The Pride of Vallekas

From part 1: While Iván Iglesias only spent four seasons at Real Oviedo, Russian defender Viktor Onopko played seven seasons at the club and enjoys the exalted position of having played the most times for the club for a non-Spaniard - in second place is Nikola Jerkan, and ironically Viktor was the player who was signed to replaced him. Born in modern-day Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union), Viktor graduated from Zorya Luhansk. He started his professional career at Shakhtar Donetsk when he was only 16 years old, in 1986 - being signed from local club Stakhanov. He would play there for two seasons, after which he would join military service - playing for Dynamo Kiev. In 1990, he was back at Shakhtar, where impressive performances facilitated a move to Spartak Moscow in 1992. His position in the field was at the center of the defense, however at Spartak he found his footing as a libero - even sometimes playing as an offensive midfielder. Pretty soon, he became the captain of th...

From part 1... And [Antonio Amaya] certainly belonged. The fans loved him and he loved the club - he would even go on to play two games with a broken toe. It reminds me of his older brother, Iván Amaya, who once played with broken ribs while at Granada... Yuma, Iván and Antonio Amaya I'm not a fan of Granada. I never liked that Udinese bought players and "loaned" them to Granada - it was morally reprehensible, and it meant Granada were playing in a different league. And despite Iván Amaya being one of those players, it shouldn't distract from what is, admittedly, a good story. Born in Madrid, Amaya started his professional career at hometown's Rayo Vallecano, playing 31 games with the first team in his first two seasons combined, the first of which was played in the second division, with promotion. After that he returned to the second level but stayed in the city, joining Atlético Madrid for another couple of years as part of the "package dea...

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...

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...

Sarthak ( @Vallecanos1924 ) puts it succinctly. The Old Boys' network in the RFEF is still alive & kicking. The gravy train rolls on. pic.twitter.com/Fk89zocbf5 — Barça Women (@BarcaWomen) May 23, 2017 Exactly. Behind the incredible Hulk kits is a story that shows weakness - weakness of the argument for why the Segunda B should even exist. In March 2016, Atlético Astorga couldn't survive in the Segunda B. It ran a 30,000 euro deficit. It needed 70,000 euros more to survive. Just think about that - a club formed in 1969 had spent just two years in the Segunda B and was struggling to function. The team from Astorga did the unthinkable - they reached across to Ponferrada, 64 kilometers away, to their fiercest rivals, and became their B team. The situation was so dire that Sagrario González, president of the board, defended it as the "the only solution" to be able to compete in the Segunda B - and this was after Ponferradina had loaned them fiv...