After a week when a teacher in Birmingham asked her class to give her a sentence with dandelion in it – a little Jamaican lad put his hand up “Yes Desmond,” said the teacher, “Da cheetah is faster dandelion, Miss!” – Real Mallorca opened a second ticket window to enable season ticket holders to buy another one for the cup final in Seville on April 6 at 10pm.
So far Mallorca supporters have bought 18,000 tickets from their quota of 20,608, leaving only two sections of the La Cartuja North End (where Mallorca fans will be) available with prices of 110 and 40 euros respectively. Members had until Tuesday (March 26) at 11:59pm to continue purchasing their own tickets from the original allocation, 4% of which had been held back for use by local dignitaries, players’ families and friends.
It’s been a monumental task from all concerned in getting so many fans to Seville and hopefully smoothly back, either by plane or boat or even train. Some of the routes to Andalucia are interesting, to say the least. Fans are flying via London, Lisbon or Gran Canaria ! Others are flying to Madrid then taking the high-speed AVE train (200€ one way). One man jokingly told social media he’d sold a kidney to pay for the trip!
I’ve been banging on in previous Fan’s Views about the lack of Mallorca colours being displayed on buildings, terraces and public transport in Palma. Lo and behold, on Monday the “Unio de Penyes” (supporters clubs) have called for Mallorca fans and the public in general to display flags on their balconies and shop windows in the run up to the final and “Dye the streets of the city red and black.” Will Mallorca’s most important game in 21 years finally stir up the emotions and support from the citizens?
The club have also stated (but not confirmed) that there won’t be a giant screen in the Son Moix for those unable to get to the final. Instead, Plaza de las Tortugas or Plaza Reina (at either end of the Borne) were seen as better options, for some unexplained reason. Son Moix is our home, it’s the living, breathing, heartbeat of the club and that, in my opinion, is where the game should be shown. Bilbao are putting up big screens in their stadium (San Mames) and are erecting screens in their Fanzone at La Cartuja.
Next query from me is why doesn’t the club give the travelling supporters some kind of memorabilia (such as the cheaper commemorative red T shirt on sale in the club shop) to wear on match day? Again, Bilbao are way ahead of us and are giving all their fans replica red and white T shirts.
Real Mallorca, with nine games left to play, look to be on track to stay in top flight Spanish football for a fourth successive season. They have an eight point lead over third-bottom Cadiz. Tomorrow (Saturday 30th at 18:30) we play mid-table Valencia in the Mestalla. The biggest problem for coach Javier Aguirre is keeping his team focused on the job in hand with the Cup final looming.
Players don’t want to get injured as, for most of them, the final is the biggest game in their career. Hopefully our internationalists, Muriqi, Rajkovic and Larin, have all returned unscathed and it’s likely Aguirre will make significant changes for tomorrow’s game. It looks likely that our No. 2 goalkeeper Dominic Greif could start in goal as he needs match practice before playing in Seville.
There’s a humdinger of a game coming up on Saturday, April 13 at 6.30pm in the Son Moix. The mighty Real Madrid come to town and a full house is expected. If there are any tickets available, prices will start at 80 euros.
Last Sunday marked the second year since our 65-year-old Mexican coach Javier Aguirre arrived on these island shores. He’s divided opinion amongst the fans, some aren’t keen on his defensive team selections, others can’t praise him enough. He’s been in charge for 87 games, won 32, drawn 23 and lost 32, with 96 goals for and 96 against. It’s been reported that he’s in the frame for a job in Saudi Arabia and as coach for a third time with the Mexican national side. Last season he got the team into ninth place and although our league form hasn’t been as good as last season, he’s got us into a cup final with all its perks.
As happened last year, Aguirre won’t make any comment on his future, preferring to wait until Mallorca are mathematically safe in La Liga. Whatever opinions people have regarding Aguirre, there’s no doubt he has entered the golden list of Mallorca coaches. He is the man who has changed the face of the team and returned it to better times. He arrived at the club when they were in a difficult situation, with the team in relegation mode and after an agonising end to the campaign they stayed up with a win at Osasuna. Not since Gregorio Manzano has a coach accumulated two entire seasons at the helm of Real Mallorca and like Manzano, Aguirre could be in the history books by winning a Copa del Rey Final.
AND FINALLY, The Lord called Noah and said “Noah, I need you to build another ark.” “What, like the last one ?” asked Noah. “No,” replied the Lord, “I want this one to have six storeys.” “And do you want me to lead in all the animals two by two ?” Noah enquired. “No,” said God, “I want you to just take fish aboard.” Noah responded “What kind of fish, Lord ?” “Just carp,” explained God. “Why just carp ?” queried Noah. God quipped “Because I’ve always wanted a multi-storey carp ark !!”