Skip to main content

The hiring and firing in Rayo's managerial department (4th April, 2017)

Going from having one manager for four seasons to having three just this season, I thought, to feel good amidst the institutional chaos to detail the times Rayo have had more than three managers at the helm.

The first was in the 1995-96 season, when Rayo Vallecano were promoted to the top flight in 1995. This was the season they were jokingly called "Rayo gaditano", as four of Rayo's players (and starters) were from Cádiz: Jose González, Calderón, Barla and Cortijo. Additionally, the interim coach between Zabalza and Marcos Alonso on matchday 8, Francisco Baena, was from there too.

Zabalza had taken over at the start of the season, but was sacked after just seven games - having picked up just one win (3-2 at home against Valencia), and with Rayo at the foot of the table. Baena's game in charge was a 2-2 draw at Tenerife.

But it was Marcos Alonso (aka Marcos), the father of current Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso, who steered the ship. In his first ever managerial experience, and at the age of just 36, Marcos took Rayo to as high as 14th in the league, as well as a famous 2-1 win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu, a game that led to institutional chaos and the sacking of Jorge Valdano. Moreover, Rayo went on to win three games in a row in a very similar way as Paco did in the 2013-14 season. A 2-1 win at Albacete, a 2-0 home win against Real Sociedad, followed by a 2-1 win at Racing Santander. Before what was the 30th jornada they were 19th, and by the 32nd Rayo were 14th.

But a seven game winless run followed, Marcos was sacked, and Fernando Zambrano came in with Rayo 21st in the table. Miraculously, Zambrano led Rayo to two wins from the last three games, which led to a relegation playoff against Mallorca, decided by an 81st minute winner by Onésimo at a packed Vallekas stadium.

The second time there were four managers was during the 2002-03 season. It was strange for a number of reasons - Rayo were relegated, having come last with just seven wins, and yet had won against 4th place Celta (twice), 6th placed Barcelona, 8th placed Betis and 11th placed Osasuna. It was strange because the top scorer was  Julio Álvarez with eight goals - a midfielder, it must be noted.

It was also strange, of course, for having four different managers.

Fernando Vázquez took over and lasted 18 jornadas before being sacked, having left Rayo in 18th place with five wins - those five wins being against Racing Santander, Celta, Barcelona, Betis and Osasuna. Caretaker duties then fell on José Luis Martín, whose sole game in charge was a 2-1 loss at Recreativo. Gustavo Benítez then took over the reigns for ten games (two wins), followed by Antonio Iriondo for nine (winless), but Rayo never really challenged for safety.

And the very next season, there would be another four managerial spells. Julen Lopetegui would take charge for 10 games, but with just two wins his first managerial experience was over within a couple of months, after which he would leave managing for a while to work as a commentator. Caretaker duties once again fell on José Luis Martín, whose sole game in charge, once again, was a 2-1 loss - this time at Tenerife.

Jorge D'Alessandro would take the reins and initial signs were promising - Rayo won their first three (yes, consecutive) games under his wing - 2-1 wins against Sporting de Gijón, Almería and Málaga B - which took Rayo from 21st to 14th. But two wins from the next 10 game meant that Rayo were in 19th, back in the drop zone, and a new manager was predictably on his way. José Francisco 'Txetxu' Rojo oversaw the final 18 games, and while four wins in that period meant that Rayo still had a slim shot at survival on the final day, a 2-1 loss at Vallekas against Las Palmas meant that both teams on the field were going down. And - because of how other results went - a win wouldn't have changed anything anyway.

What followed were four long, dark seasons in the Segunda B....

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Non-league Incider: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers

Last game: 8th August: Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 East Thurrock United The previous day, I was blown away by my first ever football match experience. Dulwich Hamlet impressed me, but what impressed me more was the journey. The travel to the stadium was just as enjoyable as the football itself. I had caught the groundhopping bug. There were no games scheduled for the 9th of August. There was one, near Wigan, and all I had booked earlier was a refundable bus ticket from Manchester Airport leaving at quarter past midnight. I should have refunded it. This was a mistake. This whole day was a mistake. I was only slightly hungover from the previous night, but that was nothing compared to this feeling of loss - I couldn't handle the fact that there was a game happening. And I wasn't too far away. Just three hours and a bit. They'll fly by , I thought. I was in autopilot. Something within me made me get up, grab a bag, and get out the door. This wasn't me. I wasn't trave

Non-league Incider: Cray Valley Paper Mills 4-4 Punjab United Gravesend

Last game: 9th August: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers After ripping up my groundhopping calendar, mostly because I was determined to avoid overnight travel, and partly due to other commitments, there was a period of time where non-league football took a backseat. But that period did not last long. Because of course it didn't. Secretly, I'd loved travelling over ten hours back-and-forth to watch some 10th division football. And this was 9th division football in London. When I had gone to East Dulwich exactly a week back , I had commented on how the amount of graffiti struck me as I watched from on board a southeastern train. I was going the exact same way, but much further this time - then I had stopped at Denmark Hill, now I would have to go six stations further. The graffiti I had thought was so emblematic of south London quickly disappeared, as did the tall buildings desperately cluttered together. We, and by we I mean me, were going to the suburb

Who is Raúl Martín Presa, the Mickey Mouse? Part 1. (20th August, 2017)

José María Ruiz-Mateos was the head and main shareholder of Nueva Rumasa - the company that owned Rayo and other companies - mainly specializing in dairy products. (He wasn't the president of Rayo though - his wife, Teresa Rivero, was Rayo's president). In early 2011, the directors announced a debt of over 700 million euros, that it was on the verge of bankruptcy and that staff wouldn't be paid. And the players were visibly angry about it - captain Míchel assured the press that the club would continue fighting on the pitch, but the day after the announcement was made, six key players didn’t attend training. Veteran midfielder José María Movilla spoke on radio station SER about the situation, about the fact that he had only received seven of the last eighteen months of pay, about the fact that there were a few players who couldn't even afford car repairs. When Rayo Vallecano were about to earn promotion to La Liga despite all the odds - the players not being paid,