On Tuesday night they beat their toughest opponents Eibar 1-0 with a 59th minute goal from new signing Angel Rodriguez.
Mallorca dominated a poor Basque side from start to finish with our two new full backs Maffeo and Costa showing skill and pace down the flanks with Galaretta conducting things in the middle.
There were so many substitutions in this game in the second half that Juan the coach-driver even got a kick!
Mallorca have a trip to France this weekend when we’ll play Ligue 1 team Brest tomorrow night at 18:30.
Then it’s the penultimate friendly at Huesca on Wednesday. It was revealed during the week that Antonio Sanchez, who’s yet to feature pre-season, is to go under the knife and have an operation on a long-term shoulder problem.
He’s expected to be out until October.
One of our B team youngsters, Javi Llabres, took Sanchez’s place and did so well that the club are to give him a proper contract to avoid him being poached by bigger predators. Also missing pre-season has been Amath, who’s had a poisoned toe which has taken longer than expected to heal.
Argentinian full back Braian Cufre, who was signed two years ago from Velez Sarsfield for 2.5 million euros, looks to be loaned out to La Segunda side Malaga.
Cufre’s dropped down the left back pecking order and has been inconsistent in his spell here.
The City of Palma trophy game against Italian Serie A side Cagliari (from Sardinia) is next Saturday at 8 pm.
It may be the case that fans intending to go may have to provide a Covid certificate to gain entry.
National government health people gave the go-ahead for full stadiums but since that piece of information was released they’ve now said it’s down to local governments to decide whether or not to apply restrictions.
With the game only a week away and La Liga kicking off in two weeks, there needs to be some kind of plan in place as soon as possible.
My spies tell me that on the shopping list of Real Mallorca is the possibility of bringing back Japanese wonder kid Take Kubo to the Son Moix for one or maybe two seasons.
“Super” Kubo has been taking centre stage in his home city scoring three goals for his country in the Tokyo Olympic Games.
His stunning surge into the headlines has given his parent club Real Madrid a headache as they already have their three legally allowed non European Union players registered.
Mallorca are going all out for Kubo and the player could be here for the next two years albeit with a significant sacrifice in his salary.
With Real Sociedad allegedly also after his services, any deal from Palma would be hanging by a thread, and the fact that Kubo is the stand-out player for the “Blue Samurai” at the Olympic football does not auger well for Real Mallorca. There are two key factors present.
If Japan get to the semi final/final of the competition, he will have to have an extended holiday time.
A club like Sociedad wouldn’t want to wait several weeks to a month for Kubo’s services, whereas Mallorca wouldn’t be too bothered.
The second key factor is Kubo has lost a year with his troubled on-loan deals at Villareal and Getafe and he wouldn’t want to take a risk of going to a place where he wouldn’t play much.
In Palma he would be the first name on the team sheet. Kubo wants to be important and loved and he’d certainly get both of these back in the Son Moix.
All this talk revolves around money and that’s where it becomes complicated.
Real Madrid are asking three million for the loan deal plus his wages, another two million.
Five million euros for a player you don’t own is not acceptable for a club like Real Mallorca.
A two-year loan deal could lead to negotiations with the player’s agent but would involve a cut in salary.
Kubo would lose money but, in exchange, he would be going to a team where he would be the protagonist.
He would then leave here aged 21, possibly ready to make the big leap to regular first team football at Real Madrid. When Kubo was here two years ago, he demonstrated his skill and technical ability which saw him stand out at such a young age.
Although he rarely completed 90 minutes for us, he played in 35 games with four goals and four assists and alongside Messi and Eden Hazard he was one of La Liga’s most prolific dribblers.
Mallorquinistas should be moderately optimistic regarding Kubo’s return.
However, any deal which has better financial opportunities would see him go elsewhere.
And finally, Back in the Wild West, a dog goes into a Wells Fargo telegraph office and says “I’d like to send a telegram.”
“Certainly,” replies the clerk behind the counter, picking up a pencil. “What’s the message?” “Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.” The clerk calculates “That’s nine words, the minimum charge is for 12 words, you’ve got three left.”
The dog answers, “No, that’s okay.” The clerk continues, “Oh, go on, it’d be a waste not to.” The dog insists “But I’ve got nothing else to say.” The clerk suggests “How about ‘woof, woof, woof’”? The dog looks puzzled “What? That wouldn’t make any sense !”
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For some reason everyone got over excited about Kubo, yes he is tricky, and could provide a few exceptional moments, but more an impact player than serious addition to the team. Personally, if Sturridge's head and heart are in the right place he would be a much better addition. What Mallorca lacked last time they reached La Liga was "nous", they were naive against the more established average teams who knew how to spoil, how to grind out a result. With his Premiership experience Sturridge could provide these qualities, and he knows ( or knew!!) how to find the net.