Rayo Vallecano

Rayo Vallecano was founded on May 29, 1924 in Madrid by its first president, Julian Huerta Priego. At that time, it was a bold decision - to rely on public support, and therefore on serious cash injections, the newly made team could not. Then, as indeed now, the grandees “ Real ” and “ Atletico ” were more popular in the capital of Spain. The team uniform was white then, and the leggings were black. From 1931 to 1936, the club took part in the Championship of the Football Federation of Workers, and after the end of the Civil War, the club joined the Football Federation of Castilla. In 1939/40, the club was reorganized, and Miguel Rodriguez Alsola became the new president. All the attention of local authorities and fans was directed towards these two teams. The appearance of "Rayo" no one expected and no one noticed. Therefore, it is not surprising that the club has eked out a miserable existence for many years. It is enough to say that Rayo only opened its stadium in 1939 . Before that, they played wherever necessary. The new arena was called " Born ." It was at Rodival that the first truly dedicated Rayo fans gathered.

At that time, the presidents of the team often changed. From 1924 to 1931, five different people sat in the presidency. The club itself suffered a series of reorganizations, joining various federations. Stability appeared in 1950 , when all of Spain began to get on its feet, recovering from the effects of World War II . It was then that the team acquired its current club colors. On November 13, 1947, the club officially changed its name to the “Rayo Vallecano Sports Group”, in addition, the leadership agreed to use the coat of arms of the city of Vallecas on its uniform. In the 1948/49 season, when the team was coached by Thomas Rodriguez Rubio, they won the right to play in Tercera , and two years later they entered into a mutual assistance agreement with the Plus Ultra Sports Association. In 1949/50, a similar agreement was reached with Atletico Madrid, according to which Atletico could rent any player of the club, and Rayo pledged to get rid of a completely white uniform, like Real Madrid, and add to it that something red, and a red stripe appeared on the diagonal of T-shirts, which until today is the club’s hallmark and which indicates its friendly relationship with the Argentinean River Plate . The agreement with Atlético lasted only a year, and while it was in force, the club began to be perceived as a branch of the team from Manzanares. The form no longer changed.

In the 1953/54 season, the club began playing matches of the Third Division Spain Championship at Vallecas Stadium, where they played both informal and friendly matches. From the first season in Tercera to this season, Rayo's home matches took place in this stadium shared by Atletico Aviation (today Atletico Madrid), as well as various teams playing at the regional level: Standard, Manufakturas Metalikas "and others. Various friendly tournaments were played at the level of Madrid, Castilla and the country at the Rodival stadium. This field has hosted the last matches of the 1954/55 season due to the reconstruction of Estadio de Vallecas. Rayo reached the finish line second in Group XVI of the Third Division and reached the playoffs, but failed there. They remained eighth, and the first place went to Plus Ultra.

In 1956, “Rayists” managed to finish the championship in the first place of Group XVI and remain the leader after the playoffs, which brought the club the first upgrade to the Second Division.

On December 8, 1957, the new Vallecas stadium opened its doors, to which the club continues to play to this day. The opening match of the stadium between Rayo and Carioca America de Belo Horizonte (Brazil) ended in victory for the latter with a score of 1: 0. Having played quite a bit in the Segund , in the 1960/61 season the team was unable to avoid relegation to Tercera. The 1964/65 season brought the team back to Segunda again.

On October 15, 1972, Estadio de Vallecas accepted the last match: Rayo Vallecano tied 2: 2 with Baracaldo, and four days later it was closed due to an “emergency condition dangerous for visitors,” as stated by the club president of those days Pedro Roig. On Sunday, November 5, 1972, the first official match was played at Estadio de Villiershermoso, where Rayo beat Sabadell 3-0. So the team began incredibly successful for themselves four years.

On May 6, 1976, the new Estadio Nuevo de Vallecas stadium was inaugurated; the opening match was the game of the last round between Rayo and Real Valladolid , in which the guests won 0: 1. The stadium was crowded. The Rayists were coached that season by the legendary Alfredo di Stefano, who was replaced by Jose Antonio Olmedo in March.

