Mallorcan Beach Football Making Waves in La Liga

Lang Hunter

Ahhh, the Balearics. Sun, sea, sand and sangria. And mad, late nights. That’s all there is there, surely? Well, no, there’s actually a shed load more to the islands, whether you hit Ibiza, Majorca or Menorca (Formentera is too small to count, seriously, day trips only).

But what happens if you happen to be heading that way, say between, umm, September and May?

You know, when the footy season is still on? Well, well, well, just look at that  - Majorca has their own team right up there in the Spanish First Division. Days and happy.

Based at Estadi ONO, on the outskirts of Palma, RCD Mallorca currently sit in 9th place in La Liga and are the only side from the Balearic Islands in the 2 top divisions. They have their own plane, which is kind of important since it takes forever on the slow boat to Denia on the mainland, a nice new stadium built in 1999, and a good average crowd of 16000+ per home game (that’s handy then if you happen to fancy a game, as the capacity is 23000).

Founded in 1916, Real Club Deportivo Mallorca (as they’re now known as) have spent most of their history in and out of La Liga. Their most successful seasons in the league were 98/99 and 00/01 when they finished in 3rd position on both occasions. A Copa del Rey win has been their only silverware, in 2003 (runners up in 91 and 98), and they made the final of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1998/99 when they were defeated 2-1 by Lazio. So, a fairly decent past 10 years for the small club from the islands.

Former players of note include Gerry Armstrong, the man who demolished Spain’s home World Cup in 1982 with the winner for Northern Ireland at the Mestalla in Valencia. On the back of that tournament, he got the move to Mallorca. Now commentating on Spanish football for Sky, Gerry’s still a bit of a hero.

Remember the slightly mad Argentina goalie, Roa? Well, he too, played for Mallorca, and was touted for a big move to the UK, when he announced he was quitting the game as his new church would not permit work from Friday to Sunday (kind of limits your options when you’re a professional footballer, eh?).

Good old Sander Westerveld (he crops up everywhere in Spain!) played for the islanders 04-05. Finidi George (Nigeria, made a name for himself in the World Cup), Albert Luque (played for Newcastle) plied his trade here from 98-02, Lauren (Cameroon & Arsenal) and everyone’s favourite Spaniard, Ivan Campo, all donned the red shirt of Mallorca.

And finally, where would young Samuel Eto’o have been without his great 4 seasons at the club, from 2000-04? (in fact, where would Mallorca have been without him?!?). 120 games, 48 goals. Impressive. [There’s also Miguel Nadal, who played 300 times for Mallorca, but he’s only famous because his nephew is tennis sensation Rafael Nadal]

This season, as said, they currently sit in 9th place in the league with 8 matches remaining. So far, they have played 30, winning 9, drawing 18 and losing 8. That’s a mighty good record when it comes to losses, considering Real Madrid, at the top of the table, have lost 7 times this season. Sadly, it’s Mallorca’s draws, instead of wins, that’s keeping them out of the top 8. Only 5 teams have scored more than Mallorca’s 46 goals, all of them in the top 6.

 

So, who are the main men at the club at the moment and how’s it all going to pan out come April?

 

The Mallorcan side has a good mix of youth and experience, with 11 players capped by their countries. There’s a nucleus of younger players, around the 23-27 age range, which can only be good for a side hoping to stay in La Liga this season and build on the foundations they have laid for next season.

In goalkeepers, they have Moya (capped by Spain at U-21 level) aged 23, and ex-Argentinean international Lux. At 25, I’d say he could still make it back into the international fold.

In Defence, there is Nunez (Portugal) who has been with Mallorca since ’04, Fernando Navarro, who at 25 has just been capped by Spain for the first time, and the (in)famous David Navarro, on loan from Valencia, after the Champions League brawl of yesteryear (when he ran onto the pitch a broke the Inter Milan players nose – cracking punch incidentally).

The midfield of the club centers around captain Ibagaiza, an Argentine 31 year old and team penalty taker. Juan Arango, who at 27, has played for Venezuela 65 times, is the attacking midfielder in the team who has pitched in with 11 goals so far this season. Add to that, Greece’s national team captain, Angelos Basinas, who joined Mallorca in 2006 after 15 years at Panathinaikos and the midfield doesn’t look too bad. A member of the Greek side that won the European Championships in 2004 (setting up the winner), he’s played 88 times for his country.

Up front are Pierre Webo (Cameroon), Tuni (Dutch 25 year old signed in 2002), Oscar Trejo (who has been mooted as a possible transfer target for Liverpool this summer) and Mallorca’s golden boy, and top scorer, Spain’s own Daniel Guiza. 27 year old Guiza earned his first cap for Spain in the 1-0 win over Northern Ireland last November. Signed by Mallorca last year, he’s bagged 15 league goals this season. His stats for the past seasons are pretty good too – 60 goals in 150 games.

It’s a good squad, and really, I  think if you fancy a trip to the islands next year, it would be a very safe bet that you could catch a La Liga match. Mallorca may be just 7 points off the relegation places, but, as I’ve mentioned in earlier articles, it’s more the teams below having to win crunch matches - plus Mallorca are knocking in the goals in almost every match.

They do have a pretty tricky next set of matches, a home tie with Real Madrid, then a trip to Seville, but this weekend’s victory away at Valencia (who looked to have got some form together) 3-0 shows what the side is capable of. After those games it’s a pretty decent run-in (other than Barca on the penultimate weekend), against Murcia (a), Racing Santander (h), Athletic Bilbao (a), Osasuna (h) and finally a home tie to finish the season against Real Zaragoza.

 

You know, I may even check out the ferry timetables from Denia myself for next season and make a weekend of it!!