BarcelonaDespite not being born in the neighborhood, Isaac Isi Palazón (1994) has become one of the idols of Vallecas after five and a half seasons at Rayo Vallecano, the next rival of Barça this Sunday in the league (9.30 pm, Dazn). “I consider myself of Cieza, El Bierzo and Vallecas,” said the Murcian last March in an interview with SER channel. Isinhouser name on Instagram, has won the heart of all the fans of the Madrid team, a neighborhood club that is very special for “the proximity that the hobby of being able to be with the players”, as described by the footballer.
A simple team that, through its humble and hard -working character, is perfectly represented. Yuri Da Souza, with whom he coincided with ponferradina in dozens of trips in which they shared a room, emphasizes the ARA the good friendship they have years later. “He is a very close person, with whom you can talk about everything. Now that he is in the first he has details with the usual friends. He has not raised his fame in his head,” says Da Souza. At the moment, as the technical secretary of the Ponfe, the former Brazilian leader analyzes many players and his ex -partner, the delivery stands out. “He has an impressive shot, but also a character and a personality that make him a different player,” says Yuri, who scored more than 200 goals in Spanish football.
Like the working people of Vallecas, the Murcian also had to strive to reach Primera. After going through the lower categories of Real Madrid and Villarreal, he was left without a team at the age of 19 and returned to Cieza, his hometown, where he came to consider if it was really worth football. This forced him to look for a job to fill in the mornings, as he trained with the home team in the afternoons, but could not sign for any club as in October. The Murcian was working in the countryside, where he became aware of the reality of life, as he told in an interview with The country. “I learned from people who had to keep their family and work from sun to sun so that at the end of the month they did not have to pay the light,” said the footballer. All this helped him to make a change of mentality and decide that he would try to be a footballer one last time.
Proof of this sacrifice is the image that Yuri reminds the ARA: the hug that was made with Isi on the balcony of the City Council of Ponferrada after promoting to Second Division. “There came a time when we both started crying. It was a look, a hug to say” we got it. “We had a bad time, but it was worth it,” adds Yuri.
A video that the Rayo footballer sent a few weeks ago to the Brazilian player.
Isi Palazón and Yuri Da Souza embrace during the ascent with the ponferradina
The importance of knowing how to stop on time
However, once in the elite, Isii experienced another episode that touched him on his feet on the floor. The daily pressure played a bad pass. “I was not feeling myself or happy. I was tired, my head hurt, I thought I would have a heart attack and I would die,” he confessed a few years ago to the What a pod. The events took place in 2023. “Only two or three companions knew it, I am a very cheerful person in the locker room and came here and dressed up to pretend to be the same person. This is the worst I did because it feedback that it was worse,” he added to the SER.
The high point was in a Rayo Vallecano – Villarreal, when he had to leave the field because he was bad. “My arm hurt and did not sleep at night, it was a very rare feeling. I took an energy drink before the game and I was very dispersed during the duel. I didn’t want the ball to pass, I was tired and I looked at Francisco [l’entrenador] To ask for the change, “says Palazón. It was then that he told his family that he was going to therapy. He helped him to be good again.
Rayo Vallecano, a workers’ club fighting great monsters
Far from the media focus of Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, Rayo works to try to make a hole among the big clubs. Vallecas is characterized by being a humble and workers’ neighborhood that is celebrating this season with the return to Europe. It will not be the first time they have been traveling through the old continent, they did the 00-01 season, but the excitement has returned from the hands of players like ISI, who has played the Club de la Franja since the beginning of 2020 and accumulates 32 goals in 223 games.
The Murcian recounts some of the peculiarities of Rayo Vallecano. “The first year I was here I was expelled in a game against Elche and I thought I would fall a big one. I left the applauded field,” says Isi. For the Bukaneros, as the animation group is called, what is not negotiable is that their footballers give everything out and off the field. Then the errors are part of the sport. A neighborhood that tries not to contaminate the so-called modern football. “I lose a game in Vallecas and I love to stay around here taking a beer with the people in the neighborhood, with my family … and nobody recriminates me absolutely nothing,” said an ISI that whenever the people in the neighborhood can help.
But far from being beautiful, fans have been criticizing the mismanagement of their president, Raúl Martín Dam. Proof of this is the state of the grass that Barça will meet on Sunday. Isi, as one of the captains, has contact with the highest leader. “The relationship with him is a bit complicated, but so far I think we have understood quite well, better than I expected. However, there is still a long way to go, we have to improve many things from day to day and he knows it,” he confesses.
