stadium, I just cannot describe that. It is just fantastic.

Usually, I spend half a month in Singapore and half a month in Valencia. When you go overseas and into an industry like this, that is what you have to be prepared to do.

What does your son think about mum running a La Liga club?

My son is 23, so you know, the players are like my sons because they are around the same age. Some, like Santi (Mina) who is 20, are even younger.

My son is a football fan. He played football for his schools like ACS (International) and St Joseph's Institution.

I think he is very excited about what I do.

Well, he would text me after every match, what he thinks about the game.

What's your sporting background?

I'm not a very sporty person now. When I was in school, I did play table tennis and I was involved in athletics.

But once you start working, it is very hard to continue these sports. So now sometimes I swim a little bit, and that's it.

For someone so used to working behind the scenes, what is it like having to deal with the constant media spotlight?

This is not me. This is not the natural side of me, but if I have to do it to make the fans understand us, to communicate more, then I will do it.

We usually keep a low profile, especially for Singaporeans and Asians, because we prefer to let our management of our businesses do the talking.

This project is very different. Football is such a high-profile sport, it is unavoidable we are in the limelight, and even more so in Spain, where the club president is held in very high regard, as compared to the English, who focus more on the managers.

The Spanish culture is more expressive and in the past, the Valencia president talked to the media every day.

But I don't and initially they felt that I was distant. They don't hear anything from me, they don't see me, they don't know whether we care about what's going on.

It has been a year of both sides getting to know each other.

That's why on this trip, I took the opportunity to bring along four main Spanish media here - from Marca, AS, Levante and Las Provincias - to get Valencians to understand, to know where Singapore is, to know what Singapore is like, how we built our country, and it's important to get to know and appreciate each 
other's culture.

I have been very transparent and honest with our fans and all the employees at our club. People can see we are genuinely trying to rebuild this club.

Do you think two years after Peter Lim bought the club for 420-million euros ($656 million), Valencians have warmed to Singaporean ownership?

I would say that overall, many Valencia people are very appreciative of what Peter has done.

He has saved the club which has such a long history.

Back then, I was leading the acquisition process. It was a very long and demanding process because there were seven or eight bidders for Valencia at that point.

In the end, we managed to convince everyone. We had to present and go through a board of trustees that had 20 members and, in our first round of voting, we actually got all 20 votes because they believed we presented a project not just based on the financial aspect, but also took due consideration of the sporting and social angles as well.

In the second round, we got 18 out of 20 votes and we were happy with that.

First season, we were very successful to qualify for the Champions League. Maybe that set a very high expectation for the second season.

And when the second season was not so smooth, all the huge disappointment came in. But I would say generally, Valencians know that we have achieved financial stability for the club.

Pako Ayestaran replaced Gary Neville on March 31. He attended a press conference as part of this Valencia visit. Can we expect him to continue as manager?

I have no specific comment on that. We are taking careful considerations on who is going to be the manager next season. When it is ready, we will make the announcement.

Valencia fans expect results on the pitch as well. What is your message to them? Will there be more investments to boost the squad?

We have told everyone from the first day that our goal is to compete at the highest level in European competitions, which is the Champions League, on a regular and sustainable basis.

That has always been our goal and it will be the same next season. We want to be challenging for the title and other cup competitions. If we can do that, it would be fantastic.

The key thing is to plan for a balanced squad. What we learnt from the last season was that our squad was a bit too young and inexperienced.

Sevilla have just won the Europa League and two Spanish teams, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, are in the Champions League final, so the La Liga standard is very, very high.

Last year, our Under-19s qualified for the knockout rounds of the Uefa Youth League, which runs in parallel for teams in the Champions League. We have a very good team and I travelled with them to give them support.

We lost to (eventual winners) Chelsea in the Round of 16 on penalties because of what we still think was a wrong judgment by the referees and it was big disappointment for our Under-19s.

So we have a good team and good players, but they are young. When you are down, you need to be strong mentally to face the fight.

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Yes, it is one of the most challenging jobs. But after these 12 months, I also find that it is one of the most meaningful and it gives a lot of satisfaction.

— Valencia president Chan Lay Hoon on managing a football club

My son is 23, so you know, the players are like my sons because they are around the same age... he would text me after every match, what he thinks about the game.

— Chan on her football-loving son

The key thing is to plan for a balanced squad. What we learnt from the last season was that our squad was a bit too young and inexperienced.

— Chan on improving Valencia for next season