There are nights that a neighborhood waits a lifetime. Today in Leipzig is one of them. He Rayo Vallecano plays its first final tonight in more than a hundred years of history, against the Crystal Palacein a Red Bull Arena that will sport more than 11,000 stripes in the stands. There are barely less than a thousand tickets left to be sold on the Rayista side. A number that speaks of the mobilization of a neighborhood that has gotten as far as it could: by charter, by bus, by caravan, with stops through Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Frankfurt or Erfurt. Any combination that left someone within a reasonable radius of Germany would do. Vallecas had never been so far from home. Not even close to something like that.
Tonight also closes a cycle of love for the Strip. Óscar Trejo plays his last game wearing the Rayo shirt after ten years in Vallecas, a decade in which he has been much more than a mere footballer. In the previous press conference, the Argentine chose the right words for the moment: “A group of friends today will be lucky enough to play in a final. It will be magical.” Few sentences better summarize what this team is. A group of friends in communion with their people who today seek to plant their flag, that of the best neighborhood on the continent, in Europe.
Iñigo: “We have to play like we played when we were children”
The numbers place Rayo as the team with the smallest budget and least investment in transfers of the four semifinalists. Crystal Palace practically quintuples the value of its squad. Iñigo Pérez, however, put aside any victim-oriented or marketing-oriented reading of the party in the previous press conference. He recognized the similarity in styles between both teams—two organized, direct blocks, without giving up anything—and ruled out talking about excuses or prefabricated stories. Rayo has gotten this far playing excellent football, not telling stories. But tonight he wants to tell his story, which so far has been like a movie.
In the stands of the Red Bull Arena there will be familiar faces beyond the fans. The presence of Alexander Ceferinwho will present the trophy, along with Rafael Louzanpresident of the Spanish Football Federation, and Javier Tebasfrom LaLiga. Also the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeidaand the minister Felix Bolañosa self-confessed Rayo fan.
Metro Portazgo with the sign: “Vamos Rayo”
In Vallecasthose who stay will see it in the stadium, where the Community of Madrid has installed three giant screens. Tickets, at five euros, have been steadily selling out since the box office opened on Monday. There will be those who see it in the Albufera, in Entrevías, El Pozo, Villa or in the Ensanche. But they will all be part of a neighborhood with the same heartbeat. Tonight, Rayo Vallecano has a date with something it had never imagined it would have before. Three generations of rayismo united by the same dream that was born in Andorra with the UEFA of 2000/01 and will lead to Leipzig, 26 years later.