The Pride of Vallekas

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...

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...

"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...

Follow Javier on Twitter here . A bit about yourself and your background My name is Javier Larroda, I was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz and I am 35 years old. I teach English as a second language at a Vocational Training School in Vitoria-Gasteiz. I studied English Studies at the University of the Basque Country as well as the degree of Tourism at the University of Deusto (Bilbao). I have also lived in the United States for a short period of time (New Jersey and Colorado). How long have you been a fan of Alavés and what made you support them in the first place? I have been fan of Alavés since I was a child but I remember that I was not used to follow the games so much. My team was Alavés because my cousin “Santi” (Santiago Martínez) played for the team back in the 90s. Given the transfer windows and the squad that was assembled at the start of the season, is Alavés where you want it to be? What can I say, Alavés will play the ‘Copa del Rey’ final against Barcelona and we will pl...