After a week when on Thursday I read “I’m not saying I’m lonely and have no friends, but am I the only person in the country that hasn’t been pinged?” – Real Mallorca won their second pre-season friendly (the first in their Benidorm La Nucia 9-day training complex) on Wednesday night when they comfortably defeated La Segunda side Cartagena 1-0 with a 16th minute goal from veteran midfielder Salva Sevilla. Again this friendly was played at low-key intensity, with Mallorca being easily the better team in the 94 minutes of playing time.
Most of these pre-season kickabouts tend to be pretty mundane due to lack of competition and lots of substitutions.
However, the main objective for coaches is to get their players up to the fitness levels required for the high-octane pressure of La Liga competition, after being on holiday for a month. It’s also imperative major players escape serious injuries which could devastate some teams with a lower squad capacity.
Once again Catalan-born Jordi Mboula took all the plaudits for Real Mallorca.
He’s vastly improved already on the form he showed most of last season and has lightning speed and quick feet.
If Daniel Sturridge passes his test and signs a deal with Real Mallorca, a front three of Amath, Sturridge and Mboula would terrify any defence with their pace.
Again three of our new signings, goalkeeper Dominik Greif, Angel Rodriguez and Jaume Costa, didn’t play because of niggling muscle discomfort and Raillo sat the game out after a knock in Sa Pobla.
Abdon Prats stayed in Palma after he’d gone into quarantine, coming into contact with a Covid case.
That meant we didn’t have any genuine experienced No. 9 available and our chances of a goal fest were severely diminished.
We’re waiting for a new striker to arrive in the next few days.
Coach Luis Garcia Plaza said with regard to Sturridge signing “We are going to see what happens in a while when we hope to make a decision one way or the other. He is a player who’s played at the very top level and who was very good. He hasn’t played for a long time (15 months) so when the time comes we will decide his future.”
Next up for Mallorca is a game tonight at 8 pm again in La Nucia when we’ll play UD Ibiza who are now in La Segunda.
This will be the first time the two Balearic islands sides have met each other as UD Ibiza were only formed six years ago. Tonight we may get our first glimpse of “trialist” Daniel Sturridge who’s expected to come on at some stage.
Our scheduled friendly against Turkish giants Besiktas has been called off as they have had several Covid cases.
Basque side Eibar have taken their place and that match will now be on Tuesday at 8 pm.
They have just signed our 27-year-old unsettled attacker Stoichkov, who’s spent the last two campaigns out on loan to Alcorcon and Sabadell.
Earlier this week Italian sde Lazio (who beat us 2-1 in the last ever European Cup Winners Cup final in Birmingham in 1999) snapped up our 16-year-old “wonder-kid” Luka Romero after what was an elongated football soap opera. All hopes we had of keeping this “gem for the future” all but vanished 13 months ago.
Ironically the beginning of the end was marked by his baptism in the first team during an away game against Real Madrid.
He came on in the second half to become the youngest debutant in the history of the league at 15 years and 219 days.
He then began distancing himself from the club.
Mallorca tried to tie him down before the end of last year although proper talks never materialised.
LGP gave him a few minutes in the second division and only 11 days after turning 16 he scored his first “big team” goal against Logroñes then burst into tears in an empty Son Moix.
His departure is another example of clubs with much bigger resources coming in with an offer a club like us couldn’t match.
His parents and his agent couldn’t refuse the bid from Rome.
As he was 16 he was available for a minimal fee as he hadn’t signed a pro contract.
Everything in his young footballing life has been mollycoddled.
Before he was even 11 he had an agent and a lucrative sponsorship deal with Nike plus a monthly wage which his mum and dad received.
Allegedly Mallorca offered 300,000 euros for him to sign but Lazio offered 400,000, deal done.
Heads had been turned. Fan’s View wishes him all the best for the future which sadly won’t be here.
AND FINALLY, a man comes out of Heathrow airport, hails a taxi and jumps in. “Good morning,” he says to the driver, “Harley Sthreet pleeth.”
The driver answers back “Morning Sthir, are you going to sthee proffesthor Stheventhon, the thspeech pathologitht by any chance?”
The man replies “Why yeath, I am ath a matter of fact.”
The taxi driver says “Oh heeth abtholutely amathing, he cured me!”