The very next season, in 1976/77, the club won the first exit in Example , without losing a single match at Nuevo Estadio. And the next year, with Victor Nunez as a coach, the club made an excellent debut in the First Division. The number of club co-owners also broke records and reached 10,000. However, the bad season of 1978/79 led to a return to Segunda, and then there was a flight to Segunda B, and the team was on the verge of extinction.

On August 8, 1978, after Mundial, the only match between Rayo and River Plate in history took place, despite their almost brotherly ties. This happened during the Tournament of the city of Madrid, which was organized by the metropolitan Atletico. The Argentines, Rayo, and the English Derby County were invited. The River won the tournament by defeating Rayo 0-1 and after a goalless draw against Atlético on a 4-3 penalty.

In 1984/85, the team won the third exit to Segunda under the leadership of Eduardo Caturla.

In the 1988/89 season, Rayo received a ticket to Example, but the next year again flew to Segunda.

In 1991, after the team was reorganized into a Sports Joint-Stock Company, the entrepreneur from Jerez, Jose Maria Ruiz-Mateos, acquired the club’s largest stake and became its president during the economic crisis. The club achieved an exit in Example under the leadership of Jose Antonio Camacho.

On January 12, 1994, the leadership of the club Ruiz Mateos was handed over to his wife, Maria Teresa Rivero Sanchez-Romate, who became the first woman president of the football club of the First Division of Spain. Since then, the club stadium bears her name. With her, the abbreviation of the club on his coat of arms also changed, where instead of ADRV the letters RVM appeared - "Rayo Vallecano de Madrid". At the end of the season, “Rayo” remained on the 17th place of the tournament table and was forced to fight for a place in the Example against “Compostela”, and the club under the leadership of David Vidal was unable to defend this right to act in the elite.

In 1994/95 in the King’s Cup, the club reached the quarter finals, knocking out the Numansia , Andorra , Racing Santander and Palamos from the tournament. In the quarter finals, the team was unable to provide adequate resistance to the Gijon Sporting , which could pass this stage of the tournament. In Segund, "Rayo" won second place and was able to reach Primera for the fourth time.

In 1995/96, the club once again failed in the regular season, and he had to find out who would remain in the Example with Mallorca , since Vallecas was only in 19th place in the championship. In the first meeting, Rayo lost 1-0 on the islands, but in the home game they turned out to be stronger and won 2-0, having the opportunity to play another season in the elite of Spanish football.

In the 1996/97 season, when Primera included 22 teams, it was decided to reduce them to 20. At the end of the championship, Rayo took 18th place and again had to prove the right to be among the best. In the rivals they got the same “Mallorca”, which this time turned out to be stronger. Rayo again flew into the Silver category.

The 1998/99 season was marked by celebrations in honor of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the club, and the team celebrated its release in Example.

The next football year, 1999/00, Rayo managed to lead the Championship for 4 rounds when they were coached by Juande Ramos. The club’s coat of arms was flaunted by such players as Kota, Michel, Ivan Amaya, Julen Lopetegui, Luis Sembranos and many other football masters. Sembranos even received an invitation to the national team and performed in the form of Roja.

The team ended the season with a special invitation from the FIFA Fair Play to play in the UEFA Cup, as Rayo proved to be the most disciplined team on the continent with a minimum of warnings and deletions that football bosses could not fail to note.

The 2000/01 season without a doubt was at that time the best in the club’s history, and on August 10, 2000 Rayo played for the first time in a European tournament. The club played the first qualifying match in the Cup against Constell Lazio Esportivo d'Andorra, visiting the Spaniards who defeated the hosts with a shameful score of 0:10, and won at home with a score of 6: 0. Rayo have become record holders in the number of goals within a single elimination of European cups (including the Champions League and the UEFA Cup).

Then the club sent home the Norwegian Molde and the Danish Vivorg, and then they had a meeting with the Moscow Lokomotiv . In the capital of Russia, at an air temperature of −17 ° C, they played zero, and at home in Vallecas, Rayo won 2-0 thanks to goals from Bolich and Angel Alcazar.

