“You must visit the Museo de Arte Reina Sofia,” insists the Madrid barman whose three-year period living in England has given him a Hector Bellerin-esque accent. “And also, tourists always love El Retiro Park.”
Both sound fantastic, although I have already planned my weekend. For the first time ever, all four Madrid clubs — Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Rayo Vallecano and Getafe — have home La LigaGames on the same weekend. It’s a good match: there are two games on Saturday and two on Sunday. No need to make frantic trips across town.
For us part-time groundhoppers, this could be a unique opportunity and I’ve convinced two friends it’s a worthwhile experience. One friend has said he wants a club shirt. The other one wants to win four Madrid matches.
The barman doesn’t appear to have any interest in football, so I don’t bother telling him the plan, almost out of embarrassment. To many, spending a weekend like this in one of Europe’s most culturally rich cities would be an awful waste, but this is a perfectly legitimate way of experiencing the true Madrid — four grounds in four vastly different states, in four vastly different areas, with four vastly different types of fans. Vamos.
The first stop is the rather unglamorous Estadio de Vallecas, in the east of the city, for Rayo Vallecano de Madrid’s Saturday lunchtime kick-off against Valencia. Rayo are a proud working-class club in one of Madrid’s poorer neighbourhoods, with a well-earned reputation for the best atmosphere in the capital.
When you watch Rayo on television, you see the white shirts with a red sash and think of River Plate, although when you make your way through the city to Vallecas, you see the shirts and think of Madrid’s taxis, which — entirely coincidentally — carry the same design. River and the shirts are a tribute to River. They had a brief working relationship in 1950s. However, taxis switched to this design in early 1980s.
Rayo’s shirts are a nod to Argentina side River Plate (Photo: Ruben de la Fuente Perez/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Vallecas is a shambles. It’s adjacent to some abandoned, overgrown futsal pitches and is most famous for having only three sides — the fourth, behind the goal, simply backs onto a couple of apartment blocks.
Rayo is a small-time club by top-flight standards. Online ticket purchase is not possible. Seventh-tier English clubs are not easy to crack. Instead, we arrive an hour early and wait in a queue for 40 minutes at the ticket booths. That’s 40 minutes that could have been spent in the club shop.
But the club shop is smaller and more compact than my local newsagent. Most of the floor space is made up of empty cardboard boxes. Rayo have a very distinct brand — they’re vaguely the Spanish equivalent of St Pauli, although they have made absolutely no similar attempt to exploit their image in terms of merchandise. The shop closes just before kick-off. Few fans are in official Rayo shirts, although I see a couple of supporters wearing black t-shirts depicting Eric Cantona’s infamous karate kick on a Crystal Palace fan in 1995 with the slogan “anti-racist”.
Rayo does not play beautifully but is known for its energy and aggression. It was enough to beat Valencia by 2-1. This gives us a boost in our chances of winning four Madrid matches. Rayo is quick to regain possession of the ball after Valencia attempts to pass it from defense into midfield. They hit set pieces at the near post and both goals were scored. They’re roared on by brilliant home support — the chants always originating from the lone man with megaphone behind the one “end”, then replicated by the supporters along the sides — and, seemingly, the lone fan perched on a balcony in the apartment block behind the other “end”.
Rayo’s solitary fan (top right) watches from above the empty “end”
Midway through the second period, Rayo’s Radamel Falcao is brought on. Shortly after, during a brief stoppage of play, a young fan ran onto the pitch to request the Colombian striker sign his shirt. He was granted his wish and then hopped back over the barrier without any censures from the stewards. This is Rayo at his best.
Classic Rayo’s club shop remains closed even after regular hours. We failed to find a shirt on all four grounds.
When the metro takes you up to Atletico Madeira and the north east, there are no such issues. Print-at-home tickets are easy to buy online for a reasonable price of €40 (£35). Bizarrely, the tickets proudly state that the Metropolitano is home to “the biggest Atleti store in the world”, as if there would be much competition from elsewhere.
It is amazing to see the contrast between Vallecas’s Metropolitano. The Metropolitano has hosted the 2019 UNESCO World Heritage Games. Champions LeagueIt is modern and final. It still looks more like a computer-designed future stadium than a real-life one from the outside. The inside is enormous, and more like a national stadium rather than a club stadium. There isn’t a bad seat in the house, although 25 per cent of those seats remain unfilled. Fans file into the ground to the sound of minimalist ambient music, the type you’d expect in a luxury hotel.
Atletico’s Metropolitano stadium hosted the Champions League final in 2019 (Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/UEFA via Getty Images)
The clientele is different — a few more tourists and many more families — without losing the sense that Atletico is a proper local club with passionate fans. I was seated next to a woman who alternates feeding her infant and standing up to sing, which is the essence of Atletico’s vibe.
Atletico defeat Celta Vigo 4-1 but are largely terrible. They create few chances — their four goals come from 0.7 expected goals (xG) — and depend on two huge deflections. The only thing they do well is switching the play around Celta’s narrow press, and, in fairness, their other two goals are excellent — first, a swift passing move rounded off by Angel Correa, then a solo dribble and finish from Yannick Carrasco.
Other than that, it is typical Atletico. It is notable for the seamless transitions from a front four to a aback five with Carrasco moving to left-wing back, then to aback six with Rodrigo De Paul entering the right-hand channel. Their efficiency brought Madrid another win this weekend.
