The Pride of Vallekas

His story is not unique. It is a story of a family fleeing violence, settling in a foreign land and making a name for themselves through hard work. It's the story of a striker named Tariq Spezie. It's a story that interested me because his brothers (Omar and Nura) were born in Dubai, a city I've lived in. And he was born in Sharjah, merely an hour away from Dubai. His Italian father from Verona (who worked in a tire company) and Spanish mother from La Mancha - which explains his last name Sevilla - saw the political situation in the region worsen. It eventually led to the Iran-Iraq War, and the family relocated to Italy with their one-year infant, and later to Spain. Tariq played youth football in modest clubs in Catalonia, such as Racing Blanenc and Vilobí, and supplemented his fluent Italian with Castilian and Catalan. However, he moved to Valladolid due to a family relocation, and made his senior debut with Real Valladolid B at the age of 19. He would compete the 1...

These examples are countless. These examples of perseverance and dedication are inspiring. This is the story of a player who made his professional debut at the age of 30 - and yet, on the way, dropped a division to help his local club to promotion. And he's still going strong - and is about to turn 33. This is the story of a tireless career, and the tireless midfielder behind it. Cáceres, in Extremadura, is no ordinary town. This town was the birthplace of Spain's tourism industry - in 1846 the bullring of Cáceres ( Plaza de Toros de Cáceres ) was inaugurated and brought in tourists from near and far. Franco established his headquarters here in August 1936, before starting his advance to Madrid. In July 1937, Republican forces bombed this town. Caught up in the Civil War, a town that became the symbol of a local, self-sufficient service sector and tourism economy also became the town symbolized with the construction industry. With hard work. He is cacereño thr...

It must be frustrating to be linked to a club whose budget is 50 times the size of the club you play for, and at the same time be unwanted at the club you play for. In October of 2015, Barcelona were looking to sign a Guinean winger from Rayo at about the same time that he was expelled from training for his attitude. He was loaned out to Ligue 1 club Stade de Reims just three months later. Lass Bangoura has quality - he is a skillful dribbler, a pace merchant and a confident player. But it is his attitude that ticked Paco Jémez and Rayo fans off to no end. Born in Conakry, Bangoura began his career with local Étoile de Guinée. In 2010, aged 18, he joined the youth ranks of Spanish club Rayo Vallecano, scoring 23 goals in 25 games in his last year as a junior. Without having played for Rayo Vallecano B, Lass managed to appear in four Segunda matches with the first team during the 2010-11 season, as the Madrid side returned to La Liga after an eight-year absence. In June 2011 he at...