Coach Vazquez with Mallorca players (left to right) Cabrero, Raillo, Santamaria, Yuste, Pleguezuelo and Company in front of the new sponsored plane.

Coach Vazquez with Mallorca players (left to right) Cabrero, Raillo, Santamaria, Yuste, Pleguezuelo and Company in front of the new sponsored plane. | Miquel A. Cañellas

Monro BrycePalma27/08/2016 00:00
TW
0

Real Mallorca, after their disastrous shock opening game defeat at home to Reus last Saturday, now face another newly-promoted team Cadiz on Sunday night at 22.30. The Andalusian side's brilliant yellow Ramon Carranza stadium is expected to be full (25,000) after the club initiated a cheap ticket campaign to celebrate their promotion in June following a six-year absence. The “yellow submarine” have a strong Mallorca connection. Their coach Alvaro Cervera played for us in the late '80s and both Cadiz strikers, Dani Guiza and Alfredo Ortuño, have graced Son Moix's hallowed turf in a red shirt.

If last week's match was a possible banana skin for Real Mallorca (which it was), tonight's game is without doubt the hardest away fixture any Spanish second division side will face. Cadiz's loony fans or “Cadistas” were recently voted the best away supporters by Real Madrid for their decibel levels after playing a cup match in the Bernabeu last March.

Mallorca only won two games on the road last season so I see little hope for them. However, the team know they let the fans down big time last week and will have a point to prove, so a draw would be a good result.

We will be without left winger Thierry Moutinho who has a one-match suspension after being sent off against Reus. The Spanish FA have increased the fines clubs will have to pay for players' misdemeanours during matches. Dismissals have gone up from 200 to 500 euros per player, and a booking from 100 to 200 euros.

Coach Fernando Vazquez has been given pelters in the press this past week regarding his strange starting XI last Saturday. Too many players were out of position and three in midfield looked an overload. At his weekly press conference on Friday, Vazquez called for patience and reminded fans that the season was a marathon not a sprint. He said he was disappointed with the negative attitude of the fans after last week's reversal, a statement which I find quite unbelievable; we were pitiful. He also reassured us that his prime objective hasn't changed, and he's still intent on getting Real Mallorca promoted. He stressed the danger posed by Cadiz, saying they were at their most threatening down the flanks. Their on-loan striker from Las Palmas, Alfredo Ortuño, who played for Mallorca for four months last season, has promised, out of respect, not to celebrate if he scores. What's that all about? Tonight it's all about commitment and somebody has to emerge on the pitch as a leader, something we haven't had since Nunes retired two years ago.

Wednesday saw our main sponsor and now the name that will emblazon the front of the shirts, Air Europa, unveil one of their planes carrying the 100th anniversary logo on the fuselage. I look forward to flying in it when the sponsored away trips resume. Everything with regard to advertising, sponsorship and public relations seems to be better this season; now all we want is the most important part to be sorted out - performing on the pitch. It's all about playing good football and winning games.