The ‘Barrio’ of Vallecas may not be in any tourist guides and depending on who you speak to it can range from being a neighbour of working class to Bronx like dangerous. While there are parts of the neighbour that can be dodgy but the same can be said about almost any place. The truth is that Vallecas represents every way of life and for that it is one of the favourite away destinations in league.
Rayo Vallecano is not just a football club. It is a way of life. The stadium, Campo de fútbol de Vallecas, is run down and in desperate need of work. But the 15000 seater is charming and it woos fans. The ground is located on Calle Payaso Fofo (Fofo the Clown Street) and no I am not making that up. From the moment you walk into the ground till the moment you leave the ground is bouncing. A classic chant from the terraces is about how the fans have followed and would follow the team down to Segunda B. The famous song most associated with Liverpool and Glasgow Celtic, You’ll Never Walk Alone, is given a Vallecas make over and is sung during games. The truth is that this club will never walk alone and the fans have proved it more than once. They have been to hell and back and whilst they are enjoying their moment in the top division the scars they picked up to get back to the top are still fresh.
In 1991 the Ruiz-Mateos family would buy Rayo. Their poor running and financial idiocy would almost bankrupt the club on a couple of occasions. María Teresa Rivero Sánchez-Romate became the first woman to be president of a football club in Spain. She named the stadium after herself and for a while in the 1999/00 the team led the league for 4 Jornadas and they would qualify for the Uefa Cup through the Fair play league. What would happen after that would be a nightmare for Rayo’s fans. 3 years later they were relegated and the next year they were relegated again. 20 years after climbing out of the Segunda B the club were back but still the crowds came. For 4 years they remained there until to the delight of Vallecas and many others in Madrid they were promoted to the 2nd Division. There was an almost party like atmosphere as season tickets were offered which would see fans pay around €3 a game. Still they struggled financially but the support was always there.
Last season they came up. Towards the end of the season they had a blip and promotion that once looked secure, suddenly looked like it might slip away, again. President Rivero went on TV to blast the players claiming that they didn’t want to get promoted. She left out one vital point: the players hadn’t been paid in months. Some players had to sell their houses and return to their parent’s homes, others had to share cars to training to save petrol money and others had to use the Metro as they couldn’t afford the petrol for their cars! The players tried to get meetings with the President only to be ignored and in the end all of them showed up one day outside the Presidents house with the TV cameras behind them to try and highlight the situation and find a solution. The team got promoted under Sandoval, a manager who could speak football 24 hours a day and never get tired, through hard work and determination and won respect from all over Spain.
With the team up, the club got new owners. A fresh start? No, it would be a different day but same old story. On Saturday fans demonstrated against the plan of the club owners to charge an extra supplement for the Real Madrid game in a fortnight. Is this the way to reward fans that have paid for a season ticket in July with the understanding that it would include all games?
All this but they do play football. This season saw them win away to Getafe where an emotional Sandoval almost wept in front of fans as they celebrated their first win back in the ‘La Primera’. They have had a few ups and downs this season but they have always been entertaining. It has been goals galore in Vallecas this season. In January it was clear that Rayo needed some reinforcements but the club had no money.
They contacted Atlético de Madrid and signed 3 players that they desperately needed. A safe pair of hands in Joel, a strong centre back in Jorge Pulido and a striker in Diego Costa. Michu has been their star man this season scoring 11 goals but if he gets marked out of the game it was difficult to see where Rayo could get goals. The fact that Costa in 2 games has scored twice and is 4th in their goal scoring chart sums up the problem perfectly.
Now they seem to have a settled team. Sandoval is a master tactician and spends hours in his office preparing games by using charts and DVDS. Away fans love the ground and it always sees a huge attendance from the visiting fans, it even managed to some Getafe fans to travel to the game on Sunday. After the game, another classic sight at Rayo was on show. All the players walk out of the ground and make their way home, some by car, and others by Metro and some pop into the bar beside the ground to meet friends and talk about the game.
Around The Grounds:
- So it is over, or almost is. Problem is there are still 16 games to go. Real Madrid fans want Barca to have to give the guard of honour at the Camp Nou; Barca fans want to win at the Camp Nou to claim what good is winning the league if you haven’t beaten the biggest rival! The rest of us just want it to end now.
- So Real Madrid say they won’t give the Santiago Bernabeu for the Copa Del Rey whilst Athletic Bilbao and Barca both say that it’s the perfect venue for the tie. Both are right, both have valid reasons for wanting and not wanting to have the event there. But who is the villain? Real Madrid, Barca or Athletic Bilbao? I believe it is the RFEF who once again prove they couldn’t organise a beer party in a brewery.
- Everyone talking about the Cholo Effect, whilst Atlético are still unbeaten under Simeone and not to concede yet, people seem to be ignoring the Molina effect. Another win and Villarreal are out of the relegation zone and only 5 points off Europa League spots.
- Speaking of Europa and Champions League spots, does anybody want them at all? Espanyol lost at home to Zaragoza, yes Zaragoza. Málaga won and lifted the pressure on Pellergrini. Valencia got back to winning ways with an amazing 4 goal display against Sporting.
- It would have taken a heart of stone not to have felt something as Nelson fought back the tears as he scored his last minute goal for Betis against Bilbao. He hadnt played since May and in that time his father had died. A huge win too for Betis.
Weekend Results: Racing 0-0 Atlético, Osasuna 3-2 Barcelona, Betis 2-1 Athletic, Espanyol 0-2 Zaragoza, Málaga 3-1 Mallorca, Rayo 2-0 Getafe, Valencia 4-0 Sporting, Villarreal 3-1 Getafe, Real Madrid 4-2 Levante, Real Sociedad 2-0 Sevilla.
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