The Pride of Vallekas

This game's Rayo Report format is different simply because the game was, barring some fleeting chances, quite dull and marked by both teams being guarded. Cádiz vs Rayo. Starting lineups. Míchel made no changes from the side that drew 1-1 against Sporting Gijón. In contrast, Álvaro Cervera made three changes to the Cádiz lineup compared to the 2-1 loss to Betis in the Copa del Rey just four days before - goalkeeper Rubén Yáñez was replaced by Alberto Cifuentes, and wingers Dani Romera and Moha Traoré were replaced by Álvaro García and Salvi Sánchez respectively. Before this game, Rayo Vallecano were undefeated in their last 4 matches, and Cádiz had failed to win any of their last 7 matches; however, the game started with Rayo Vallecano looking shaky defensively, and Rayo were terrible throughout the game at keeping possession. Nevertheless, as the game progressed, both teams were cautious going forward and played to protect a point. Rayo's system was similar to pre...

Rayo Vallecano vs Tenerife. Starting Lineups Míchel and José Luis Martí both made huge changes to their squads. And who can blame them? This is a midweek game, in between two jornadas , in the Copa del Rey - a competition that Segunda teams see as a distraction from a grueling 42 game season. The midfield battle - fluidity vs rigidity Míchel experimented with the "midfielder on the wing" for the second time in his Rayo tenure - coincidentally, the first time was against Tenerife too in a 1-1 draw (8th April, 2017). Then it was Fran, yesterday it was Unai López. However, it is important to note that the positions were not fixed at all this game, and the midfielders, including Chori, kept dropping deep and/or moving forward. Theoretically, it should have meant that players would replace each other - but what it actually meant was that when Fran rotated with any player further forward, Tenerife were able to pounce easily in the central gaps that only a player with Fra...

The Rayo aficionado project continues! This is the story of a Rayo fan, one that involves a transformation from being a Real Madrid fan to being a Rayo Vallecano one... A bit about yourself and your background I grew up in the north of Madrid as the smallest of three brothers and as far as I remember I got my brothers taste for Real Madrid. My mother took the opposite position of supporting Atlético Madrid and my father has been a proud supporter of Sporting de Gijón since he was a child. Anyway, I was the one who loved football the most - my brothers chose basketball as their favorite sport. I lived really close to the old training field of Real Madrid, and to the stadium, so for me everything revolved around this club, including my first match at the Santiago Bernabéu. It was February of 1998 and my father took me to watch the game against Sporting, who were already set for relegation to the 2nd division (they won just two games all season) and I can remember two things: th...

Lorca vs Rayo Vallecano. Starting Lineups. Once again, Míchel went with the same lineup from the week before, when they drew with Numancia 2-2. Curro Torres made two changes from the squad that lost 2-0 at Huesca. Dani Ojeda was replaced on the wing by Nando, on loan from Alavés. And striker Manel Martínez was replaced by Miguel Merentiel, on loan from Peñarol. Míchel's tactics remained largely the same. The tweaks he tried to instill to fix the flaws that were apparent in the last two weeks were somewhat undone by poor individual performances. Curro Torres' team is getting a reputation for being able to absorb pressure effectively - and they were largely on top throughout the game - but looked extremely vulnerable while in possession and when heavily pressed. The game was interesting tactically for the midfield battle and how each team tried to outdo the other. The battle in midfield, and how each tea...you get it. As you could imagine seeing the picture a...

David Méndez grew up in Vallecas, is 39 and has been a member of Rayo since he was 17. You can follow him on Twitter: @davidvk78 . How long have you been a fan of Rayo and what made you support them in the first place? I was always keen about Rayo since my childhood, but because of my father I also supported Real Madrid when I was a child. He is a Real Madrid fan and he used to take my brothers and I to the Santiago Bernabéu. Later when I was a teenager I lost my interest in Real Madrid while my interest in Rayo increased more and more. Describe your first visit ever to Vallecas and the stadium? How would you describe the fans in the stadium, and how intimidating is the stadium for opposition fans and players? I don’t remember which it was my first visit to Vallecas’ stadium exactly. I guess it would be when I was at school and I was about 8 or 9 years old, by that time Rayo used to distribute tickets in the schools of the neighborhood and I got several tickets because other ki...

Rayo Vallecano vs Numancia. Starting Lineups. Míchel went with the same lineup that won against Real Oviedo 3-2. Jagoba Arrasate went with two changes from the squad that won 1-0 against Huesca - both in defense. Unai Medina, an attacking right back, was replaced by the more defensive minded Markel Etxeberria, on loan from Athletic Bilbao. And in the left center-back spot 6'4" Carlos Gutiérrez was replaced by 6'1" Alberto Escassi. Míchel, surprisingly, had Santi play even further up the pitch and join Trejo almost as a second striker, which meant that Rayo's midfield was even more wide open. In contrast, Arrasate's game plan for Numancia was very tailored to this game - ditching his usual 4-2-3-1 for a 4-4-2, with both Manu and Pere Milla pressing the center-backs heavily. This was a game of four parts - the first being from minutes 1 to 17, the second from minutes 18 to 45, the third from 46 to 80 and the fourth from 81 to 90. Numancia didn't tak...

