Bolo: "Alberto Bueno is a spectacular goalscorer”

Jon Pérez Bolo (Bilbao, 1974) was Rayo Vallecano’s top scorer until last Saturday, when Alberto Bueno’s two goals in the 3-1 win over Granada CF saw the 26-year-old take his title. It is for this reason that the Basque striker spoke to LFP.es about the club’s new top scorer and also spoke about how another of his other former clubs is getting on

“It has been an honour to make history with Rayo Vallecano. I held the record with 25 goals for 12 years but you expect that some player will turn up and overtake it,” says Bolo.

“Alberto Bueno is a great player and he is proving that right now. He is a striker with a lot of quality, a spectacular goalscorer. Now he has overtaken this historic mark, I wish him a lot of luck and I hope that he can score as many goals as possible.”

On Rayo’s situation in the league table, the former player believes the Madrid outfit could suffer in the final stretch of the season, but insisted: “What Rayo keep achieving year after year is very difficult and deserves a lot of praise. I think they will stay up for another season.”

He also referred to the style of coach Paco Jémez, adding: “He’s not going to change his ways under any circumstances. Things are going well for him, even though he takes risks, so he should stick with the plan. I hope Paco Jémez sticks around for a lot longer.” 

Memories of Vallecas 

Jon Pérez Bolo arrived at the Madrid club in 1998/99 and looks back on those years “very fondly. They were six spectacular years on a personal and professional level. I have a lot of love for Rayo and their fans.”

Of those 25 goals, which kept him in the memories of Rayo fans, he says he could not choose just one. “I have several goals which I remember very well, among them the one I scored to get us promoted to the Liga BBVA, a goal in the UEFA Cup and the two I scored in the Camp Nou against Barcelona. It’s difficult to choose just one because they are all situations in which I experienced something very special.”

Enjoying the progress at Athletic 

The former striker came through the ranks at Athletic Club, a team that remains very close to his heart after playing with them for three seasons in the Liga BBVA, sharing a dressing room with the club’s current coach Ernesto Valverde. 
“He really helped the young players coming up from the youth system and gave us a lot of advice,” Bolo recalls.

“Right now he is doing really well as a coach. For me one of his great virtues is managing the dressing room, as he gets his players into a dynamic where they feel very happy but they also train to the limit.”

Given his experience as a striker for the Bilbao club, he thinks that Aritz Aduriz “is demonstrating that he is a phenomenal player for the team. I hope he keeps playing for us for a very long time because he’s a reference point for everyone. But he is of a certain age and with our philosophy more players will come through from the academy, such as Iñaki Williams, who I’m sure is going to be a very important player for the club.”

Looking forward to the Copa del Rey final on May 30 against Barcelona, the Bilbao man knows how difficult it will be to overcome Barcelona. “They beat us in the last two finals. However, we hope that it’ll be a case of third time lucky and that, once and for all, the cup can return to Bilbao. It’s very important for us, because it would fortify the philosophy that we have in Athletic - it would mean that homegrown players can win a trophy. Athletic deserve it.” 

His future as coach 
The former striker is currently coaching Basque side Arenas Club de Getxo and is very ambitious and hopeful about his career as a tactician. “I hope one day I can coach a team as big as Athletic. You have to take small steps in life, learn every day and keep evolving. At the end of the day my qualities will determine if I am able to coach a team as big as Athletic, Rayo or another team with similar characteristics.”