Madrid is a city brimming with football history & culture, predominantly centered around the city’s two big boys; Atlético & Real. And deservedly so.

It may come as a surprise to many to learn that Rayo Vallecano are in fact a Madrid-based team. The full title of the club is Rayo Vallecano de Madrid SAD. While Rayo may not have shared the domestic & European successes of their city rivals, the part of the city & the fans that support Rayo are unique & unrivalled in the city of Madrid in their own way.

‘Los Bukaneros’ & The Vallecas Neighbourhood

Rayo’s Ultras group are known as “Los Bukaneros” (The Buccaneers), a name owing to the fact that the locals have self-proclaimed the neighbourhood of Vallecas to be a port city, despite being over 300km from the nearest coastline. 

This all stems from a massive annual water fight, known as ‘La Batalla Naval’, that takes place in Vallecas every July 15th. The first one happened in 1981 during a massive heatwave in Madrid & it is celebrated every year to show the individuality & pride in the neighbourhood. Los Bukaneros play a central role in the festivities every year.

Los Bukaneros have been moulded by their neighbourhood & are fiercely loyal & proud of their area. These supporters are also very politically inclined & have made no secret of their political standings; far left-wing, a united working class, anti-fascist, anti-racist & non-xenophobic. 

The group was formed in 1992 by a small number of fanatical Rayo fans. Since then Los Bukaneros have grown in size & notoriety, & have had some of the most memorable fan displays & protests ever seen in Spanish football.

There are not enough hours in the day to analyse all of Los Bukaneros’ TIFOs, displays & protests down the years, so here are a few of the most high-profile ones that will give you a good sense of what they are all about.

Los Bukaneros & Roman Zozulya

A story that gave Los Bukaneros global headlines occurred in 2017, when they were essentially at war with Rayo player Roman Zozulya who was signed on-loan from Real Betis.

Los Bukaneros claimed Zozulya was a Ukranian Neo-Nazi, owing to a photo that surfaced online of him wearing a t-shirt depiciting the coat of arms of the Ukraine, which closely resembles a symbol of the Ukranian far-right. Zozulya has never denied being passionately nationalistic, but denies being a Neo-Nazi or even a Neo-Nazi sympathiser. 

Los Bukaneros vowed that he would never play for the club, creating several banners & posters branding him a racist, a fascist & stating he is not welcome at Rayo. They ultimately succeeded as he never made a first team appearance for Rayo & his loan was terminated freeing him to return to Betis. 

Los Bukaneros received some international media criticism, pointing to insufficient evidence of Zozulya being a racist & branded Los Bukaneros’ campaign as a witch-hunt to satisfy their own political agenda. In response, various Bukaneros members claim to have a nine-page document with evidence of Zozulya’s fascist & racist tendencies but such evidence was never released & as soon as his contract was terminated by the club it was case closed. 

Who exactly is in the right or wrong regarding the saga is unclear, but what is clear is that Los Bukaneros were satisfied with the outcome. Their power & influence at the club was clear for all to see.

Rayo Vallecano v Real Madrid 2012

The following story is pure speculation & no facts or blame have ever been laid on Los Bukaneros or anyone for that matter. But it is interesting nonetheless.

Los Bukaneros, along with countless other supporters around Spain, have long been dissatisfied with La Liga’s coverage of the ‘smaller’ Spanish teams on national television with the majority of large & lucrative TV sponsorship deals going to Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid & Barcelona in particular. 

In September of 2012 Rayo had a game moved to a Sunday evening at 9.30pm local time to accommodate Real Madrid’s demanding fixture & TV schedule. Soon before kick-off the floodlights failed. Later it became apparent that it was an act of sabotage & that “local vandals” had cut some wires causing an outage. After some efforts to repair the damage caused failed, the game had to be called-off.

A full police investigation followed but nobody was ever charged with the act of vandalism. One theory that exists out there; the power being cut was a statement from a local fan group who were sick of having their games dictated by the “big clubs” in Spain. Feasible? Perhaps, but we’ll never know for sure.

Los Bukaneros versus the Police & RFEF

“Esto Es Guantanamo” read a banner near Rayo’s stadium the Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas. It was matchday versus Deportivo La Coruña in January of 2015 & Los Bukaneros were staging a protest against the harassment they say they were experiencing from police.

In previous weeks they claimed police had stopped them bringing their usual drums & banners into the stadium which had never been an issue before. Couple that with the general manhandling & searching of Los Bukaneros members on match-days, enough was enough & the group had to make their displeasure known to the police. Banners were draped around the Vallecas area in protest against the treatment by police & during the game itself Los Bukaneros wore orange jumpsuits in the stadium, similar to those worn by prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

While the “special treatment” that Los Bukaneros’ members feel they receive from police might never end, the banning of the drums & banners was lifted.

In November of 2014 Los Bukaneros voiced their displeasure at the Spanish footballing authorities with a cleverly choreographed display. This time they were taking aim at Monday night football, claiming it is easier for fans just to sit in on a Monday & watch the games on TV rather than attending them. 

They boycotted the opening 24 minutes of the game with their traditional section behind the goal instead filled with various characters & quotes from The Simpsons, taking aim at football on a Monday night. While their opponents that night, SD Eibar, also joined in with the protest, complaining about the length of the bus journey they are expected to do on a Monday evening to see their team play.

Protests against Monday night football & how they are not fan-friendly is nothing new, as seen by fan groups in Germany, England & beyond as well. It is an issue that rumbles on.

A home game versus Levante UD in September of 2013 was another instance of Los Bukaneros voicing their frustration at the Spanish football authorities, this time at late kick-offs.

Traditionally there have been what many would consider “late” games in Spanish football, with kick-off times of 9pm local time par for the course. But an 11pm Friday night kick-off versus Levante was a joke in the eyes of Los Bukaneros. The traditional Bukaneros stand at the Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas was left totally empty, except for Sesame Street’s Bert & Ernie to make an appearance for the first 24 minutes of the game, stating that it was “time for sleep, not football”.

Los Bukaneros in the Local Community

While away from football, Los Bukaneros & indeed the entire Rayo Vallecano family have been known to show their charitable side when it comes to social issues regarding their beloved Vallecas neighbourhood.

In 2014 a local Vallecas woman called Carmen Martínez Ayuso was evicted from her apartment at the age of 85. According to Ayuso, a life-long resident in the area, she was entirely unaware of her financial predicament until the police knocked on her door a couple of days prior to the eviction.

Rayo fans immediately got wind of this & brought it to the attention of the club’s hierarchy. Their reaction was swift & decisive.

The next home game versus Sevilla saw Rayo donate five euro from every ticket purchased go towards Ayuso’s rent. Eventually, so much money was raised that Ayuso was able to buy a brand new apartment for herself, with even some money left over to go towards other local charitable causes.

Los Bukaneros, other Rayo fans & Rayo Vallecano as a club look after their own.

Los Bukaneros are very much football traditionalists & can see modern football eroding away what they love about the game. They are passionately proud of their neighbourhood & will not waver in their left-wing beliefs. 

Madrid is a fantastic footballing city & Rayo Vallecano & Los Bukaneros make up an integral part of the city’s footballing identity. If a stadium tour of the Santiago Bernabéu isn’t your thing or if you’re not a fan of the brand new Wanda Metropolitano, a trip down to the south-east of the city to the Vallecas neighbourhood to take in a game at the Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas is an absolute must.