The Pride of Vallekas

I remember doing a Silly Season accumulator series on this blog and it ended up being a long, long list of rumors that made no sense when put together. So, instead, given that I promised more Rayo coverage on this blog, here is the latest news: According to multiple sources Rayo's priorities are a deep-lying midfielder ( pivote ) and a winger. Rayo have been repeatedly linked with Getafe's out-of-favor midfielder Mehdi Lacen. However, Markel Bergara's injury has given Mehdi game time, so the operation may be difficult. Francisco Cerro was signed this summer, but has since reportedly declined an offer from Lorca. Cerro would prefer to try to continue fighting for minutes in the Rayo. Coke Andújar, former Rayo youth product, was linked with Rayo, but has instead joined Levante in La Liga. San Fernando's 20-year-old striker Chris Ramos was linked with Rayo, but has joined Real Valladolid instead. Former Rayo player Emiliano Armenteros is out-of-favor at Sant...

I always look to write about the players we have now - and yet I find it interesting that I've never dedicated a piece to our number one goalkeeper this season. Here it is... He's our goalkeeper. He looks stocky but possess great reflexes, and is quick across the ground. He looks short but is able to dominate in aerial battles. But he hasn't always got the opportunities to shine. Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, he bounced around in Catalonia during his youth, appearing for Barcelona, Europa and Cornellà. He would then move to Madrid in 2004, making his senior debut with Rayo Majadahonda in the Tercera. However, in early 2005, he moved back to Catalonia, playing for Sant Andreu in the same division. His shot in the Segunda B came exactly a year later - he would sign for Villarreal's B team in the Tercera in the summer of 2005, but was loaned out to Águilas for the latter half of the 2005-06 season. In the Segunda B, he played nine league games, as well as both legs...

He is a fullback. Not quick, but hardworking. Not tall, but high in stature. Not relaxed, but composed. Not spectacular, but reliable. His 32nd birthday is coming up this month, and he has already spent 11 seasons in La Liga. But this season, the seasoned veteran has been relegated to the reserves. His top-flight career is waning. And so his story must be told. Born in Madrid, Torres joined Real Madrid's junior teams at the age of 12. He made his first-team debut against Écija Balompié as a starter, in a Copa del Rey game in October 2006, because of injuries to defenders Fabio Cannavaro, Cicinho and Míchel Salgado. He also played in the return leg as a substitute, replacing Sergio Ramos in the 80th minute, and also started in both cup matches against Real Betis, sporting jersey No. 38 in these games and throughout the season. His rise in standing at the club was quick from there - Torres made his La Liga debut in his fourth consecutive appearance for Real Madrid, playing th...

7th October, 1995. Johan Cruyff must deal with the absence of Kodro, Hagi, Prosinečki, Popescu Bakero. Barcelona are travelling to Betis, and it is the only La Liga game of the day - all eyes are on it. Those eyes then quickly turn - Diego Maradona rejoins the Boca Juniors squad after having been suspended for fifteen months. And even in Spain many focus on Jorge Valdano's Real Madrid who are struggling - and Atlético Madrid's Radomir Antić who calls club president Jesús Gil's dreams distant from reality. But the eyes that remain go wild - Johan Cruyff has produced a revolutionary lineup. Eight new young players make their debut. Eight. And they tear Betis apart, in a performance that is still vivid in the memory of some Barcelona fans. That season - the 1995-96 season - saw a record 20 youth academy players trained with the first team. Ten of them made their first team debuts - La quinta del mini , they called it. There are some who go further, who call the B team of...

In 2012, a defender, a midfielder and a striker, all playing for Levante, made the bold leap to a country no Spaniard had ever been before. In late January, 2012, center-back Nano Rivas was sold to Guizhou Renhe. Two months later, in March, striker Rafael Jordà was on his way. And three months later still, in June, diminutive midfielder Rubén Suárez was on his way.... Nano Rivas was born in Ciudad Real, and started his youth career at local Manchengo. He was quickly snapped up by Atlético Madrid, and made his professional debut with their B team between 2000-02. In 2002-03 he was loaned to Getafe in the second level, before moving to the club on a permanent deal in the summer of 2003; an undisputed starter with the Madrid outskirts team, he scored four goals in 37 games in the 2004-05 campaign, their first ever in La Liga. Nano was signed by Real Betis in 2005. He was set to have a promising season before being injured in the Champions League group stage match against Chelsea...

