In cosmopolitan Madrid, time seems to fly and people are always in a rush. Except in the working-class district of Vallecas, a little southeast of the city centre. It's the home of Rayo Vallecano, a club where the voice of the fans matters, and where time seems to stand still for ages.
Football club Rayo Vallecano is the complete opposite of everything the Spanish top teams are standing for. In a league where the big clubs shamelessly go further in debt by hundreds of millions, at Rayo other things matter. The club is the pride of Vallecas, a district of young communists, a real leftist bastion. How deep these values are anchored in the club became clear in 2017, when Rayo wanted to bring in a Ukrainian player - knowns for his far-right sympathies - on loan. The fans made themselves heard: Within 24 hours, the loan move was called off.
The Campo de Vallecas is by far the rawest stadium of the Spanish top flight, it's actually totally unsuitable for top football. It is held together with a band-aid and tape, it has got only 15,000 seats and behind one of the goals there has never been a stand in the first place. From the apartments behind the 5 meters high wall, you kind of have a free season ticket, and over the last decades, you could have seen the greatest players passing by without leaving your balcony. There were plans to relocate Rayo Vallecano, but in the end, few people really want to see this club move to a new stadium. If it's up to us, we can't imagine Rayo playing in another stadium.
There are many nice bars in close proximity to the stadium, especially on match days. On Avenida de la Albufera (also where the metro station is) you can find many of these bars right in front of the stadium.
On Calle Puerto del Monasterio you will find a run-down building with a garage on number 8. It's the place where Rayo Vallecano was founded in 1924. It was the house of Prudencia Priego, the mother of Julián Huerta Priego, who became the club's first chairman.
In the corner at the fan store, you find the portrait of Wilfred Agbonavbare, the Nigerian goalkeeper who during his spell at Rayo was selected for the World Cup of 1994. Agbonavbare died tragically in 2015 due to cancer, at only 48 years old. Afterwards, his image was created at the stadium. His grave in the small town of Meco, just outside Madrid, is still regularly visited by fans of Rayo.
Real Madrid has its Cibeles, Atlético Madrid its Neptuno. Rayo Vallecano has got the Fuente de la Asamblea, the fountain where traditionally the successes of the club are celebrated. The fountain is on the junction in front of Centro Comercial Madrid Sur, which turns into a real traffic jam when Rayo promotes once again.
Match tickets are usually easily bought on the official website of Rayo Vallecano. Compared to other teams in Spain, the tickets are quite affordable.
In Madrid, the easiest way to travel is by metro, and Vallecas is also best reached by underground. Especially Rayo Vallecano, which are perfect to reach with metro line 1, from the city center. From the central Puerta del Sol, it only takes you 15 minutes to arrive at station Portazgo, where the paintings on the wall already tell the story of where you have arrived.
Images: James Rajotte, Shutterstock, BSR Agency
