The Pride of Vallekas

Rayo Vallecano vs Albacete. Starting lineups Míchel made one change, and it was in defense - Abdoulaye Ba came in for Baiano, with Emiliano Velázquez shifting over to the right side. Enrique Martín made several rotations in his 3-4-2-1 formation compared to the 0-0 draw against Huesca. At left wing-back, Mariano Bíttolo was replaced by David Morillas. In central midfield César de la Hoz was replaced by Rafa Gálvez. And in attack Fabián Espíndola and Roman Zozulya were replaced by Dani Rodríguez and Jérémie Bela respectively. Albacete ceded possession this game as they have all season, clocking just 29%. Rayo had more chances but Albacete certainly had the better chances. First half setups It was clear that Míchel's change to a back three was an attempt to neutralize Albacete's front three. In practice, however, Velázquez's role also included covering for Abdoulaye Ba who routinely stepped out of the back three to cut out passes or apply pressure on players. In t...

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 ...