The Pride of Vallekas

"2006: The curse of Fuenlabrada" is perhaps a more apt title. That summer, when a player changed clubs from Fuenlabrada to Rayo Vallecano, injuries followed him there too... In June 2010, Rayo Vallecano were asked by a judge to pay Álvaro Zazo for breach of contract. After being removed from the team the previous summer, Zazo denounced the club. He was training with Córdoba at the time. The player, who sued for 600,000 euros, received two-thirds of the amount. But now, Zazo is just as well known for being unemployed for long periods of time - on 15th March 2015, after nearly eight months without a club, he signed for Real Avilés in the Segunda B. And on 11th January 2017, following almost two years of inactivity, Zazo joined UD San Sebastián de los Reyes in the Segunda B as well. "Trotamundos del fútbol de Segunda División B", they called him. Born in Madrid, Zazo played in Real Madrid's cadete and juvenil teams, and finished his formation with lo...

That's right - there are four Spaniards playing at Puerto Rico Football Club, a franchise that resides in the second division (NASL). And one of them is Yuma , the former Rayo youth graduate and cousin of Antonio Amaya and Iván Amaya. But what about the other three? The American dream is all about doing better than your parents. Chus Martínez, a defender, never even made it to professional football - the high point of his career was playing for Numancia in the Segunda B between 1989-93. In contrast, midfielder Mario Martínez made his professional debut at the age of 18. Also a product of hometown Numancia's youth system Mario first appeared with its first team during the 2002-03 season in the Segunda. It took him several seasons, including two loan spells to Segunda B sides Las Palmas in 2006 and Zamora in 2007, until he finally broke into the first team. Under Gonzalo Arconada, He would go on to play 34 times scoring three goals in the 2007-08 season as the S...