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...

It must be frustrating to be linked to a club whose budget is 50 times the size of the club you play for, and at the same time be unwanted at the club you play for. In October of 2015, Barcelona were looking to sign a Guinean winger from Rayo at about the same time that he was expelled from training for his attitude. He was loaned out to Ligue 1 club Stade de Reims just three months later. Lass Bangoura has quality - he is a skillful dribbler, a pace merchant and a confident player. But it is his attitude that ticked Paco Jémez and Rayo fans off to no end. Born in Conakry, Bangoura began his career with local Étoile de Guinée. In 2010, aged 18, he joined the youth ranks of Spanish club Rayo Vallecano, scoring 23 goals in 25 games in his last year as a junior. Without having played for Rayo Vallecano B, Lass managed to appear in four Segunda matches with the first team during the 2010-11 season, as the Madrid side returned to La Liga after an eight-year absence. In June 2011 he at...

Yesterday was part 1 of the Pride of Vallekas End of Season Awards! This is part 2... Best goal So many contenders - Fran Beltrán goal against Tenerife was shocking. If you hear closely, you can hear the Tenerife stadium go "woah!". It was his only goal of the season. Embarba's goal against Gimnàstic was perfectly threaded - it went through four players and somehow hit none of them. This one by Javi Guerra at UCAM Murcia was vital - Rayo didn't deserve the three points - and harder than it looks - Patrick Ebert's cross was amazingly precise. But this pass by Pablo Íñiguez, along with Embarba's run, makes it the winner . No contest. Best player Any one of Patrick Ebert, Embarba and Javi Guerra could take the plaudits here. I'm going to give it to Ebert though - in many games, everything went through him. Which leads me to award... Best performance Patrick Ebert. Against Oviedo no less . Best save by a goalkeeper Gazzaniga's save...

"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...

You can follow Matthew on Twitter here . A bit about yourself and your background A lifelong football fan of Blackburn Rovers and football in general. Since moving to Spain 14 years ago for academic and professional reasons my interest in Spanish football has only increased. In that time I have watched many Spanish football games of many different teams both on TV and in different stadiums across the country. Of course Blackburn Rovers will always be my team! How long have you been a fan of UCAM Murcia and what made you support them in the first place?  I have been following the fortunes of UCAM Murcia CF for the last 3 seasons, this current season being the first I have held a season ticket for any Spanish club. Televised live games on PopularTV when UCAM Murcia CF were in Segunda B made me want to see the games in the stadium and not just on TV. When UCAM Murcia CF made the decision to play their home games in La Condomina, this facilitated the possibility as the stadium...

Follow Juan on Twitter here . How long have you been a fan of Ponferradina and what made you support them in the first place? I've been following Ponferradina since I am 12-13 (now I am 26). What made me support Ponfe was proximity to my town. Even though Ponferrada (the city) is in another region, Castilla y León, as I live in the border between Galicia and Castilla, Ponferradina was my nearest football team apart from my local team that was in lower divisions at that time. Given the transfer windows and the squad that was assembled at the start of the season, is Ponferradina where you want it to be? Of course not. The goal this season was promotion, but knowing how is the promotion system from Segunda B to Segunda, that is quite difficult and everyone needs to be lucky in the playoffs. But being one of the biggest, if not the most, budget of all 80 teams in Segunda B, this team should be in the top 4 of Group 1 at least. Of the signings made this season, which one work...

There are many story lines about the 90 minutes of football that took place that can be dealt with. One is the fact that a stadium that can hold 6,500 thundered against the incessant support of 150 fans who chanted Rayo until the game was over and the players had very visible smiles on their faces. Another is the fact that Rayo have picked up 11 points out of a possible 15. Or that they won just their third away win of the season. Or the fact that Gazzaniga saved Rayo from a late UCAM Murcia onslaught. Or that Ernesto Galán may be the most underappreciated defensive right back there is. Or that Fran Beltrán was excellent as usual. Or that Patrick Ebert's free kick to set up Javi Guerra's goal was perfectly set up for Javi's head. But, once again, Rayo were losing control - Santi Comesaña was having an off game and Trashorras looked tired. And, once again, the savior was not recognized. His shirt number says number eight but it is just that - a shirt number. ...

Given the upcoming game against UCAM Murcia CF, here's a list of players who've played for both clubs. Juan José Collantes Sergio Mora Sánchez Hugo Álvarez Quintas David González Plata Diego Torres Rodríguez Manuel López Escámez Javi Muñoz Arévalo So: I've talked about Collantes before ( here ). Central midfielder Mora was born in Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid. A product of hometown club Rayo Vallecano's youth ranks, he appeared in 21 games for its first team during 2002–03's La Liga, in an eventual relegation. His debut in the competition came on 6 October 2002, in a 2–2 home draw against Villarreal CF. Subsequently, competing mainly in Segunda División B, Mora went on to represent CF Gandía, Getafe CF (both on loan), Hércules CF, Benidorm CF, CD Alcoyano and AD Alcorcón, helping the latter promote to Segunda División for the first time ever, in 2010 and an amazing 4-0 win against Real Madrid, about which I've written before ( here ). He scored ...