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Rayografía

Rayography: How Eleven Guys in Shorts Explain a Neighbourhood, a City, a Country | Debate/PRH, 2023

Halfway between a memoir and the chronicle of a passion, Rayografía offers a view from the stands of a universe shrouded in controversy, a multimillion-dollar business without borders and a world ruled by high emotion. In short, life. On the eve of Rayo Vallecano’s centenary, Casariego plays the game in a fast-paced and personal chronicle of this season for the quintessential workers’ club.

On 20 August 2022, in a Madrid hit by a heat wave, author and scriptwriter Nicolás Casariego boarded the metro bound for Vallecas, with the intention to buy a season ticket for Rayo Vallecano, a team on the verge of celebrating its centenary. He was unaware that a night sleeping rough and a ten-month adventure awaited him.

This is the story of a fan trying to understand what football is all about today by following in the footsteps of a team from a unique neighbourhood. Throughout the 2022-2023 season, he attended all of Rayo’s home games, every away game against their Madrid neighbours and nine away games in other cities, travelling to every region of Spain with a team in the top flight of Spanish football. He travelled over 2,500 miles and met hundreds of people. Most importantly, he asked himself whether an adult can change their identity and become a member of a different team.

This is a book packed with humour that goes beyond football. It’s a self-portrait which contains reflections on topics as diverse as financial analysis of a club’s accounts, cities’ urban growth and the science behind what happens in our brains when we celebrate a goal.

PRESS

«One of the year’s most stimulating publishing offerings. The book is so well thought out, so well written and measured and so pleasant to read, that I’m certain it will take its rightful place in the canon of the best books on football.»
Ignacio Vidal-Folch

«Football can explain a country, this has been demonstrated by Nicolás Casariego, who has the right tone to inform and entertain.» Jaime G. Mora, ABC Cultural

«With subtle touches of humour, the book offers the possibility of delving into the culture of football but is, above all, an essay on the emotions that surround it.» Pedro Zuazua, El País

Rayografía

Rayography: How Eleven Guys in Shorts Explain a Neighbourhood, a City, a Country | Debate/PRH, 2023

Halfway between a memoir and the chronicle of a passion, Rayografía offers a view from the stands of a universe shrouded in controversy, a multimillion-dollar business without borders and a world ruled by high emotion. In short, life. On the eve of Rayo Vallecano’s centenary, Casariego plays the game in a fast-paced and personal chronicle of this season for the quintessential workers’ club.

On 20 August 2022, in a Madrid hit by a heat wave, author and scriptwriter Nicolás Casariego boarded the metro bound for Vallecas, with the intention to buy a season ticket for Rayo Vallecano, a team on the verge of celebrating its centenary. He was unaware that a night sleeping rough and a ten-month adventure awaited him.

This is the story of a fan trying to understand what football is all about today by following in the footsteps of a team from a unique neighbourhood. Throughout the 2022-2023 season, he attended all of Rayo’s home games, every away game against their Madrid neighbours and nine away games in other cities, travelling to every region of Spain with a team in the top flight of Spanish football. He travelled over 2,500 miles and met hundreds of people. Most importantly, he asked himself whether an adult can change their identity and become a member of a different team.

This is a book packed with humour that goes beyond football. It’s a self-portrait which contains reflections on topics as diverse as financial analysis of a club’s accounts, cities’ urban growth and the science behind what happens in our brains when we celebrate a goal.

PRESS

«One of the year’s most stimulating publishing offerings. The book is so well thought out, so well written and measured and so pleasant to read, that I’m certain it will take its rightful place in the canon of the best books on football.»
Ignacio Vidal-Folch

«Football can explain a country, this has been demonstrated by Nicolás Casariego, who has the right tone to inform and entertain.» Jaime G. Mora, ABC Cultural

«With subtle touches of humour, the book offers the possibility of delving into the culture of football but is, above all, an essay on the emotions that surround it.» Pedro Zuazua, El País