The Pride of Vallekas

These examples are countless. These examples of perseverance and dedication are inspiring. This is the story of a player who made his professional debut at the age of 30 - and yet, on the way, dropped a division to help his local club to promotion. And he's still going strong - and is about to turn 33. This is the story of a tireless career, and the tireless midfielder behind it. Cáceres, in Extremadura, is no ordinary town. This town was the birthplace of Spain's tourism industry - in 1846 the bullring of Cáceres ( Plaza de Toros de Cáceres ) was inaugurated and brought in tourists from near and far. Franco established his headquarters here in August 1936, before starting his advance to Madrid. In July 1937, Republican forces bombed this town. Caught up in the Civil War, a town that became the symbol of a local, self-sufficient service sector and tourism economy also became the town symbolized with the construction industry. With hard work. He is cacereño thr...

Today's article is all about players who moved in 2015. Asunción-based club Cerro Porteño shockingly released legendary Spanish goalscorer Daniel Güiza, who was the Pichichi winner in 2008 playing for seventh place Mallorca – ahead of the likes of Luís Fabiano, Sergio Agüero, Raúl, David Villa, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Diego Forlán, Frédéric Kanouté and Samuel Eto’o. He was instrumental in Spain’s Euro 2008 win too. In 2015, the then 35-year-old, signed for third-tier Andalusia-based Cádiz. Whose fans were irritated by his origin from fierce rivals Xerez, and by his commitment made ten years ago to never play for – you guessed it – Cádiz. And yet, less than a year later, it was Güiza who scored the only goal at Hércules in the second leg of the play-off finals (2–0 on aggregate), helping the club return to the second division after six years. Look at Asturian player Miguel Marcos Madera aka “Míchel”. In January 2010 he was a Sporting Gijón legend, joined Birmingham and was ...

When did you make the decision to pursue football and what motivated you to do so? I was born with a ball in my feet honestly. My uncle and godfather (Juan Sabas) was a professional soccer player for teams like Atlético de Madrid, Betis and Rayo Vallecano, so I basically grew up watching soccer every single day. I always wanted to be a professional soccer player and that is what motivates me to keep fighting for my dreams. How did it feel like being approached by Leganés, and then by Sanse? I was lucky to be formed in the academy of Leganés, I played there for 6 years and what I am as a soccer player is because of that team. They gave me everything. I felt like at home every single day there. I decided to leave Leganés and play for Sanse because my uncle was the coach and I wanted to learn from him and have him as a coach. It was probably the year where I learned the most. You played for Leganés B in the Liga Nacional Juvenil and then for Leganés in the Division de Honor Juve...