“We began to believe it little by little”

Tonight, in a stadium in a working-class neighborhood in the south of Madrid, the Rayo Vallecano plays its first European semi-final. The first in a century of history. The only time he was close was in the UEFA Cup 2000/01 —what today would be the Europa League, a step above this Conference— and that trip ended in the quarterfinals, against the Alavés. Between that March and this April, several categories have passed and the same fans as always.

Julen Lopetegui was there. He kept the goal in the quarterfinals against the babazorros and in the round of 16 against Bordeauxand keeps in memory the contours of that adventure that he knew was unrepeatable. “I remember we had a very good year. Then they were all playoffs, there was no league, and we played in different countries, a team that had no experience whatsoeverto have played in an international competition ever.” The debut was in Andorra, in August, almost in a summer excursion format. Then the Norwegian Molde, Danish Viborg, Moscow Lokomotiv and Bordeaux Girondins. “From there we had a very nice path against different teams. We began to believe it little by little.”

The trip ended in the quarterfinals, against an Alavés that that year would reach the final of that UEFA to lose it against the Liverpool in a 5-4 that European football has not forgotten for decades. “A great Alavés eliminated us. We lived a very nice year in that aspect, also coexisting with a good league”. Time turns elimination into anecdote and anecdote into nostalgia.

Lopetegui speaks from a literal distance. Today he directs the Qatar national team, which he qualified for the 2026 World Cup. “All of us who are fond of and love that club, of course we would like to be there, but it won’t be possible in my case, and from a distance We will be pushing for Rayito to be in that historic final“. The analysis he makes of the current Rayo is that of someone who knows its seams: “Rayo’s merit in recent years has been very great. It has maintained a very similar sports structure at the player level, with very adapted to the demands of coaches that they have had, and that has really optimized the performance of the squad.

Lopetegui knows it because he lived it. In Vallecas, loyalty is not an abstract virtue but a neighborhood custom, the same one that took people to the twelve o’clock games with the sandwich wrapped in aluminum foil and the pots of stew to distribute at halftime. “The Rayo fan, if anything, is absolutely faithful, loyal, through good times, through bad times, in first, second and Second B. Those of us who have been in that club know that it is something unique, difficult to beat”. A subscription in Vallecas costs money that is sometimes missing. And it is renewed the same.

The Rayo fan, if anything, is absolutely faithful, loyal, through good times, through bad times, in first, second and Second B.

Lopetegui

Regarding the semifinal, Lopetegui is cautious with his words and precise with his analysis. “Surely the small details are going to decide the pass to that final, and I think that both teams have more than enough arguments to put their rival in trouble.” The team’s latest results also come into play: “This victory will give him some peace of mind to face this semi-final fully focused”. Lopetegui will follow him from Qatar, where he is preparing his team for the 2026 World Cup, far from the Albufera avenue but not completely. “I hope it’s Lightning”he adds. In 2001 it couldn’t be. This time there is a final at the end of the road, and in Vallecas they have been learning for a century not to let go of the things that matter.