The Pride of Vallekas

On the outskirts of the hustle and bustle of Vigo, a 20 km coastal drive south takes you to a small town of 18,000 people called Nigrán, which, amazingly, is also a 20 km drive north from Portugal. It is off the radar on the footballing madness in Vigo - off the radar in general too. Infrequent buses and a highway are the sole connection between the two. But its close proximity to Portugal, combined with the cooler temperatures due to being located in the lap of high mountains, have helped grassroots football develop here and link the two countries. "Schools" such as ED Val Miñor and Ureca, and teams such as Nigrán CF and Racing Vilariño have all set up here. And it's working - players like Thiago Alcántara, Rafinha Alcántara, Rodrigo Moreno (all Ureca) and Pedro Vázquez (ED Val Miñor) have all come from the good work of these schools. Full back Jorge Otero was born in Nigrán but was quickly picked up by Celta Vigo, where he played senior football for seven seasons....

Yesterday was part 1 of the Pride of Vallekas End of Season Awards! This is part 2... Best goal So many contenders - Fran Beltrán goal against Tenerife was shocking. If you hear closely, you can hear the Tenerife stadium go "woah!". It was his only goal of the season. Embarba's goal against Gimnàstic was perfectly threaded - it went through four players and somehow hit none of them. This one by Javi Guerra at UCAM Murcia was vital - Rayo didn't deserve the three points - and harder than it looks - Patrick Ebert's cross was amazingly precise. But this pass by Pablo Íñiguez, along with Embarba's run, makes it the winner . No contest. Best player Any one of Patrick Ebert, Embarba and Javi Guerra could take the plaudits here. I'm going to give it to Ebert though - in many games, everything went through him. Which leads me to award... Best performance Patrick Ebert. Against Oviedo no less . Best save by a goalkeeper Gazzaniga's save...