The Pride of Vallekas

Rayo Vallecano vs Almería. Starting lineups. Míchel went with a largely unchanged lineup from the one that won 4-1 against Valladolid, with Sergio Akieme getting a run in ahead of Álex Moreno. Luis Miguel Ramis made several changes from their 3-0 loss against Huesca - Joaquín Moreno was replaced by Jorge Morcillo at centre-back, Rubén Alcaraz was replaced by Pervis Estupiñán, Fidel was replaced by Nauzet Alemán and Juan Muñoz was replaced by Pablo Caballero. Interestingly, the first three players that were replaced were also the three substitutions Almería made in this game. Rayo had the edge in the first half but couldn't find their finishing boots - Morcillo's red card before half-time meant that, even though it was 0-0, the game was over. Rayo and Almería set ups Rayo stuck to their typical lopsided 4-3-3, with Unai López on the left and Óscar Trejo playing his diagonal role. What was interesting was Almería changing from their usual, traditional 4-3-3 to a l...

Rayo Vallecano vs Tenerife. Starting Lineups Míchel and José Luis Martí both made huge changes to their squads. And who can blame them? This is a midweek game, in between two jornadas , in the Copa del Rey - a competition that Segunda teams see as a distraction from a grueling 42 game season. The midfield battle - fluidity vs rigidity Míchel experimented with the "midfielder on the wing" for the second time in his Rayo tenure - coincidentally, the first time was against Tenerife too in a 1-1 draw (8th April, 2017). Then it was Fran, yesterday it was Unai López. However, it is important to note that the positions were not fixed at all this game, and the midfielders, including Chori, kept dropping deep and/or moving forward. Theoretically, it should have meant that players would replace each other - but what it actually meant was that when Fran rotated with any player further forward, Tenerife were able to pounce easily in the central gaps that only a player with Fra...

Rayo Vallecano vs Numancia. Starting Lineups. Míchel went with the same lineup that won against Real Oviedo 3-2. Jagoba Arrasate went with two changes from the squad that won 1-0 against Huesca - both in defense. Unai Medina, an attacking right back, was replaced by the more defensive minded Markel Etxeberria, on loan from Athletic Bilbao. And in the left center-back spot 6'4" Carlos Gutiérrez was replaced by 6'1" Alberto Escassi. Míchel, surprisingly, had Santi play even further up the pitch and join Trejo almost as a second striker, which meant that Rayo's midfield was even more wide open. In contrast, Arrasate's game plan for Numancia was very tailored to this game - ditching his usual 4-2-3-1 for a 4-4-2, with both Manu and Pere Milla pressing the center-backs heavily. This was a game of four parts - the first being from minutes 1 to 17, the second from minutes 18 to 45, the third from 46 to 80 and the fourth from 81 to 90. Numancia didn't tak...

Welcome to a brand new tactical analysis series, called The Rayo Report! For the first time on this blog I will (attempt) to tactically analyse each and every Rayo league game. I emphasize on the word 'attempt'. Real Oviedo vs Rayo Vallecano. Starting Lineups. Míchel and Juan Antonio Anquela both went with unusual, yet predictable, lineups. Rayo were essentially playing Trashorras and two attacking midfielders in midfield which struggled to defend but was technically astounding going forward. Óscar Trejo played something between a true 9 and a false 9 - sometimes distracting and pressing defenders, other times making late runs into the box or even dropping deep into midfield. In contrast, Oviedo went for a front four that was both fluid and tactically near perfect. It became the centerpiece of Oviedo's attack as well as its defending from the front. But it also meant that their midfield was exposed throughout the game. This was an end-to-end game - partly due...

I was looking for ideas for today's post, and could find nothing. Every website, every Twitter feed, every draft saved in my folder was visited. I even looked back at previous blog posts, hoping to create a continuation, a spin-off, a new miniseries - anything. And then this popped up on my phone: 💻 Óscar Trejo, mago del balón: https://t.co/BWGTES8Qgb — Unión Rayo (@UnionRayo) August 13, 2017 Eureka. Mago del balón , they had called him. His performances as a false 9 have provided hope in the face of an injury to our only striker Javi Guerra. Look at Rayo's other signings, and you see another mago . "Chori" Domínguez was nicknamed El Mago  during his previous stint by the Vallekas faithful. And while mago del balón  is an honour, El Mago  is a sacred title. It is conferred only once by a club's fans - and only on the most dazzling of club legends. Examples in Spain include Cádiz's Mágico González, Valencia's David Silva, and Sevilla'...

My new series, called the Silly Season Accumulator, lists all the rumors that have ever been mentioned on the internet about Rayo. Yes - all of them. Just to show you how ridiculous this machine is - a machine that creates meaningless content masquerading as journalism. If that's harsh, that's because the irony is that more rumors gives me more material. And that material gets in the way of the stories that matter. Here's all the rumors between now and last time: Néstor Susaeta has been linked with a move to Rayo. His contract expired with Real Oviedo. Edit: Albacete have signed him. Girona are interested in both Johan Mojica and Álex Moreno, and have offered 2 million euros for the latter player. José Carlos has been linked with a move to Rayo from Real Betis. Edit: Lorca FC have signed him on loan for a season Rayo are interested in Eibar right-back Jordi Calavera, who was on loan at Lugo last season. And here's all the rumors since last time (30th July...