MADRID, Spain — “Sometimes you think: ‘bloody hell, how are we where we are with what we have?'” In a line, Alvaro Garcia, the joint-fastest player in LaLiga last season, sums it up. On Wednesday, Rayo Vallecano go to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid. They could not be more different. It’s not just the budgets — the visitors’ is 18 times smaller — it is everything, their entire worlds. And it is not just Madrid either; it is everyone. Familiarity makes you forget it sometimes, success does too, and theirs is extraordinary, but Rayo are unique. They’re not like anybody else.
They’re more fun, for a start.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
Look at it logically and Rayo shouldn’t be here, but few explain better how they do it than left winger Garcia. This is the man whose manager consults him on elements of the game and says has the vision, intelligence and awareness to become a coach one day too — even if Garcia is not sure he agrees.
“Assistant, maybe,” Garcia says, laughing. In fact, there’s a reason why it’s Garcia sitting in the club canteen this morning: precisely because, when ESPN goes looking for an explanation on Rayo’s journey, a member of staff confides he is the man to talk to, the one who understands the game best. He has also seen football from the other side, going from the regional league to the edge of Europe with a unique club.
