The Pride of Vallekas

Rayo Vallecano vs Osasuna. Starting lineups. Rayo and Osasuna were both coming off midweek Copa del Rey games - Osasuna went on to need extra-time to defeat Albacete. Míchel made just one change from the previous league game - a goalless draw at Lorca - with Unai López coming off for Fran Beltrán. Diego Martínez is still figuring out his Osasuna side. He has made changes from game to game, fine-tuning his preferred eleven - and he seems to have struck gold this week! Compared to the 1-1 draw against Huesca, Fran Mérida was replaced by Lucas Torró, Oier came into central defense for Unai García, and Coris was replaced by Mateu. Rayo started this game brightly in the first five minutes, but were quickly undone by themselves - their poor passing and defensive play came back to hurt them. The Diego Martínez 4-4-2 It was fascinating once again to see a Diego Martínez side in action - predictably hardworking, positionally excellent and incredibly dangerous on the counter. Few e...

You can follow James on Twitter here . If only because, as he says, "I'm now living in Sydney and I can guarantee that I am probably the only Almería fan that is living here!" How long have you been a fan of Almería and what made you support them in the first place? I started supporting Almería roughly five years ago as I have visited the area every year for over ten years as my family have a holiday home in the area and I decided to get behind the local club. I've always had an interest in Spanish football but I never really felt any real attachment to a club until I started learning about the club. My main team is Arsenal but wanted to follow a team in Spain that I had an association with and could take a keen interest in and that team was Almería. Describe your first experience of watching Almería play? Whilst Almería were enjoying their first season in La Liga I was able to watch them from the UK as they were often on TV when they played the big teams. It...

Follow Roberto on Twitter here . If you're interested in finding out more about Valladolid, Roberto recommends: @pucelafichajes -  The main blog with all info, rumors. @RValladolid_Eng  - for updates in English. Desmarque Valladolid ( @desmarquePucela ) is in his opinion the best journal out there. Valladolid-based journalists - @chusrodriguez and @jesus_pucela . A bit about yourself and your background My name is Roberto, I’m 41 years old, and I’m from Valladolid, where I was born. I’m a teacher of English but I also work for a telecommunications company. How long have you been a fan of Valladolid and what made you support them in the first place? I think that the first memory should be like when I was 12. My father had a friend who knew Mariano Minguela, a legend in Real Valladolid. He gave me a signed little pennant with his picture in one side and the Real Valladolid badge in the other. I still keep it, and it’s one of my personal treasures. That made me ...