The Pride of Vallekas

If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time. Saúl Berjón knows. He started his struggle in the fourth tier and made his way to the top flight. And every step of the way, in every league that he played, every team that he joined and left, he knew, and understood, which risk to take. It's not just his career though - it's the way he plays. He usually resides on the left side of the attack, and he will take even the smallest sliver of anything that could be called a "chance'. He's the one sharing one-twos, whipping crosses into the penalty area, playing formation-splitting passes and skipping between defenders while in possession. His natural instinct is to beat his man or thread a pass through sets of defenders, rather than maintaining possession by playing it sideways or backwards. He gives the team verticality, to use the technical term. He is the risk-taker. The creative hub. The go-to sou...

On the 12th of April, 2010, following Sergije Krešić's dismissal, with the club languishing in 17th, Las Palmas turned to a former Las Palmas native to rescue them from relegation to the Segunda B. In the 32 games prior to Sergije being sacked, Las Palmas had won just eight times and picked up 37 points. Under Paco Jémez, in 10 games, they won four times, and picked up 14 points, to finish in 17th - narrowly outside the relegation zone. And while he was dismissed in February 2011, Las Palmas saw the need to sign the players that actually breathed the values of the club. And so they did. Jerónimo Figueroa, aka Momo , belonged to Las Palmas. He grew up at the club, and broke out during the 2003-04 season at the age of just 21. Despite Las Palmas' relegation, Momo desired to stay - but in 2004 Deportivo signed the player due to an existing agreement between both clubs to settle the debt of the 2000 signing of Argentine center-back Gabriel Schürrer. However, Momo rarely pla...

Speculation is a fool's game. On the 24th of June, 2014, three players were presented at the Estadio de Vallekas. A signing from Real Madrid in the first division, a signing from Mallorca in the second, and a signing from Real Jaén in the third. Jozabed was the last of those three in order of reputation. Maybe in order of former club prestige too. But there was no doubt among fans of the La Liga club that Jozabed was the last in order of ability. Two seasons later, Jozabed became Rayo's cash cow, leaving for four million euros to Fulham despite being relegated . A 24-year-old Sevilla graduate from Mairena del Alcor, Jozabed finished his formation in Sevilla's youth ranks, and made his senior debuts in 2010-11 with the C-team. He was promoted to the reserves (Sevilla Atlético) in the summer of 2012, in the Segunda B. However, seeing no opportunities to break into first team football, Jozabed rescinded his contract and joined second-tier Ponferradina in February 201...

Continuing from part 1 yesterday... However, after just two first team opportunities [at Barcelona], 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. But it was Numancia, in the Segunda, who saved what could have become a forgotten career. It was in Soria where he showed his ability to dictate games. Even though he played just 12 league games, his quality was clear. From 2006-08 he played with Las Palmas. That summer he had offers from different foreign teams, but his desire to stay in Spanish soccer led him to the Canary Island club. His passing and service to strikers was well remembered, especially his connection with Marcos Márquez. Las Palmas never tabled a renewal offer, and out of the many offers he received the chance to return to his native Galicia enticed him the most, and Balaídos was graced with the pass-master...

There is a history of Barcelona rejects ending up on Rayo's doorstep.  But it is history - the last time it happened was in 1997, when two Barcelona players - one young, one old - became Rayo legends... Born in Asteasu, Gipuzkoa, Julen Lopetegui started his professional career at local Real Sociedad, where he was barred by legendary Luis Arconada. In 1985, he accepted an offer from Real Madrid, who immediately incorporated the 19-year-old to its B-team. After a loan spell at Las Palmas (1988-89), Lopetegui returned, but could never dislodge another veteran, Francisco Buyo, only managing one La Liga appearance during two seasons, a 3-3 away draw against Atlético Madrid as Real was already crowned league champions. He subsequently signed with Logroñés, being instrumental as the modest Riojan club consistently managed to retain its top flight status. Lopetegui's stellar performances at Logroñés earned him his sole cap with Spain, coming on as a substitute for Andoni Zubiz...

