“SANGRE Gaditana en vena Vallecana.” This roughly translates as “Cadiz blood in Vallecas veins,” a strong statement of the bond between the leftist supporters of these two Spanish teams. 

Vallecas is a tough and friendly neighbourhood in the south-east of Madrid, imagine Lewisham but with better wine. (Vallecas ultras prefer the spelling “Vallekas” to emphasise that it is both independent and different.) 

The barrio has a long-standing leftist reputation; during the civil war it was an important and strategic Republican stronghold battered by Franco. Vallecas grew considerably due the Franco years and took in many immigrants from provincial Spain to Madrid – these were often people that had suffered from the vicissitudes of capitalism and the cruelty of fascism and the migration served to intensify the barrio’s leftist sentiments.