Behind the incredible Hulk kits - the sad story of Atlético Astorga. And more 2000. (24th May, 2017)

Sarthak (@Vallecanos1924) puts it succinctly.
The Old Boys' network in the RFEF is still alive & kicking.
The gravy train rolls on. pic.twitter.com/Fk89zocbf5
— Barça Women (@BarcaWomen) May 23, 2017

Exactly.

Behind the incredible Hulk kits is a story that shows weakness - weakness of the argument for why the Segunda B should even exist.

In March 2016, Atlético Astorga couldn't survive in the Segunda B. It ran a 30,000 euro deficit. It needed 70,000 euros more to survive. Just think about that - a club formed in 1969 had spent just two years in the Segunda B and was struggling to function.

The team from Astorga did the unthinkable - they reached across to Ponferrada, 64 kilometers away, to their fiercest rivals, and became their B team.

The situation was so dire that Sagrario González, president of the board, defended it as the "the only solution" to be able to compete in the Segunda B - and this was after Ponferradina had loaned them five players in the winter transfer window. Members of the assembly voted 85-8, with 5 abstentions, to become the reserve team of their nemesis.

It never happened though - for the agreement to take shape either both Ponferradina had to stay in the Segunda and Astorga had to stay in the Segunda B, or both had to go down and the agreement would be renegotiated.

They both went down, and the agreement didn't go through.

The fight for a better Segunda B, once again, was brushed under the carpet.

Yesterday I did a small snippet on the 1999-00 season. Here's another:

El País summed up the team perfectly: "A lady who has gone from housework to being interviewed by the Herald Tribune, a coach whose fame began - and ended - in Logroño; an American goalkeeper, a German with a ponytail, a group of disinherited players with just one star - a former youth product raised by Cruyff himself.

And Cota, as ever - Cota."

In the 1999-00 season, newly promoted Rayo Vallecano did something unheard of, something that they had never done in their 75-year history.

In weeks 4, 8, 10 and 11, they led the table. Not defending champions Barcelona. Not eventual champions Depor, or eventual Champions League winners Real Madrid.

Them.

Teresa Rivero, the owner who was considered a maternal figure by fans and players alike, oversaw a team coached by Juande Ramos, a team whose goal was defended by Kasey Keller, a team that ticked because of Gerhard Poschner, a team that was full of energy because of Luis Cembranos, raised with, and then replaced by, Jordi Cruyff by Johan himself, and a team that was represented by Vallekas-born-and-bred and one-club man Jesús Diego Cota.

But that description leaves out two men. Jon "Bolo", the striker who scored 10 goals that season. When he joined in the 1998-99 season from Athletic Bilbao, coach Luis Fernández said that Bolo would not be able to score ten goals even in the Segunda.

He was right - Bolo scored nine that season.

The other, the "boss", the defender who put everything on the line, who was comfortable on the ball, who Juande Ramos called the Fernando Hierro of Rayo, who inexplicably was let go of by Compostela, who along with Cota formed an impenetrable partnership in the center of the park, was Jean-François Hernandez.

The Rayo women's team exceeded what it did last year - by actually qualifying for the Copa de la Reina! The quarterfinal draw came out today.

Good news? It's a local derby. Bad news? It's against league champions Atlético Madrid.

Francisco Pérez Pérez - the actual oldest player to have played in Spain (1st November, 2017)

I've always wanted to ask a football player: how much do you love your club? If you see your club go down, what are you willing to put on the line to see them go back up? The notion that "players will come and players will go, but the fans are the club" is one that is sadly true in what has become a money-filled sport. The story of a player sacrificing money and success for his club? That story is rare. That story is beautiful. This is that story. This is the story of a player who loved his club. His local club. It'll be a long time if and when someone beats his record. Francisco Pérez Pérez, also known as Chico, currently holds the record for being the oldest player to play in the Segunda B - 43 years and 93 days is the figure. That's a figure that second place Diego Rodríguez Fernández (41 years and 324 days) falls short of by a year and 134 days. I should also point out that the top 3 list for oldest players to play in any of the top three tier

When three teams offered a 19-year-old an eight year contract (11th October, 2017)

Just how many players can you name who have the following descrption: He is a striker of great quality, and was a great promise of Spanish football, but his bad luck and some injuries denied him the opportunity to recover - he has never played more than one season in the same team. This is the story of a player - a technically and physically excellent striker - who made mistakes and suffered injuries very young and never really recovered. Born in Santa Eulàlia de Ronçana, Barcelona, Iván Peñaranda started his youth career at Granollers. His real formation, however, was in the lower categories of Barcelona, in which he stayed for seven years (1991-98). Playing alongside Xavi Hernández, Gabri and Carles Puyol. He was considered as one of the young players with a huge future within the club. In the summer of 1998, he angered Barcelona by using "change of residence" as an excuse to sign for Mallorca B (he would move there along with his family), where he would play alongs

Who is Raúl Martín Presa, the Mickey Mouse? Part 1. (20th August, 2017)

José María Ruiz-Mateos was the head and main shareholder of Nueva Rumasa - the company that owned Rayo and other companies - mainly specializing in dairy products. (He wasn't the president of Rayo though - his wife, Teresa Rivero, was Rayo's president). In early 2011, the directors announced a debt of over 700 million euros, that it was on the verge of bankruptcy and that staff wouldn't be paid. And the players were visibly angry about it - captain Míchel assured the press that the club would continue fighting on the pitch, but the day after the announcement was made, six key players didn’t attend training. Veteran midfielder José María Movilla spoke on radio station SER about the situation, about the fact that he had only received seven of the last eighteen months of pay, about the fact that there were a few players who couldn't even afford car repairs. When Rayo Vallecano were about to earn promotion to La Liga despite all the odds - the players not being paid,

The Pride of Vallekas

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