That's right - there are four Spaniards playing at Puerto Rico Football Club, a franchise that resides in the second division (NASL). And one of them is Yuma , the former Rayo youth graduate and cousin of Antonio Amaya and Iván Amaya. But what about the other three? The American dream is all about doing better than your parents. Chus Martínez, a defender, never even made it to professional football - the high point of his career was playing for Numancia in the Segunda B between 1989-93. In contrast, midfielder Mario Martínez made his professional debut at the age of 18. Also a product of hometown Numancia's youth system Mario first appeared with its first team during the 2002-03 season in the Segunda. It took him several seasons, including two loan spells to Segunda B sides Las Palmas in 2006 and Zamora in 2007, until he finally broke into the first team. Under Gonzalo Arconada, He would go on to play 34 times scoring three goals in the 2007-08 season as the S...

Two days back, I wrote a piece titled The "other" Las Palmas: 5 promotions in 6 seasons - Universidad de Las Palmas (Part 1). This is part 2 - and the final part. With a similar squad compared to the year before, along with players like Alexis Trujillo, Alberto Hernández, José Luis Padrón and Óscar Luis Celada, David Amaral led the team, for the second year in a row, to the promotion playoffs. They also won the Segunda B, and the Segunda B playoffs, reaching professional football within six years of being founded as a club. They became the third Canarian team to reach a professional league, after Las Palmas and Tenerife. The celebration was held at the Fuente Luminosa in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Now, there was another team in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, challenging for local supremacy, and creating a new rivalry. For some, it was a sign that football in Gran Canaria had advanced significantly. For others, it was a ruffle of feathers... Las Palmas and Universid...

In 2014, Jozabed Sánchez was a talent at Real Jaén, relegated to the Segunda B that summer. When Jozabed’s four goals and 12 assists couldn’t prevent Real Jaén’s relegation to the theoretically amateur third-tier of Spanish football, he took the punt and joined Rayo in division one. It was a gamble, a huge one, and no one thought about the signing working out. Two years later and with 10 goals and 3 assists not enough to save Rayo Vallecano, Jozabed was on his way to Fulham. The stakes of the gamble were even bigger this time. Not just because he had no preseason to work with. Not just because it was a different country, or a different league, but a different mentality. The history of Spaniards failing in the Championship is a long and damaging one. Those who succeed are the ones who fit the physicality-type stereotypes associated with the league. The playing style which made Jozabed shine in La Liga is almost the opposite of that - patient buildup play, quick transitions and sho...

A 24-year-old Sevilla graduate from Mairena del Alcor, Jozabed joined second-tier Ponferradina in February 2013, leading his club to just a place off the promotion playoffs. They were behind Las Palmas in the league table, but were level on points, head-to-head points, head-to-head goal difference, head-to-head goals scored and even goal difference; only number of goals scored could separate them. He then joined Real Jaén, where four goals and 12 assists in 36 league matches couldn't prevent relegation to the theoretically amateur third-tier of Spanish football in 2014. He took the punt and joined Rayo in La Liga. It was a gamble, a huge one, and no one thought about the signing working out. Two years later and with 10 goals and 3 assists not enough to save Rayo Vallecano, Jozabed was on his way to Fulham. He has since gone to Celta Vigo on loan, and now plays with them permanently. But why do I bring this up? In 2014, not many fans could really say that Jozabed was...

Welcome back! This is part 4 - the last installment - of a series on Cádiz by the founder of injuriesandmore.com , a website that focused on sports medicine and Spanish football. On Twitter, he is @Vam_os - go ahead and follow him! This part is about the state of Cádiz and their priorities for the upcoming season. And it hereby concludes The Cádiz Chronicles... Are Cádiz where you want them to be? Although everyone at the Ramón Carranza was up for promotion to the top league, I think personally that Cádiz’ main priority lies in establishing themselves as a strong second division club first and foremost before aiming any higher. That’s going to be the key. It’s not to say promotion to La Primera would be a bad thing; but the whole infrastructure at the club needs to be able to maintain that if and when that time comes. That’s the view also taken by the club president, Manuel Viscaino and it’s reassuring to know that he feels that way. In a recent interview he said that clubs wh...

