The Pride of Vallekas

You might think that this is the second iteration of this blog. But, in a way, it isn't. During the second half of the 2014-15 season, I watched all the Rayo games and uploaded match reports to a Facebook page called the Pride of Vallekas. I then impulsively deleted that page, thinking I would never write again. Moral of the story: this is, in an informal sense, the third iteration of this blog. And never, ever, delete things. Umm....I'm deleting things. Again. I started writing about football in September 2015. Back Page Football were kind enough to allow me to contribute - and it propelled me to write about twice or thrice a month. It provided me with a platform to write for BarcaBlaugranes and VillarrealUSA, two blogs under SBNation, and guest post on many others. However, as I've said many times before, a lack of writing towards the end of 2016 frustrated me, and the mandate to write everyday was born impulsively on a Thursday morning more than a year ago. At ...

This blog is called the Pride of Vallekas. Well, I'm not proud. I've always been excited about writing, but never before have I had to delay a piece just so I could rewrite it after cooling down. If you read yesterday's piece about the Chinese take-over of Spanish football , you'll be happy to know that this is a more recent phenomenon. But given the tentacles of Chinese influence, I would not be surprised if more is announced in the pipeline. On the 21st of January, 2018, Saudi Arabia's federation and La Liga - yes, the league - agreed an operation that simply defies all bounds of thinking. Nine players were transferred from Saudi Arabian clubs to first and second division clubs and their B teams. If you're stuggling with the scale of this, here are the players: In the first tier, Yahia Al-Shehri signed for Leganés and Marwan Othmnan for the B team, Fahad Al-Muwallad signed for Levante, Salem Al Dawsari for Villarreal and Jaber Issa signed for the B team....

Given the recent signing of Abdulmajeed Al Sulayhim, I thought I'd write about the transfer. However, that comes tomorrow, entitled the Saudi takeover of Spanish football. But there's one takeover that's already happening, and it's the Chinese one... China already have their hands in Spanish football. They already own satellite clubs in Valencia such as CF Cracks and Atlético Museros and have already loaned out over 25 Chinese players to the former. Communication problems have plagued the club, which requires a translator to be present at all times, not to mention the players struggling with the Spanish football style. In July 2016, La Hoya Lorca Club de Fútbol changed its name to Lorca Fútbol Club when it was bought by former Chinese international player and manager Xu Genbao. And just one month earlier, FC Jumilla was taken over by Chinese famous football commentators Li Xiang and Tang Hui together with Argentinian partner Rubén Iglesias. In fact, because Li, ...

Given that I said I would cover more Rayo news on this blog... Click here for transfer news as of 13th January, involving ex-Rayo player Armenteros, Mehdi Lacen, Youssef En-Nesyri, and more . But wait - there is more! Gorka Elustondo has signed for the club. A piece on him is already up . Edit: Abdulmajeed Al Sulayhim has also signed - a piece on the deal will also be up in the coming days. 24-year-old Bruno Pittón, of Unión Santa Fe, is an Argentine left-back who has recently been linked to Rayo by the Argentine media. Seems unlikely, given that Raț is still in limbo at the club. Not to mention that Sergio Akieme hasn't got a look-in due to Álex Moreno. And don't forget that Javi Noblejas is out on loan at Córdoba. Joni Montiel's playing time has been limited, and is looking for a way out. Loan deals involving Segunda B clubs are rumored, with Fuenlabrada and Ponferradina reportedly interested. Rayo loan report If Sergio Akieme can't get a look-in at...

A few months ago, Rayo fans woke up to this: CONVOCATORIA| 📋 Lista de 1️⃣9️⃣ jugadores para el debut mañana en la #CopaDelRey 🏆 #NumanciaMálaga ⚽️ #VamosMálaga 💙 👉 https://t.co/hlScwtJkhY pic.twitter.com/qFGrdvOnrQ — Málaga CF (@MalagaCF) October 23, 2017 That was a bittersweet moment - pride for a Rayista who was going to succeed at Málaga, but bitterness at the club for letting him go for free and not tying him down early enough. Midfielder Pablo Clavería slipped through the cracks. He wasn't renewed, and got tired of waiting - a depressingly normal situation for a smaller, cash-strapped club. This is the story of another player who slipped through. Like Pablo, he has a powerful shot on him. Unlike Pablo, it's key to his job. The striker made his name in his hometown of Madrid in the Tercera, after rising through the ranks of Galáctico Pegaso. He would play for the reserves in 2007, before playing for the senior team during the 2008-09 campaign. During the ...

Exactly a week ago, the post for the day was " From Rayo to Rayo - the story of Alberto García ". It was the story of a goalkeeper who started at Rayo (Rayo Majadahonda) and is now at Rayo (Rayo Vallecano). It was the story of two Madrid-based clubs named Rayo, who gave him a clear shot and helped him advance his career. But this is a story of someone literally going from Rayo to Rayo. And, at the age of just 28, his story is only just being written. Arribas' story is a mixture of opportunity and luck, achievement at an early age partly due to hard work and partly due to circumstance. It started in his hometown of Madrid, where he rose the ranks of Rayo Majadahonda, and where he made his Tercera debut during the 2007-08 campaign. What followed was a rapid rise into professional football. In 2008, he was signed by Rayo's reserves, also in the Tercera. However, his talent earned him a loan move to Segunda B side Navalcarnero in the second half of the 2008-09 seaso...

