The Pride of Vallekas

27th May, 2000 It could not have been more different. Espanyol were facing Atlético Madrid in the final of the Copa del Rey, and their runs to the final couldn’t have been more different. Espanyol had beaten Celta Vigo and Real Madrid; Atlético Madrid had beaten Rayo on away goals in the quarters and Barcelona forfeited the semifinals. At the end of a crazy league season, where Atlético Madrid were relegated, the notion was that the Copa del Rey would be their consolation. Boy, were they wrong. Goalkeeper Toni Jiménez, who was in his first season at Atlético Madrid after having won the 1998 Zamora with (ironically) Espanyol, served as backup to José Francisco Molina. He was having a treacherous season, and only played cup games. And he was about to have a moment that would haunt him for ever. The ball was in his hands. He was about to throw it in the air to kick it. And he did. But Tamudo’s head beat him to the ball, and he scored into the open net. Tamudo had made his for...

Last week, the striker who promised Valladolid he'd score 40 goals and actually scored five, the striker who became friends with fellow lusophone Diego Costa, the striker who has played in Turkey and England, Greece and Spain, and who took four seasons to reach 97 league appearances at Valladolid reached 100 league appearances at Rayo in three. It's interesting to think that Manucho started out as a left-winger - and a pretty good one at that - in his native Angola. Nowadays, he revels in the super sub role, coming on in the last 10 or 20 minutes as Rayo's plan B. He isn't quick by any means, but he brings direct play, a powerful header and a central focal point to the attack. And hard work - lots of it. Out of the 100 league games, Manucho has started in just 31 (of which he has completed the full 90 minutes in 27). That's right - Manucho has had 69 substitute appearances. And while 14 goals in that time sounds measly, those 100 league games total a mere ...

Yes, this is one of those days. I feel like those days are coming a lot. But I'm really happy about that - if the goal was to write something everyday, and I'm posting it on somewhere other than this blog, then it means the story is defined well, it's polished and it's edited. This one is about Ferdinand Daučík, one of the best managers ever. He is underrated, easily the most and most experienced in Spain and it is a shame that he gets very little attention (perhaps because he's foreign). It's on BarcaBlaugranes.com ( here ).