The Pride of Vallekas

Yo-yo clubs are defined by their uncertainty. They go up and they go down. They remain relevant one season and are just as quick deemed irrelevant in the next. In other words, yo-yo clubs are easily forgettable. His face conveys the stern gaze of a man who had seen a lot - maybe too much. White streaks in his hair and his grey beard make the 35 year old look 53. But his role as a footballer demands him to draw on every experience. Creaking legs are shielded from scrutiny once the ball lands on his feet. Always looking to control, pass, create. Always looking to win the ball intelligently. Always looking to score from dead ball situations. He is Abel Gómez. And this is his story. There is more to Andalusia than Seville. Abel was born in Seville but spent most of his life in Granada. As a child he started playing at Atlético Monachil, located in Monachil, Granada, and later at Granada 74. Seville's Sevilla did spot him, and he graduated from their academy, playing for their...

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...

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...

In another episode of "Statistics", the third one since March 2017, here I rank every team based on their league position as well as the average property prices outside their stadiums. Note that high property prices don't indicate the prosperity of a club, just the location - even if the winner of the housing league was also the winner of La Liga. For example, Eibar is one of the poorest clubs in the division but house prices are not cheap. Rayo Vallecano was poor and housing prices were low and their sporting performance reflected that but that doesn't indicate any trend. If you're a modest club, financially sound, and not in the capital of your autonomous community (housing prices are low) then you might just punch above your weight - Málaga, Celta Vigo and Villarreal are examples, but counter examples include Granada - so even that trend is hard to justify. In other words, this is not scientific - just a bit of fun. *price in euros per square meter of...

Ball-winning, combative midfielders have become something of a thing on this blog. And Iriney is no different - robust in his challenges, yet technically sound. Signings from foreign clubs seem to always be suspicious - but we often forget the back-story and the desire of players to succeed in a foreign country and dismiss it as opportunism. Clearly, that can't be said of Iriney. 21-year-old midfielder Iriney moved to Rayo Vallecano from São Caetano - where he made his senior debut - and joined the club while in La Liga in January 2003. The club was relegated at the end of the season, but Iriney stayed on - he would go on, like many others, to stay at the club and remained an undisputed starter. However, the club went through a second successive relegation - and was plunged into the hell-hole that is the Segunda B. Almost the entire squad left the club. In fact, only four players stuck with the team from the first division to the third. Right-back Mario Gómez, center-back Die...

You can read part 1, about Sergio Matabuena, here . And part 2, about Javi Fuego, here . Pep Guardiola was revered by Barcelona fans because he achieved something believed to be impossible - winning trophies consistently whilst playing beautiful, attacking football. But beauty is subjective - and it isn't just of one type. It's hard to justify how a tough-tackling, yellow-card accumulating player who barely ever scores or assists goals can be described as beautiful. It's hard to see the importance of a player like that in a system that rewards passing and movement. But there is something beautiful, something heroic, something almost poetic, about a La Masia youth graduate, his hair flying in the air, his eyes determined, his brow tensed, his speed, stamina and strength all summoned, into a ridiculous tackle that looks impossible yet he emerges with the ball cleanly. And he does it again. And again. And again. If Espanyol fans came up a with a list of player...

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...

He runs at you with the ball. He looks at you. Determination in his eyes, seriousness in his look. A tinge of fear slowly sends shivers down your spine, as you stand back and hold your ground. In that one second, it's on. There can only be one winner and one loser. No surrenders, no take backs, no half-hearts. No change of mind. All in. In that one second, it's war. A player named Guerra started in the lower categories of local club Vélez with his twin brother Emilio, progressing from teams ranging from the benjamín to the cadete till the age of 15 . He would play for Málaga in the cadete and juvenil teams till 1999, where Manel Casanova, the head of La Academia at the Rosaleda club, engineered his move to Espanyol to the juvenil team in the División de Honor for the 1999-00 season. Over there, position coach 'Tintín' Márquez changed his position to that of striker; before then, he had played as a midfielder, in the center or on the wings. He subsequently g...