"I have only good words for the Bukaneros, I have been in Vallecas with so many different people (friends, family, coworkers...) and all of them were amazed by the way the Bukaneros transmit their support both the team and the rest of the crowd. They are the real supporters, they are always singing and cheering. It doesn't matter if the team is winning or losing.... Also, it's incredible how they support all the categories, you can go to a game from Rayo’s female team and they will be there with you, the same with the youth teams, if the alevín (10 and 11 years old kids) are playing a tournament, the Bukaneros will be there supporting - it's really amazing how they live and breathe Rayo Vallecano. The Bukaneros are not only a hooligan group, they fight for something, they are committed with a lot of social actions and they have all my respect. Life is not just about football." That was an interview with Daniel Kobe in yesterday's piece (read it here ) as p...

Trashorras took his first steps in Barcelona back in 1996, when he was only 14 years old. He recalls living in a flat of four in La Masia because it was only at the age of 18 that players were allowed to look for a flat of their own. His eight years there coincided with Guardiola, De la Peña, Puyol, Reina, Valdés and Iniesta. On August 8, 2001 he made his first team debut with Rexach in a Champions League qualifying match against Wisła Kraków. It was 86 minutes when he entered the field for Luis Enrique, the current coach of Barcelona. A few days after that European experience, on October 7, 2001, Trashorras made his league debut against Deportivo, this time entering the field in the 68th minute for Alfonso Pérez. His time at Real Madrid coincided with Arbeloa and Beckham, but he didn't get any first team opportunities for two years there - despite helping Real Madrid B to a promotion to the Segunda. After eight years at Barcelona and two at Real Madrid, Roberto Trashorras w...

Pop quiz: in the 2013-14 season, who completed more passes than Xavi, with 2,936 passes (2,537 good) to 2,587 (2,406)? In the 2014-15 season, who completed more passes than Toni Kroos, with 2,566 passes (2,213 good) to 2,353 (2,170)?  In the 2015-16 season, who  completed more passes than Toni Kroos, with  2,693 passes (2,351 good) to 2,425 (2,277)? Trashorras. Duh. The Rayo midfield linchpin has done it again - for the fourth consecutive season, he is on course to become the player with the most passes in the league he plays in. Player Team Total Passes Short Passes Long Passes Through Balls Trashorras Rayo 2,179 1,872 303 4 Fernando Seoane Lugo 2,175 1.940 234 1 Folch Reus 2,055 1,776 278 1 Zapater Zaragoza 1,998 1,728 265 5 Carlos Pita Lugo 1,844 1,539 302 3 Stats as per the 39th jornada i.e. before the Zaragoza game - Trashorras was suspended anyways! Also, considering the Seoane has played 545 minutes m...

Joseph Sexton is a Spanish football writer and is a staff writer for Marca. You can follow him on Twitter here . Also, I would highly recommend his piece on Iago Aspas, you can read it here . How long have you been a fan of Celta Vigo and what made you support them in the first place? About six years now I guess, back when they were stuck in the second division. I didn't have a strong tie to any particular club at the time, and I started going out with a girl from my Vigo. On my first visit there, I went to a game at Balaídos, and the rest - as they say - is history! Given the transfer windows and the squad that was assembled at the start of the season, is Celta Vigo where you want it to be? I think so. It was always going to be challenge being in Europe, we had a short squad before the summer and Celta fans can remember all too well about 2004 when they reached the last 16 of the Champions League but also got relegated (Berizzo was playing for the team then). So mid-tab...

So far, he has played 207 games at Rayo, 119 at Celta, 64 at Las Palmas, 12 at Numancia, 75 at Real Madrid B and 122 at Barcelona B. Yes - if Roberto Trashorras plays this weekend, he would have played 600* professional games in a long and illustrious career.  I feel bad for Trashorras. He started out in the Segunda B at the age of 18, reached the Segunda at 24 and then La Liga at 30. His story is one that shows that hard work and dedication can take you places, and that age is no barrier to success. And then after five years of La Liga glory the club that put in faith in him got relegated. Of course, I'm happy and grateful that he stayed as a Rayo fan - but I wouldn't have begrudged him if he'd taken that offer from Deportivo. He deserved to stay in La Liga. I wrote about him here , but that is just a snapshot of his career - a career about which I'm finally going to write about. So, let's "continue" that article... Trashorras took his ...

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...