The Pride of Vallekas

Ugh. The "Swiss army knife" is quite a boring metaphor. Not because of the name but the reference. Usefulness and adaptability are never inspiring, but they are necessary. When they're there it's calm. When they're not it's dire. And that could not be truer in the case of Gorka Elustondo. A midfielder by trade, his natural position is protecting the defense with surprising physique and passing range. The Gipuzkoa native rose through the ranks of Real Sociedad's, and made his B-team, and Segunda B, debut at the age of 18 during the 2005-06 season. He immediately became an undisputed starter, and within a season was knocking on the doors of the first team. He would make his La Liga debut in December 2006 in a goalless away draw against Celta de Vigo. A further five appearances in his first professional season would follow, but nevertheless the Basque club met top division relegation for the first time in 40 years. But sporting disappointment isn't ...

Rayo Vallecano vs Osasuna. Starting lineups. Rayo and Osasuna were both coming off midweek Copa del Rey games - Osasuna went on to need extra-time to defeat Albacete. Míchel made just one change from the previous league game - a goalless draw at Lorca - with Unai López coming off for Fran Beltrán. Diego Martínez is still figuring out his Osasuna side. He has made changes from game to game, fine-tuning his preferred eleven - and he seems to have struck gold this week! Compared to the 1-1 draw against Huesca, Fran Mérida was replaced by Lucas Torró, Oier came into central defense for Unai García, and Coris was replaced by Mateu. Rayo started this game brightly in the first five minutes, but were quickly undone by themselves - their poor passing and defensive play came back to hurt them. The Diego Martínez 4-4-2 It was fascinating once again to see a Diego Martínez side in action - predictably hardworking, positionally excellent and incredibly dangerous on the counter. Few e...