I remember doing a Silly Season accumulator series on this blog and it ended up being a long, long list of rumors that made no sense when put together. So, instead, given that I promised more Rayo coverage on this blog, here is the latest news: According to multiple sources Rayo's priorities are a deep-lying midfielder ( pivote ) and a winger. Rayo have been repeatedly linked with Getafe's out-of-favor midfielder Mehdi Lacen. However, Markel Bergara's injury has given Mehdi game time, so the operation may be difficult. Francisco Cerro was signed this summer, but has since reportedly declined an offer from Lorca. Cerro would prefer to try to continue fighting for minutes in the Rayo. Coke Andújar, former Rayo youth product, was linked with Rayo, but has instead joined Levante in La Liga. San Fernando's 20-year-old striker Chris Ramos was linked with Rayo, but has joined Real Valladolid instead. Former Rayo player Emiliano Armenteros is out-of-favor at Sant...

I always look to write about the players we have now - and yet I find it interesting that I've never dedicated a piece to our number one goalkeeper this season. Here it is... He's our goalkeeper. He looks stocky but possess great reflexes, and is quick across the ground. He looks short but is able to dominate in aerial battles. But he hasn't always got the opportunities to shine. Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, he bounced around in Catalonia during his youth, appearing for Barcelona, Europa and Cornellà. He would then move to Madrid in 2004, making his senior debut with Rayo Majadahonda in the Tercera. However, in early 2005, he moved back to Catalonia, playing for Sant Andreu in the same division. His shot in the Segunda B came exactly a year later - he would sign for Villarreal's B team in the Tercera in the summer of 2005, but was loaned out to Águilas for the latter half of the 2005-06 season. In the Segunda B, he played nine league games, as well as both legs...

If you read the Porto piece yesterday , you would have seen the story of a player who lasted just 16 minutes at Rayo. But he was competing for the Q letter with another player, who lasted slightly longer - 58 minutes, to be exact. Felipe Miñambres, our ex-sporting director, once said that "we can't offer potential new players anything tangible; what we can offer them is affection and a shop window". Hugo Álvarez Quintas made just one league appearance for Rayo, and yet he deserves an entire article. And that's because he represents another facet of Rayo's transfer policy - the facet of resignation at the prospect of losing all their best players. This is the story of a player who used Rayo as a springboard for his career. Born in Vigo, Galicia, Álvarez made his senior debut with Tercera side Las Rozas, after playing youth football with Celta de Vigo and Real Madrid. He first arrived in Segunda B in the 2006 summer by signing for Rayo Vallecano, but played ...

The Rayo aficionado series was intended to interviewing Rayo fans from various backgrounds, and so far this blog has been privileged to feature fans who are born and bred in Vallekas. But the international reach that this small club has had is amazing - Finland and Oslo were surprising, but Washington DC might be the hardest to beat. Nevertheless, given the number of Rayo fans in the UK - and given that a Newcastle and Lancashire based fan have already contributed to this series - it's with great delight that I can announce that I'm joining forces with Carl Harper in setting up a UK based Rayo Vallecano supporters group . We are in our infancy, and you can find more details on social media below. Moreover, we will try and give some English coverage of Rayo Vallecano as well - I'll try my best to increase my coverage on this blog too, but forgive me if I go back to writing about a Segunda B player no one has heard of. I'll resist that temptation - sometimes. Finall...

Most signings that have featured in this A-Z guide have been those that worked out, and that's a testament to Rayo's technical management. This is a story of the opposite. He lasted just 16 minutes. Rayo were losing at home to Real Zaragoza 1-0, and Juande Ramos had one substitution left. It was the last throw of the dice - midfielder Jordi Ferrón was taken off for him, a striker. That was his Rayo legacy. Born in Luanda, Portuguese Angola, striker Quinzinho signed with Porto in 1995 from local club Atlético Sport Aviação (ASA). He was sparingly played during his spell at the former club as he was barred by Domingos Paciência first and later Mário Jardel, also being loaned to fellow Primeira Liga sides Leiria and Rio Ave. After a third loan spell to Rayo Vallecano in the latter half of the 1998-99 season, Quinzinho returned to Portugal where he represented in quick succession, always in the top division and still owned by Porto, Farense, Aves and Alverca. In Ja...

You can read part 1 here and part 2 here . At the heart of Real Oviedo's economic crisis in 2003, two players traveled from Oviedo to Madrid. Here are their stories. You'd think that a player who scored 26 goals in 2 seasons for Rayo Vallecano would be widely known. But therein lies the darkness of the Segunda B - obscurity envelops even the biggest accomplishments. Striker Eugenio Suárez Santos, or Geni , was born in Gijón, Asturias, but emerged through neighbors Real Oviedo's youth system, making his first-team debuts shy of his 19th birthday as the club was then in La Liga. Definitely promoted to the main squad in 2000, he would see them drop two tiers in only two years. However, 16 goals in his last two seasons for Oviedo in the Segunda were enough to convince Rayo to sign him. Initially, he struggled to settle in - he played 29 games without scoring in his first season, which ended in another relegation. But he thrived in the Segunda B, scoring 16 and ...

