Rayo Vallecano will play the first European final in their 102-year history on Wednesday against Crystal Palace in the Conference League. The Madrid club's run has been built on an underdog mentality rooted in their working-class district of Vallecas.
The club's identity is inseparable from the barrio, a self-styled People's Republic of Vallekas with a strong left-wing, working-class culture. Captain Óscar Trejo, who handed in the armband in solidarity with club workers, described Rayo as "love, humility, toil". Striker Sergio Camello called them "the last team from another time".
Rayo's small scale is reflected in their resources: the lowest budget and smallest ground in La Liga. They have only played in Europe once before, via a Fair Play draw they did not attend; when they qualified, they were in administration. Only three squad members have won a European trophy, and three players have 24 relegations between them.
The run has been marked by humble scenes. A video by Lech Poznan's kitman showed Rayo's sparse dressing room. Players park on the street, and a photo circulated of two stars eating kebabs in their kit. Coach Iñigo Pérez was once denied a UK work permit as a Bournemouth assistant.
For Trejo, 38, Wednesday will be his last game for the club. He said: "We're like kids gifted a toy: desperate to open it, to play, enjoy it." The final is an improbable climax for a team transformed, in the midfielder's words, from "little Rayo" to "Rayo fucking Vallecano".