This is a piece about Parla Escuela which I wrote almost two years back - when I dug it out I knew it had to come here. For the first time, Parla Escuela are in the fourth division, and will play Rayo B in exactly one month and one day. It's important to note that until this year they weren't even the biggest club in Parla , AD Parla were in the fourth division for a long time until their relegation this summer. Rafael Benítez, Sergio Pachón and Roberto Rojas have all played for AD Parla. Imagine you are in Madrid and your inner compass tells you to go south. You board the C-4 train and south you go. It’s been a long day and you go to sleep… Suddenly, the train stops and it’s the last station - you check your watch and 40 minutes have gone by without warning. Your inner compass tingles like crazy because you are near. In fact, you are here. You’ve reached home… CP Parla Escuela is not a club you’ve heard of. Neither is it particularly making headlines for any sporti...

Given that Adrián Embarba just reached 100 appearances for Rayo, here is his story - some shared on this blog before, some not... Football is cruel. Hype is often wrong. And history forgets quickly. It's easy to forget that Embarba was the least heralded of three signings for Rayo B in 2013. Miki Ruiz was a striker heralded for his pace and strength, his finishing and his shot power. He was from Córdoba, he was ex-FC Barcelona, ex-Real Madrid, ex-Valencia and ex-Hércules, and he had already played for the U-20 Spain team, alongside Jesé Rodríguez and Derik Osede. He, at just 19, had a bright future ahead of him. So did Sergio Parla, ex-Getafe, ex-Real Madrid and ex-Alcobendas. The 21 year old center-back, whose ball-playing skills and pace made him a perfect Rayo defender. His future was bright too - sharing hydrotherapy pools with Ronaldo and, despite a torrid time with Alcobedas, his ability meant regular appearances for the first team. Embarba? Released by Real Madrid,...

13th May, 2012. 7:00pm. The league table reads 15th Granada (42 points), 16th Villarreal (41), 17th Rayo Vallecano (40), 18th Zaragoza (40). As Villarreal entertain Atlético Madrid at El Madrigal and Zaragoza visit Getafe, Rayo Vallecano play Granada at the Vallekas, arguably the crunch game; both know that most probably, the loser will go down to play in La Segunda. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. Rayo Vallecano were in eighth place after match day 27, and were two points off a Europa League place. Four points off a Champions League place. But a poor record of three points - a solitary, albeit impressive, 6-0 win over Osasuna - from nine games, left them relegation candidates and needing a win. Only a win could save them. On the polar opposite side were Zaragoza, who had given up mid-season, but an impressive run of six wins and a draw in nine had helped them remain in 18th, needing a win. Granada had been in poor form all along - five points in their last six games hadn’...

This is the timeline of a goalkeeper who was the next big thing, and is now rebuilding his career in the Tercera - and he's only 23.  This is the story of David Gil... September 2, 2012 : Atlético Madrid B call up a young, 18-year-old goalkeeper from the Juvenil squad. David Gil straps on his gloves and grimaces as, on home soil, Caudal Deportivo score two goals past him. He misjudges the flight of the ball for the first and, in the 90th minute, is second to the ball against striker Borja Navarro for the second. September 9, 2012 : David Gil is given another chance. The team takes the short trip to south-west Madrid, playing CD Leganés. He squanders it. Again. This time, he loses concentration and is nowhere near the ball from a weak header - that comes of a throw-in set-piece - for the first. He is injured in the buildup to the second goal and is taken off at half-time. He doesn't come near the B team for the next three months. December 16, 2012 : Times are des...

It's a great quiz question - which player has played the most consecutive games as a substitute in the Segunda? With 40 games, that record goes to striker Ramón Pereira. 40 games, that even more weirdly, spanned six years and three clubs. This is that story Born in Mérida, Extremadura, Pereira went from hometown club CP Mérida to Atlético Madrid as a youth, and made his professional debut with the latter's reserves on 21 September 1997, in a 1-1 Segunda División away draw against Real Jaén where he came on as an 86th-minute substitute for Luis Tevenet. Used rarely - there in the 1997-98 season and at previous team Mérida the following season - he dropped down to Segunda División B where he played for Écija Balompié and Ponferradina during the 1999-00 season. Rarely used at Écija, he became a part of a historic squad in Ponferrada: on the last day of the season, Ponferradina occupied a position they hadn't occupied the entire season - higher than 16th. Yes, Ponfer...