The game’s other notable feature is Antoine Griezmann’s inevitably-timed introduction. His loan agreement was from BarcelonaAtletico may be obliged to buy him if they play in a certain amount of games. And a “game” is determined according to him being on the pitch for a certain number of minutes, and therefore having been brought on in the 61st, 61st, 64th, 62nd and 61st minutes so far this season, we can tick another off the bingo card with a 63rd-minute introduction here. A little oddly, he seems to be more of a middlefielder than a forward these day.
Cometh the hour; cometh the man: Griezmann takes on Celta Vigo. (Photo: Angel Martinez/Getty Images).
Atletico’s ground has been built to maximise matchday income. Many fans continue to enjoy the game after the match is over. There are bars outside the stadium complex that offer alcohol and one has a live band. The club shop remains open — in fairness, it is huge — and we buy an Atletico shirt. It’s a fantastic matchday experience, and, as with the other clubs, it is a great place to shop. Tottenham Hotspur’s ground, means that you no longer roll your eyes when you hear the words “modern stadium”. The only downside is that it’s very much on the outskirts of Madrid.
In contrast, visiting the Bernabeu the next day is an absolute delight — located right in the centre, in an affluent neighbourhood, it is surely the most central location of any major football ground in western Europe.
It is currently a construction site. The pupal stage lies between an old-school concrete ground, and a glitzy modern arena. Work will be completed next year. The club shop remains open, although it’s quite pricey, and therefore the weekend’s second football shirt is bought from a stall outside.
The Bernabeu has been renovated (Photo: Thomas Coex/AFP).
The Bernabeu, despite the scaffolding that has been built in the upper regions and a new tier being added on both ends, is a stunning sight once you get inside. Some grounds are a bowl — the Camp Nou is an obvious example — but the Bernabeu is a box. I’m sitting on the highest tier (for now), six rows from the back, yet I’m confident I could volley a football from here onto the pitch. The steps and stands are extremely steep. It’s an unbeatable ground in terms of vision.
Unfortunately, Bernabeu often lacks sound quality. It feels more like an arena than a stadium. Fans mainly sit and wait for entertainment. Real is the only exception to this rule. The whistles can be deafening when they are made against Real.
Real Madrid is dominant, but they don’t play well. Real Mallorca, on the other hand, focuses more on set pieces and counter-attacks. They then counter-attack, winning a set piece and scoring the opener. Real suddenly wakes up.
They’re still largely poor, however, with Karim Benzema absent and Eden Hazard unsuccessfully playing as a false nine. Real take pot-shots from long range and Mallorca don’t seem overly troubled by Real’s passing combinations.
Real’s history is centered on individual brilliance, which has been a hallmark of the club. Federico Valverde scored the equaliser. He collected the ball in his half, dribbled past three players, cut inside onto his left foot, then he smashed it into the top corner at 20 yards.
Goal of the season so far…? pic.twitter.com/cmz2TjvDBb
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) September 11, 2022
Rodrygo’s direct dribble through Mallorca’s defence leads to him sliding in Vinicius Junior for his second goal. Rodrygo then does the same thing but scores again. Antonio Rudiger scored three excellent goals before volleying home a late set piece for his fourth.
Afterwards, you can really sense the Bernabeu’s central location by the fact supporters disperse in every direction.
We’re going south — very south — to Getafe, as they host Real Sociedad. We see more Real Madrid fans returning home from the train than Getafe supporters as we get off. Real Sociedad supporters are revealed when we hear the distant chanting. But that’s all fair enough: this is a proper community club, with support drawn from the local area.
Getafe, a quiet suburb in the middle of the city, is not likely to be aware that there is a La Liga stadium just around it. The ground is open and generic. The attendance has improved over the last decade, although for this game, the ultras are boycotting as part of a protest against Javier Tebas’ running of La Liga, and the section behind the goal remains empty. However, Real Sociedad fans are present in large numbers.
The club shop is located just outside the ground. There are many stock items available. However, this match is the hardest test for our hopes to win four Madrid matches. Getafe haven’t won all season while their opponents have just beaten Manchester UnitedOld Trafford
Getafe start well. They win a penalty but Alex Remiro saves Borja Mayoral’s effort, with supporters reacting as if that’s game over rather than simply a missed chance. Getafe prevailed against a Real Sociedad team that was probably tired after their midweek European play. Their wing-backs excel on the ball. Right-sided Damian Suarez does such a great nutmeg that his opponent falls over. Left-sided Fabrizio Angelileri performs so much trickery that his opponent must be replaced with an ankle injury.
Enes Unal gives Getafe the lead with a brilliant free kick. Carles Alena then adds another. Real Sociedad gets one back, but then I suddenly realize that I really want Getafe win, despite not having any attachment whatsoever to them.
Enes unal celebrates his kick for the opening goal (Photo: Angel Martinez/Getty Images).
Then I really go through the emotions — Getafe score but it’s disallowed for offside, then Real Sociedad hit the bar, and then the fourth official indicates seven minutes of stoppage time and the referee plays nine.
Finally, the whistle goes. We’ve done it. 2-1, 4-1, 4-1, 2-1. Four Madrid victories from four. Presumably, no one else in this city is pleased that all four Madrid sides have won — Real and Atleti fans want each other to lose and don’t care much about the other two — but we’ve witnessed a unique quadruple.
Sunday evening we finish up at a sports bar, watching the game. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz win his first grand slam. From the other part of the bar, there’s a load of shouting and chanting about another sporting event. It turns out that it was an Argentinian group watching the Superclasico Boca Juniors 1-0 River Plate.
River fans often leave at full-time in their white shirts and red stoles. It’s a harsh reminder of our only failure from the weekend: that missing Rayo Vallecano shirt.
