The Pride of Vallekas

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...

Interestingly, Rayo's ultras, the Bukaneros chooses to side with Depor's Riazor Blues, rather than with Celta's Celtarras. And yet Celta is perhaps where we should look for inspiration, because of two signings that happened in the summer of 2011 - Michu and Roberto Trashorras. Since I've already written about Michu before, I'm just going to put a link to the post - you can click here to read it . Nevertheless, without further ado.... Tic. Tic. Tic. The beat of the metronome. Its sound is drowned by the cheering fans yet everyone sees it. And the man controlling the frequency feels it. Knows it. Understands it. As the ball approaches him his eyes see the previous beat and his mind sees the next. The ball arrives at his feet. For a split second - a second that is easily missed to the naked eye, every single player slows down. Time slows down. His eyes don't need to look around - the snapshots are firmly ingrained in his mind. He knows what to do. ...

You can read part 1, about Sergio Matabuena, here . And part 2, about Javi Fuego, here . Pep Guardiola was revered by Barcelona fans because he achieved something believed to be impossible - winning trophies consistently whilst playing beautiful, attacking football. But beauty is subjective - and it isn't just of one type. It's hard to justify how a tough-tackling, yellow-card accumulating player who barely ever scores or assists goals can be described as beautiful. It's hard to see the importance of a player like that in a system that rewards passing and movement. But there is something beautiful, something heroic, something almost poetic, about a La Masia youth graduate, his hair flying in the air, his eyes determined, his brow tensed, his speed, stamina and strength all summoned, into a ridiculous tackle that looks impossible yet he emerges with the ball cleanly. And he does it again. And again. And again. If Espanyol fans came up a with a list of player...

Sometimes, I have thoughts and snippets that don't always deserve a full article, but also don't deserve to go into the heap. In other words, welcome to my drafts folder. Watch out for this type of article occasionally - on Sundays (Sunday Snippets) and Thursdays (Thursday Thoughts). As is usual, I delved into the depths of the internet for something to write about, when I cam across this quote by Eibar's then coach Gaizka Garitano. When Eibar were eighth - the Basque country’s best team - Garitano had this to say: “It’s not shameful or problematic to feel inferior...I don’t think that’s anything to hide from. It’s good to know what you’re up against. The day that you play de tú a tú , as equals, you lose something. We can’t forget where we come from; the day we forget that, we’ll have a problem.” The problem was that they did. They ending up being relegated and needing a historic administrative relegation of Elche to the Segunda - the first in La Liga history - to...

Ahead of Rayo B's game against Internacional de Madrid CF, this piece is dedicated to the team that formed just 15 years ago, and has played at four stadiums. International de Madrid was founded in 2002 by a group of businessmen. In its first season, the club joined the Tercera Regional, eighth tier, and played their home games at Orcasitas, at the ground of the Polideportivo de la Asociación de Vecinos de Orcasitas . Internacional finished its first season with promotion, by winning all the games played, scoring 187 goals and conceding only 25. They achieved a second consecutive promotion in its second season, again leading their group, with 128 goals for and only 17 against. They played the next two seasons at La Dehesa de la Villa . Internacional de Madrid continued the following seasons playing in Regional Preferente - the fifth tier. In 2006, the club moved again, this time to Moraleja de Enmedio . In 2010 they achieved - for the first time - the promotion to Tercera Div...

Follow Mark Rickling on Twitter: @mrickling A bit about yourself and your background I'm an American living in the nation's capital, Washington DC. In addition to supporting Rayo, I'm a season ticket holder for the local MLS team, D.C. United. ¡Vamos United! How long have you been a fan of Rayo and what made you support them in the first place? Good question. I first started supporting Rayo in the 2011-12 season. As fan of soccer in a country where this sport is an also-ran in relation to other, more popular, team sports like American football and baseball, you're constantly told by the soccer media that you need to pick a foreign side to support. There are innumerable articles and even books devoted to this very subject -- what non-U.S. team is for you the American fan. Invariably the suggestion turns out to be some Premier League side, and as a result the streets of DC are littered every Saturday and Sunday morning with people walking to their local soccer b...

Sevilla Atlético vs Rayo Vallecano. Starting lineups. Míchel made two changes, both in defense, from the previous league game - a 3-0 loss to Osasuna - with Ernesto Galán and Antonio Amaya being replaced by Baiano and Emiliano Velázquez respectively. Luis Tevenet also made two changes from their goalless draw at Huesca - Álex Pozo coming on for Miguel Olavide in attacking midfield. Surprisingly, there was a change between the sticks, with Juan Soriano taking the place of José Antonio Caro. This was a game where Sevilla Atlético was clearly the better team, but didn't take their chances. Other than that, this was a game that both sides probably would want to forget - Rayo had zero shots on target and Sevilla Atlético had just 3. Team structures Sevilla Atlético may not have made many changes in personnel, but they did make a crucial player position change. Álex Pozo took the place of central attacking midfielder Miguel Olavide, meaning that Curro, a right winger, was pl...

