The Pride of Vallekas

José María Ruiz-Mateos was the head and main shareholder of Nueva Rumasa - the company that owned Rayo and other companies - mainly specializing in dairy products. (He wasn't the president of Rayo though - his wife, Teresa Rivero, was Rayo's president). In early 2011, the directors announced a debt of over 700 million euros, that it was on the verge of bankruptcy and that staff wouldn't be paid. And the players were visibly angry about it - captain Míchel assured the press that the club would continue fighting on the pitch, but the day after the announcement was made, six key players didn’t attend training. Veteran midfielder José María Movilla spoke on radio station SER about the situation, about the fact that he had only received seven of the last eighteen months of pay, about the fact that there were a few players who couldn't even afford car repairs. When Rayo Vallecano were about to earn promotion to La Liga despite all the odds - the players not being paid, ...

Every time I look at my drafts folder I feel a sense of failure. Those are ideas that I've started but never finished. Articles for this blog for which I've pounded at a keyboard and then hit a brick wall and stopped. No, I didn't finish it. No, I didn't stop - I failed. I keep thinking that I failed. I started a piece on Movilla a few days back ( here )  but never finished it. Then, and at other times, thoughts of failure bleed into this blog. Today, I finished it. It's not perfect by any means, and certainly doesn't completely cover his career. But it's one less draft in my draft folder. One more article finished and scheduled. One more failure turned into a success. Last time, I asked: "where do I even start"? I really should have seen it.  I started at the very start. It's almost poetic that one of the most successful careers in Spanish professional football starts with a series of failures. José María Movilla was born i...

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 ...

I wanted to write about something common between Rayo and Numancia. Then I thought about players who had played for both, inspired by yesterday's blog post. So I thought I'd write a little about former passing legends such as Roberto Trashorras, whose story deserves to be heard.  After eight years at Barcelona and two at Real Madrid, Roberto Trashorras was at a crossroads. He was 24, unemployed and forgotten. Barcelona had picked him up from boyhood club Racing Vilalbés at the age of 14, and his resemblance to Juan Sebastián Verón earned him the nickname  la brujita del mini . He had started out as a striker but was converted to a playmaker by Barcelona B coach Quique Costas due to his knack of assisting goals. However, after just two first team opportunities, and a Jorge Valdano-influenced move to Real Madrid resulted in two dull seasons at Real Madrid Castilla left Roberto in serious doubts. Racing Vilalbés, his boyhood club, would take him back in a heartbeat. B...