The Pride of Vallekas

Ángel Galdón Rodrígu is part of Clockwork Cheese, an Albacete Balompié UK Supporters Club. You can follow them, and talk to fans, on Facebook - fb.com/clockworkcheeseuk - and on Twitter - @clockworkcheese . A bit about yourself and your background I have a complicated background really. I grew up in Seville. My dad’s from a village in the Albacete region, and my mum is from Seville. They met in Madrid, where I was born. Nowadays, after living in the UK in my twenties, I am a lecturer at University in Albacete. My wife is from near Manchester and she has a popular English academy in Albacete with some other partners. How long have you been a fan of Albacete and what made you support them in the first place? Since I’ve been living here and there for so long, I am only a member since 2003. The reason to support them was simple - it came at a time when Barcelona and Madrid were basically the only football on the media agenda. Remember the time of the Galácticos ? Why would ...

Politics in Spanish football is nothing new. But this was the first time that someone foreign, someone outside Spain, was being rejected in Spain for political views. And it was going to be messy. This year started with Roman signing for Rayo on loan from Real Betis, fans protesting the signing, Roman going back to Betis but being registered at Rayo, being in limbo and not being able to sign for a club, FIFA giving Zozulya an unprecedented chance to play for a fourth club in a season*, a club in Sweden that rejected him because of rumblings of left-wing fans (possibly Malmö), and his agent felt that many clubs no longer see Zozulya as a professional football player because of the accusations. Finally, this summer, the player signed for Albacete. And yet the saga only finished this week, when Javier Tebas’ complaint about two Rayo fans who protested the Zozulya signing was dismissed by the court (although that might not be the end of it). But that wasn’t all - political partie...

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...

In the heart of Puente de Vallecas, sporting, institutional and political turmoil have wrecked the institutions of a club that didn't deserve it. Rayo Vallecano, freshly relegated from La Liga, has had three different managers and was just outside the relegation zone with a squad that looks largely unchanged from last season. A signing's (Roman Zozulya) right-wing political views caused the left-wing fan base to protest, and caused Javier Tebas to criminalize fans who were then defended by left-wing political parties such as Podemos and Izquierda Unida. It led to the player returning to Real Betis, and not being able to play anywhere else for the rest of the season, and FIFA making a historic exception by allowing the player to play for four clubs in a single season. And then a Podemos-led coalition called Ahora Madrid tried declaring Javier Tebas persona non grata in Puente de Vallecas for not respecting freedom of speech via a motion in the regional council, a motion that...

The title really should be "The history of ESPN screwing over Rayo and good journalism in general" but, you know, what the hell. So here's a list - and bear in mind, this is just Rayo, a club few news outlets even bother reporting about. Count the first! Rayo win against Getafe 2-0. The headline? "Rayo Vallecano hang on with 10 men to defeat Getafe". Guess what? The player who was sent off was Yoel, the substitute goalkeeper who was ON THE BENCH.  Yeah, RAYO NEVER PLAYED WITH TEN MEN. Talk about shoddy reporting. The link to it still exists - it's here . Count the second! When Rayo lost 10-2 against Real Madrid, Craig Burley went off on a rant about how it's shameful for the league that Rayo lost by a heavy scoreline. That's his opinion. I disagree, and that's OK. What's not OK is that it's a misinformed opinion. Rayo attack not to win but to play, in a country where the aesthetic is valued, where playing de...

In light of the fact that Rayo B might return to the regional leagues, where Rayo B haven't played since 1988... They had topped their group - by 11 points, no less - but that was not enough. They had to play L'Hospitalet over two legs, they were at the  Municipal Feixa Llarga and 1-0 down, with only seconds to go. A free kick from the halfway line results in a corner on the left hand side. Confusion in the box. Calls for a penalty while the Rayo player run to take another corner from the other side of the pitch. Step forward, Borja García. The goalkeeper misses the cross, and it's an easy tap in - Sandoval's team are up into the Segunda B. In the 97th minute, Rayo B had made it. In other news, Javier Tebas confirmed that Rayo has an agreement with the NASL that a new franchise will be created within two years - reportedly in Omaha or Las Vegas, Betis' Rafael Salas apologized for his previous comments about Zozulya (which I talked about here ), and Sa...

