Sergio Camello: ‘Rayo is the last team standing – it’s football from another time’
Sergio Camello discussed his role at Rayo Vallecano, his musical interests and his run of goals in Vallecas in an interview published on 2026-10-08; he spoke while the club’s ground remained closed but was due to reopen in 64 hours for the first time this season.
The stadium closure followed a Madrid council declaration that Estadio de Vallecas was unsafe, forcing Rayo to play home games in Leganés with some supporters boycotting those matches, and Camello told reporters “It’s my home, it’s Vallecas.” Across Europe’s top five leagues he has seven goals in seven league games, with only Raphinha having more, and his previous Primera totals were five, three and six; Camello also said his coach Beñat San José has altered his movement tactically. He added that his teammates keep shouting “'Pichichi! Pichichi!'” and commented “It’s not Sergio any more,” before replying to questions about pressure with “None, I love it, and I love that they’re enjoying it.”
Camello described a change in mindset as central to his improved form, saying simply “How I go on to the pitch,” and explaining that long conversations with friends and family helped him reconnect with the enjoyment of the game. He mentioned therapy and singled out his twin brother Gonzalo as someone who could see he “wasn’t enjoying it much, wasn’t myself,” which prompted work to “play without the pressure” and “to play without the pressure” and to “connect to that kid again.”
He recounted episodes of anxiety early in his career, including becoming “a bit paranoid” and having fixations with the idea that “'They’re looking at me.'” Camello described being followed home by children shouting “'Camello! Camello!'” after his first day in Primera when he scored, and said that the night the squad returned from the Olympics he suffered an anxiety attack in his usual bar and had to leave, adding “I’m me, Sergio Camello, a normal person from a humble team.”
On Rayo’s identity he stressed the club’s connection to the barrio and the everyday lives of supporters, saying “Rayo is the last team standing from football from another time, that’s what I like.” He listed familiar local figures and places — Isi in the corner bar and Unai and his mates — and said that sense of proximity means “the least important thing about the football here is the football; it’s what they stand for every weekend, what the believe in, the connection.”
Away from football Camello outlined his creative interests — he has reviewed 156 films, works as a part-time photographer, plays drums and is an Olympic gold medallist — and described his involvement with Action for Music, which provides free musical classes of four hours a week in percussion, strings and wind to children. He said the charity runs schools in Tetuán and Carabanchel, that “the kids don’t pay a euro,” and announced his intention to open a school in Vallecas next year, adding with a grin “Only I’m going to do it my way … with rock.”
Describing a recent session, Camello said a child on saxophone had “wow, what a vibe he had,” and outlined plans to stage end-of-year concerts for the programme, joking “I can be their manager.” He compared the feeling of those children performing to scoring, saying “Yes, it is,” and adding “I’m still the same guy as I was when I didn’t score, eh,” then describing the sensation when “the ball hits the net, when you get a ground on its feet, all together, when they’re celebrating.”
The small door into Estadio de Vallecas was due to open in 64 hours for the first time this season, and Camello has committed to establishing a Vallecas music school next year as part of his work with Action for Music.