In the next round, under the onslaught of “bees”, “ Bordeaux ” collapsed, who lost in Madrid 4: 1 and 1: 2 at home. In the quarter finals, the club had to meet with Alaves , who soon won the second place in this tournament, leaving the dream of owning the UEFA Rayon Cup just a dream. In the same season, the club reached the fourth final in the King's Cup.

In the 2001/02 season, despite a sluggish start, the club from Vallecas managed to maintain a place in the Example thanks to the sensational game in the second round of the Spanish Championship under the leadership of Gregorio Manzano. The most gloomy event of the season was Michel's serious injury in a match against the Basque Athletics , in connection with which the player had to spend almost a year away from football fields.

In 2002/03, which was the fourth consecutive season of the club in Example, Rayo again broke the record by selling 11,000 subscriptions to their matches. Unfortunately, this season the club flew to Segunda.

The following season, the team changed three coaches (Julen Lopetegi, Gustavo Benitez, Chechu Rojo), but not one of them could help the club stay in Segunda.

In early 2004, in a referendum of club members, it was decided that the Nuevo Estadio de Vallecas would be called the Teresa Rivero Vallecas Football Field. So began four long years in Segund B. In the first, Rayo finished the championship in third, but did not qualify for Segund and lost to Real Union de Irun.

In February 2005, the “Rayo Vallecano Foundation” was created, which focused on the education and work with the youth of the capital's suburbs.

In 2005/06, Michel took up the project as a coach, but the club also did not get out of Segunda B.

With Pepe Melel in the 2006/07 season, Rayo won the second place and reached the playoffs, beating the Racing Portuens (2: 0 and 2: 2), but then lost to Eibar .

In 2007/08, the team became the champion of Group I and defeated Benidorm and Zamora, regaining their place in Segund A. The fifth place with seven dozens of points in the Silver Category Championship and the Samora trophy for club goalkeeper David Kobeno were the result of a performance in the first season after return to the Segunda. Kobeno also became one of the heroes of the championship, scoring a goal against Elche from his goalkeeper zone. This season great players appeared in the team in the person of David Aganso, David Cobeno, Geoffrey, Serrano, Mohammed Diame, Tena and Jesus Perera.

In 2009/10, all with the same coach at the helm of “Rayo” set a goal to return to the top division of Spain. The entire first lap the club kept close to the exit zone, but, lubricating the end of the tournament, they were on the border with the relegation zone. Mel was fired from his post as coach, but spent the longest time with the team as a mentor. Instead, the club’s sports director, Felipe Minyambres, began working as a coach, but out of 21 points, the team took only 4. The situation in the Royal Cup was quite good. First, the club sent home Real Sociedad , Cordoba , then Athletic Bilbao , but the same Mallorca prevented the team from Vallecas from going further.

In 2010/11, after the resignation of Minyambres, who remained in the position of sports director, and the club’s branch in Segunda B, the fans sent management a request to appoint Jose Ramon Sandoval, coach of the branch, as the first team coach. The management did the will of the Inchada, as a result of which the team began the season better than all the previous ones, having won five matches in a row. The economic crisis hit many championship clubs, and Rayo was hit hard along with nine of the Nueva Rumasa units owned by the Ruiz Mateos family.

In this economically difficult time, the club’s fans united in an action to save their team under the arms of ADRV, creating the Fila 0 group, where everyone could make a donation or buy a T-shirt with the motto “Team and fans united by feeling,” and gathered money was given for at least some salary to club employees, players and coaching staff. The support, the association of the fans and the whole area, as well as the motivation they gave the players, was undeniable. Fans, as they could, expressed their disagreement with the policies of the Ruiz-Mateos family and support for the players. On March 12, 2011 all this resulted in one more protest at the club stadium with the slogans “87 years of the team’s history deserve more respect”. Despite the really difficult time, the team and coaches never refused to fight and continued to fight for the opportunity to go to Example until the very end, not falling below the first two places of the Championship of the Second Division and four times became the leaders of the standings.

On May 5, 2011, under pressure from the public, the Ruiz-Mateos family sold the club to Madrid businessman Raul Martin Prens, who acquired 98.6% of the shares. The new president also made loud statements about paying off debt to the players before the end of the season, if the players go to Example, then shifting the deadline until June 30.