I spent hours coming up with a name. I didn't want it to be the same. I wanted something that rhymes with Rayo. So welcome to my new project, the Rayo aficionado . Obviously, this project is about interviewing Rayo fans. And obviously, this project is about bringing Rayo fans from around the world together. But there is much more. Much, much more. This project is about building this profile of the Rayo fan, capturing local and international similarities and differences in thought. Not every Rayo fan is the same. Sure, most have something similar to say about Presa. Most love la vida pirata - to be fair, it's a spectacular display of passion. Most have only good things to say about Juande Ramos and Trashorras. And most consume Rayo news from similar sources. But many topics divide opinion. Paco Jémez, for instance. Or Léo Baptistão. Or the way Rayo uses its youth teams. Or...you get the idea. So welcome to the Rayo aficionado . I invite you to join me as I ask these...

Yesterday, I talked about Granada taking Rayo players away, but I actually didn't mention one of Granada's biggest signings from the club - Paco Jémez. So here it is. Paco refused to hear the scores when Rayo were 1-0 down. Nor when Rayo were 2-0 down. Nor when Rayo were 2-1 down. He turned to his bench, to the coaches who had supported him all season when criticism was at its zenith, to the coaches who had seen their players pull out for the season one by one, to the coaches who couldn’t hide their emotions as they responded. Granada? Safe. Getafe-Sporting? Draw. His head hung low, his eyes lost - searching for reason in a season that has been unreasonable to Rayo - his mind made up: "We are dead". We were dead. There was no hope - Sporting were playing Villarreal, who were coached by a Sporting fan, and Getafe were playing Betis, a team whose fan base has been friendly to Sporting for years. Out of Getafe, Rayo and Sporting, only Sporting were goi...

They called him el ultrahéroe de Vallecas at Rayo. In hell, he was their ray of hope. Born in Madrid, Pachón started his career in the fifth division of Spanish football, playing for Rayo Alúa in the 1995-96 season. He went on to play for Parla in the Tercera for the following two season, and was signed by Segunda club Leganés. After helping the club retain their division two status, in 2000 he moved to La Liga outfit Real Valladolid. He would go on to play 31 games in his first year and 24 in the 2002–03 campaign, but only seven in the other two seasons combined. Failing to make an impact, he was released in January 2004 and moved to Segunda outfit Getafe, proving an essential offensive unit in the club's first ever promotion to the top division - on 19 June, he scored all five goals in the decisive 5–3 away win against Tenerife. He was mainly used as a substitute in the following three seasons and also helping the side to the 2007 final of the Copa del Rey. Immed...

Three months ago, the 31st of March to be exact, right here on this blog , I said: "I've been compiling some stats for a long time - so watch out in the coming days for them." Oops. Welcome to part 2 of this Statistics series. In part 1, I compiled of teams that never won away in the top three divisions since 1990. This is a list of teams that were relegated for non-sporting reasons from the Segunda B. In o ne word: Madness. 1985-86: In group one, Deportivo Alavés (5th) and Palencia CF (7th) were relegated for economic reasons - their places were bought by San Sebastián CF (8th) and Pontevedra CF (9th) respectively. 1986-87: Mallorca Atlético (21st) gave up their seat and were relegated. 1988-89: In group two, CD Cala Millor (15th) were relegated for economic reasons and replaced by SD Ibiza. Also, FC Barcelona Aficionados (11th) were relegated to the Tercera because Barcelona Atlético were relegated to the Segunda B, and they were replaced by AEC Manlleu...

Estadio El Collao. A stadium that has been in operation since 1929, and has hosted matches for Alcoyano in La Liga, Segunda, Segunda B, Tercera and even the Regional Preferente. It has seen Alcoyano thrash Sporting Gijon 6-1 in the first division and beaten 9-1 in the third (then the Tercera). And it has seen it’s pitch being initially made by soldiers from Alcoy, covered by snow every winter and became the symbol of socialism and anarcho-syndicalism during the Spanish Civil War. But through all those times - the sporting success and failure, the destruction of Alcoy during the war and it’s rebuilding, the balance between industrial success in textiles, paper and metal and the immediate threat of desertification - one thing has remained intact. Untouched. Non-negotiable. CD Alcoyano’s philosophy. They are a team that will never lose their attacking mentality. A team that will never stop fighting. A team that, almost senselessly, will throw men forward from the first minute to th...

