The Pride of Vallekas

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...

Today's post is a short one. Apologies in advance... It's amazing to think that as of this moment, four of Eibar's starters - and almost half their defense, is made up of players who came to Rayo when their careers were in disarray. Rejuvenated, they are now going on to bigger and better things... On the left wing, you have Bebé . After a botched transfer to Manchester United, three loan spells with various degrees of success, a sale to Benfica, and a wretched six months and a relegation with Córdoba, Rayo took him in 2015 where he became a deadly left winger, with three goals and nine assists. After Rayo were relegated, he was sold to Eibar, where he has been a regular. Almost half the defense is comprised of players who fit this category. On the right side of defense there is Anaitz Arbilla . Paco took right-back Arbilla from Segunda outfit Hércules in January 2013, and in 18 months made him a solid La Liga defender, which earned him a move to Espanyol, and then to ...

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...

A lot of what goes missing in football analysis is the fact that being a professional football is an actual job. Many who enter the profession think about the food they put on the table for their families. They think about the future since the job only pays well till the early thirties. They think about bigger and better clubs offering bigger and better opportunities. They think, constantly, about the next step in their careers. Understandably though, most fans don't see a player playing for their club as a job - as an honor, or as a responsibility, but certainly not as a job. One way professional football is harder, aside from the competition of course, is job security. One-year contracts are the norm for most teams. That, along with miserly termination clauses and relegation clauses that cut wages significantly means that Spanish football, and indeed football in many second tiers in the world, produce numerous journeymen who bounce around from club to club, with no clue w...

Gazzaniga Mejías Galán Quini Rat Á.Moreno Amaya Íñiguez Trashorras Baena Santi F.Beltrán Jordi Embarba Ebert Lass Manucho J.Guerra #RayoLugo pic.twitter.com/KtMhuO5rT4 — Rayo Vallecano (@RVMOficial) April 21, 2017 Compared to last week - Pablo Iñiguez, Răzvan Raț and Lass are back in the squad, and Míchel confirmed that Pablo would play. Not out of pity, out of necessity - Toño, Pablo Clavería and Dorado are out due to injuries and Zé Castro is out due to suspension. Plus, Miku, Cristaldo, Aguirre and Nacho are out too. It's a shame - a Venezuela international, a Boca Junior hot prospects, an ex-Toledo hot prospect and youth graduate and Rayo's second captain won't even grace the Vallekas bench, much less the pitch. Expect a bumpy game, with many cards. The referee for the game is Jorge Figueroa Vázquez, one of the toughest referees in the division. In the 17 games he has refereed this season he has dished out 75 yellow cards and ...

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...