Skip to main content

100 day anniversary! More on the other Rayo. And Leioa. And careers thriving outside Rayo (27th May, 2017)

Yesterday, on the 26th of May, 2017, was the 100-day-anniversary of this blog.

Over three months ago, I started a daily blog on Rayo Vallecano (my favorite team) and Spanish football in general. After months of doing nothing I decided to get off my arse and do something.

Thank God I did.

Since then, I have published 122 blog posts in 100 days, including a 19 day project called Hinchas y Jugadores where I interview 45 fans, footballers, coaches and staff who share this crazy bond with something as silly as a game where 22 people kick a ball around.

I look forward to sharing the progress I make in the next 100 days.


Today's post features more about Rayo Majadahonda, and the rise of Genk's Alejandro Pozuelo.



11 minutes. 

11 minutes decided the fate of three teams, who had competed over the entire season with ferocity and were all set for a nail-biting finish.

In third, fourth, and fifth, heading into the final game of the season, Fuenlabrada, Rayo Majadahonda and Leioa were all on 60 points. The head-to-head records of the teams were pretty clear - Fuenlabrada would win any hypothetical matchup, and Rayo would win in a matchup against Leioa.

Entering the 78th minute, Leioa were 2-0 down at Arenas, Rayo were 1-0 down at Barakaldo, and Fuenlabrada were winning 2-0 at already relegated Sestao River.

Then all hell broke lose.

Arenas scored in the 78th minute. Almost in unison, Leioa scored in the next minute, but so did Rayo - which meant Leioa had to win. In the 81st minute, Leioa scored and then four minutes later Leioa scored again.

But it wasn't over. Aitor Córdoba was sent off, exposing the Leioa back line, and Arenas' Nacho Pérez scored to kill all hopes of a comeback.

Leioa had gone from narrowly avoiding the relegation playoffs in the 2014-15 season on the last day, to narrowly avoiding relegation on the last day at the expense of Gualadajara in the 2015-16 season, to narrowly missing out on promotion in the next.

Leioa's only three seasons in the Segunda B have been eventful to say the least.



Nearly two months ago, I wrote a piece entitled "Rejuvenating careers - Paco Jémez's success list" (you can read it here). 

But there's two sides to every coin. There's the player who come to Rayo and expect to get the opportunity to succeed. And then there are those who come to Rayo, show flashes of brilliance but leave without anyone batting an eyelid.


In fact, there are players who don't really make it at Rayo but become well renowned elsewhere. 


A year after Swansea signed an attacking midfielder from a club in Madrid for a bargain, Swansea signed an attacking midfielder from a club in Seville for a bargain. Alejandro Pozuelo was signed from Real Betis for a bargain £425,000, after he slipped out of favor at Betis after a row over a clause in his contract. His former club believed he had triggered an extension, but the player disagreed and said he was free to leave. Previous interest by Manchester United and Barcelona didn't resurface, and Swansea swooped in.

However, he fell out of favor once Laudrup had been sacked, and he subsequently joined Rayo in 2014, where he failed to inspire, and subsequently joined Genk in 2015.

Regular playing time, combined with the confidence of a team built around him, has seen him shine. He's back on the market, and this time it's Dortmund and Bayern who are interested in him.

He was solid but unspectacular. His ability in terms of dribbling and passing were unquestionable, but he really didn't fit the Rayo no. 10 mold - a second striker essentially.

The one game where he showed his magic was against Valencia in the Copa del Rey, when he scored Rayo's second - talking the ball down with one touch, swiveling and strucking the ball with such precision that Yoel had no chance (watch it here). He then provided an assist for Jonathan Pereira which was ruled out for offside, and played a part in the buildup to Rayo's fourth.

If you remember the 2014-15 season, you probably remember Alberto Bueno scoring four goals in 14 minutes to overturn a 1-0 deficit to 4-1.

What you don't remember is that Pozuelo substituted him so that Bueno could get a standing ovation, and that Pozuelo cheaply lost the ball for Levante to score a second.

That was the end of Pozuelo at Rayo - he would go on to play just 118 minutes more in a Rayo shirt.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ismael Urzaiz and Salamanca. A 22 team La Liga. Trust and Víctor Casadesús (9th June, 2017)

Salamanca traveled to Albacete to compete for promotion to La Liga with an impossible task on their hands. They had to overturn a 2-0 deficit away from home, against a side that entered La Liga's relegation playoff spots on the final day, and who had scored 44 goals in the league - just four less than Salamanca themselves. As the clock ticked towards the 90th minute, Salamanca were winning 1-0 yet in danger of losing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Born in Tudela, Navarre, Urzaiz began his professional career at Real Madrid's B-side, making his debut in Segunda División in 1989. Despite being a successful youth international, he did not make any La Liga appearances for the first team (however, he did play one game against Odense BK, in the 1990–91 European Cup). Urzaiz spent the 1991–92 season on loan at Albacete Balompié, making his top flight debut when he came on as a substitute against Athletic Bilbao in October 1991. In early 1993, he was loaned to Celta de Vigo...

Non-league Incider: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers

Last game: 8th August: Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 East Thurrock United The previous day, I was blown away by my first ever football match experience. Dulwich Hamlet impressed me, but what impressed me more was the journey. The travel to the stadium was just as enjoyable as the football itself. I had caught the groundhopping bug. There were no games scheduled for the 9th of August. There was one, near Wigan, and all I had booked earlier was a refundable bus ticket from Manchester Airport leaving at quarter past midnight. I should have refunded it. This was a mistake. This whole day was a mistake. I was only slightly hungover from the previous night, but that was nothing compared to this feeling of loss - I couldn't handle the fact that there was a game happening. And I wasn't too far away. Just three hours and a bit. They'll fly by , I thought. I was in autopilot. Something within me made me get up, grab a bag, and get out the door. This wasn't me. I wasn't trave...

Non-league Incider: Cray Valley Paper Mills 4-4 Punjab United Gravesend

Last game: 9th August: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers After ripping up my groundhopping calendar, mostly because I was determined to avoid overnight travel, and partly due to other commitments, there was a period of time where non-league football took a backseat. But that period did not last long. Because of course it didn't. Secretly, I'd loved travelling over ten hours back-and-forth to watch some 10th division football. And this was 9th division football in London. When I had gone to East Dulwich exactly a week back , I had commented on how the amount of graffiti struck me as I watched from on board a southeastern train. I was going the exact same way, but much further this time - then I had stopped at Denmark Hill, now I would have to go six stations further. The graffiti I had thought was so emblematic of south London quickly disappeared, as did the tall buildings desperately cluttered together. We, and by we I mean me, were going to the suburb...