The singing “El Año Que Viene, Rayo-Liverpool” (“Next year, Rayo-Liverpool”) was reportedly devised by Rafael Garcia Navas, the old stadium announcer for Rayo Vallecano, during the team's promotion campaign in the 1988- 19899 season. As a member of a Rayo supporters group (ie a Pena), Rafa introduced the singing to confirm fans during a decisive match against Deportivo de la Coruna. The slogan humorously expressed the ambitions of the fans to see their modest club competing against European giants such as Liverpool.
Although it faded out of memory for a while, the singing has surfaced again in recent years with Rayo's strong competition campaigns under Andoni Iraola, who symbolized the lasting dreams and ambitions of Rayo's supporters. And this season the singing has returned to the stands of the Vallecas Stadium.
Given the 2023 financial statements compiled by football blogger De Swiss Ramble and what we know about the finances of the newly promoted parties (Valladolid, Espanyol and Leganes), we can estimate that Rayo Vallecano has the on a second lowest income and wage account in LA in LA League after Leganes. It is therefore no surprise that Rayo and Leganes also have the oldest average starting XIS in the competition, as noted by Robbie Dunne. There is just not enough money to pay young players. So for a club of Rayo's income, every competition match that avoids relegation with some comfort must be considered a success.
That is essentially what happened last year. Inigo Perez, formerly an assistant from Andoni Iraola, was appointed as head coach on 14 February 2024 after the resignation of Francisco Rodriguez. His team struggled to find a consistent form last year, which led to a 17th place at the end of the 2023-2024 season. At no time, Rayo fell in relegation places, but they also did not go further than the 14th place in which they were when Perez took over the reins. If La Liga were a school exam, we would say that Perez's Rayo achieved a passing figure. Nothing more, nothing less.
Given this unobtrusive performance and the financial position of Rayo, Rayo is currently sixth in the competition table and flirting with European qualification as one of the most pleasant surprises of the season. With their last victory against Valladolid, Rayo is currently over the longest unbeaten series in the La Liga history of the club (nine games).
Much of the rise in Rayo can be attributed to a new defensive stability. They are now one of the most intense urgent parties in the competition, with understat data that arranges them in third place in the least passes allowed by defensive action (PPDA), after Real Sociedad and Barcelona. This is where Perez is most clearly influenced by his former boss, Iraola. To paraphrase Iraola, the aim of this playing style is to be brave and direct and to use printing to make opponents uncomfortable and to disturb their playing patterns.
This philosophy has led to a rather solid defense. Rayo has admitted the sixth-mast goals in La Liga (24), which is not far from their expected goals (26.9), which is the eighth lowest in the competition.
The Center-Back Duo of Abdul Mumin and Florian Lejeune has reliable performance with very few major mistakes. Although left back Pacha Espino has difficulty returning to the level he had in Cadiz, a proactive and intense Pep Chavarria has taken over the starting place in this role. On the right back position, Andrei Rațiu plays an important creative role in the team, with his ball-bearing runs that are vital to help the team move forward and create opportunities. It is no surprise that he is on the wish list of richer European sides such as Aston Villa.
In the meantime, the midfield unit with Pathe CISS, Unai Lopez and Oscar Valentin have entered into a considerable balance between ball repair and intelligent distribution. Perez usually starts two of these three and rotates, depending on the opponent and collected match load. Lopez has become the passing hub of the team (most passes and touches per match), CISS can win defensive duels, dribble and wear the ball over longer distances, and Valentin is omnipresent in defensive tasks.
Then of course there is goalkeeper Augusto Batalla. With a savings percentage of 77%, this season he was one of the more impactful Shot stoppers in La Liga. His heroic deeds at crucial moments, such as the double penalty, save against Leganes who sent Rayo fans to Delirium. Some controversial but valuable time -wasteing antics have not accelerated its transformation in a cult hero in Vallecas.
Rayo's attack is a strong center, which does not sound impressive until you remember their low budget. 27 Goals make them the ninth best attack in the competition, again supported by solid underlying figures, where they are eighth with 28.4 expected goals created.
The striker is certainly not the core of this attack. Sergio Camello has a good associative game, and both he and Randy Nteka have placed defensively in a shift. Yet none of them are particularly decisive in the box. What is most striking about Rayo's attacks is how all second -line midfielders and Vooruit – Lopez, Ciss, Isi Palazon, Alvaro Garcia, Jorge de Frutos – have at least a few goals to their name. Rayo's direct playing style and intensity can often stretch opponents and create more space for these second -line attackers to arrive at the box and shoot
Garcia has had more physical problems and may not reach the top speed of his younger years, but he can still be a difficult threat to opposition fever. Then there is Isi, who after a year with mental health struggle is now the creative heart of the Rayo attack.
Apart from Batalla at Doel, Rayo's biggest argument to make it in Europe is collective instead of individual. As Pep Guardiola explained in a recent interview, modern football now looks less like the controlled football that he tried to implement with Manchester City and more like Iraola's Bournemouth, Newcastle, Brighton or Liverpool Play. Rayo also embraces these principles of intensity and directness to compete against the top class of Spanish football.
With La Liga who is approaching his last piece, the question now is whether Rayo Vallecano can keep his momentum. On the one hand, it is hard to believe that their team has enough firepower to maintain this run. Real Sociedad, Real Betis, Girona or RCD Mallorca may not do as well as Rayo, but they have deeper, more talented squadrons and demonstrably a higher potential. However, the underlying figures look surprisingly solid and prove that Rayo is in the upper half of the table no coincidence or lucky streak.
In a football world where the differences between richer and poorer teams are growing and football clubs often get far away from their local communities, Rayo does their best to stay in a community driven but competitive. Even if this means that their successes are becoming rarer, and although this often requires that the fang groups buttocks with the club owner.
José C. Pérez can be found here on social media, and if you are hungry for more, look for their excellent work here.
Comments