The Pride of Vallekas

Not so long ago, Spanish politics was a two-party system. The conservative center-right People's Party (Partido Popular or PP) and the center-left Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español or PSOE). There are regional parties that also play an important role, but let's just focus on the first two. After the 15-M movement (15th May, 2011), which was an anti-austerity movement which shook Spain to its very core, two more parties came to prominence. One was a left-wing, anti-austerity, populist party called Podemos led by Pablo Iglesias, a professor; the other was a centrist party called Citizens (Ciudadanos), a Catalan party that opposes Catalan nationalism and is led by Albert Rivera. The December 2015 national elections ended the two-party system - PP, PSOE, Podemos and C's got 123, 90, 69 and 40 seats respectively, and with 176 seats needed to form a government predictably nothing happened. A June 2016 election did little to resolve the...

Before I start I must talk about today's piece. It's a random collection of thoughts and stories that I tried desperately to piece together into a story about how forgotten Vallecas is. The end result? A random collection of thoughts and stories. So apologies if you were looking for a coherent story - all I have to offer is a collage... It lies in Vallecas. On the Av. del Ensanche de Vallecas, to be exact. It's a club whose president's middle name is Martín. No titles to its name. In the shadow of Real Madrid. No, not Rayo. Or Rayo B. Stand on the Av. del Ensanche de Vallecas and look right - you see the Ciudad Deportiva Rayo Vallecano, shared by Rayo B and Rayo Vallecano Femenino. Look left, and you see the Estadio Nuestra Señora de la Torre. Home of Vallecas CF, a club whose president is Manuel Martín Piedra. In the 2008-09 season, as Rayo emerged from the Segunda B and shocked the second division by coming fifth, Vallecas CF emerged from the fifth t...

Fran Beltrán renewed his contract! The former Getafe youth academy player signed an extension until 2020, making him a professionally paid player. Any club that wants him will now have to pay his release clause of eight million euros. Is he still a bargain? Yes. Absolutely. On a small football field in Madrid, Alfredo Di Stefano stepped on for a veterans match. He was retiring, and this was his sendoff.  Used to large crowds and noisy football stadiums, he probably was thinking - where am I?  Spain's districts are divided into neighborhoods, or barrios . South west to Puente de Vallecas is the working class district of Villaverde, where a small barrio  of about 18,000 inhabitants resides. It has historically been isolated, from the north and east by the railroad, to the south by the old Army Car Park and to the west by the old highway to Andalusia (A-4). 40% of the population is made up of immigrants - in the 1960s, immigrants from Extremadura, An...

In Rayo's attack, a dizzying array of white and red, it is typically the player who plays "in the hole" who ends up scoring most of the goals, often playing as a deep striker. In modern times, Emiliano Armenteros will be credited as the first to perform admirably well at this role. His 20 goals in the 2010-11 season proved critical to Rayo's promotion to La Liga. The next season, it was Michu (15 goals). The season after, it was Piti (18) and for another two seasons it was Alberto Bueno (11 and then 17).  And while And while Michu, Piti and Bueno were already Segunda caliber players, immediately making an impact on La Liga outfit (Rayo), it was Emilio's story that really stood out. Emilio Armenteros, after having played as a starter from ages 19 to 21 at Independiente, was signed by Sevilla but largely played for the reserves. At 23, in 2009, Armenteros moved to Xerez on loan but only played 1560 minutes as the Andalucians were relegated. He would then ...

Even before Rayo signed him, Spanish newspapers such as the  Atlántico Diario and Vavel  were singing his praises while he was at Coruxo. Santi Comesaña, signed by Coruxo in 2015 from ED Val Miñor, went on to score on his debut against Atlético Astorga FC, and even score a hat trick against Compostela. Eight goals and 37 games earned him a move to Rayo. ED Val Miñor is one of many "schools"  that belongs to the municipality of Nigrán - on the outskirts of Vigo. Players like Thiago Alcántara, Rafinha Alcántara, Rodrigo Moreno and Pedro Vázquez have have come from the good work of these schools. Being from Galicia, the comparisons to a younger Trashorras were inevitable. Moreover, Santi, too, is 6 feet tall, and at Coruxo played in attacking midfield, in center midfield and on the left. He, too, has an eye for goal. He, too, keeps the ball at his feet rather than give it away. It was almost fitting that both would step up in one of the toughest games of ...