He is the son of a flamenco singer, Francisco Crespo Aguilar, better known as Lucas de Écija. He said he had "neither the voice or the talent" for what his father did, but entertainment is in his blood. A firebrand idealist, he ripped into anyone who even dared to think about hoofing the ball long, who shouted toca in his every breath - repeatedly, relentlessly, almost religiously, who loved nothing more than his team passing the ball from the goalkeeper into the opposition's goal without it leaving the ground. He spared nothing and no one from his actions and words. He told players to be brave, pointing at his cojones when asked how. He shouted at players to be calmer and he shouted at players to be more energetic. He told players that they were mierda when they were, well, mierda . He took players off and then shouted at them while on the bench - for every one to see. Lass publicly fought him. So did Bebé. Anaitz Arbilla cried - twice. But they all came back st...

Lorca vs Rayo Vallecano. Starting Lineups. Once again, Míchel went with the same lineup from the week before, when they drew with Numancia 2-2. Curro Torres made two changes from the squad that lost 2-0 at Huesca. Dani Ojeda was replaced on the wing by Nando, on loan from Alavés. And striker Manel Martínez was replaced by Miguel Merentiel, on loan from Peñarol. Míchel's tactics remained largely the same. The tweaks he tried to instill to fix the flaws that were apparent in the last two weeks were somewhat undone by poor individual performances. Curro Torres' team is getting a reputation for being able to absorb pressure effectively - and they were largely on top throughout the game - but looked extremely vulnerable while in possession and when heavily pressed. The game was interesting tactically for the midfield battle and how each team tried to outdo the other. The battle in midfield, and how each tea...you get it. As you could imagine seeing the picture a...

All figures from Whoscored.com. Roberto Trashorras made the most passes in La Liga in the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. Here, in pictures,you can see that not only was he the best passer - he was surprisingly also the most accurate free kick taker! Total passes This one shouldn't be surprising. But what's striking is that he beat out Xavi, and then Toni Kroos twice . TWICE! The top 10 players with the most passes in total in the 2013-14 season The top 10 players with the most passes in total in the 2014-15 season The top 10 players with the most passes in total in the 2015-16 season Passes per 90 minutes Now, obviously Trashorras doesn't come first here - simply because he keeps the ball for longer than a traditional regista as he is the only "passer" in the Rayo midfield. And even then he manages to come very, very close. The top 10 players with the most passes per 90 minutes in the 2013-14 season The top 10 players wit...

Richard Wyatt is a Blackburn Rovers and Rayo Vallecano fan - and a postdoctoral researcher based in Lancashire, UK. You can follow him on Twitter here . How long have you been a fan of Rayo and what made you support them in the first place? About 4 years. It was initially the Laurie Cunningham connection as well as the politics of their fans. which attracted me to the club. How would you describe the fans in the stadium, and how intimidating is the stadium for opposition fans and players? Loud, ultra-led and politically left wing! To an outsider - how would you describe Rayo's playing style? Under Paco Jémez, it was very attacking and buccaneering. Last season the play was quite dull though... How would you describe the last few seasons for Rayo fans? Last season was a low due to the poor football on show. Previously, the club had over achieved by being in the Primera for so long. What is your opinion on the utilization of the youth teams? How would you rate the o...

@DonDiegoVaula is a 30 year old Norwegian who lives in Oslo and has been passionate about football since the age of six. His local team is SK Brann from his hometown Bergen. Go ahead and follow him on Twitter! How long have you been a fan of Rayo and what made you support them in the first place? I've been a proper fan of Rayo for four years now. I used to write for a Norwegian football site, and because everyone else supported either Real Madrid or Barca I chose to write about the other teams. I had my own section where I would write previews and summaries every round about a match not involving the two "big" clubs. I watched an enormous amount of games that year, and I was intrigued by Rayo both because of the fans and the style of play. One of my first special features was on Rayo and I read up on the club and its history, and that was it. I decided they would be my club from then on - it all just appealed to me. Describe your first visit ever to Vallecas and t...

Tapani writes about Spanish and English football, including Huddersfield and Rayo, on his Finnish blog Mania Fútbol. You can read it here . Also, you can follow Tapani on Twitter here . A bit about yourself and your background I'm your average Joe, living in Finland, aged 35, having watched football since Italia 90. I watch a lot of local football, but have also always followed the English game (Huddersfield being my club in England since mid-90s). Football in Spain was, for a long time, something I had an interest in but didn't really see too much of. I always liked the national team but didn't really get to grips with the league until 2014 when I got to spend the spring in Madrid as part of my study leave from work. How long have you been a fan of Rayo and what made you support them in the first place? One distinction has to be made first: I don't think I can really call myself a "fan". I see the Bukaneros, and all the others, supporting Rayo, follow...