The Pride of Vallekas

Last season, I repeatedly sung the praises of Ernesto Galán. He is a former center-back and current right-back - quick, defensively excellent and surprisingly adept going forward and covering for players. However, and quite surprisingly, I never actually wrote about him - his career and his story. Which is a shame, but better late than never I guess. Here it is. Ernesto Galán was struggling. His youth career had started with Villaviciosa de Odón releasing him and ended with Getafe releasing him too. His senior career had started with Segunda B side Móstoles in the 2005-06 season, playing 32 games under four different managers, but the team was relegated. Having played in Madrid all his life, and with his career in jeopardy, the decision to leave was a huge gamble. But he did - in 2006 he signed for Lleida. It was a risk - and it certainly felt like one at the beginning. Felipe Miñambres gave him just three league games in six months, and he had to pack his bags once again f...

My new series, called the Silly Season Accumulator, lists all the rumors that have ever been mentioned on the internet about Rayo. Yes - all of them. Just to show you how ridiculous this machine is - a machine that creates meaningless content masquerading as journalism. If that's harsh, that's because the irony is that more rumors gives me more material. And that material gets in the way of the stories that matter. Here's all the rumors for this week: Gorka Iraizoz was linked to Rayo and Osasuna but reportedly rejected both offers. He eventually signed for Girona in La Liga instead. Following the success of Santi Comesaña, Rayo have their eyes on another Segunda B star midfielder - Pierre Kunde Malong, a Cameroonian who plays for Extremadura (on loan from Atlético Madrid). Las Palmas' Javi Castellano, who has become a bit part player, has interest from Rayo, Cádiz, and Sporting, but has expressed his desire to renew with Las Palmas - his boyhood club and the c...