Rayo Vallecano (Spain)

Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D., often abbreviated to Rayo, is based in Vallecas in the Spanish capital of Madrid. Rayo have spent the majority of their history in Segunda División, although they have dipped below that, as well as having several seasons in La Liga.

The club has had two previous names: Agrupación Deportiva El Rayo, from May 29, 1924, until November 13, 1947 and then Agrupación Deportiva Rayo Vallecano from November 13, 1947, to 1995. The early years were spent in the lower levels of Spanish football before reaching the third level, Tercera División, after winning promotion from Primera Regional in 1948-49. 

A runners-up place at the higher level was backed in the following 1955-56 season as Rayo won the league title to be promoted to Segunda División as members of the North Group. The goalkeeping of Pita helped the side consolidate in their new surroundings as Vallecano acclimatised well until they were relegated in 1960-61. 

Another Tercera title followed in 1964-65 as Rayo reclaimed their second-tier status. Andrés Mendieta, father of future international star Gaizka, kept goal to great acclaim during the 1966-67 campaign, which Toni Grande scored the goals away the season after as his side ended fourth in the North Group.

Alejandro Samper became the next club goalie of note, as Teófilo Dueñas and then Antonio Illán starred at the other end of the pitch as the sixties came to an end, once the division became just one nationwide group of twenty clubs. 1973-74 saw the team avoid relegation through the play-offs on aggregate against UP Langreo. 

The club moved into Estadio Teresa Rivero, originally titled Nuevo Estadio Vallecas, in May 1976 after previously occupying Estadio de Vallehermoso. Their new environment paying immediate dividends as Rayo won promotion to the top-level Primera División, as La Liga was then known, at the end of the 1976-77 season. 

The side narrowly avoided relegation in 1978-79 before dropping down twelve months later despite the goals of Fernando Morena. Francisco Aguilar became the next fans' favourite among the barrio working class support that was traditionally attracted to the club. Emiliano had a season scoring regularly, but the team was relegated to Segunda División B in 1984-85. 

They won the Group II title at the first attempt, with the goals of Loren helping them on their way. In 1988-89, Rayo won promotion back to the top-flight, where they lasted just one season. The club gained a reputation as a yo-yo club over the next decade or so as they spent time between the top two divisions.

The runners-up spot in 1991-92 elevated them back to La Liga before dropping back down at the conclusion of 1993-94. Again, they returned to the highest level after just one season. 1998-99 saw Vallecano reach the play-offs, where they defeated CF Extremadura to win promotion once again.

This time, under the female President, Teresa Rivero, the club stabilised. Rayo’s most successful season came in 2000–01, when they reached the UEFA Cup quarterfinals, going out only to eventual runners-up Deportivo Alavés, with Kasey Keller keeping goal. At the retitled Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas, the team went down in 2002-03, with worse to follow.

 

In 2003-04, Rayo were relegated to Segunda División B, where they remained until 2007-08, when they won the Grupo I title and then went on to defeat Benidorm and Zamora in the play-offs to win promotion. David Cobeño starred on the return to Segunda División before Rubén Castro found his scoring boots. 

José Ramón Sandoval took charge of the side for the 2010-11 season as Argentinian striker Emiliano Armenteros slotted away lots of opportunities to send the team back to La Liga, where Michu was a star performer on their return. Paco Jémez took over team affairs in June 2012, before Alberto Bueno helped his team to a midtable berth in 2014-15 before Rayo were demoted a year later. 

A returning Sandoval replaced Granada-bound Jémez. A remarkable 2016-17 would see several comings and goings after years of stability. Within a few months of the season starting, Rubén Baraja was appointed as head coach, lasting just three months before Míchel was brought in to lead the side, skippered by Roberto Trashorras.

My drawing of Stadio Teresa Rivero and some Rayo playing kits.
Click on the image to enlarge it

However, the changes worked as Rayo won the Segunda División title in 2017-18 as the front pairing of Raúl de Tomás and Óscar Trejo banged in the goals. Paco Jémez returned to oversee team affairs in March 2019, but it was too late to save them from the drop. The creativity of Adri Embarba nearly took Rayo to the play-offs in 2019-20.

They didn’t miss out twelve months later as the assists of Álvaro García led to the team defeating Leganés and then Girona to herald yet another return to La Liga under coach Andoni Iraola, who arrived at the beginning of the campaign. Stability once again paid dividends as Iraola led Vallecano to two consecutive midtable finishes in La Liga.

