Phil Ball: Taking a trip to Rayo Vallecano, Rafa's return

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  • Rayo and Real - Two Madrid-based clubs with very different backgrounds.

    We pick up the taxi close to the Plaza Mayor in Madrid and I ask the driver to take us to ‘Rayo’.  He seems confused for a moment. ‘Rayo?’ he asks quizzically, to which I add the word ‘Vallecano’ which clarifies the request. As we trundle south of the drizzly city to the midday Sunday match, the driver seems interested in the fact that my blond, blue-eyed family all speak Spanish, but are without the appearance to go with it. I explain that we live in San Sebastian, and that my kids were born there.  He nods approvingly, but then asks why we are heading for Vallecas. ‘To the match of course’ I say, to which the driver again nods, suddenly realising that the day is a football day, the first of its kind for many years in Spain, a country which has traditionally suspended all sporting action between December 20th and Epiphany, on January 6th. ‘I don’t like football much’ says the elderly taxi driver. ‘I’d like to have the players’ salaries though. You know, it’s insultante what they earn  It’s not as if they’ve discovered something or made something happen in the world. They just kick a ball about’. I agree with him, but add that they nevertheless do entertain, and maybe light up people’s lives for 90 minutes. It’s the entertainment industry, in which the good ones are well paid. He decides not to answer, clearly unconvinced.

    We approach the messy sprawl that indicates a football match – police horses, cordoned-off streets, vans selling churros, supporters of both clubs mixing and drinking on the rainy new-year street, shirt colours dulled by the drizzle – and the taxi driver suddenly says ‘I was brought up here in Vallecas. My parents moved from Ciudad Real to here when I was three, and I stayed until I was seventeen. It’s a good place – people look after each other. I suppose I support Rayo, but football’s not my thing. May the best team win!’ he grins, as I pay him and we hop out of the car into the cold rain. Vallecas! The annual homage visit to watch Rayo against Real Sociedad, and this time the entire family has come along, persuaded by my tales of gentle friendly folks and the club’s Marxist brotherhood. The taxi driver has been a good start, coincidentally a local and confirming some of the things that I have desperately been using as bait to persuade my wife and daughter to join me and my son in our annual real-football pilgrimage. But the scene immediately comforts me – with entire swathes of families queuing in the drizzle to buy tickets, many of them wearing Sociedad’s colours. They know that they will be made welcome here, and that this new initiative to play football on two occasions over the holiday period gives them an excuse to indulge in a short city-break, to hang out in Madrid for a few days and savour the attractions.

    The ageing Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas stadium in Madrid - home to Rayo Vallecano.

    The game ends in a 2-2 draw, an exciting if rough-and-tumble sort of affair in which Rayo show their desperation to stem the negative tide of five consecutive defeats, a run which has left them in penultimate position. Real Sociedad are not far away, two points above Rayo with a much better squad and an improving image, but with insufficient points to show for it, in the post-Moyes era. Rayo lead twice, only for the visitors to twice equalise. With only one game left before the half-way stage is official, both sides are short of the 20-point minimum mark usually considered to be the safeguard total that enables you to reach the eventual 40-point safety buffer. Relegation would certainly damage Rayo and their eccentric but crumbling stadium. It seems to be increasingly held together on a wing and a prayer, a strangely humble scene that contrasts ever-increasingly with the other two clubs to the west and to the north. 

    To the west on Saturday, Atlético defeated bottom club Levante 1-0 with a goal from the unsung Ghanaian player Thomas, in only his fifth appearance for the club. It put them top of the table and narrowed the focus onto Madrid as the weekend’s most significant football city. This was also due to the fact that the Catalan derby, played at Espanyol’s ground had surprisingly ended in a scoreless draw, with Leo Messi hitting the bar, Luis Suarez hitting the post and Barcelona grumbling about their host’s allegedly rough approach to the game – but you can’t win ‘em all. Interestingly, it was the first league game since last February (the 1-0 home defeat to Málaga) in which a member of the MSN trident failed to score. The onus was therefore on Real Madrid to take advantage of this little stumble, and prolong Gary Neville’s winless beginning to his Valencian managerial career. The trouble with this was that Valencia might not be firing on all cylinders, but it’s always a tricky place to visit.

    Thus it proved with the hosts twice fighting back to equalise, after Karim Benzema had given Madrid the lead. Gareth Bale restored it late on after a penalty equaliser right on half-time only for Valencia to equalise straight after Bale’s goal, with Madrid’s concentration gone. Rafa Benitez – visibly moved by the rapturous reception given to him by the home fans (he coached them to the league title in 2002 and 2004), must have wondered temporarily why he has subjected himself to the angst and cold-shoulder of the Madridista as the Mestalla faithful – famously hostile to almost every manager that has succeeded Benitez, applauded him onto the pitch. His face broke out into a smile, as if he’d forgotten what it was like to be loved. Will this result finally condemn him? I doubt it, although ex-Madrid striker Alvaro Negredo should really have clichéd it at the death. The anti-Benitez collectives, baffled by the absences of James Rodriguez and Isco will claim that Keylor Navas’ save has kept him in a job, but Madrid actually played better, and were perhaps unfortunate to concede a penalty so late in the first-half. The performance in general should persuade Florentino Pérez to keep his man in place for a few more weeks yet, and to see if Barcelona’s bubble might yet burst. The only real stain on the weekend was the observation by sporting director Emilio Butragueño after the game that the linesman should really have seen the foul on Gareth Bale by Lucas Orban. It was indeed a penalty but Butragueño already seemed to have forgotten about the game four days previously when his side were gifted with two penalties that were the stuff of fantasy. Swings and roundabouts Emilio, even for the mighty ones.

    Meanwhile, it is Atlético who go sailing on, winning games by tight margins but rarely conceding goals. They have only scored 25 but have conceded a mere eight in 18 games, which if it continues will hand them a record. Another fact worthy of note is Villarreal’s quiet but efficient catch-up, with their worthy 2-1 win at Deportivo putting them on 36 points, only one behind Real Madrid. Title contenders? Why not? That’s five straight wins now, since they surprisingly lost 2-0 to Getafe back at the end of November. Eibar hammered Betis 4-0 away, meaning that the victims have not won at home since mid-September, and appear to be in free-fall. Granada won 2-1 at home to Sevilla and Las Palmas earned a creditable draw at Athletic, confirming signs of their recent improvement.

    On Wednesday, the first legs of the King’s Cup’s last sixteen ties begin, with some interesting fixtures and three derbies – Barcelona vs Espanyol (again), Betis vs Sevilla (played recently in the league) and Rayo vs Atlético, played in the league last week. Second Division Mirandés at home to Deportivo looks an interesting one too. Real Madrid of course will not be taking part, and Cádiz host Celta in their place. Well – Madrid’s had enough of the limelight recently. Time for some of the others to get a bit of the spotlight.

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