From part 1: While Iván Iglesias only spent four seasons at Real Oviedo, Russian defender Viktor Onopko played seven seasons at the club and enjoys the exalted position of having played the most times for the club for a non-Spaniard - in second place is Nikola Jerkan, and ironically Viktor was the player who was signed to replaced him. Born in modern-day Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union), Viktor graduated from Zorya Luhansk. He started his professional career at Shakhtar Donetsk when he was only 16 years old, in 1986 - being signed from local club Stakhanov. He would play there for two seasons, after which he would join military service - playing for Dynamo Kiev. In 1990, he was back at Shakhtar, where impressive performances facilitated a move to Spartak Moscow in 1992. His position in the field was at the center of the defense, however at Spartak he found his footing as a libero - even sometimes playing as an offensive midfielder. Pretty soon, he became the captain of th...

Four signings in four seasons. Between 2000 and 2003, four players traveled from the capital of Asturias to the capital of Spain. They affected the club in many different ways - some stayed for just one season, others for more - but each became an integral part of the team. Here are those four signings. In part 1 and 2, we look at two Oviedo mainstays who left for Madrid in 2000 and 2002. In part 3, we will examine a double signing, which happened at the heart of Real Oviedo's economic crisis in 2003. He crossed the divide. The Gijón native who have risen through the ranks of Sporting, played for the club, been bought by Barcelona and returned to Sporting once again, took a step that very few have the courage to do. He crossed the divide. He signed for Real Oviedo, and endured the wrath of the Sporting fan-base. It wasn't that this was a signing. This was the signing. The signing that broke a non-aggression pact between both Asturian teams. Midfielder Iván I...

The two signings of Francisco Nieto and Nacho Martínez have nothing in common. The former was signed by Rayo in 1970 and the latter in 2012. The former is a left winger and the latter a left-back. The former was born in Baza, in Andalusia and the latter was born in Madrid. The only common feature is that both players are 175 cm tall. But they are both examples of how a signing from the depths of the Spanish footballing pyramid can pay immediate dividends. La Masia, like any other academy, is a wilderness. The journey to the end is elusive. Competition is fierce. And survival is almost impossible. Almost - there is a road that many choose to take. The back door. Francisco Nieto almost didn't have to make that choice. After playing for Súria, he signed for Barcelona's youth academy in 1964. He would play there until 1970, rising through the ranks and playing for the juvenil team till 1967, before playing for various feeder clubs - the Barcelona Amateur side (1967-68),...

Five years apart, two defenders made the journey from Mérida to Madrid, from the capital of Extremadura to the capital of España. Here are their stories. It's a national record - a record of how unlucky a player can be. Ramón de Quintana , a center-back, holds the record for the most number of relegations as a player. Eight, to be exact - and one of them wasn't even a sporting relegation. It's a painful reminder of the player and his legacy - a calm, composed, tall, strong center-back who stood calm, composed, tall and strong through numerous team disappointments. The Girona native graduated from Damm and made his first team debut with Figueres in the Segunda in 1991. In 1992, the team came 3rd - a record high for the club, qualifying for the promotion playoffs but losing to Cádiz. But it is there where the heroics end. In 1993, Figueres went down on goal difference, tied with Eibar on head-to-head. Subsequently, Quintana went to La Liga club Osasuna, but was re...

Linares coach Pedro Pablo Braojos once told him that he didn't have what it took to succeed in the Segunda B. He would turn out to be right. Mohamed Diamé was born in the Paris suburb of Créteil and he was selected to attend the Clairefontaine academy between 2000 and 2003. He would then move to Lens, beginning his professional career in 2005 with the club's reserves, but left two years later after facing health problems. He was told playing again would be risky. But he took that risk - as well as the risk of playing in another country - by recovering and immediately signing for Segunda B side Linares in July 2007. He played 31 games for the club - starting just 14 of them - and clocked 1292 minutes. Linares coach Pedro Pablo Braojos once told him that he didn't have what it took to succeed in the division. He would turn out to be right - Rayo Vallecano, a team not in the Segunda B but in the Segunda, saw a player with raw potential. A dynamic midfielder with ...

"It was an agreement between clubs. What happened was that I did not want to leave, I was very comfortable at Rayo; we were going to play in Europe and I wanted to stay in Vallecas. I identified with the club and I felt important inside. But they had already reached an agreement and I had to leave; The truth is that it was the saddest moment I had while at Rayo. " -Carlos Llorens It was a painful year for Atlético Madrid. The second top goalscorer in the league, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, belonged to the team second from bottom. Ranieri was dismissed after matchday 26 with the club in administration due to accumulated debts, Radomir Antić took over a squad that was already in a tailspin, sitting in 17th league spot and barely hovering above relegation zone. The team fell into the relegation zone and never came back, they were eliminated from the UEFA Cup in the quarterfinals by Lens, and Antić was fired after matchday 37 after Atlético was already mathematically relegat...