The Rayo Vallecano Chronicle
Squad23 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Álvaro García
78 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Rayo Vallecano lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Rayo Vallecano
Florian Lejeune and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match21 Nov 2026
Rayo Vallecano come up short against Osasuna
Osasuna left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Isi Palazón runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Valentín Vada
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Diego Ibañez: “No excuses”
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Iván Rojas stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Iván Rojas and Rayo Vallecano agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
When it matters, Randy Nteka plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Looking ahead23 Nov 2026
A reunion for Andrei Raţiu
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Villarreal in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
In brief
- The dugout The plan did not have a place for Leonel Miranda
- Market Imanol Varela placed on the list
- Player ratings The pass was always on for Alemão