Mallorca took to the pitch with a vastly changed line-up and were missing Raillo, Augustinsson, Gio Gonzalez, Galarreta, Grenier, as well as Valjent who called off sick just before kick-off. Our best players Muriqi and Kang In Lee were on the bench but these absentees didn’t stop Mallorca taking a shock early lead in the 20th minute.
A Dani Rodriguez corner found the head of an unmarked Nastasic and he nodded in the opener. Mallorca then succumbed to two killer blows, one a minute before the break by World Cup winner De Paul and another one a minute after the break from Morata. Coach Aguirre brought on Muriqi and Kang In Lee in the second half but they were powerless to stop Carrasco who evaded the offside trap in the 76th minute to run fully half the length of the pitch before cruelly rounding Rajkovic and rolling the ball home.
SUMMING UP : Once again on Wednesday night it was evident that we have no “Plan B” in attack beyond Muriqi and Kang In Lee. Our technical director has to bring in backup for our attacking options in the Summer. A word about an excellent referee, Sr Juan Polido from Las Palmas, he didn’t show a single yellow card the whole game, that has to be a first ! Next up Mallorca have an important home game on Monday night at 19:00 hrs when Athletic Club Bilbao come to Palma.
AGONY FOR REAL MALLORCA
Tomorrow (Saturday, April 29) in 1998 was a footballing day I’ll never forget. Real Mallorca had reached the Copa del Rey final where they’d play the mighty Barcelona (managed by Louis Van Gaal) in the Mestalla stadium, Valencia.
Our “Copa” venture began with a local game against Soller which we won comfortably over two legs. Then we beat Las Palmas, Celtic and At. Bilbao all on the away goals ruling.
The final in Valencia drew the biggest displacement of Mallorca residents – ever ! Fifteen thousand fans made the short trip to Valencia by plane and boat to witness a game that had generated huge interest on the island. Hundreds of balconies in Palma were decked out in Real Mallorca colours and the local EMT buses and the taxis were flying red and black mini-flags.
In the build-up, our then president from Campanet, Dr Bartolome Beltran, had cheekily asked the captain of the visiting American nuclear aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz (which was on a courtesy visit) if he could ferry us Mallorquinistas over to the game. Beltran was politely told to go forth and multiply !!
Fans had queued up outside the old Luis Sitjar ground for hours to pick up their tickets and get a free red chubasquero (rain jacket) donated by the Council of Mallorca and those jackets dyed the Mestalla North End red, making a very impressive sight. As we took our seats high up in the away section, a big hit of the time, “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba, was blasting out, followed by Republica’s “Ready To Go.”
We got off to the best possible start as we took the lead after just six minutes. Gabi Amato dribbled past (Rafa’s uncle) Miguel Angel Nadal, crossed to the far post and Stankovic slammed in the opener.
It took Barcelona until the 69th minute to equalise with a Rivaldo-deflected shot. Then the referee sent off two Mallorca players, leaving us with nine men for the extra-time period. In that last 30 minutes, a combination of The Alamo and Rorke’s Drift made this an unforgettable final as our nine men repelled wave after wave of Barcelona attacks. Then we arrived at the dreaded lottery of a penalty shoot out. Those of nervous disposition look away now !
Our goalkeeper Carlos (“Lechuga”) Roa saved three Barcelona penalties from Figo, Celades and Rivaldo then scored one himself. It was all down to a hobbling Stankovic with his magic left leg swathed in bandages. Agonisingly his poor kick crashed into the billboards behind Barça’s goal. We missed the next one and the final was lost. Barça won it 5-4 on spot kicks, a victory they barely deserved.
On the plane home you could hear a pin drop as Mallorca fans were inconsolable – it was all too much to take.
We got a modicum of revenge a few months later when in August we beat Barcelona 3-1 on aggregate in the Spanish Super Cup. That victory was our first ever “big trophy” win in our, then, 82-year history.
AND FINALLY, Knight Rider star David Hasselhof goes into his local bar. The barman says “A pint of best bitter Mr Hasselhof ?” David says “Just call me Hoff.” The barman replies “Sure, no Hassel !”
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