The A-Z guide to Rayo Vallecano (Addition edition): O is for Oviedo. Real Oviedo, Part 3 (2nd January, 2018)
You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.
At the heart of Real Oviedo's economic crisis in 2003, two players traveled from Oviedo to Madrid.
Here are their stories.
You'd think that a player who scored 26 goals in 2 seasons for Rayo Vallecano would be widely known.
But therein lies the darkness of the Segunda B - obscurity envelops even the biggest accomplishments.
Striker Eugenio Suárez Santos, or Geni, was born in Gijón, Asturias, but emerged through neighbors Real Oviedo's youth system, making his first-team debuts shy of his 19th birthday as the club was then in La Liga. Definitely promoted to the main squad in 2000, he would see them drop two tiers in only two years.
However, 16 goals in his last two seasons for Oviedo in the Segunda were enough to convince Rayo to sign him. Initially, he struggled to settle in - he played 29 games without scoring in his first season, which ended in another relegation. But he thrived in the Segunda B, scoring 16 and 10 goals in successive seasons, before leaving in 2006 to another side in the third level, Real Jaén, where he appeared and scored regularly too.
In 2009, Geni signed with Deportivo Alavés, with the Basques in division three. He would play for the Segunda B club for three seasons, before playing another three at Real Avilés - where he would begin his transition into a midfielder. However, the 2014-15 season ended in relegation, and Geni would go on to drop down to the Tercera, where he played at Marino de Luanco for two seasons.
Unlike Viktor Onopko, Iñigo Idiakez wasn't an Oviedo legend. But he was a Sociedad one.
The midfielder-cum-striker joined local Real Sociedad's youth system in 1989, making his senior debuts with the B-team where he shared teams with his older brother Imanol. He first appeared with the main squad on the 8th of November 1992, on his 19th birthday, against Cádiz in La Liga.
However, despite that early debut, he did not become a regular member of the first team squad until 1994-95, playing nearly two full seasons with the reserves in the Segunda B. Subsequently, Idiakez appeared in a further eight top flight campaigns with the Txuriurdin, going on to appear in more than 250 official games. During most of his spell he was a regular substitute and, in 1998-99 and 2000-01, scored a career-best seven league goals.
At the end of 2001-02, having finished his contract with Real Sociedad, Idiakez signed with Real Oviedo, who had just been relegated to the Segunda and were in a deep financial crisis. He only spent one year with the Asturias side, who finished the season penultimate, being relegated to the third level then demoted a further tier because of financial irregularities.
Idiakez then moved to another second division side, Madrid's Rayo Vallecano. Again, his new club finished second from the bottom and were relegated at the end of the campaign. At the age of 30, he moved to England in 2004 to join Championship club Derby County. He transferred to Southampton two seasons later and finished his playing career in 2008 after a loan spell at Queens Park Rangers.
He went into coaching in 2009, returning to his hometown in Spain with Añorga under-18's and later non-league sides Euskalduna and Berio. He joined Cypriot club Apollon Limassol as assistant manager in 2012 before moving back to England a year later to take up a youth coaching position at Leicester City. He joined his former club Derby County as first-team coach in 2016 before being appointed as Professional Development Phase Lead Coach at Luton Town in 2017.
At the heart of Real Oviedo's economic crisis in 2003, two players traveled from Oviedo to Madrid.
Here are their stories.
You'd think that a player who scored 26 goals in 2 seasons for Rayo Vallecano would be widely known.
But therein lies the darkness of the Segunda B - obscurity envelops even the biggest accomplishments.
Striker Eugenio Suárez Santos, or Geni, was born in Gijón, Asturias, but emerged through neighbors Real Oviedo's youth system, making his first-team debuts shy of his 19th birthday as the club was then in La Liga. Definitely promoted to the main squad in 2000, he would see them drop two tiers in only two years.
However, 16 goals in his last two seasons for Oviedo in the Segunda were enough to convince Rayo to sign him. Initially, he struggled to settle in - he played 29 games without scoring in his first season, which ended in another relegation. But he thrived in the Segunda B, scoring 16 and 10 goals in successive seasons, before leaving in 2006 to another side in the third level, Real Jaén, where he appeared and scored regularly too.
 |
| Geni celebrating a goal for Real Jaén |
In 2009, Geni signed with Deportivo Alavés, with the Basques in division three. He would play for the Segunda B club for three seasons, before playing another three at Real Avilés - where he would begin his transition into a midfielder. However, the 2014-15 season ended in relegation, and Geni would go on to drop down to the Tercera, where he played at Marino de Luanco for two seasons.
Unlike Viktor Onopko, Iñigo Idiakez wasn't an Oviedo legend. But he was a Sociedad one.
The midfielder-cum-striker joined local Real Sociedad's youth system in 1989, making his senior debuts with the B-team where he shared teams with his older brother Imanol. He first appeared with the main squad on the 8th of November 1992, on his 19th birthday, against Cádiz in La Liga.
However, despite that early debut, he did not become a regular member of the first team squad until 1994-95, playing nearly two full seasons with the reserves in the Segunda B. Subsequently, Idiakez appeared in a further eight top flight campaigns with the Txuriurdin, going on to appear in more than 250 official games. During most of his spell he was a regular substitute and, in 1998-99 and 2000-01, scored a career-best seven league goals.
 |
| Iñigo Idiakez, at Sociedad |
At the end of 2001-02, having finished his contract with Real Sociedad, Idiakez signed with Real Oviedo, who had just been relegated to the Segunda and were in a deep financial crisis. He only spent one year with the Asturias side, who finished the season penultimate, being relegated to the third level then demoted a further tier because of financial irregularities.
Idiakez then moved to another second division side, Madrid's Rayo Vallecano. Again, his new club finished second from the bottom and were relegated at the end of the campaign. At the age of 30, he moved to England in 2004 to join Championship club Derby County. He transferred to Southampton two seasons later and finished his playing career in 2008 after a loan spell at Queens Park Rangers.
He went into coaching in 2009, returning to his hometown in Spain with Añorga under-18's and later non-league sides Euskalduna and Berio. He joined Cypriot club Apollon Limassol as assistant manager in 2012 before moving back to England a year later to take up a youth coaching position at Leicester City. He joined his former club Derby County as first-team coach in 2016 before being appointed as Professional Development Phase Lead Coach at Luton Town in 2017.
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