The Pride of Vallekas

Rayo Vallecano vs Sporting Gijón. Starting lineups. Míchel made several changes to the rotated side that won 2-0 at Reus Deportiu, reverting to the lineup that won 1-0 against Almería the jornada before - the only change compared to that game was Sergio Akieme being replaced by regular left-back Álex Moreno. Paco Herrera made one change to the side that drew 1-1 against Huesca, with Michael Santos came on as the lone striker for Carlos Castro. This was a frantic, hectic, evenly matched game - a 1-1 draw was a fair result - but it was also characterized by another Míchel experiment. First half setups Míchel's tactic was clear here - overload the left wing. Unai López, Adrián Embarba, Óscar Trejo, and Raúl de Tomás all played on the left side of the pitch, with Santi Comesaña asked to cover the entire right side. This was puzzling for two reasons - firstly, because Sporting Gijón are an incredibly balanced side and putting out an imbalanced team was defensively comprom...

Juan Vicente Peinado, the Rayo B coach, announced that he would not continue with the club. Hours later, fellow Madrid and Tercera club CD Móstoles URJC announced him as their new head coach. This season, Rayo B were three points away. Three points away from the relegation zone. Three points away from demotion to the fifth tier - the regional leagues - which they haven't played in since the 1987-88 season. Three points away from playing the B teams of some fourth tier clubs - the clubs Rayo B was playing this season. At one point, it wasn't even a contest. There was a time when Rayo were releasing "inspirational" videos for their B team. Even on the final day, Rayo B were far from safe. 18th place Alcobendas were on 44 points, 17th place Trival Valderas were on 46 points, joint with 16th place and Rayo B. Thankfully, Rayo B's dismal 1-1 draw against Atlético Pinto didn't matter - Atlético Madrid's B team easily saw off Alcobendas 3-0. And b...