Propaganda is a taboo word - I don't think so. I think propaganda is about taking a viewpoint and sharing it with others at a degree so massive they adopt said viewpoint. The word isn't bad in itself - I think that it is used often, albeit correctly, in a negative context. The key to propaganda isn't quality. It's volume. Contradictory stances are often glaring, but they drown in the incessant pool of ideas that are crammed down people's throats. For example, no matter how many late-night TV shows try to dissect the hypocrisies of Fox News, the truth is that they are small fish in an ocean of cable coverage that is almost stubbornly incessant. Just today, on the 6th of March*, Marca posted five posts about Rayo. Five. At 11:34 CET**, an interview with Quini was posted about the game (read it here ). At 12:06 CET, they published a video about the best saves of the Segunda this week ( here ). At 12:55 CET, one quote by Míchel was baked into a piece about how long...

And no, that's not clickbait. Apparently, during training, two footballs went out of the stadium, one of which reached Payaso Fofó street. The fourth side of the stadium is just a wall with advertising on it. However, that wall is attached to a building of flats, and the other football went out the stadium in that direction. Moments later, a lady came to the dressing room and stated that her husband had been woken up by the sound of the football breaking glass, and even had proof via a picture on her phone. Apparently they were told to file a complaint with local authorities. In other news, I dug up this article about how El País endorsed Zozulya, calling him a lesson in patriotism (Read it here ). I don't want to quote too much of it, but it essentially says that El País feels that it's all Russian propaganda, and provides a balanced, if incomplete, view of the whole situation, Also, according to the article, "on February 8, 2017, Kharkiv Metalist ultras po...

Tell Rayo fans why their stadium has no light, With leaks in the plumbing and grass in the seats, Tell Rayo fans why ten of them can't enter the stadium, For expressing a view different from the elites. Tell Rayo fans why millions were spent, On a sporting project that was doomed to fail, Tell Rayo fans why after winning three leagues, The women's team is now looking pale. Tell Rayo fans why both players and staff, Have been signing fake contracts - being basically used, Tell Rayo fans why one of their official peñas, Has been ordered that the club badge be removed. Tell Rayo fans why the budgets are late and poor, With excuses like "the spreadsheet added badly", Tell Rayo fans why after everything that has happened, You can still say you are our  President. Gladly. I hope you enjoyed that little poem.  In other news, Marca screenshots transfermarkt.com to show the possible destinations of Roman Zozulya, ruling out former cl...

I've been avoiding this topic, but things are just getting ridiculous now and I wanted to give a very quick take on it. Yesterday was the deadline for Zozulya to "return" to Rayo. Now, there have been a lot of disagreeements. Rayo fans don't want him in the team. Tebas and Presa are willing to charge fans who drove Zozulya out. And the Agrupación de Peñas del Rayo, or la Plataforma ADRV, has called for an assembly in the Rayo locker room to resolve the situation, whether that means Zozulya plays at Rayo or somewhere else. But among all the chaos, what was most striking was Toño's recent interview, where he said something very simple but very important. "We must also consider that if he comes we will have to accept it in the best possible way and if he can contribute by scoring goals we must treat him as part of the team, regardless of ideological thoughts." If the left loves one thing, it is the idea of free speech and safe spaces where anyone can...

So, Trashorras claims that Tebas threatened him with a 10000 euro fine if he supported the Bukaneros, Zozulya may be given clearance to play for a fourth team this season - a historic moment in which FIFA were compassionate (now how about that), and Paco Jémez is under increased pressure, something he described as "if Luis Enrique's hair is grey at Barcelona, he'd lose it in Mexico". But today's post is about the Segunda. Seeing as Rayo now occupy the relegation spots with a relatively unchanged team from the one last season a bit of a note about the league wouldn't be amiss. The fact that Javi Guerra, who scored 13 in La Liga, has scored 4 in the Segunda so far, and is the top scorer (joint with Ebert and Moreno) is surprising. And yes, the fact that Rayo aren't playing well justifies it, but is it simplistic? Perhaps Rayo haven't adapted to a competition that overvalues speed and trickery - Míchel said he would bet on Lass Bangoura but against...

Rayo Vallecano did have that whole debacle with Roman Zozulya, and they did sign Toni Dovale from Leganés, Tomás Mejías from Middlesbrough, and Jordi Gómez from Wigan, but there were other transfers made that went under-the-radar. Both are Columbian and both are 19 - Edward Bolaños and Wilmar Arango are their names. They've played in the under-15 and under-17 Columbian national teams, and have played together for six years.  In other news, Rubén Baraja's position at the club is looking uncertain - rumours say that the game against Mirandés could be his last if he doesn't pick up points. Ironically, Mirandés are already on their third coach...but Javier Duelo of Unión Rayo correctly points out that while Baraja's decisions have been controversial, such as dropping heavyweights in the team, the fans know that the dreadful situation of the club has deeper roots than the coach or the playing staff and that just 12 games have passed.  Unfortunately, he has pic...