The Pride of Vallekas

Exactly a week ago, the post for the day was " From Rayo to Rayo - the story of Alberto García ". It was the story of a goalkeeper who started at Rayo (Rayo Majadahonda) and is now at Rayo (Rayo Vallecano). It was the story of two Madrid-based clubs named Rayo, who gave him a clear shot and helped him advance his career. But this is a story of someone literally going from Rayo to Rayo. And, at the age of just 28, his story is only just being written. Arribas' story is a mixture of opportunity and luck, achievement at an early age partly due to hard work and partly due to circumstance. It started in his hometown of Madrid, where he rose the ranks of Rayo Majadahonda, and where he made his Tercera debut during the 2007-08 campaign. What followed was a rapid rise into professional football. In 2008, he was signed by Rayo's reserves, also in the Tercera. However, his talent earned him a loan move to Segunda B side Navalcarnero in the second half of the 2008-09 seaso...

Sometimes, I have thoughts and snippets that don't always deserve a full article, but also don't deserve to go into the heap. In other words, welcome to my drafts folder. Watch out for this type of article occasionally - on Sundays (Sunday Snippets) and Thursdays (Thursday Thoughts). As is usual, I delved into the depths of the internet for something to write about, when I cam across this quote by Eibar's then coach Gaizka Garitano. When Eibar were eighth - the Basque country’s best team - Garitano had this to say: “It’s not shameful or problematic to feel inferior...I don’t think that’s anything to hide from. It’s good to know what you’re up against. The day that you play de tú a tú , as equals, you lose something. We can’t forget where we come from; the day we forget that, we’ll have a problem.” The problem was that they did. They ending up being relegated and needing a historic administrative relegation of Elche to the Segunda - the first in La Liga history - to...