Salamanca traveled to Albacete to compete for promotion to La Liga with an impossible task on their hands. They had to overturn a 2-0 deficit away from home, against a side that entered La Liga's relegation playoff spots on the final day, and who had scored 44 goals in the league - just four less than Salamanca themselves. As the clock ticked towards the 90th minute, Salamanca were winning 1-0 yet in danger of losing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Born in Tudela, Navarre, Urzaiz began his professional career at Real Madrid's B-side, making his debut in Segunda División in 1989. Despite being a successful youth international, he did not make any La Liga appearances for the first team (however, he did play one game against Odense BK, in the 1990–91 European Cup). Urzaiz spent the 1991–92 season on loan at Albacete Balompié, making his top flight debut when he came on as a substitute against Athletic Bilbao in October 1991. In early 1993, he was loaned to Celta de Vigo...

Ahead of the Zaragoza-Rayo game, I wanted to write a piece dedicated to José María Movilla, "the terrier". But how do I start? He was the player who Trashorras succeeded. José María Movilla was once a bin man and then a union man throughout his playing career. He too was from Real Madrid's youth system. He helped Numancia reach the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey while they were still in the Segunda B, and even helped level the tie against Barcelona with a 89th minute goal (2-2, 5-3 loss on aggregate). He took Málaga from the Segunda B to La Liga in back-to-back seasons. He helped Atlético Madrid return to La Liga, won the Copa del Rey and avoided relegation with Real Zaragoza, Not to mention a top flight return for Rayo Vallecano. He is currently the sporting director of Rayo Majadahonda. "I was doing coaching practice with Iriondo, there was a vacancy and my name was proposed. That attractive style of Rayo - we have it here too!"  -Movilla ...

Follow Jaime on Twitter here . How long have you been a fan of Huesca and what made you support them in the first place? I have been a follower of Huesca since I was very young. At the age of 5 or 6 we would go to the country with my friends. We used to get bored soon, and in the middle of the game we preferred to go out to the parking lot to play ourselves rather than watch the game. From then until now, with its highs and lows. It was not easy a few years ago to continue to Huesca. I remember watching TV to see how the team was or follow the re-transmissions of HIT Radio, the only medium that followed the team during the hardest years. Given the transfer windows and the squad that was assembled at the start of the season, is Huesca where you want it to be? The season of Huesca has been historical. No one at the beginning of the season could dream of something like that. Being fighting for the playoff at this stage of the season, against teams like Cádiz, Tenerife, Getafe or...

Follow Ian M on Twitter here . This isn’t his account but @RCDMallorcaUK on Twitter is great, with very honest views. He has spoken to a lot of local Mallorca fans on Twitter and has also met up with a couple at the stadium, and there are a lot of British and European RCDM supporters, who he's connected with as a result. A bit about yourself and your background Family man with grown up kids and a dog, Reading supporter since 1981, loves holidaying in Mallorca and Ibiza. Addicted to mojitos, Spanish beer and tapas. How long have you been a fan of Mallorca and what made you support them in the first place? We’ve been holidaying on the island for the last 20 years or so, it just seemed the right thing to do, support both my local teams; but I’ve only been supporting the club properly over the last 4-5 years. I stream most matches on my phone but I do try and get to 2-3 games a season, and I’ll be there for our last match this year against Getafe. Given the transfer windo...

Euan McTear is a Scottish football journalist who focuses on LaLiga and who writes about Spanish football for MARCA In English and These Football Times. You can follow him on Twitter here  and buy his book on Eibar here . How long have you been a fan of Eibar and what made you support them in the first place? I first started following Eibar as a result of the Scottish links of their fan. I then wrote a book called ‘Eibar The Brave’ about their promotion as LaLiga’s smallest ever team and got to know the club and its supporters better and have followed them closely ever since. Given the transfer windows and the squad that was assembled at the start of the season, is Eibar where you want it to be? Eibar have far exceeded expectations in 2016-17. Although they no longer have the very smallest budget of the division, they are still one of the smallest teams in the transfer market. Yet their sporting director Fran Garagarza has an eye for a bargain and signed some excellent ...