On May 22, 2011, the club mathematically gained a place in the First Division, beating Sherry 3-0. Sandoval's team was again among the best clubs in Spain eight years later. It was their sixth exit in Example. However, the players still did not receive salaries, and all the terms for their payment were violated, which led to a protest on their part when the coach called them when they refused to start pre-season preparation on time.

The existence of the club in the summer of 2011 was threatened, and the new president of Raiistas decided to take advantage of the bankruptcy law .

However, despite financial troubles, Rayo spent the first season pretty well after returning to Example, except for the ending of the championship. For quite some time, the team from Vallecas walked in the middle of the table, and seemed to solve the problem of keeping a residence permit in the elite Spanish division. However, a failure at the end of the season, when the team won only once from 29 to the last round ( Osasuna 6-0) and lost all other matches with a goal difference of 6:30, led to the club falling almost to the relegation zone, and Raul Tamudo's goal, scored 93 minutes in the last round match against Granada , saved him from being downgraded in the Lightning class. The match ended with the victory of Rayo 1-0. That season, Micha showed excellent scorers (the one that will continue to threaten the Premier League clubs and will make his debut in the Spanish national team as a Swansea City player) and Diego Costa , rented from Atlético , together scored two more than 25 goals for the season.

At the end of the season, the Sandoval coach was dismissed from the club, and the little-known coach Paco Hemes was appointed. And Hemes managed to achieve with a team of unprecedented heights. By tradition, before the start of the season, Lightnings were recorded as the main contenders for the relegation, but the owners of Vallecas shamed the skeptics by taking the eighth place in the 2012/2013 season and did not get the right to play in the Europa League because the Royal Football Federation of Spain deprived the club of a for violations of financial fair play. The club management appealed, but permission was not obtained.

In the 2012/2013 season, Pete's attacking midfielder was the top scorer, scoring over 15 goals. Also known to Russian fans in the game for Rubin and Zenit , Alejandro Dominguez successfully spent this season at the club as a defender. His reliable game and the implementation of several major penalties in the games with Sevilla and Valencia contributed to the replenishment of the club’s points reserve and a high place at the end of the season. In the game against Valladolid , an amazing trick was completed by Jordi Amata, who was rented from Espanyol (he moved to Swansea City after the end of the season). Hitting his own goal first, he corrected himself after 50 seconds, scoring a direct ball with a shot from the center of the field, throwing the goalkeeper. However, the match was still won by Valladolid - 2: 1. It is worth noting that two heroes of the two-match confrontation and two more of its participants from the side of Valladolid in that season will continue to defend the colors of Rayo.

At that time, the future forward of Valladolid Bueno showed himself most clearly in the games of that season against Rayo, but, as time has shown, his transfer to Rayo in the next season was the right decision, because in the next season of Valladolid will fly out of La Liga, he will be followed by the heroes of those games Manush and Javi Guerra, as well as another Valladolid player, who is familiar to the Russian fan of Spartak performances, Patrick Ebbert, by the season 2014/2015 “on the beaten track”.

In the 2013/2014 season, the best scorers in the team were Albert Bueno and Joaquin Larrivay, who scored 10 goals each, the latter moved to Celta at the end of the season.

In the 2014/2015 season, Alberto Bueno was the first of all Spanish players to make poker in 15 minutes (4: 2 in the match against Levante ) and made it to the top five scorers of the season. Gael Kakuta, scored 6 goals and 7 assists. Both left the club after the season ended, moving to Porto and Seville , respectively.

Manush also significantly helped the team escape from relegation, he scored victory goals for Rayo in the games against Granada and Real Sociedad (1-0 - both away victories).

In early summer 2015, the club presented a form for the upcoming season. Three sets were presented: one home and two visiting. Одна из выездных была окрашена в «радужные» цвета ЛГБТ. Как сообщает официальный сайт клуба, подобный шаг направлен на недопущение «любой дискриминации».