The appointment of new head coach Francisco Rodríguez followed in June 2023, who was succeeded by Iñigo Pérez the following February as the team finished just above the drop zone. A fantastic turnaround in 2024-25 saw Rayo end in a UEFA Conference League slot.

Rayo Vallecano will play in La Liga in the 2025-26 season.

My visits

October 2020

I had earlier tried to have a look inside Stadio Teresa Rivero when I found myself in the Spanish capital as part of a rail tour of Europe, which lasted an exhausting three weeks living on a tight budget. I set out the day after I'd attended England v Germany, the final game of the old Wembley Stadium.

On my first day in Madrid, after a flight from Gatwick, I’d been for a tour of the Bernabeu and then attended the match between Atletico Madrid and Racing Ferrol. I had a day of sightseeing around Madrid in front of me.

The best view I could find to see inside the stadium on my 2000 visit

I had spotted a football souvenir shop in the Metro station near my extremely basic pension room, so I presumed this would be a good place to get directions to Rayo, whom I learned about from watching an edition of Football Mundial on Sky TV. I waited until it opened and spoke to the man inside with the assistance of somebody who could speak a little English. 

They marked off Portazgo station on my Metro map, so I knew where to go. This was before the days of being able to understand the delights of the internet or Google Maps!  I got to the stadium on the Metro, but it was locked up. There were players around after arriving back from training, as well as one or two employees, but no one wanted to assist me in having a look inside. The stands and walls were so high that I couldn’t get a decent view.

Rayo Vallecano 2 Ciudad de Murcia 1 (Saturday 27th March 2004) Liga 2 (att: c3,000)

A few seasons later, I was in Spain again. I was there on a week’s holiday with my mate Colm. We’d had a ball visiting Bilbao and Barcelona for a few days, where we saw Barca being knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Celtic, as well as having several nights of partying. 

We arrived in Madrid on Friday lunchtime on a flight from Barcelona and had a quality and very long evening in the environs of Plaza de Santa Ana, which I strongly recommend to anyone looking for a top night out visiting a wide array of bars.

Unfortunately, on match day, the week had caught up with me I would be best described as in an abysmal condition. My consumption from the night before wasn't particularly sensible, nor was heading to a nightclub before departing to find it had snowed. 

With great effort, we went into town for some food before taking the Metro to the stadium. Unbelievably, we still bought our tickets from a tout, even though only a small crowd was expected. We got them just under face value, so there was no harm done. It would appear that they were originally complimentary tickets.

To say the stadium and its environs were hemmed in would be an understatement. It is a most unlikely site for a stadium to be built. It was bursting at the seams, nearly as much as my hangover. The stadium had identical two-tiered all-seated covered stands down both sides of the pitch. Behind one goal of which Calle del Payaso Fofo runs is a smallish open seated area, from where the teams emerge onto the pitch. 

There was nothing apart from a large wall at the other end, with apartment blocks looking out onto the pitch, providing the residents with their own free corporate facilities. In many ways, it was very much like the old Dell ground at Southampton. There was a subdued atmosphere before kick off as a minute's silence was held for two Rayo fans who had lost their lives in the Madrid train bombings a couple of weeks earlier. 

The freezing cold weather had not abated from the previous evening, adding to my woes.
Unbelievably, the refreshment stalls only sold water or ice-cold Coke. I could believe it. It was Easter weekend in Madrid, somewhere you’d normally associate with warm weather, yet we had snow! I'd never yearned for a Bovril as much in my life.

The match didn’t do much to warm us up. I was pleased as I picked out a home forward, Peragón, as the player I liked for his effort despite lacking a little skill, and he proved to be the match-winner when he broke the deadlock for the team coached by Txetxu Rojo.

The other highlight was the prompting of the home fans to get behind their team by a cheerleader with a loud hailer. It was the first time I’d ever seen this, but it would become a regular worldwide feature. Bolo added a second with five minutes remaining, and that was our cue to head away. It seemed a good idea to avoid frostbite kicking in. 

My hardy young pal went out again. I dipped out to go home with some food. I was frozen and still severely hungover. It was time to find a supermarket for comfort food to make the most of the facilities in our Holiday Inn room. There was still a day to go, including finding a pub for the Old Firm game at lunchtime and then having dinner and going to Real Madrid v Seville.