The Pride of Vallekas

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 ...

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 ...

It's been quite the year. This blog started in a dorm room, as a result of an impulsive decision. On the 16th of February, 2016, I clicked the publish button. Everyone makes impulsive decisions - but I may be the only one who doesn't regret it. Since then, this blog has featured the likes of the The Hinchas y Jugadores project, which (tried) to bring fans, writers, footballers and coaches together. And it blew up - I ended up interviewing ex-Barcelona players, a footballer with three consecutive league titles, the assistant technical director of Rayo Vallecano, an Ipswich legend, and the nephew of Juan Sabas. Not to mention the fact that fans of Segunda B clubs came on board - yes, Burgos and Real Jaén have fans, and Ponferradina had more than one! Someone actually wrote over 2,500 words about the Barcelona Femení team. UCAM Murcia, a team that were in the sixth tier a decade ago, had a fan too. And if that surprises you, how about the fact that a Norwegian supports Gim...

Speculation is a fool's game. On the 24th of June, 2014, three players were presented at the Estadio de Vallekas. A signing from Real Madrid in the first division, a signing from Mallorca in the second, and a signing from Real Jaén in the third. Jozabed was the last of those three in order of reputation. Maybe in order of former club prestige too. But there was no doubt among fans of the La Liga club that Jozabed was the last in order of ability. Two seasons later, Jozabed became Rayo's cash cow, leaving for four million euros to Fulham despite being relegated . A 24-year-old Sevilla graduate from Mairena del Alcor, Jozabed finished his formation in Sevilla's youth ranks, and made his senior debuts in 2010-11 with the C-team. He was promoted to the reserves (Sevilla Atlético) in the summer of 2012, in the Segunda B. However, seeing no opportunities to break into first team football, Jozabed rescinded his contract and joined second-tier Ponferradina in February 201...

It must be frustrating to be linked to a club whose budget is 50 times the size of the club you play for, and at the same time be unwanted at the club you play for. In October of 2015, Barcelona were looking to sign a Guinean winger from Rayo at about the same time that he was expelled from training for his attitude. He was loaned out to Ligue 1 club Stade de Reims just three months later. Lass Bangoura has quality - he is a skillful dribbler, a pace merchant and a confident player. But it is his attitude that ticked Paco Jémez and Rayo fans off to no end. Born in Conakry, Bangoura began his career with local Étoile de Guinée. In 2010, aged 18, he joined the youth ranks of Spanish club Rayo Vallecano, scoring 23 goals in 25 games in his last year as a junior. Without having played for Rayo Vallecano B, Lass managed to appear in four Segunda matches with the first team during the 2010-11 season, as the Madrid side returned to La Liga after an eight-year absence. In June 2011 he at...

I've always wanted to ask a football player: how much do you love your club? If you see your club go down, what are you willing to put on the line to see them go back up? The notion that "players will come and players will go, but the fans are the club" is one that is sadly true in what has become a money-filled sport. The story of a player sacrificing money and success for his club? That story is rare. That story is beautiful. This is that story. This is the story of a player who loved his club. His local club. It'll be a long time if and when someone beats his record. Francisco Pérez Pérez, also known as Chico, currently holds the record for being the oldest player to play in the Segunda B - 43 years and 93 days is the figure. That's a figure that second place Diego Rodríguez Fernández (41 years and 324 days) falls short of by a year and 134 days. I should also point out that the top 3 list for oldest players to play in any of the top three tier...

Welcome to a new mini-series - yes, the mini-series I love to start but always struggle to finish. This time, I'll try not to. This one focuses on the technical players at Córdoba, hence the name The brains of the Blanquiverdes . (I think that is why I do these mini-series - I like coming up with names like that.) Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it! In a market where clubs can rarely offer more than a season-long contract, where teams desperately fill their squads with loaned players and youth hopefuls, where players can risk being unemployed for long periods of time if they don't sign whatever is on the table, a player's loyalty depends more on the club than the player themselves. Loyalty is rare. But Carlos Caballero Pérez is a rare kind of player. Not technically - just like many midfielders in Spain, he is a brilliant passer of the ball, creates chances out of nothing and is adept at free-kicks. And many teams noticed him from an early age. One of them, unfo...

In 2014, Jozabed Sánchez was a talent at Real Jaén, relegated to the Segunda B that summer. When Jozabed’s four goals and 12 assists couldn’t prevent Real Jaén’s relegation to the theoretically amateur third-tier of Spanish football, he took the punt and joined Rayo in division one. It was a gamble, a huge one, and no one thought about the signing working out. Two years later and with 10 goals and 3 assists not enough to save Rayo Vallecano, Jozabed was on his way to Fulham. The stakes of the gamble were even bigger this time. Not just because he had no preseason to work with. Not just because it was a different country, or a different league, but a different mentality. The history of Spaniards failing in the Championship is a long and damaging one. Those who succeed are the ones who fit the physicality-type stereotypes associated with the league. The playing style which made Jozabed shine in La Liga is almost the opposite of that - patient buildup play, quick transitions and sho...

