It was a move made by the LFP (Liga de Futbol Profesional) a couple months ago that outlined a new schedule that would see a Segunda Division match played on Friday night while the Primera Division would get their own version of Monday Night Futbol.
This was not an entirely new experiement as Monday night games were part of the Spanish schedule as recently as the mid to late 90s. I can clearly recall from my days of study abroad watching a couple tantalizing Monday night affairs, including a pulsating 1-1 draw between Betis and Real Madrid at the Villamarin.
Fast forward about a dozen years and in an effort to receive more television revenue, the weekend schedule has been expanded out to help bookend Saturday and Sunday. One of those Friday matches will be played today in the southern part of Madrid, also known as Vallecas, between Rayo Vallecano and Castellon. As chronicled here before, Rayo has a loyal fan base that can be often radical, if not militant.
Well, a group of supporters called Los Bukaneros have decided enough is enough with the LFP trying to maximize revenues and they have announced that they will strike and not attend Friday's match. The group makes up a decent chunk of the Estadio Teresa Rivero so it is sure to stand out should TV cameras elect to pan around the stadium.
The far left-leaning group actually has a point. To change up the schedule so that a league match now falls on a weeknight, or rather a work night, instead of a weekend is a bit unfair and these supporters are taking it personally. Essentially, their voice is that they refuse to be pawns in some sort of larger game between the LFP and media conglomerates who pay to broadcast the matches. Their further claim is that there is a widening gap between the fan and the game of futbol and they won't have any more of it.
It's interesting that this surfaces in the wake of the recent firing of coach Pepe Mel. The very popular head man had helped Rayo climb out of the Segunda B and back to El Infierno during the 2007-2008 season. Rayo even made a charge at gaining promotion to the Primera, a place they occupied ironically back in the mid to late 90s when Monday Night Futbol was still around.
Anyhow, the saddened words of Pepe Mel truly showed his love for Rayo but that perhaps he had lost the locker room. They are now in 10th with 32 points and much closer to being relegated than earning promotion. Picking up four pints in their last eight matches made the decision a bit easier for club officials.
It's a shame that it came to this because you'd like to see 'a member of the family' like Mel bring a club back to its greatness but alas, it was not meant to be.
Only one word can be used to descrivbe last week's Quiniela - Atrocious. The rash of upsets including Girona beating Real Sociedad and Cartagena and Hercules tying castellon and Cadiz respectively were never seen coming. I've I had taken the opposite picks, it would have been a winner!
Huesca - R. Sociedad 2
Numancia - Gimnástic X
Salamanca - Murcia 1
Levante - Las Palmas 1
Córdoba - Elche 2
Hércules - Celta 1
Recreativo - Cádiz X
Albacete - Villarreal B X
Cartagena - Betis 1
Rayo - Castellón 1
Real Unión - Girona X
Clasificacion:
1 Hércules - 48
2 R. Sociedad - 47
3 Cartagena - 44
4 Levante - 40
5 Numancia - 39
6 Villarreal B - 37
7 Betis - 36
8 Elche - 35
9 Gimnástic - 35
10 Rayo - 32
11 Huesca - 32
12 Córdoba - 32
13 Salamanca - 31
14 Recreativo - 30
15 Las Palmas - 29
16 Celta - 29
17 Girona - 29
18 Albacete - 28
19 Murcia - 26
20 Cádiz - 25
21 Real Unión - 24
22 Castellón - 21
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