After a week when in the UK a “Heatwave Latest” news item reported that councils in England were happy – after melting tarmac on the roads began to fill in their own pot holes! – Real Mallorca were given the toughest possible start to their 25/26 La Liga campaign, when the new calendario (fixture list) was released on Tuesday night. Local media outlets have been calling our upcoming start to our fifth consecutive La Liga appearances as “durisimo.” We open the season in Palma against Barcelona, then we have another home game against Celta Vigo, followed by a trip to Real Madrid! We’re then away at Espanyol, a team who over the years have caused us endless problems. Then just to complete our horrendous beginning, At. Madrid are the visitors to Son Moix.
In all the four decades I’ve followed Real Mallorca, I can’t remember a more difficult start, when we face the top four from last season in the first eight games, with a visit to fourth-placed Athletic Club in the first week of October. However, if it’s hard at the beginning, the end of season games should be a lot smoother when we play two of the newly promoted teams, Levante (Valencia) and Oviedo. The last time the latter were in La Liga was 2001 and we beat them in the Son Moix to send them into the second division. One thing’s for certain, we won’t have such a good run in the first half of the season as we did last time. It’s very possible we’ll be playing catch-up well into Christmas.
Our opening home game against Barcelona should boost a season ticket campaign that has, so far, begun without a single incentive for fans from the new players side of things. Barça’s participation in Son Moix in August with the tourist season in full swing should see a full house. The season ticket renewal process now underway is divided into three phases, with renewal of existing seats (until July 17), then change of seat (from July 21 to 25), then new registrations (from July 29). For prices check the club’s website www.rcdmallorca.es.
New face to join the club
At the time of submitting this column (Wednesday night), Mallorquinistas are still waiting for a new face to join the club. Aside from the departures of Navarro, Chiquinho and Valery, only the renewals of 41-year-old goalkeeper “Pichu” Cuellar and right back Mateo Jaume are confirmed, along with the return of loanees Llabres, Daniel Luna and Siebe van der Hayden.
We all thought moves to bring in Barcelona’s 22-year-old midfielder Pablo Torre were done and dusted, but his future has taken a fresh twist as he heads towards the Nou Camp salida door. His representatives have been in talks about a potential 5 million euro move to the island but now it seems that move could be “gazumped” by Dutch giants Ajax. The Amsterdam club’s involvement in the Champions League has halted talks with Mallorca as the player ponders his next move.
Pablo Torre - will he be a Mallorca player?
Our coach Jagoba Arrasate is a big admirer of Torre’s style and considers it essential to incorporate a player like him into the squad. Mallorca is willing to dip deep into its pockets and reach a figure of around 5 million euros to acquire 50% of the player’s ownership as Barcelona would trouser the other half of any transfer deal. Things are never straightforward when it comes to wheeling and dealing football players these days.
One player rumoured to be leaving Mallorca soon is our right wing back Pablo Maffeo. It was reported earlier this week that Nottingham Forest were after his signature for a fee around six million euros. Mallorca’s director of football, Pablo Ortells, in an interview denied they had received any bid from anybody and that Maffeo has a contract for another two years and as far as he (Ortells) is concerned, he’s staying at the Son Moix. Maffeo has been brilliant in his four years here but his off the ball activities, especially on social networks, haven’t gone down well with some local fans. He’s also known for his fiery temper and has regularly clashed with the media and officials. Maffeo doesn’t seem to be able to escape controversy for long and in the last game of the season in Son Moix he had a massive falling out with some of our Ultras. He wants out of the Spanish league and I think his days here are numbered.
Disastrous season for Cyle Larin
The other day Cyle Larin confirmed his disastrous season by missing a penalty for Canada in a game against Guatemala which saw Canada eliminated from the Concacaf Gold Cup played in Minneapolis. Larin came off the bench for 10-man Canada in the 71st minute and was given the captain’s armband. He’s now on holiday but it’s clear after that performance his market value is getting lower and lower – not good news for Real Mallorca.
AND FINALLY, a Romanian, an Arab and an Englishman are in the same bar. When the Romanian finishes his beer, he throws his glass in the air, pulls out his pistol and shoots the glass to pieces saying “In Romania our glasses are so cheap we don’t need to drink from the same one twice.” The Arab, obviously impressed by this, drinks his non-alcoholic beer, throws his glass in the air, pulls out his AK-47 and also shoots the glass to pieces, saying “In the Arab world we have so much sand to make glasses that we don’t need to drink with the same one twice either.” The Englishman, cool as a cucumber, picks up his beer, downs it in one gulp and throws the glass in the air, whips out his 45 and shoots the Romanian and the Arab. Catching his glass, setting it on the bar and calling for a refill, he says “In England now we have so many foreigners that we don’t have to drink with the same ones twice!!”
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