The Pride of Vallekas

Ball-winning, combative midfielders have become something of a thing on this blog. And Iriney is no different - robust in his challenges, yet technically sound. Signings from foreign clubs seem to always be suspicious - but we often forget the back-story and the desire of players to succeed in a foreign country and dismiss it as opportunism. Clearly, that can't be said of Iriney. 21-year-old midfielder Iriney moved to Rayo Vallecano from São Caetano - where he made his senior debut - and joined the club while in La Liga in January 2003. The club was relegated at the end of the season, but Iriney stayed on - he would go on, like many others, to stay at the club and remained an undisputed starter. However, the club went through a second successive relegation - and was plunged into the hell-hole that is the Segunda B. Almost the entire squad left the club. In fact, only four players stuck with the team from the first division to the third. Right-back Mario Gómez, center-back Die...

Who doesn't like ranting on Granada? I enjoy it. A lot. But this story is not about Granada. It is about a story, a sad one at that - how a club avoided disappearance by becoming subservient to a foreign club. This is part 1 in a multi-part series. Part 2 comes out tomorrow. Hopefully. If you look at it from Granada's perspective, Gino Pozzo was a ray of light at the end of a dark tunnel. In 2002-03, Granada depended on itself to get promoted to the Segunda B, but an unfortunate own goal by Juanjo against Quintanar del Rey at home tore the dream to shreds. The following season was excellent, but in the play-offs, a theoretically inferior rival - La Roda - would eliminate them. In that year, players were forced to lock themselves in the stadium as a protest for not receiving their wages. In 2006, the team was promoted from the fourth level. And good thing that happened, since at the time Granada was in the worst sporting and economic position in its history. Loren...

Imanol Etxeberria, in 2002, moved to Rayo Vallecano, replacing the departed Kasey Keller. In his first season he became the regular goalkeeper over veteran Julen Lopetegui (also from Gipuzkoa) who retired at the end of that campaign. In 2002-03 he was the starter for most games but was challenged by Sergio Segura, and the club was relegated after four years in La Liga. Rayo suffered a second successive relegation in 2004 - in a chaotic campaign, Etxeberria played in eight matches at the beginning of the season under Lopetegui (in his first appointment as head coach) but was largely overlooked in favour of Segura by his successor Jorge D'Alessandro, who then brought in another goalkeeper, his compatriot Sebastián Saja, on loan. D'Alessandro was then replaced by Txetxu Rojo, who again had no place in his plans for Etxeberria - he was sent away from Rayo altogether and trained with Bilbao Athletic until the season's end. There would be four managerial spells. Julen Lo...

We seem to think that footballers form emotional attachment and loyalty to their clubs, but being a professional footballer is a job - and that job is their means of survival. Which is why we celebrate, and revere, and treasure those who genuinely care about the club, put their money where their mouth is and stay on. They didn't need to. They weren't expected to.  And yet they did. There is no heroism in it. It damages career prospects, takes a toll on the bank account, and history won't remember much about the club, much less the name. When Rayo underwent two consecutive relegations, three players stuck with the team from the first division to the third. Right-back Mario Gómez, center-back Diego Mainz and goalkeeper Sergio Segura - all youth graduates. When in 2004 Rayo had reached the Segunda B, Diego Mainz started for the club for three seasons before leaving for Albacete in the second division. Mario Gómez started for one season before leaving for Se...