Rayo Vallecano and Dream of the Madrid Suburbs Team Towards the European Tournament

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Madrid - At first glance there is nothing strange about La Liga season 2022/2023. Two giant teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid remain in control of the top two temporary standings.

Real Sociedad who in the last few seasons appeared quite consistently, successfully finished third. Meanwhile, there is Atletico Madrid who has been known as a bully of the Barca and Madrid duopoly. Atletico sat in fourth position.

When looking at the team in fifth place in the La Liga standings this season, we can be a little surprised. There is Rayo Vallecano.

Rayo is a club from Vellacas, a region on the outskirts of Madrid. Rayo Vallecano as long as it's known as a team that deserves yo-yo.

They quite often play in the second level of the Spanish league. However, not uncommon Rayo Vallecano can also enliven competition in the highest caste.

Pursuing a European Dream

Rayo Vallecano sat sweetly in fifth place in the standings of La Liga 2022/2023. The team with the lightning logo collected 32 points from 20 bodyways.

They are only three points behind the neighbor, Atletico Madrid who is in fourth place. A position where the Spanish team has the right to compete in the Champions League next season.

The European dream seems to be in the minds of all players and fans of Rayo Vallecano. They really deserve to dream about it.

Especially after seeing their performance so far. Latest, Rayo won 2-0 at home to Almeria in the continuation of La Liga 2022/2023.

Quarterfinals

Playing in Europe is actually not a completely new experience for Rayo Vallecoano. They did it in the 2000/2001 season.

At that time, Rayo finished ninth in the final standings of La Liga 1999/2000. However, they are entitled to qualify for the UEFA Cup the following season through the play-off track.

Rayo's appearance at that time was very worthy of memory. They managed to advance up to the quarterfinals before being removed by fellow Spanish team, Deportivo Alaves.

Alaves then drove until the final. Unfortunately, they were defeated by Liverpool through a dramatic final in Dortmund.

The role of Andoni Iraola's Crusial

Rayo Vallecano gets a promotional ticket to La Liga in the summer of 2020. Shortly after promotion, Rayo took a bold step with manget Andoni Iraola as head coach.

Iraola was still 38 years old at the time. His training experience was only honed in Spain's lower level league.

However, the arrival of Iraola proved to be able to make changes. In his second season at Vellacas, he was able to bring Rayo to compete at the top.

Andoni Iraola is a legend of Athletic Bilbao. He played in the right-back position at the club almost throughout his career as a player.

Later, the name Andoni Iraola was associated with the English club, Leeds United. He is called being targeted to replace Jesse Marcsh.

Collective

Rayo Vallecano is not like his neighbors, Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid who have abundant money. They are a club with very limited funds.

Nevertheless, Rayo has a neat weapon called collectivity. Just look at the individual notes of player Rayo Vallecano this season.

The contents of Palazon who are their top scorer in La Liga this season have only scored five goals. Even so with Rayo's main attacker, Sergio Camello.

Even so, Rayo doesn't just rely on both to score. Other players like Florian Lejuene who is positioned as a central defender have even scored three goals this season.