Passion, pace and Pérez: The inside track on Rayo with Sid Lowe

Sid Lowe has covered Spanish football for well over two decades for a variety of publications, most notably the Guardian as their Spanish football correspondent and ESPN. His 2012 book, Fear and Loathing in La Liga, was nominated for for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year the following year.

Lowe has covered Rayo Vallecano's journey to the Conference League Final, the first major final in their history.

We spoke to Sid about what the match means to Vallecano's supporters, who Palace may need to watch out for on Wednesday, and more.

When introducing the Conference League, UEFA said it's purpose would be to provide more clubs with the ability to participate in European competition.

The fifth final in the tournament's history is perhaps the best example of this working in action.

Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano are both competing in their first European final. But what's even more remarkable is that this season marked the first time both clubs had qualified for European competition through sporting merit.

For the Eagles of course, our only previous experience of continental football was the 1998 Intertoto Cup. Clubs earned entry to the summer-long tournament through application rather than merit.

It's a similar story for Rayo. Their only previous European adventure saw them reach the quarter-finals of the 2000/01 UEFA Cup, but they qualified as beneficiaries of UEFA's old fair play draw, which saw Spain receive a bonus European berth.

Ultimately their run was ended by fellow La Liga club Alaves, who would go on to reach the final and lose 5-4 to Liverpool.

Last season saw Los Franjirrojos (The Red Sashes) qualify through a remarkable in itself 8th place finish Spain's top-flight.

Now they find themselves in their first major cup final.

"The first thing to say is that Rayo Vallecano being in a European Final is a miracle," says Lowe. "This is the club with the poorest facilities, one of the smallest stadiums and one of the lowest budgets in Spain.

"In a lot of ways they are the smallest club [in La Liga]."

However, whilst they might not be comparable to city neighbours Real Madrid or Atlético Madrid, Rayo will be backed by a frenzied support.

"They're very conscious of their sense of the representation," Lowe explains. "Not of the city, but of a particular neighbourhood in Spain.

"This is very consciously working class area, left-wing, high levels of immigration. That bring their self-identity of battling for social causes.

"There's a very, very conscious left-wing sense of their importance as a club. The fans don't really like the ownership of the club and they're very outspoken about that.

"Throughout their entire history they've built an identity around being the underdog and fighting the system so to speak."

Rayo are coached by former Bilbao player Iñigo Pérez. The 38-year-old first moved to Rayo after he retired from playing in 2022.

He joined a certain Andoni Iraola, the now Bournemouth manager was back then in charge of Rayo. Coincidentally Iraola also had a spell coaching AEK Larnaca, another of Palace's opponents in this Conference League run.

Pérez would have joined Iraola at Bournemouth, only for the move to collapse due to a work permit issue. He instead stayed at Rayo and would eventually take over as manager in 2024.

2025/26 has ultimately proved a huge success for Pérez and Vallecano. As well as reaching a European Final, they have also pushed up a congested La Liga table in recent weeks, after having spent much of the year with concerns over relegation.

With one game to play they sit 8th in the table and could still finish as high as 7th. Pérez has stepped out of Iraola's shadow to prove himself as a top manager.

So can Palace expect a similar tactical approach from to the one implemented by Bournemouth this season?

"I think they're a bit more pragmatic than they used to be," said Lowe. "They're a team that don't necessarily want a huge amount of the ball to play with.

"But that doesn't make them defensive, they'll be front footed. The two Rayo wingers are really important for them. They have had some difficulties this year, certainly in recent weeks, in scoring. They don't score as many as the chances created suggests they should.

"They've actually started to overcome that problem recently, because the Brazilian forward Alemão has started scoring [he scored both goals in the semi-final win over Strasbourg].

"One of the nice things about them – and this was true when Iraola was in charge and is still true now with Iñigo – is that they don't do the obvious small club of just being defensive.

"They will try and play. So it could be quite a fun Final. Both sets of supporters are passionate and have a few similarities."

For those who haven't seen Rayo so far this season, there are a few danger men who the Eagles will have to be wary of on Wednesday.

"I'd say the most talented player is Isi Palazón. He used to be the winger, but he now plays at number ten. He's the one that does things that are more subtle and makes things happen for the team. He's great to watch.

"I'm not sure how will they do it. But chances are they play Jorge de Frutos and Álvaro García.

"Garcia is about the fastest player in Spain. He sits on the left wing and bombs up and down the wing. De Frutos made the Spain squad in the March international meet-up and he is actually the Spain international to have come from the smallest town.

"He's from a village called Navares de Enmedio** which has about 90 people."

One former Premier League Rayo do have in their ranks is Florian Lejeune, formerly of Newcastle United.

"I think Lejeune has been brilliant for them. He never misses a game.

"He's a defender but he'll shoot from anywhere and it's almost become a bit of a running joke... wherever he is on the pitch, he'll have a shot. Even if he's 500 yards out, he'll go for it."

While most of the Palace players can call upon last year's FA Cup triumph and a handful have previously played in European Finals, the vast majority of Rayo's squad have yet to play in such an occasion.

Even knocking out Strasbourg was considered a monumental achievement.

But if they won the trophy it would be an upset to rival Porto's Champions League triumph in 2004, or Olympiacos winning this competition in 2024.

"Without a doubt it's the biggest game in their history, by miles," Lowe adds. "It's the first time they've qualified for Europe on their own merits.

"And for so much of this season they've struggled in the league and it looked like they might be in trouble of going down.

"The manager previously said they'd prioritise staying up over Europe, but I don't think anyone bought that. It's a miracle they've made it to this stage and to win it would be a genuinely incredible achievement."

2026 UEFA Conference League Final

Crystal Palace v Rayo Vallecano

• Wednesday, 27th May
• 20:00 BST UK time / 21:00 CEST local time
• Leipzig Stadium, Germany
• Live audio commentary on Palace TV+
• Visit our Conference League Final Hub