Вследствие ярко выраженного атакующего футбола, команда не всегда умела играть дисциплинированно, иной раз показывала очень грубый футбол, заработав 7 удалений в 19 играх, в результате чего потерпела самое крупное поражение от мадридского « Реала », проиграв со счётом 10:2. Стоит отметить что к 11 минуте Райо выигрывали 2:1. А крест на команде поставил главный арбитр матча, удалив двух игроков на 14 и 28 минутах, тем самым позволив «Реалу» разбить соперника, что послужило вполне логичной причиной, отправившей клуб на время в зону вылета. Во втором круге команда могла взять реванш у «галактикос» и повела 2:0 уже в первые 20 минут, но всё равно проиграла 2:3. Несмотря на не самые хорошие результаты, в первом круге «Райо» показывал достойную, содержательную и симпатичную игру с лидерами и флагманами испанского футбола: против « Барселоны », некоторое время ведя в счёте, но проиграв 2:5; против « Атлетико », удерживая ничейный счёт до 88 минуты (2:0 итоговая победа «матрасников»); против « Севильи » и « Вильярреала » также пропустили решающие голы на 86 минуте (поражения 2:3 «Севилье» и 1:2 «Вильярреалу»).

Несмотря на место в зоне вылета, вдохновенный футбол в первом круге показывали лучший бомбардир команды по его итогам Хави Герра (9 голов) и Хосабед (4 гола), поражавший ворота «Барселоны» и «Реала». После первого круга в команду из « Гранады » вернулся лучший бомбардир «Райо» сезона 2012/2013 атакующий полузащитник Пити . Несколько важных голов в начале второго круга забил Мику. Несмотря на яркий атакующий футбол и победу в последнем туре над «Леванте», команда попрощалась с Ла Лигой на родном стадионе не скрывая эмоций и слез, под аплодисменты болельщиков. Пако Хемес ушёл после сезона тренировать «Гранаду».

Через два года «Райо» вернулся в Примеру ^[1] . Высокой результативностью отличался арендованный у мадридского «Реала» нападающий Рауль Де Томас .

В сезоне 2018/2019 команда завершила первый круг в довольно прогнозируемом положении в нижней части турнирной таблицы − в зоне вылета − тем не менее показывая в ряде игр яркий и зажигательный футбол. В составе команды по прежнему отмечался сильной игрой нападающий Рауль Де Томас, с которым руководство «Райо» смогло продлить аренду, несколько раз он забивал голы в ворота сильных и именитых соперников.

Также после серии неудачных результатов, был уволен тренер Мичел, выведший «Райо» в Примеру, руководство команды поблагодарило его за хорошие результаты и пожелало удачи в дальнейшем.

В целях спасения клуба в Примере 21 марта 2019 года на пресс конференции был официально представлен вернувшийся в команду и хорошо знакомый её болельщикам Пако Хемес, и это решение в некоторой мере смогло встряхнуть команду.

Под руководством Хемеса были одержаны домашние победы над «Валенсией» (2:0), что неожиданно прервало её длительную беспроигрышную серию, а также над мадридским «Реалом» 1:0.

Несмотря на эти яркие победы и сильную игру нападающего Рауля Де Томаса, забившего 15 мячей, по итогам сезона года команда заняла последнее место в Примере и в очередной раз понизилась до Сегунды .

«Райо Вальекано» играет свои домашние матчи на стадионе «Кампо де Вальекас» (Поле Вальекаса), вмещающем 15 500 зрителей. Нынешняя домашняя арена открыта 10 мая 1976 года, и изначально называлась «Нуэво Кампо де Вальекас». В январе 2004 года стадион был переименован в честь тогдашнего президента клуба и был назван «Тереса Риверо». В 2011 году арена получила своё нынешнее название.

На стадионе всего три трибуны, из которых две большие, и одна (фанатская) маленькая. За одними из ворот вместо трибун находится стена.

• Победитель Сегунды Б (2):

1984/1985, 2007/2008

По состоянию на 1 октября 2018 года. Source: Player List at transfermarkt.com

•   Хулен Лопетеги
•   Хуанде Рамос
•   Michel
•   Альфредо ди Стефано

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