The Pride of Vallekas

He is the son of a flamenco singer, Francisco Crespo Aguilar, better known as Lucas de Écija. He said he had "neither the voice or the talent" for what his father did, but entertainment is in his blood. A firebrand idealist, he ripped into anyone who even dared to think about hoofing the ball long, who shouted toca in his every breath - repeatedly, relentlessly, almost religiously, who loved nothing more than his team passing the ball from the goalkeeper into the opposition's goal without it leaving the ground. He spared nothing and no one from his actions and words. He told players to be brave, pointing at his cojones when asked how. He shouted at players to be calmer and he shouted at players to be more energetic. He told players that they were mierda when they were, well, mierda . He took players off and then shouted at them while on the bench - for every one to see. Lass publicly fought him. So did Bebé. Anaitz Arbilla cried - twice. But they all came back st...

Paco Polit has been a sports journalist for 10+ years, and has worked for a number of media outlets (written press, online media, radio and TV) both in Spanish and English. He mainly writes about Valencia and Levante. You can read his work here . You can follow him on Twitter here , or on his English handle here .  How long have you been a fan of Valencia and what made you support them in the first place? I've been a season-pass holder since I was twelve, so that's almost two decades of attending Mestalla regularly. I must also say that the same can be said about Levante. I consider myself a proud supporter of both teams: double the excitement, no bad blood between them. Given the transfer windows and the squad that was assembled at the start of the season, is Valencia where you want it to be? Obviously not. Valencia CF should be much higher up the standings, fighting for a spot in Europe. The season is a disappointment, no matter how it ends for the club. Of the ...