A 24-year-old Sevilla graduate from Mairena del Alcor, Jozabed joined second-tier Ponferradina in February 2013, leading his club to just a place off the promotion playoffs. They were behind Las Palmas in the league table, but were level on points, head-to-head points, head-to-head goal difference, head-to-head goals scored and even goal difference; only number of goals scored could separate them. He then joined Real Jaén, where four goals and 12 assists in 36 league matches couldn't prevent relegation to the theoretically amateur third-tier of Spanish football in 2014. He took the punt and joined Rayo in La Liga. It was a gamble, a huge one, and no one thought about the signing working out. Two years later and with 10 goals and 3 assists not enough to save Rayo Vallecano, Jozabed was on his way to Fulham. He has since gone to Celta Vigo on loan, and now plays with them permanently. But why do I bring this up? In 2014, not many fans could really say that Jozabed was...

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" At the end of the 2014-15 season, Rayo survived comfortably, and surviving felt normal. It wasn't. It never was, and never again will be taken for granted. It's surprising that I took it for granted then. We were on the division’s smallest budget. We lost our best center-back - and sometimes our free-kick taker ahead of Trashorras - in Alejandro Gálvez. We lost out best striker in Joaquín Larrivey. We lost our best goalkeeper in Rubén Martínez. We lost midfielder Adrián González. We even lost Anaitz Arbilla - a player who went from being a Segunda player with Hércules to becoming a La Liga quality defender and earning a move to Espanyol. In 18 months. With so much quality leaving the squad, Rayo were backed into a corner. And in that situation, apart from Antonio Amaya returning to Rayo from Real Betis, Rayo had to compensate by bringing in quantity. Rayo's 2013-14 squad R...

I had something else to write for today, but I decided to shelve it for another day. Because yesterday marked 150 days since I started daily blogging. Today is 151. 150 days ago, things were very, very different... 16th February, 2017.  My palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy.  My brow is tense, my hand is anything but steady.  My head is spinning, the decision that I'm making  i s major, is intense, is everything, is all or nothing. Excuses come in - where will I find the time? Will I ever get drained and pained by this uphill climb? What may I find, how will I keep up the grind? Will anyone even listen to what I have in my mind? My head, filled with dread, tried to look ahead Tried to see that some stories just deserved to be read That other people would read what I had to say As long as I said it, and just started it today No delaying and stalling and dallying was gonna work I had to start today and hopefully someday see the per...

One of those days. And yes - that title is not clickbait. I wrote about the story of van Gaal reject Diego Cascón - a story that involves warding off the evil eye and slaying Real Madrid and Villarreal. It was published on 19Spains.com ( here ) and on BarcaBlaugranes.com ( here ).

"Thanks for having this interest for lower teams in Spain. That is something that even in my country we lack as everyone cares about Real Madrid and Barcelona but don't see the local and amateur football dying year after year. " -Juan Manuel Serrano "Thanks for contacting me...[projects like these] make the world of football grow!" -Xavi Pérez Ureña For the last 19 days, I published 45 interviews by fans, writers, players and coaches. I wasn't expecting to have so many wonderful people respond to me, and I thank them for their time and cooperation, as well as for answering so many questions! I'm going to be honest here - I certainly wasn't expecting to interview an ex-Barcelona player - let alone two of them. I wasn't expecting to interview a footballer with three consecutive league titles. Or the assistant technical director of Rayo Vallecano. Or an Ipswich legend. Or the nephew of Juan Sabas. Or Mikel Alonso - again. I also...

Toni Kraken runs an unoffcial Real Jaén English news account. You can follow it here . On that note, c heck out the club website here . Finally, you can follow Toni himself here . How long have you been a fan of Real Jaén and what made you support them in the first place? First off, my name is Toni and I am from the Jaén province in Southern Spain, although currently living in China. I basically grew up watching football, so it's kind of difficult to determine the exact moment when I became a Real Jaén fan, as except for the biggest clubs in Spain, Real Jaén is the club that shows most influence and impact in the area. So let's say I support them because I consider them to be my home club. Given the transfer windows and the squad that was assembled at the start of the season, is Real Jaén where you want it to be? Absolutely not, as we are struggling at the bottom of the table seeking for safety this season. These three last seasons have been equally disappointing and...

On the 24th of June, 2014, three players were presented at the Estadio de Vallekas. A signing from Real Madrid in the first division, a signing from Mallorca in the second, and a signing from Real Jaén in the third. As Quini, the right-back from Real Madrid, was being benched by a left-back; as Álex Moreno, the winger from Mallorca, was on loan at second division Elche, Jozabed continued to inspire the biggest success story of the 2015-16 season. And now? Jozabed left for Fulham for four million euros, Moreno is benching the left-backs who were benching Quini, and Quini himself is back up to Ernesto Galán. It's funny how life works out. The missing piece in this story is that of Diego Aguirre - he, too, was signed in 2014 after having made waves at Toledo in the third division. The left-back/left-winger has been rarely used at Rayo this season, despite a successful loan stint at Leganés (2014-15). However, a dismal loan spell at Real Oviedo (2015-16), and the perform...