Albiazules forged in ‘La Fábrica’

The four players who went through La Fábrica have a lot of prominence at Deportivo Alavés. Three of them are undisputed starters and the fourth is the first change coming off the bench. They are Pacheco, Rioja, Joselu and Edgar Méndez. They have all been in the club from Vitoria for several seasons and they know the house very well.

Fernando Pacheco He was in Madrid’s C between 2011 and 2013. Then he spent a year at Castilla and in 2014-15 he belonged to the first team. He keeps a great memory of his dealings with Iker Casillas. He has been the undisputed starting goalkeeper for Alavés for several years, both with Javi Calleja and José Luis Mendilibar. He is in great form, has catlike reflexes and good footwork.

Luis Rioja also passed through the white quarry. Trained at Cabecense in his town, he played for Real Madrid C in 2013-14. He then went through Celta de Vigo B, Marbella and Almería before joining Alavés. He is one of the most important players in the squad, he signed a contract a few weeks ago and Valencia is following in his footsteps. Vertical, daring, with the ability to overflow, a good assistant and also has a goal.

Joselu Mato He was at Castilla from 2009 to 2012. He has scored twelve of Alavés’ nineteen goals this season, although six of them have been from penalties. His contract ends in Vitoria and the club has offered to renew it for three years and 2.3 million per season. Celta has increased the bid to the same number of campaigns but 2.5 million and Valencia, now, has also entered the bid. He was about to sign for Sevilla last summer.

Edgar Méndez completes his second stage in the club from Vitoria. In between, he embarked on an adventure in the Mexican Cruz Azul. But he also belonged to the white club in the 2008-09 season. He had more prominence with Javi Calleja but now, with José Luis Mendilibar, he is usually the first player to jump onto the pitch from the bench. He can play off the wing or as a second striker alongside Joselu. He has quality and punch, although this year he is with wet gunpowder.