The Pride of Vallekas

I feel like I've said this before. By before, I mean the 6th of October - the last time this happened. A breakdown of the machine that helps keep this blog, this daily dream alive. There's this battle, this struggle, between wanting to write everyday, and having to write everyday. Between quality and quantity. A lack of energy is surprisingly never the problem - a lack of inspiration is surprisingly always the problem. I can see something starting to build. There is a certain repetitive nature that creeps in. There's always a default "back-up" option. Ex-Rayo players, or players who are born in Vallekas, or the underdog story of a Segunda B player struggling to rise to the top. And, more recently, Spanish players moving abroad. There is a machinery that is neither fully invisible nor sustainable. And perhaps more than the stories themselves, this blog is about building that machine. One that can be both redundant to sustain inspiration, yet rigid enoug...

The ideas don't come quickly. When they don't, every website, every Twitter feed, every incomplete draft saved is visited again. When all else fails, previous blog posts are revisited, hoping to create a continuation, a spin-off, a new miniseries - anything. And finally, the idea manifests. The fingers on the keyboard work faster and faster - a machine is whirred into action. The research turns into words. The words then become sentences, and those sentences flow. A blog post is created, then edited, formatted and tagged. The golden button that converts drafts into blog entries is clicked. But that machine never shuts down. Every day, once again, an idea, a thought, a passing observation hums it to life again. That machine, that process, is, to put it mildly, highly flawed. Sometimes the ideas that gear the machine itself don't come by easily. Sometimes the imagination that oils the machine takes time to work. Sometimes the energy that stirs the machine to life feels ...

One of those days yet again! My piece on Paulo Gazzaniga, who moved to Tottenham, on his season at Rayo for CartilageFreeCaptain. You can read it here .

One of those days! My interview with Al Rayyan assistant coach Albert Fernández for TheFootballExperience.com, who talks about his journey in football coaching and the state of football in Qatar. You can read it here .

One of those days yet again! Something different though... In part 1 of a two-part series on Peruvian footballers in Spain, I focus on the Peruvians who currently play in Spain. It was written for The Peruvian Waltz - a website dedicated to Peruvian football. You can read it here . Follow @Vallecanos1924

One of those days came again... My interview with new Fuenlabrada's new Juvenil A coach Ricardo Manuel Pinza Álvarez, talking about all things coaching.... You can read it on BackPageFootball.com here . Follow @Vallecanos1924

And you thought you could escape these days... But hold on! This one in particular is special. It's a collaboration with Ponferradina fan Chris Pidgeon, who has made an appearance on this blog before ( here ). I enjoyed working on it and collaborating with Chris. And I hope you enjoy it too. It's the story of three Brazilian cousins who "made it" in Spain - Charles, Igor and Yuri. I talked about the unlikely rise of Charles despite the odds, and Chris talked about Yuri and what he means for Ponferradina fans. It was published on my other blog here , and on Chris' blog here . Follow @Vallecanos1924

It's been a while, but one of those days again... My interview with Angolan national team manager Beto Bianchi, who details his experiences as a player and a manager. It was published on BackPageFootball.com here . Follow @Vallecanos1924

One of those days yet again... I wrote about ex-Villarreal striker Carlos Aranda, a player who won two Champions League titles and played for a record eight La Liga clubs. It was published on 19Spains.com here and on VillarrealUSA.com here . Follow @Vallecanos1924

Yet again, one of those days!!! My piece about Salva Ballesta, the striker with controversial political views off the pitch and a knack for goals on it. It was published on 19Spains.com here and on BarcaBlaugranes.com here .

Check out my interview with Carlos Martínez on Backpagefootball.com, where he talks about a broken youth system, a pressuring agent and Spain's dire finances. You can read it here . Follow @Vallecanos1924

One of those days yet again! My piece for IntoTheCalderon.com - an exclusive interview with Jose Gómez, who talks about his experiences at Atlético - where he worked for over seven years - and at Rayo, as well as his future plans. You can read it  here . Follow @Vallecanos1924

One of those days again! My piece for BarcaBlaugranes.com on Barcelona youth graduate and Rayo star Luis Cembranos, who signed for Rayo B as head coach yesterday. You can read it here . Follow @Vallecanos1924

One of those days again! I wrote about Marianela and Alex Szymanowski and their struggle to reach the top tiers of football. You can read it on BarcaBlaugranes.com here . Follow @Vallecanos1924

One of those days again! Check out on VillarrealUSA my preview for the last jornada in the Segunda. It's a long, annual, one-year tradition that I decided to hold up. You can read it here . Follow @Vallecanos1924

One of those days. I wrote about Kiko, the player who saved Cádiz from relegation, won an Olympic gold medal and won the double with Atlético, but, despite his height, was revered for his feet and not his head. You can read it on Into the Calderon here . Follow @Vallecanos1924

In 2000, as Atlético struggled to assemble a squad, a package deal of three Rayo players was arranged against their will. I wrote a piece for Into the Calderon about the story - you can read it here . Follow @Vallecanos1924

I wrote about Mohamed Diamé and his time at Rayo for NUFCBlog.co.uk. You can read it here .

One of those days.... I wrote about the Iranians who moved to Osasuna and their impact on Spanish football. You can read it on BarcaBlaugranes.com ( here ).

One of those days yet again. It's about Francisco Javier López Bravo, a former Málaga center-back who took the club, in institutional chaos, from the Tercera to La Liga in just seven seasons. It was published on my other blog 19spains.com ( here ) and on Barcablaugranes.com ( here ).