The Pride of Vallekas

Real Zaragoza vs Rayo Vallecano. Starting lineups. Míchel reverted to a 4-3-3 formation from three at the back that drew 1-1 against Albacete, and dropped Dorado in place for buccaneering right back Baiano. Natxo González made wholesale changes from the side that lost 3-1 at Huesca - in defense Alain Oyarzun was replaced at left back by Ángel Martínez, Mikel González was replaced at right center-back by Simone Grippo and Alberto Benito was replaced at right back by Julián Delmás. And in midfield and attack there was a complete shake-up tactically - Oliver Buff and Javi Ros was replaced by Aleix Febas and Íñigo Eguaras. This was a game that summed up both teams perfectly - defensively lacking, strong in attack and a hardworking yet technically astute midfield. Zaragoza were actually quite poor going forward, and didn't create many chances. But they took the ones they had, and the sheer versatility of their players allowed Zaragoza to change systems quickly and seal the win. ...

Pop quiz: in the 2013-14 season, who completed more passes than Xavi, with 2,936 passes (2,537 good) to 2,587 (2,406)? In the 2014-15 season, who completed more passes than Toni Kroos, with 2,566 passes (2,213 good) to 2,353 (2,170)?  In the 2015-16 season, who  completed more passes than Toni Kroos, with  2,693 passes (2,351 good) to 2,425 (2,277)? Trashorras. Duh. The Rayo midfield linchpin has done it again - for the fourth consecutive season, he is on course to become the player with the most passes in the league he plays in. Player Team Total Passes Short Passes Long Passes Through Balls Trashorras Rayo 2,179 1,872 303 4 Fernando Seoane Lugo 2,175 1.940 234 1 Folch Reus 2,055 1,776 278 1 Zapater Zaragoza 1,998 1,728 265 5 Carlos Pita Lugo 1,844 1,539 302 3 Stats as per the 39th jornada i.e. before the Zaragoza game - Trashorras was suspended anyways! Also, considering the Seoane has played 545 minutes m...

There are two kinds of people in the world. If you give both a task to do in 12 hours, one of them will carefully calculate how much work needs to be done in each hour, and calmly finish it before the deadline. The other will binge watch half a season of their favorite TV show they haven't seen for the fourth time, and then all hell breaks loose in the last hour - a frantic, hectic, enjoyable-to-watch mess. Given that  Roberto Trashorras was suspended - you knew that all the calm, careful calculations of the Galician were gone. You knew all hell was going to break loose. Rayo attacked loads and defended loads. Fran Beltrán and Jordi Gómez dribbled and ran with the ball, Patrick Ebert went on long mazy runs with the ball on the left. Embarba made excellent runs on the right - even hitting the post from an Ebert cross. But Rayo were overrun in the center of the park. Time and time again, Zaragoza players waltzed past Rayo defenders. Time and time again, Manuel Lanzarote ...

Follow Max Bluer on Twitter here . A bit about yourself and your background So I’m a 25 year-old living here in Madrid and working for the Spanish Ministry of Tourism. By night I freelance as a writer on politics and fútbol. How long have you been a fan of Real Zaragoza and what made you support them in the first place? Well Zaragoza was the city I moved to when I first came to Spain in August 2014. My flat was about 10 minutes walk from La Romareda, a real thrill as I’d never before lived within easy reach of a top level stadium. I think this was made me become such an ardent Zaragoza fan, I’d always loved football but growing up in a little town in Wiltshire, UK I’d never really had a local team. Then all of a sudden I found myself next door to a team with all of this amazing history that is as a standard-bearer for the city. How could I not be hooked? Given the transfer windows and the squad that was assembled at the start of the season, is Real Zaragoza where you want it...