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Success at Eibar, inspired at Rayo. And a milestone forgotten. (28th September, 2017)

Today's post is a short one. Apologies in advance...

It's amazing to think that as of this moment, four of Eibar's starters - and almost half their defense, is made up of players who came to Rayo when their careers were in disarray. Rejuvenated, they are now going on to bigger and better things...

On the left wing, you have Bebé. After a botched transfer to Manchester United, three loan spells with various degrees of success, a sale to Benfica, and a wretched six months and a relegation with Córdoba, Rayo took him in 2015 where he became a deadly left winger, with three goals and nine assists. After Rayo were relegated, he was sold to Eibar, where he has been a regular.

Almost half the defense is comprised of players who fit this category. On the right side of defense there is Anaitz Arbilla. Paco took right-back Arbilla from Segunda outfit Hércules in January 2013, and in 18 months made him a solid La Liga defender, which earned him a move to Espanyol, and then to Eibar. Right next to him is Alejandro Gálvez, who was an absolute rock in Rayo's defense. Signed in 2012 from Sporting Gijón, two impressive seasons at Rayo earned him a move to Werder Bremen - and two seasons later he was at Eibar.

Finally, goalkeeper Yoel deserves a mention too. On the 19th of November 2015, after making no appearances during the season despite the injuries of both Diego Alves and Mathew Ryan, Yoel was loaned to fellow league side Rayo Vallecano until June to make up for Toño's serious injury. Discounting the 10-2 league defeat to Real Madrid, where Rayo had to play with nine players for more than 60 minutes, Yoel actually played well. Conceding 14 goals in the eight other games he played, he earned a loan move to Eibar - followed by a permanent deal at the Basque club.

All those players actually play for Eibar now.



Somewhere along the line, I forgot that this blog has been going on for 200 days. Today, that tally is up to 225.

254 posts in 225 days is absolutely mental. The magnitude of that is hard to believe. I don't know how, or how long, this proyecto will keep going. But all I can do is thank those who've chipped in along the way. So thank you - I really do appreciate it. And I look forward to more people joining the cause.

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