During my time in Madrid so far, it has consisted of Real Madrid, Real Madrid and some more Real Madrid. But in Madrid, there are actually FOUR first-tier professional clubs and one of them is Rayo Vallecano. This team is special because their stadium is basically the complete opposite of Real Madrid’s. It doesn’t have a stand on one side of the goal, it’s much much much smaller, it doesn’t have the crazy technologies that the Bernabeu has and you can’t even buy tickets online. And as a football content creator outside of my time at university, I knew I had to go and explore what a matchday feels like at Rayo Vallecano’s Vallecas stadium.
And here are my honest thoughts – first of all, we were SO close to the pitch. Although the Bernabeu is made so wherever you’re sat, you feel close to the action. But because we somehow got Row 1 tickets, we were literally sat right behind the bench which was just made of a see-through plastic thing so we could practically talk to the players. This was insane – something that would not happen at so many top-tier football clubs worldwide.
Secondly, I found the atmosphere to be incredible. The fans in the ultra stand didn’t make noise until the 12th minute – I heard this was because they wanted to show that they are the 12th man. Another really cool feature of the club.
Thirdly, it’s true that the infrastructure isn’t the best. The corridors and the concourse is really dark and dimly lit – and there was bird poop absolutely everywhere for some reason. That being said, I love old stadiums and football clubs that hold onto their heritage and tradition. So fair play to Rayo Vallecano who even in this day and age, sticks to their roots and doesn’t let anything change the way they run things.
If you’re in Madrid, it’s 100% worth it to check out this stadium and football club!