On the second match-day of the 2009-10 season, an 18-year-old warmed up to step onto the pitch of the Estadio Vicente Calderón for the last 27 minutes of the match. Racing Santander were playing for the win, despite a 1-1 scoreline being historic enough. The most exciting canterano from the Atléti youth system, the hard-working right midfielder, was on. He was calm. And he did wait for what the coach would decide. Unfortunately, he would never played for the first team again. He was farmed out - six-months to each of Valladolid, Cartagena and Girona - until in the summer of 2011 when his contract was up. He was never valued for his defensive industry - teams wanted him to create, to score. To lead. He decided to try the shores of Italy, signing for Catania. But the scenario was no different - in three seasons he played just 26 times and even a loan move to second division side Grosseto didn’t help. Yet again, his hard work was never fully appreciated. Last summer, Albacete sign...

July 26, 2017. Velázquez signs for Getafe for a year long loan from Atlético Madrid, with an option to buy. August 24, 2017. Velázquez signs for Rayo Vallecano on loan from Getafe. Yes, you read that right - Rayo have just loaned a loaned player. (Or Getafe have ceded the player back to Atlético - but that looks unlikely given how the club announced it). In January 2013, 19-year-old Uruguayan left-back Gianni Rodríguez was sold to Benfica for €800,000. In July 2013, 18-year-old Uruguayan center-back José María Giménez was sold to Atlético Madrid for €900,000. In August 2014, 20-year-old Uruguayan center-back Emiliano Velázquez was sold to Atlético Madrid for €1.1 million. And in July 2015, 20-year-old Uruguayan right-back Guillermo Cotugno was sold to Rubin Kazan for €1 million. The common link between them? All four were born in Uruguay, all four are world-class players in the making and all four players were bargains. Plus they would make a fearsome four-man defence. ...

So as it turns out, I made a mistake. A few days ago, I talked about the Rayo squad, and as it turns out things are even worse - Zé Castro, who had reportedly rescinded his contract, had actually done so with no announcements being made. Because this is the Rayo website: Credit: rayovallecano.es I didn't even get to say goodbye! So here it is...a tribute to Zé Castro. August 29th, 2013. Leave it to Rayo to scramble at the last minute and make an amazing, seemingly impossible signing. This time, they made two. Zé Castro, and Seba Fernández half an hour later, were the two gems that had been picked up. Castro was a "boring" signing - he had played for Atlético de Madrid but was more of a backup. And at Depor, Zé Castro appeared in only ten games in 2009–10, and featured even less in the following season, prompting him to request a move in mid-November 2010. Some people even disliked him - in March 2011, he was to be picked as a last-minute substitut...

You can follow Paul on Twitter here . A bit about yourself and your background My name is Paul Schrijver (27 years old). I live and work in Zwolle (The Netherlands) for PEC Zwolle, a club that plays in a division called the 'Eredivisie', which is the highest division in our country. My work involved doing the communication for the club. In 2012 we went from the First division to the Eredivisie. And then two years later we won our first prize: the Dutch Cup final against Ajax. We beat them 5-1! That year we also won the Dutch Super Cup. Again vs Ajax,this time with 1-0. Because we won the cup we played our first ever matches in Europe: at home we drew 1-1 against Sparta Praha but away we lost (3-1). Nevertheless, it was a great experience for us... How long have you been a fan of Málaga and what made you support them in the first place? This goes way back. When I was younger I played FM98 (Football Masters) and FIFA - I always choose Málaga as the team to play with. Bu...

You can follow James on Twitter here . If only because, as he says, "I'm now living in Sydney and I can guarantee that I am probably the only Almería fan that is living here!" How long have you been a fan of Almería and what made you support them in the first place? I started supporting Almería roughly five years ago as I have visited the area every year for over ten years as my family have a holiday home in the area and I decided to get behind the local club. I've always had an interest in Spanish football but I never really felt any real attachment to a club until I started learning about the club. My main team is Arsenal but wanted to follow a team in Spain that I had an association with and could take a keen interest in and that team was Almería. Describe your first experience of watching Almería play? Whilst Almería were enjoying their first season in La Liga I was able to watch them from the UK as they were often on TV when they played the big teams. It...