After a week when the World Health Organisation warned of a shortage of obesity jabs over the festive season – and said as an alternative people could simply stop stuffing their fat faces! – Real Mallorca play their last home game of 2025 against ninth-placed Elche tomorrow (Saturday December 13), kick off in Son Moix is 16:15. Mallorca go into this game with doubts over several injured players (facing late fitness tests) and a suspension for midfielder Samu Costa. Hoping to play after recovering from a hamstring tear is goalkeeper Leo Roman who has been missing since the end of October. A decision will be made on Friday (12th) on whether he plays but indications are optimistic.
The other injury doubt is much more difficult to predict. Club captain, centre half and our “Iron Man” Antonio Raillo fractured a cheek bone at the end of our last game in Oviedo a week ago. After spending the night under observation in Asturias, he had further treatment in Palma which was successful, and he has been back in training wearing a protective mask, so no scenario has been completely ruled out yet. The only problem is that in proper matchplay there’s always a risk of contact which makes Raillo’s availability uncertain.
Tomorrow’s visitors Elche have made a good start to the season and have been described as unpredictable and intoxicating to watch. In their squad are two ex Mallorca players, Pedro Bigas and Aleix Febas.
As 2025 draws to a close, RCD Mallorca are not in a good place. In the final 19 games of last season and the 15 we’ve played this campaign, we’ve only won seven (out of 34). The team seem unable to generate attacking football, showing alarming inconsistency in defence and a lack of bite in attack. Our striker Vedat Muriqi is without doubt one of the best attackers in La Liga and one of the best headers of a ball in the top flight. He’s third in the leading goalscoring “Pichichi” (alongside Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona) but spends too may games in isolation starved of the ball.
Us fans are fed up after many months of suffering and weariness which despite the team being just outside the relegation zone (thanks more to the shortcomings of our fellow strugglers than our own merits) has accumulated a dire 2025 tally and the team’s poor performances seem to go on and on and on zzzzzz!
We appear to have lost our identity in terms of playing style. There’s no doubt this Mallorca team is in crisis and a win tomorrow against Elche would be the best Christmas present for all Mallorquinistas.
It’s worrying that Mallorca are having to rely on a 19-year-old “star in the making” Jan Virgili. He was playing in youth team football at Nastic de Tarragona just two years ago before Barcelona brought him into their youth academy.
Every time Virgili is taken off before the end of a game our play deteriorates and Muriqi loses his main supplier of ammunition. Fingers are being pointed in the direction of our coach Jagoba Arrasate.
Under his leadership there hasn’t been any marked leap in our quality of play and he hasn’t improved on the last incumbent Javier Aguirre. The only difference is, at the moment, he’s being backed by the hierarchy who gave him a three-year contract. Our American owners still believe Arrasate will turn things around in the New Year. Let’s hope so as a solution has to be found to the problems besetting Real Mallorca on the playing surface.
It’s rumoured that Arrasate has requested a winger in the January transfer window. It won’t be an easy signing since the available budget is limited. A handful of names are already on the list and we need somebody who can play down the right wing, one of our weak spots. If the move comes to fruition it would probably mean Binissalem’s Javi Llabres will again go out on loan.
Copa del Rey drama – Real Mallorca were given possibly their worst draw possible in the third round of the Copa del Rey. Their opponents will be Deportivo La Coruña, second in the second division, who have only lost one match this season.
The game will be played in the Riazor stadium at 7pm on Tuesday, December 16. Mallorca and Depor are old acquaintance in the Copa del Rey having faced off seven times. In Depor’s squad are two ex Mallorca players, Ximo Navarro and striker Stoichkov. There’s definitely a taste of revenge about this tie. Six and a half years ago in a historic promotion play off we overturned a 2-0 defeat in the first leg to beat Depor 3-0 in the Son Moix to gain promotion. After the defeat Depor went into freefall, finishing up in the then Segunda B until they were promoted again two years ago. History favours Deportivo as Mallorca haven’t won at Riazor for 20 years.
Via Cintura side Atletico Balear drew a plum tie in the third round – a home game against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday 17th at 9pm in their Estadi Balears stadium, a sure sell-out and a money-spinner for the cash-strapped Balearicos.
AND FINALLY, here are just some of the silliest answers of 2025 on TV quiz shows. (1) Q: Name the German national airline, A: Luftwaffe; (2) Q: What was Bram Stoker’s most famous creation? A: Was it Branston pickle; (3) Q: Which Ossie played for Tottenham in the 1981 Cup Final ? A: Ozzy Osbourne; (4) Q: What British mammal lives in a sett and has a distinctive black and white striped head? A: Zebra; (5) Q: What was Gandi’s first name? A: Goosey? (6) Q: Name something women borrow from each other? A: Husbands !