Mallorca to play three games in eight days

For new Mallorca coach Jagoba Arrasate it’s a homecoming as he spent six years there before arriving here a few weeks ago. One of of Osasuna’s top players is ex Mallorca striker Ante Budimir who became persona non grata at Real Mallorca after going on strike to orchestrate a move to Osasuna. Taking Arrasate’s job at El Sadar is ex Mallorca boss Vicente Moreno who also left under a cloud when a leaked announcement in April 2020 indicated that he was leaving for Espanyol at the end of the season.

Other games scheduled for Mallorca in a hectic period (at the hottest time of the year !) are a home game against a struggling Sevilla side in Palma next Tuesday 27th, kick off 19:00 followed by an away trip to Madrid on Saturday 31st at 21:30 to play newly-promoted second division champions Leganes.

Last Sunday night’s 1-1 draw against Real Madrid saw RCD Mallorca start their fourth consecutive season in top flight Spanish football in some style. It was a great start for the new coach Arrasate and an almost full Son Moix was buzzing with excitement after the game. When Rodrygo put “Los Blancos” ahead in the 12th minute, I expected a stampede from Ancelloti’s “Galacticos.” But Mallorca never gave up, showing a radical change from the defensive football under previous manager Javier Aguirre (now back in his native Mexico).

Arrasate moved Omar Mascarell into the anchor role in midfield and he had his best game for Mallorca. Sergi Darder had a good first half but faded after the break, and up front Asano and Dani Rodriguez plus a resurgent Vedat Muriqi put in great shifts. Even Kyle Larin had his best 20 minutes down the left wing and we should have won the game but for poor finishing from Antonio Sanchez with almost the last kick of the game.

The fans last Sunday night were superb and the Ultras never stopped singing. Mallorca’s defence were unbelievable, repelling just about every wave of attack from Mbappe, “Vini” Junior and a “knackered” Jude Bellingham. In goal Dominik Greif played a blinder in only his fourth La Liga start since arriving on the island from Slovan Bratislava in 2021. When he first came he was understudy to Manolo Reina, then he had a serious back injury which kept him sidelined for almost a year. After recovering he was behind Rajkovic in the pecking order but came to prominence in our cup run last season. Arrasate (like he did at Osasuna) has said Greif’s position as No. 1 ’keeper is not definite and the coach reiterated that Ibiza-born Leo Roman could well get a start as the “portero” position is rotated.

Without a shadow of doubt the main protagonist for Real Mallorca last Sunday night was new Colombian left back Johan Mojica who won over the Son Moix faithful with a dazzling display down the left-hand side. His crossing was out of this world and to say the 32-year-old has a good engine would be an understatement. No wonder he was given a standing ovation at the end, and at just over one million euros transfer fee looks like a real bargain. Mojica had played under Arrasate at Osasuna last season so was well known to him. He also arrived on the back of the Copa America where Colombia finished runners up to Argentina. After his performances in America he had offers from Mexico and England but from the beginning he gave the nod to Mallorca because Arrasate’s style of coaching suited Mojica’s style of box to box play.

With the transfer window closing on the 31st, Mallorca are still in the market for a left-footed midfielder. One player on the shopping list is Rodri (no, not that one !) from Real Betis who looks surplus to requirements for the Sevilla club. Mallorca would take the 24-year-old on loan with an option to buy. Italian club Como coached by Cesc Fabregas are also interested in the skilful Rodri but it seems he wants to stay in La Liga – watch this space !

After Real Madrid failed to win last Sunday night and the Mbappe-mania scenario failed to materialise, “Los Merengues” have been scathing in their criticism of the match referee and some dubious Mallorca tackles that went unpunished. It’s a poor show when Real Madrid FC fail to give even a word of encouragement to Real Mallorca for their efforts last weekend. Madrid were miffed they couldn’t win and had to resort to broadcasting a video denouncing eight errors the referee missed. Vinicius Junior is unquestionably a wonderful player but a serious wuss, every time he gets kicked he goes down like a sack of spuds and has more rollovers than the national lottery. He’s like a little kid who wants his ball back and goes home whingeing to his mummy !

AND FINALLY, a friend of mine went for a meal in one of those upmarket, expensive restaurants in Palma the other night. He ordered the house special, Napoleon Chicken. When it arrived there was no meat to be seen, just the carcass. He said to the waiter “What’s this ?” The waiter replied “It’s the boney part !!”