{"id":1231003,"date":"2021-10-28T18:04:43","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T17:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1231003"},"modified":"2021-10-28T18:09:28","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T17:09:28","slug":"radamel-falcao-rayo-vallecano-la-liga-return","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/radamel-falcao-rayo-vallecano-la-liga-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Radamel Falcao: Back in La Liga and putting Vallecas\u2019 fizzing reputation on the map"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Madrid suburb of Vallecas has long been a working-class neighbourhood in a cosmopolitan city.<\/strong><\/p>\n

An eyesore to General Franco\u2019s nationalist vision, a knot of staunch resistance at the heart of Spain\u2019s sprawling metropolis; it\u2019s a place that\u2019s largely been left to fend for itself, through times of economic neglect from a government that despised its very existence. A slum for the migrant workers, a shelter for the poor, it\u2019s only the struggle of its people \u2013 keen protestors for their civil rights and unrelenting in their quest for social change \u2013 that has brought this battered barrio<\/em> somewhat up to date.<\/p>\n

Yet, while the skyscrapers of the big city still tower over the casas bajas<\/em> (low houses) of one of its most impoverished neighbourhoods, Vallecas has never been a place to wallow in the shadows. Instead, a vibrant multiculturalism and an unfaltering togetherness drives it onwards, helping to forge the intense cluster of rebelliousness that has become synonymous with its name. Vallekas, with a k, embodies a gritty counter-culture, and its football club, Rayo Vallecano, bears that insurgent identity square on its shoulders.<\/p>\n

The famous red stripe, the raucous ultras, the high-rise flats bearing down over the pitch \u2013 Rayo are widely lauded as the last of the neighbourhood clubs in Spain. Yet for all the ideological conviction in the stands, recent years have presented numerous identity crises from the top down. Stadium issues, ticketing disasters and money mismanagement have sparked Los Bukaneros<\/em> (the club\u2019s famous fan group) into never-ending protest, but political tensions between supporters and Rayo\u2019s controversial president, Ra\u00fal Mart\u00edn Presa, have since reached tipping point.<\/p>\n\n

It perhaps culminated when the business tycoon invited two prominent far-right politicians to watch a behind-closed-doors game at the Estadio de Vallecas last season \u2013 after which, thousands arrived at the stadium in hazmat suits to \u201cdisinfect\u201d the ground \u2013 and as a result, large sections of the club\u2019s fervent support have boycotted match attendance this season.<\/p>\n

And so, even while the club (by far the smallest, poorest and statistically weakest in Spain\u2019s top-flight) bask in the glory of an unprecedented start to the campaign, there does seem to be something slightly awkward about the euphoria \u2013 something slightly less vociferous, at least \u2013 as footballing fairytales and deep-rooted political unrest continue to uncomfortably coexist.<\/p>\n

From a neutral, external perspective though, it\u2019s difficult not to feel some sort of affection towards Rayo Vallecano. Defying expectations and tearing up scripts \u2013 only promoted to La Liga last season after finishing sixth in Segunda Divisi\u00f3n and overturning a 2-1 deficit in the play-off final \u2013 it seems as if the football club is gripped with the same spirit that drives Vallecas itself.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve always delighted with their fearlessness \u2013 famously suffering relegation in 2015-16 with an entertaining 52 goals scored and 73 goals conceded \u2013 but there seems to be real substance to Rayo\u2019s footballing audacity this time around; spearheaded, unbelievably, by the biggest name that this neighbourhood has ever seen.<\/p>\n

With over 220 career goals, 70 of those in two blistering seasons that probably still have La Liga defenders tossing and turning in their sleep, players like Radamel Falcao simply don\u2019t play for clubs like Rayo Vallecano. Yet somehow, somewhere amongst the political and administrative chaos, the Colombian slipped through the door. A global superstar at a local club, El Tigre<\/em> \u2013 THE Radamel Falcao \u2013 wearing the red stripe of Rayo on his chest will probably have most at the club rubbing their eyes in disbelief for at least a few more months.<\/p>\n

\n

Radamel Falcao has scored his first La Liga goal since May 2013 against Barcelona. <\/p>\n

Back in Spain and back in the goals. \u26bd pic.twitter.com\/TcR4PqoLHV<\/a><\/p>\n

— Squawka (@Squawka) September 18, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n