The miracle of Rayo Vallecano. What is it that puts the La Liga newcomer in a position to guarantee the Champions League?

Definitely the biggest surprise of this season of La Liga and maybe of all top 5 leagues is Rayo Vallecano. The newcomer to the Spanish top flight came away from the autumn with a great fourth place guaranteeing the Champions League. To what do they owe this?

The modest club from Madrid is located in the Puente de Vallecas district, about 10 minutes by metro from the city centre. “Rayo,” means lightning in Spanish, which is why the club has a lightning bolt in its emblem and on its jersey.

Rayo’s home games are played at the Estadio de Vallecas, which seats 14,000 spectators. It is the smallest stadium in La Liga. But don’t expect an intimate atmosphere, quite the opposite. The Vallecano fans can create quite a raucous atmosphere in the cosy stand.

The home environment

The home environment is Raya’s main weapon. Vallecano have 25 points out of a possible 27 at their stadium, winning eight times and drawing only once. On its home pitch, it is thus the best in La Liga and, together with PSG, the best team in the top 5 leagues. The only team that has robbed Rayo of points at home is Celta Vigo.

A great performance in front of their own fans is helped by a great atmosphere. The cauldron behind the goal in the “Fondo sur, ” sector has been tirelessly supporting their favourites all game. At the Estadio de Vallecas, Rayo beat Barcelona 1-0.

Falcao

The club’s biggest star. The Colombian sniper came to Rayo in the summer from Galatasaray and helped the modest team from Madrid tremendously. Although he is often on the sidelines due to injury, he managed to start 10 games out of 18 and scored 5 goals. And six times he came off the bench in the final minutes.

He scored in his first three starts. On his debut against Getafe, he sealed the win with a 3-0 goal, and three days later in Bilbao he scored a 96th minute goal to make it 2-1. Then, against Cadiz, he made his first appearance in the starting line-up and scored the winning goal in a 3-1 win.

He then scored against Barcelona (1: 0), and also scored at the Santiago Bernabéu, where he only made amends for a 1: 2 defeat against Real Madrid. The 35-year-old matador has had a great influence on the team, immediately becoming a fan favourite, with almost every stand outside the stadium offering scarves with his portrait.

(Queue to buy a ticket for Falcao’s performance at Vallecano)

Óscar Trejo

The club’s second biggest star and the absolute driving force behind Raya. An offensive midfielder who doesn’t look like he’s going to run much on the pitch, but his technique and vision of the game are on a huge level. The 33-year-old Argentine is the best assist man in all of La Liga, with 8 goal assists already. He has also added 3 goals.

He plays standard situations brilliantly, he can hold the ball in a difficult situation, it is very difficult to separate him from the ball. He also supplies the Raya’s fast wingers with his accurate passes.

A great left side – García

Rayo can rely on their left side, which is very dangerous and Vallecano pull most of their attacks through it. In fact, Fran García, a 22-year-old Real Madrid offspring who arrived on transfer in the summer, is playing on the left flank. This season, the undersized defender has played all the minutes, his speed and dynamism making him a great weapon for Rayo.

The 29-year-old has a record of 5 goals and 2 assists, making him the team’s top scorer with Falcao and the second most productive player behind Trejo. Like Fran, he is a smaller (167cm), skilful, agile and dynamic player.

He regularly entertains the fans with his dribbles, enjoys one-on-one battles, and is also very strong in finishing. And especially his speed. Álvaro García has recorded a speed of 35.3 km/h, the fastest of any player in La Liga this season.

“ If anyone can catch Álvaro García, it would probably be Fran García, who plays right behind him.”

Star names

There are two more names worth mentioning. Portuguese Bebé. Does that ring a bell? Pulled up to Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2010, Bebé was a complete unknown who played in the 2008 Homeless World Cup.

He didn’t have much luck at Old Trafford though, making only two appearances on home soil in the Premier League and once in the FA Cup. However, no one can deny him a Champions League goal in his only start. After that he played for Besiktas, Rio Ave, Ferreira, Benfica, Cordoba, Eibar, before finally settling at Vallecano. This season he is mostly a first-choice substitute and has notched two assists.

The other interesting name in Raya’s squad is Luca Zidane. You guessed right, he is the son of the famous Zinedine Zidane. But Luca hasn’t “sweated it out” post-wise and is now a goalkeeper. The Real Madrid graduate has 2 starts for the A-team of the White Ballet, last year he moved to Raya.

He played 15 games in the second league, this year he is the number two behind the reliable Dimitrievski, but it didn’t have to be like that. He started the first leg against Sevilla in the starting line-up, only to see a red card in the 15th minute and then the Macedonian goalkeeper didn’t let him between the three posts. Zidane only made two appearances in the Copa del Rey.

Source: Rayo Vallecano, Livesport