Working class Rayo Vallecano defy the odds to contest Crystal Palace in first European final

25 May 2026, 15:04 · CNA · Join

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - UEFA Conference League - Semi Final - Second Leg - RC Strasbourg v Rayo Vallecano - Stade de la Meinau, Strasbourg, France - May 7, 2026 Rayo Vallecano players walk onto the pitch before the match REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/ File Photo

Soccer Football - UEFA Conference League - Crystal Palace Media Open Day - Crystal Palace FC Training Ground, London, Britain - May 21, 2026 Crystal Palace players during training Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs

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MADRID, May 25 : "Twenty-five years on, Europe will see us again," read the banner at Rayo Vallecano's tiny, concrete cauldron a year ago, as fans poured on to the pitch at the Estadio de Vallecas to celebrate the club's return to continental football.

What even the most romantic believers at this working-class club on the outskirts of Madrid might not have imagined was that 12 months later, Rayo are preparing for their first European final.

They face Premier League side Crystal Palace in the Conference League final in Leipzig on Wednesday.

For Rayo, it is not just a football match. It is a vindication of their insistence on doing things their own way.

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Their supporters like to call themselves "different", the last of the 'barrio' teams - not just in the neighbourhood, but of it.

Once a separate municipality before being absorbed by Madrid in 1950, it remains a consciously working-class district where blocks of flats huddle around the 14,700-capacity stadium, with washing hanging across neighbouring narrow streets.

That intimacy has often turned to anger during a season in which Rayo's players, staff and supporters have all clashed with owner Raul Martin Presa.

In February, Rayo were forced to play local rivals Atletico Madrid at Leganes' Butarque stadium after LaLiga ruled the Vallecas pitch unplayable. The fixture was relocated and Spanish police barred ticket sales for security reasons with the attendance being limited to season-ticket holders.

The club's ultras group, Los Bukaneros, urged a boycott, and only a little more than 5,000 supporters attended. Those who did made their feelings clear, first outside the ground and then inside it.

Rayo won 3-0, but after each goal the soundtrack was not celebration. It was a unified chant of "Presa: leave now!"

Rayo's players and coaching staff have complained of "obsolete infrastructure" at both the Estadio de Vallecas and the training ground, saying the latter had been unusable for months in pre-season.

They also described "deficient conditions, worsening as the season progressed" at their home ground, including a lack of hot water on some days and inadequate cleaning of the changing room.

Presa has not commented publicly on the complaints.

Yet in spite of the unrest, Rayo have kept climbing. Thanks to the resilience of their players and the work of manager Inigo Perez, the club now stand one victory from a European trophy.

Two goals in each leg of the semi-finals from Brazilian striker Alemao helped Rayo earn successive 1-0 victories against Strasbourg to reach the Conference League final, as they bid to become the first Spanish team to win the competition after Real Betis lost in the final last year.

Palace arrive with their own sense of history.

In their first European campaign, and after dropping from the Europa League to the Conference League because of UEFA regulations, Palace have navigated a long, uneven but ultimately brilliant run to the final.

Ismaila Sarr has been their leading figure in Europe, scoring in the second leg of the round of 16, both quarter-final matches and both semi-finals. His nine goals have put Palace at the top of the tournament's scoring charts.

However, Palace will be anxious about the fitness of U.S. defender Chris Richards and playmaker Adam Wharton, with both influential players nursing ankle complaints in the past week.

Palace finished well outside the European places in the Premier League, but victory in Leipzig would deliver both a trophy and a place in next season's Europa League.

Working class Rayo Vallecano defy the odds to contest Crystal Palace in first European final

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