The Pride of Vallekas

Oscar has been a lifelong Rayo fan, and is  @salto_acevedo on Twitter - give him a follow! A bit about yourself and your background My name is Oscar, I am 37 years old. I am married thanks to the promotion - of the last promotion - to La Liga and the celebration that we had. I am the father of two twin girls who do not know who Cristiano, Messi or Griezmann are. We carry rayismo in our DNA. How long have you been a fan of Rayo and what made you support them in the first place? I have been a fan of Rayo for more than 30 years, specifically since 1984, because of my grandfather's heritage. 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? My first time in the stadium was a long time ago - I think it was against Valencia C.F who at that time competed in the second division. The stadium was a "pass" mark, as the phrase says: this i...

So as it turns out, I made a mistake. A few days ago, I talked about the Rayo squad, and as it turns out things are even worse - Zé Castro, who had reportedly rescinded his contract, had actually done so with no announcements being made. Because this is the Rayo website: Credit: rayovallecano.es I didn't even get to say goodbye! So here it is...a tribute to Zé Castro. August 29th, 2013. Leave it to Rayo to scramble at the last minute and make an amazing, seemingly impossible signing. This time, they made two. Zé Castro, and Seba Fernández half an hour later, were the two gems that had been picked up. Castro was a "boring" signing - he had played for Atlético de Madrid but was more of a backup. And at Depor, Zé Castro appeared in only ten games in 2009–10, and featured even less in the following season, prompting him to request a move in mid-November 2010. Some people even disliked him - in March 2011, he was to be picked as a last-minute substitut...

My new series, called the Silly Season Accumulator, lists all the rumors that have ever been mentioned on the internet about Rayo. Yes - all of them. Just to show you how ridiculous this machine is - a machine that creates meaningless content masquerading as journalism. If that's harsh, that's because the irony is that more rumors gives me more material. And that material gets in the way of the stories that matter. Here's all the rumors for this week: Álex Bergantiños is a target for Sporting, Tenerife and Rayo. Rayo have been linked with him in the past - but Sporting are in a better position to sign him. Alberto García is a target for Rayo. The Getafe goalkeeper still has two years remaining on his contract. A few days later, and talks of a loan deal are said to be all but confirmed. Edit: Done deal! Goalkeeper Alejandro Remiro (Athletic Bilbao) has been linked with a move to Rayo, Huesca and Cultural Leonesa. Răzvan Raț has taken a week off, and is reportedly n...

My new series, called the Silly Season Accumulator, lists all the rumors that have ever been mentioned on the internet about Rayo. Yes - all of them. Just to show you how ridiculous this machine is - a machine that creates meaningless content masquerading as journalism. If that's harsh, that's because the irony is that more rumors gives me more material. And that material gets in the way of the stories that matter. Here's all the rumors for this week. It's less this time, because once again the actual news took precedent: Kakuta is interested in coming back to Madrid. Rayo, Leganés and Getafe have all been offered the player. Johan Mojica has been linked with a return to Columbia - Junior and Deportivo Calí are all interested. Numerous outlets reporting that Zé Castro has rescinded his contract - but no word from the club yet. 33-year-old Aitor Sanz has been linked to numerous Segunda clubs, including Rayo. He prefers to stay at Tenerife though. Manucho's...

Follow Pablo on Twitter here . How long have you been a fan of Depor and what made you support them in the first place? I am fifty two now and I have always been a Depor supporter, the fact that I was born in Riazor only a couple of blocks from our stadium made things easier for me as I used to go to the practice ground almost every day to see my heroes training. Given the transfer windows and the squad that was assembled at the start of the season, is Depor where you want it to be? At the very beginning the transfers signed in summer seemed to improve last year´s team but eventually the team fell even deeper in old errors as complacency or pusillanimity Of the signings made this season, which one worked out the best/had the most impact and why? Babel was absolutely incredible, after a couple of months he became the best player in the last ten years, he was not only good but combative , it was clear he was trying to reach the contract of his career end. He made other playe...

Exactly two years ago, to this very day, Rayo Vallecano played Almería. On the 19th of April, 2015, a sunny day in Vallekas greeted two squads with very different moods. The previous week, Rayo had been smashed for six at the Balaídos, while Almería had won 3-0 against Granada. For me, the first goal against Almería was what personified Rayo. A corner by Kakuta is taken short and the ball finds its way to Zé Castro. Castro ends up dribbling past two players with a feint, crosses the ball into the box, and Antonio Amaya scores a header. So what's so special about that? Castro and Amaya are both center backs. Yes, a 32-year-old center back dribbled and crossed the ball to a 31-year-old center back who scored a header. That's the beauty of positional play - any player should theoretically be able to play anywhere. Obviously, at a small club like Rayo that's not always possible, which is why fans should appreciate it when goals like those are scored. To score is in...

Over four incredible seasons at Rayo, Paco Jémez took a Rayo side that was seconds away from relegation to an eight place finish, two mid-table finishes and an unfortunate relegation that even now seems unreal. During that time, many players came to Rayo whose careers were in disarray - here's a list of those players who have now gone on to bigger and better things. Bebé After a botched transfer to Manchester United, three loan spells with various degrees of success, a sale to Benfica, and a wretched six months and a relegation with Córdoba, Rayo took him in 2015 where he became a deadly left winger, with three goals and nine assists. After Rayo were relegated, he was sold to Eibar, where he has been a regular. Iago Falqué He played for Real Madrid's and Barcelona's youth teams. He was 18 when sold to Juventus and 22 when sold to Spurs, before which he had had loan spells with Bari and Villarreal B. After further loans to Southampton and Almería, Iago joined Rayo...