It couldn’t be for Rayo and the Vallecas neighborhood. Mateta’s goal. . The sadness was palpable with the tears that fell like a waterfall from the eyes of many fans. They were tears of disappointment. But also pride. Pride of a team that has recovered despite the adversities and obstacles that were put in its way throughout the season and that fought until the referee’s final whistle. Rayo’s defeat does not stain the image of a fan and a team that live together. The players stood up twice in front of the more than 12,000 Vallecanos who traveled to Leipzig: before and after collecting the runners-up medal. “What breaks you inside is seeing people cry. It destroys you,” said coach Íñigo Pérez on Movistar+ minutes after losing in the final.
The stands, who continued to cheer for their team after 90 minutes, recognized the efforts made by their players. “I have never known a greater victory than with you in a defeat,” read a banner displayed at the back of the Leipzig Stadium. The Navarrese coach surrendered to the pride shown by all Vallecanos. “This is eternal, I have no words to thank you for. That is our essence. I am very proud of the players, the neighborhood and everything they represent.”
The coach looked dejected when he arrived at the press room. Crestfallen, he approached his seat and took a long sip from his glass of water. “I feel a lot of pain, anger and sadness because an opportunity like this has escaped us. The first impact hurts, it leaves you totally without strength.” The pain is so great that he said he did not want to see the final again like those of the Europa League and Copa del Rey that he lost when he was wearing short on the grass at Athletic. “This one is more difficult to digest. They have found themselves more comfortable. The first one to score receives a boost to go forward and to withstand the push of the rival team. When you see their faces you collapse. You feel what would have happened if we had won and it makes you angry,” lamented the coach.
Some footballers like Isi were dejected after the game. The Murcian could barely speak into the microphones. Others like Jorge de Frutos apologized to fans who refused to leave the stadium. A stadium that, a couple of hours before the game, a child wanted to enter as soon as possible. A little Rayo fan begged his mother to enter the place as soon as possible to see his team make history regardless of the result. Once the game was over, cries could be heard in the hallways and fans whose tears ran out. “”, said one of them with his head held high.
Pride and sadness, two opposite feelings, that know how to go together. “The road was beautiful. We got here and unfortunately the finals are decided in details. I’ll take the trip. This will never go away. Losing a final hurts for life. We will remember it with a little joy but with a lot of pain,” goalkeeper Augusto Batalla concluded.
