Team Focus: Possession Counting for Little for Wasteful Rayo

Rayo Vallecano’s hard-fought win last weekend away to Getafe was their first in 2014, and their first overall since November 9th 2013. It was also only their 5th victory in the league all season.

Rayo have learned over the years since their promotion not to take the small victories for granted, for La Liga’s bottom clubs are always living on the edge. This, after all, is the club with the lowest budget in the top flight, a Sporting Director who is described as the busiest in Spain and a coach in Paco Jémez stubborn in his commitment to an attacking style that has often been described as ‘suicidal’.

An 8th placed finish last season was an immense achievement for a team made up of loans, free transfers, cantera products and players that simply no one else wanted. Another small victory, that surprised many, was that only four teams bettered them in terms of possession in Europe’s top 5 leagues last season (58%).

Rayo’s style, however, has caught up with them this season and despite showing their old successful traits – their 61.5% average possession is again second most in La Liga and now 4th overall in Europe’s top 5 leagues – they are failing to repeat their 2012/2013 exploits. In fact, an assessment is that they’re overplaying at times, especially given the fact that their 386 accurate passes per goal is the 2nd most in La Liga.

In Spain we’ve seen a trend in the last few years of teams playing more directly and only taking calculated risks in terms of pushing men forward. Atlético Madrid have been leaders here, while Villarreal are replicating such a style in part. Rayo prefer patience, and while this can be attractive and pleasing on the eye it goes without saying they simply don’t boast the attacking talent, nor incisive play that Barcelona can, who are also Spain’s great lovers of the ball.

Take Roberto Trashorras’ statistics in recent years for instance. Seeing his name up there with the likes of Xavi in terms of passing has left some scratching their heads but since his move from Celta Vigo on a free transfer he’s been a key cog in Jémez’s double-pivot functioning Rayo system. Currently, this season, his 80.8 passes per game is bettered only by the Barca man, and his overall total of 1536 passes is the most attempted by any player in the league. While Trashorras retains an accuracy of 85.9% overall, such a high volume of passes has seen some inadequacies creep in, and with 216 misplaced passes only one player has been guiltier in this regard.

At both ends this season Rayo are letting themselves down considerably, and while on the surface they remain as exciting and intriguing to watch as ever, deeper issues have formed. From a defensive perspective Rayo have made seven errors leading to a goal, with only Real Valladolid and bottom club Real Betis making more, with 11 and 10 respectively. The partnership of Alejandro Gálvez and Jordi Amat from last term was broken up, and while the impressive Gálvez remains he’s had no solid partner providing the energy and awareness that Amat did.

In Europe’s Top 5 leagues, only Fulham have conceded more goals than Rayo’s 45. It may be that Gálvez eventually becomes the next player to take the exit door at Vallecas. He’s a modern style of defender in the sense of being comfortable in possession, with 57.5 passes per game only two teammates average more, but he’s also adept in traditional areas, as shown by his 3.7 tackles and 2.9 interceptions per game – the most at the club of players to feature more than once.

Gálvez can only do so much though, and the collective gung-ho style employed by Jémez has perhaps been found out, with teams preferring to sit and wait before countering on Rayo. There is plenty of waiting too, as the side’s staggering possession levels continue to be both a blessing and a curse. It’s no surprise then that WhoScored show ‘defending counter attacks’ as very weak when it comes to Rayo’s team characteristics.

If you can’t defend, then you must take your chances in front of goal. Rayo however, can’t even do that. Without Piti, last season’s top scorer with 18 goals - a 36% contribution – there has been a heinous struggle in front of goal. There hasn’t been much change when it comes to getting shots away; instead it’s been the taking of those chances.

In previous years Rayo have had Piti, Michu and Diego Costa to gather goals, but this term there has been no clinical finisher. Alberto Bueno’s 6 goals have come from a second striker role, while Jonathan Viera’s 4 have come from attacking midfield. A team conversion rate of 6.7% is the second worst in La Liga, behind Betis’ 5.7%, and emphasises the strife Rayo are encountering in front of goal.

The outfit from Vallecas are notorious for their wheeler dealing in the transfer market, and a striker this January is surely the priority. Joaquín Larrivey, the player who has most often played in attack, has managed just 1.4 shots per game, which is bettered even by defensive midfielder Saúl, with 2.1 per game.

As a collective Rayo are failing to surprise teams in attack and this goes back to their obsession with possession, further shown by the fact they’ve not scored a single goal from a counter attack this season – one of only three teams yet to do so in La Liga. It’s strange given that they possess the speed, technique and direct attributes to excel in this area.

Jémez is so stubborn that the style is unlikely to change at Rayo, and in part it’s enthusing. Most teams can make you suffer for 90 minutes with their mundane, formulaic play. Rayo’s squad is weaker than previous years so it’s no surprise they’ve suffered, but how far they’ve fallen is perhaps unexpected. Better personnel and more variation in terms of ideas on the pitch could well keep Rayo in a division they really have no right to be in.

Will Rayo's possession game keep them up this season or is their time in La Liga coming to an end? Let us know in the comments below