Rayo Vallecano take pride from the barrio into their fight for place in history

Madrid’s third club thrive on underdog mentality and still play in the daring style of former coach Andoni Iraola

“Rayo Vallecano is love, humility, toil,” says Óscar Trejo, the captain who handed in the armband in solidarity with workers at the club.

The striker Sergio Camello calls them “the last team from another time, special for what they fight for and what they fight against”. And, Álvaro García agrees, this could be the best, unlikeliest story ever told: the winger, 5ft 5in and lightning like the bolt across their shirt, Rayo’s all-time top scorer on 36 first division goals, has lived relegation and promotion but nothing like this. None of them have. “We’ve transformed from Rayito [little Rayo], to el puto Rayo [Rayo fucking Vallecano],” says Óscar Valentín, the midfielder leading them out in Leipzig. “People always saw us as the small club that couldn’t.”