The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Position 17 on 43 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rayo Vallecano, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad4 Jun 2035
Matvey Bokhno falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 2‑0 win over Deportivo La Coruña, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The mood at Rayo Vallecano has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Roberto Herrero provided it, and the 8.77 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Zykh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Mirandés made Rayo Vallecano work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad30 Apr 2035
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Klaassen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
3 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout30 Apr 2035
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Interim Coach was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Rayo Vallecano dressing room was either.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Apr 2035
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Bokhno is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Biel Vidal has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Dominik Kartelo. 2‑0 against Bilbao Athletic, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.07 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Rayo Vallecano know it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Rayo Vallecano have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Jozhua Vertrouwd 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.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout9 Apr 2035
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Roberto Herrero was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad2 Apr 2035
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Bokhno is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Vladislav Zykh has moved up it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Rayo Vallecano know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nathan Klaassen will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Mar 2035
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Bokhno is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Matvey Bokhno was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nathan Klaassen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 38, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Rayo Vallecano, another week without a signature from Antonio Gil.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kermit Kekana will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Feb 2035
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Abrego is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jozhua Vertrouwd. 2‑1 against Albacete, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Biel Vidal has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Marked 8.10 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gonzalo Sánchez and Rayo Vallecano agree another 4 years.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Kermit Kekana has agreed terms with Algeciras for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Jozhua Vertrouwd was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Franco Abrego was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Rayo Vallecano have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Zykh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 2 arrived, 3 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Rayo Vallecano had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Oviedo, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Bilbao have settled on $2.6M. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gerónimo Blanco will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Jozhua Vertrouwd scored, was marked 7.63, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Rayo Vallecano have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Jozhua Vertrouwd was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Rayo Vallecano offered $870.0K; Sevilla said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Dominik Kartelo 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.
Rayo Vallecano asked and Sevilla said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad15 Jan 2035
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Abrego is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 12 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gerónimo Blanco will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
1 for Jozhua Vertrouwd, marked 7.94, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla Atlético in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
In brief
SquadFranco Abrego falls out with a teammate over standards
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Franco Abrego will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad18 Dec 2034
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matvey Bokhno is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Carlos Dávila was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Rayo Vallecano know it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jozhua Vertrouwd 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Biel Vidal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Rayo Vallecano, and both men came out saying it was fine.
13 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 19 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jozhua Vertrouwd was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Rayo Vallecano will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Biel Vidal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jozhua Vertrouwd signs something — a contract at Rayo Vallecano or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 54 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
0-3. Going out of a cup is one afternoon; going out like that is a week of phone-ins, and the manager will hear every one of them.
Player ratings30 Oct 2034
Roberto Herrero, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.72
A mark of 7.72 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kenan Muharemović will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Gerónimo Blanco has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Mérida will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Thomas Barrios has pre-agreed a move to Rayo Vallecano, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Unai Marrero
SquadWords at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 61 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gerónimo Blanco will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The ambition story running the other way, and the one nobody tells: a footballer asking for a smaller stage, fewer cameras and a crowd that does not turn. It is not weakness and it is very rarely reported as anything else.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 96 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vicente Delgado will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Celta have kept their man, and Rayo Vallecano go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad18 Sep 2034
Biel Vidal falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 22 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emilio Giaccone will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The offer went to Valladolid this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rayo Vallecano, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 26 arrived, 25 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
The deal that would have taken Víctor Gil to Racing Santander has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Rayo Vallecano with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sevilla have kept their man, and Rayo Vallecano go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
In brief
SquadWords at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have shaken hands with Zamora; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Player ratings28 Aug 2034
Roberto Herrero, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.73
A mark of 7.73 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.95 for the rest of it.
12 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Roberto Herrero. 2‑1 against Cádiz, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
In brief
SquadBiel Vidal falls out with a teammate over standards
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 43 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Real Sociedad have kept their man, and Rayo Vallecano go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Rayo Vallecano have gone to Valladolid with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Carlos Dávila and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Aug 2034
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Biel Vidal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Rayo Vallecano will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Racing Santander waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emilio Giaccone will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rayo Vallecano can pretend not to have heard.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Athletic Bilbao have kept their man, and Rayo Vallecano go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Roberto Herrero 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.
David Navarro has left for Huesca in a $350.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad7 Aug 2034
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Biel Vidal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Rayo Vallecano will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rayo Vallecano can pretend not to have heard.
The deal that would have taken David Navarro to Huesca has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Rayo Vallecano with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
The offer went to Valladolid this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vicente Delgado will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The deal with Real Sociedad is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Jozhua Vertrouwd 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sevilla have kept their man, and Rayo Vallecano go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Biel Vidal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
$13.4M settles it between the clubs for Miguel Sierra
Villarreal have accepted the money. What Rayo Vallecano do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Rayo Vallecano have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rayo Vallecano, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Valladolid have kept their man, and Rayo Vallecano go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Artem Trushinskiy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
$910.0K was the most the club would pay and Valladolid were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 85 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Huesca waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Rayo Vallecano offered $6.6M; Real Sociedad said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rayo Vallecano can pretend not to have heard.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Emilio Giaccone has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Carlos Dávila and Rayo Vallecano agree another 4 years.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Rayo Vallecano will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rayo Vallecano, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer went to Real Sociedad this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Gerónimo Blanco 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.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad26 Jun 2034
Biel Vidal falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Rayo Vallecano people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Roberto Herrero has just signed for Rayo Vallecano, and for once the answer mattered.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Athletic Bilbao have kept their man, and Rayo Vallecano go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rayo Vallecano, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The offer went to Villarreal this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Roberto Herrero from Teruel for $2.4M, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 65 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Teruel have accepted the money. What Rayo Vallecano do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rayo Vallecano can pretend not to have heard.
