After a week when Marks & Spencer’s clothing department announced that due to falling sales they were to merge with Poundstretcher – and will be known from now on as Stretch Marks! – Real Mallorca (the revelation side in La Liga) made the short journey over to Barcelona where they’ll face Espanyol tomorrow (Saturday) at 2pm. It’s expected that 628 Mallorquinistas will be in the RCDE Stadium (known locally as Cornella Prat Stadium) as the Palma side go for their fourth consecutive win of the season which, if successful, is something we haven’t been able to do since 2012. For tomorrow’s game Arrasate will be without Valjent and Asano, so he’ll rotate the team as usual and Mallorca have been boosted by the news that Espanyol’s best player and captain Puado is out with a serious knee problem.
At present Real Mallorca are leading the “middle class league” where every team is looking for points to stay in top flight Spanish football. In La Liga, just winning any game is considered a good result, winning two consecutive games is difficult, but for one of the so-called “lesser” sides to win three in a row (that is, unless you’re Real Madrid or Barcelona) is a major achievement. It’s great to look at La Liga standings and see RCD Mallorca sixth (a conference league spot) with 14 points after eight games. Last Friday night at Valladolid the Palma team were the only side in La Liga on match day 8 to win away from home.
The change of mentality under new coach Jagoba Arrasate is radical, and the only downside of beating Valladolid 1-2 was being unable to keep a clean sheet. Of course there’s a long way to go and there’s sure to be some defeats on the way, but dreaming is free and this present run of form is sending local fans into the land of dreams. Beating top sides like Real Sociedad and Betis, plus drawing with Real Madrid, is an unbelievable start.
This season Mallorca are a team that rely heavily on good counterattacks, long balls, crosses and set pieces. We’ve been letting opponents out of their own half instead of pressing aggressively. Then once teams encroach further into our territory, the play becomes much more intense and we win most of the duels. Our two most dominant players when it comes to aerial tussles are “Captain Marvel” Antonio Raillo and Samu Costa. Raillo wins 74% of his aerial encounters while Costa wins 69%.
Two players who really have come to prominence this season under Arrasate are Sergi Darder and a resurgent Cyle Larin. Coming from Espanyol last Summer, Sergi found things difficult playing in a more defensive set-up under Javier Aguirre. Now he occupies an important midfield space and position on the pitch. If he plays well, Mallorca play well. The 30 year old from Arta is the team’s compass in midfield and is the metronome to mark the time and rhythm of each match situation. In addition, he executes set pieces and assists the scorers. Sergi will be treated like the proverbial prodigal son at Espanyol tomorrow where he played with aplomb for five years.
The other player to take a huge step up under Arrasate’s guidance is Canadian/Jamaican Cyle Larin. He’s emerged from some hidden corner of football to resurrect his stalling career after a thoroughly disappointing year since arriving last Summer from Valladolid for an estimated 8 million euros. He scored a brilliant goal with assists in two other games in which Arrasate trusted him to replace the injured Vedat Muriqi. Larin’s resurgence has been nothing short of miraculous. After a year fighting his demons, our No. 17 scored a “worldy” at Valladolid and when Muriqi is fit it should be interesting to see who plays where upfront. Larin has taken his opportunity with both feet and I promise I won’t slag him off ever again in this column!!!
Fan’s View would not be complete this week without a mention for Dani Rodriguez who reaches his 250th game for Mallorca tomorrow. It’s a landmark figure for a guy who arrived here in the second division at 30 years old. This campaign Dani has two goals and two assists and is a key player in the present set-up. Dani’s scored 32 goals in 249 games and at 36 is irreplaceable. He hasn’t had a bad game since arriving from Albacete on a freebie in 2018. He plays with the engine of a 20 year old and will renew for another year as he’s entitled to an automatic renewal next May. For me, he’s the first name on the team sheet. Enhorabuena, maestro!
PS After all the shenanigans at the recent Madrid derby, one person stood out head and shoulders above everybody. Palma-born, 30-year-old referee Busquets Ferrer has been hailed for his handling of a “difficult” match. Three years ago he was officiating in the local third division and has risen quickly up the refereeing ladder. The good thing about this young man is – he actually played the game before becoming a referee. He came through Sunday’s “trial by fire” with flying colours and is expected to reach the top. He joins another three 30-year-old “whistlers” in what is a welcome revolution in Spanish football.
And finally
The UK Government has announced that in order to help save the economy, from next week the Home Office and Immigration Department will start deporting Pensioners instead of asylum seekers, to lower welfare benefits and NHS costs. Older people are easier to catch, and will not remember how to get back home. And everybody else will forget the misstep in cancelling their winter fuel payment.