Welcome to a brand new tactical analysis series, called The Rayo Report! For the first time on this blog I will (attempt) to tactically analyse each and every Rayo league game. I emphasize on the word 'attempt'. Real Oviedo vs Rayo Vallecano. Starting Lineups. Míchel and Juan Antonio Anquela both went with unusual, yet predictable, lineups. Rayo were essentially playing Trashorras and two attacking midfielders in midfield which struggled to defend but was technically astounding going forward. Óscar Trejo played something between a true 9 and a false 9 - sometimes distracting and pressing defenders, other times making late runs into the box or even dropping deep into midfield. In contrast, Oviedo went for a front four that was both fluid and tactically near perfect. It became the centerpiece of Oviedo's attack as well as its defending from the front. But it also meant that their midfield was exposed throughout the game. This was an end-to-end game - partly due...

Richard Wyatt is a Blackburn Rovers and Rayo Vallecano fan - and a postdoctoral researcher based in Lancashire, UK. You can follow him on Twitter here . How long have you been a fan of Rayo and what made you support them in the first place? About 4 years. It was initially the Laurie Cunningham connection as well as the politics of their fans. which attracted me to the club. How would you describe the fans in the stadium, and how intimidating is the stadium for opposition fans and players? Loud, ultra-led and politically left wing! To an outsider - how would you describe Rayo's playing style? Under Paco Jémez, it was very attacking and buccaneering. Last season the play was quite dull though... How would you describe the last few seasons for Rayo fans? Last season was a low due to the poor football on show. Previously, the club had over achieved by being in the Primera for so long. What is your opinion on the utilization of the youth teams? How would you rate the o...

@DonDiegoVaula is a 30 year old Norwegian who lives in Oslo and has been passionate about football since the age of six. His local team is SK Brann from his hometown Bergen. Go ahead and follow him on Twitter! How long have you been a fan of Rayo and what made you support them in the first place? I've been a proper fan of Rayo for four years now. I used to write for a Norwegian football site, and because everyone else supported either Real Madrid or Barca I chose to write about the other teams. I had my own section where I would write previews and summaries every round about a match not involving the two "big" clubs. I watched an enormous amount of games that year, and I was intrigued by Rayo both because of the fans and the style of play. One of my first special features was on Rayo and I read up on the club and its history, and that was it. I decided they would be my club from then on - it all just appealed to me. Describe your first visit ever to Vallecas and t...

I'm not going to pretend that I'm a know-it-all when it comes to tactics. But, hey, worth a shot right? Faith is a funny thing. Three games, one point, zero goals. Zero. Going into that Oviedo game, not even the most optimistic of Rayo fans expected anything out of that game. After such a demoralizing start to the season, even Faith had taken a vacation. And in the darkest of times, somehow, from somewhere, Rayo found the strength to compete. That fateful day, Rayo lined up a little like this, with Lass Bangoura playing instead of Santi Comesaña. Three things became crucial in Míchel's Rayo side. First is the defense - specifically the full backs. Second is the role of the media punta. And finally, the crucial roles of wingers Ebert and Embarba. It's a delicately balanced machine, that works well for these players. Just look at the main attacking move for Rayo: Ebert dribbles inwards with the ball. At the same time, Guerra moves slightly t...

Three of Álex Bergantiños' four goals in La Liga for Depor have been against Barcelona. Here are those goals. Scene 1: 12th May, 2017. Riazor. In the 74th minute, a corner is whipped in from the left wing to the far post, and Jordi Alba, who is marking Álex, watches him rise above him and head the ball into the net. And this just days after Barcelona overturned a 4-0 deficit and won 6-1 against PSG. Scene 2: 20th October, 2012. Riazor. Barcelona were 3-0 up after 17 minutes and cruising, but it went from 0-3 to 2-3 to 2-4 to 3-4 to 3-5 to 4-5 with 12 heart-stopping minutes left. That game had literally everything: a ludicrously good Leo Messi hat-trick, a yellow card for the least offensive man ever - Juan Carlos Valerón, and the finest own goal ever by Jordi Alba - a delicate volleyed lob over his keeper. And it was Bergantiños who scored the second for Depor to inspire the comeback. Scene 3: 12th December, 2015. Camp Nou. Barcelona are 2-0 u...

Yesterday was part 1 of the Pride of Vallekas End of Season Awards! This is part 2... Best goal So many contenders - Fran Beltrán goal against Tenerife was shocking. If you hear closely, you can hear the Tenerife stadium go "woah!". It was his only goal of the season. Embarba's goal against Gimnàstic was perfectly threaded - it went through four players and somehow hit none of them. This one by Javi Guerra at UCAM Murcia was vital - Rayo didn't deserve the three points - and harder than it looks - Patrick Ebert's cross was amazingly precise. But this pass by Pablo Íñiguez, along with Embarba's run, makes it the winner . No contest. Best player Any one of Patrick Ebert, Embarba and Javi Guerra could take the plaudits here. I'm going to give it to Ebert though - in many games, everything went through him. Which leads me to award... Best performance Patrick Ebert. Against Oviedo no less . Best save by a goalkeeper Gazzaniga's save...

In the heart of Puente de Vallecas, sporting, institutional and political turmoil have wrecked the institutions of a club that didn't deserve it. Rayo Vallecano, freshly relegated from La Liga, has had three different managers and was just outside the relegation zone with a squad that looks largely unchanged from last season. A signing's (Roman Zozulya) right-wing political views caused the left-wing fan base to protest, and caused Javier Tebas to criminalize fans who were then defended by left-wing political parties such as Podemos and Izquierda Unida. It led to the player returning to Real Betis, and not being able to play anywhere else for the rest of the season, and FIFA making a historic exception by allowing the player to play for four clubs in a single season. And then a Podemos-led coalition called Ahora Madrid tried declaring Javier Tebas persona non grata in Puente de Vallecas for not respecting freedom of speech via a motion in the regional council, a motion that...