2‑3 to Sevilla Atlético, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad5 Jun 2034
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Biel Vidal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
57 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.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rayo Vallecano, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jozhua Vertrouwd was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Vladislav Zykh has, at Rayo Vallecano, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Biel Vidal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
64 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matías Contrera will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rayo Vallecano, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
MatchArman Durmiši among the goals in a wild afternoon
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Arman Durmiši at his very best
The words a physio says slowly. 78 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. David Navarro did not need any: 7.82, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Rayo Vallecano have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Arman Durmiši was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Biel Vidal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
85 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Rayo Vallecano lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces24 Apr 2034
The mood at Rayo Vallecano has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
7.67, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Rayo Vallecano have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
The words a physio says slowly. 92 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Levante will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Rayo Vallecano were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matías Contrera will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Rayo Vallecano have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rayo Vallecano, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. David Navarro has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The words a physio says slowly. 99 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rayo Vallecano, and it is not being withdrawn.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Biel Vidal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 106 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vicente Delgado will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Jozhua Vertrouwd was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 6.87 on 14 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Biel Vidal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout3 Apr 2034
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
Two goals and a mark of 8.26 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Biel Vidal has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rayo Vallecano, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vicente Delgado will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Arman Durmiši 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.
A 1‑0 win over Algeciras, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout6 Mar 2034
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Interim Coach, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Kevin Arango is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
In brief
SquadSzymon Chojecki falls out with a teammate over standards
The mood at Rayo Vallecano has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jozhua Vertrouwd 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.
One scored and one made, which is a different afternoon from scoring twice and an easier one to overlook. Marked 7.66, and involved in 2 of his side's goals.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Biel Vidal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Goalkeepers do not get to make mistakes; they get to make goals. He made one, he knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matías Contrera will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Gerónimo Blanco is living that version at Rayo Vallecano, and it tends to show in the first month.
Jozhua Vertrouwd and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Feb 2034
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Biel Vidal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Rayo Vallecano know it.
The dugout20 Feb 2034
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Sasa Kostic
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Rayo Vallecano have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Szymon Chojecki will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Arman Durmiši was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad30 Jan 2034
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Biel Vidal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
In brief
The dugoutEmilio Giaccone is still being punished for one mistake
Everything agreed with Athletic Bilbao, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Biel Vidal did not need any: 7.69, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rayo Vallecano, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad16 Jan 2034
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Biel Vidal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Ibiza waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Rayo Vallecano asked and Athletic Bilbao said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rayo Vallecano can pretend not to have heard.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Rayo Vallecano have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jozhua Vertrouwd was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rayo Vallecano can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings2 Jan 2034
David Navarro, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.65
A mark of 7.65 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Arman Durmiši was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He is 19 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Two goals and a mark of 8.92 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 87th, and Ceuta spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Three points for Rayo Vallecano, 2‑1 the final word against Ceuta in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad26 Dec 2033
Biel Vidal falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Interim Coach could afford to be generous.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Dec 2033
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Biel Vidal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Rayo Vallecano can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Rayo Vallecano have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Arman Durmiši was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Biel Vidal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The young player of the month award goes to a 21-year-old at Rayo Vallecano who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
A brace, and Arman Durmiši takes the afternoon — 8.94
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Arman Durmiši provided it, and the 8.94 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Szymon Chojecki will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rayo Vallecano the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rayo Vallecano this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Arman Durmiši. 2‑1 against Levante, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Biel Vidal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Santiago Cáseres and Rayo Vallecano agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Arman Durmiši 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.
Squad14 Nov 2033
Biel Vidal falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Rayo Vallecano, another week without a signature from Bautista Mamousse.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Unai Marrero signs something — a contract at Rayo Vallecano or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutMateo Ruiz has become a man the manager trusts
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Albacete go through and Rayo Vallecano go home, 2‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Match5 Nov 2033
Arman Durmiši wins it after the whistle should have gone
90 minutes played. Arman Durmiši found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Eibar went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jozhua Vertrouwd 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.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad7 Nov 2033
Words at Rayo Vallecano training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emilio Giaccone is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Emilio Giaccone scored, was marked 7.71, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Rayo Vallecano is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Emilio Giaccone. 1‑0 against Las Palmas, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Àlex Solís commits to Rayo Vallecano for another 4 years.
The dugout31 Oct 2033
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Interim Coach kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
In brief
SquadSzymon Chojecki falls out with a teammate over standards
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than David Navarro
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rayo Vallecano, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Carlos Dávila 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emilio Giaccone was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 Oct 2033
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Rayo Vallecano have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rayo Vallecano they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Jozhua Vertrouwd was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Oviedo have kept their man, and Rayo Vallecano go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.