Mallorca-Real Madrid

By: Jeremy | April 4th, 2008

Real Madrid is the only sizable European club I have seen play in person and every year when Mallorca plays them I am reminded of the game I saw with Michel and Butragueno in the lineup. I still have my cheap ass Butragueno jersey that I bought near one of the Ballenarios in Palma(needless to say it does not fit very well as I am not the fit 21 yr old soccer player I was back then) and I still use my very nice Real Madrid key chain that was given to me by an old Spanish guy from Madrid to keep my car keys from getting lost. So what is my point with this Madrid ass kissing? Well, in a way I am kind of a fan. Not like I am with Mallorca, but Madrid oozes class like Mallorca does, they just do it on a more expensive level.

Even if I do have a soft spot in my heart for Madrid, I am hoping the Barralets destroy them this Saturday at the OnoEstadi. If anyone best explains my sometime indifferent approach to this years team, it was Navarro this week when he goes in the press and talks about the teams main goal being safety. With eight weeks to go and Mallorca in 9th place closer to a European spot then relegation, his statements pretty much sum up the expectations of the team and goes to show that even in 9th place, the team has been a dissapointment and is worried about relegation.

Needless to say when you are a club that fights relegation pretty much year in and year out, the mentality should be to survive the drop and then go from there. Yes we are in 9th place, but there are a bunch of teams close to us and we are only 7 points from relegation. I guess I would be more worried about relegation because of how close things are so I understand Navarros comments. However, if we werent such a perpetual relegation struggler, the team would have the mentality that Europe is possible and players would be coming out in the press saying we can do it. Our mentality is backwards and will be until we have years of consistent results. Dont get me wrong, I am happy that relegation isnt a big threat compared to previous years, but with the talent assembled this year, we have been a huge disappointment.

A big piece of talent brought in this year has lived up to expectations and that is Guiza. He is a stud and really helps take the pressure of Arango who has improved his form in recent weeks. With the play of those two along with Ibagaza, we can run through teams like Valencia and Deportivo in the same way Madrid does pretty much everyone week to week and year to year in LaLiga. I want this team to get to that level and maybe that is why I get up for this game. The players seem to as well. Mallorca is a classic group that seems to play to the level of its competition, not the level of its own talent. Typically that is bad, but this week it will be good as we get the big dog in LaLiga in our own backyard and we have proven we can beat them.

One of the better games this year was the loss in the Bernabeu 4-3. Madrid respects us and may even be afraid of us even if they wont admit it. We knocked them out of the Kings Cup this year by beating them twice. No luck involved in that beat down, but then we crap out the next round against a team we should have beat. There is no reason not to expect another wide open game this time.

For all the enjoyment and hype aside, these are two teams who may be a little indifferent because of where they are in the standings. Madrid has opened up a comfortable lead and while it certainly isnt guaranteed to be the champ yet, they have to feel somewhat relaxed and the week to week pressure is a little lower or so it seems. They know it takes a week to week effort to stay on top, but they may be feeling just a little too relaxed. Mallorca might take advantage of that, but they seem to be in the same mode, just in the middle of the standings. They cant decide if they should talk about Europe or play safe until they are free from relegation. There is no doubt they have stepped up the past two weeks with crucial wins over Depor and Valencia to ease their relegation worries. This shows they have the talent to beat anyone, even Madrid. Now that they have some momentum, the mindset is still safety and not Europe.

I am not really focused on this game like I am trying to speculate whether Mallorca can bring this years talent back for next year. If we can keep all of our players including Guiza, and that familiarity is built in combined with a little tweaking or adding of a player, this is a Champions League caliber club. I am deeply disappointed in this years team, but we know this weekend will be a great game. Is there any reason to think it wont be wide open with lots of skill shown on both sides? Madrid has had a little bit of a good run with games in Mallorca during the regular season and with just a little bit more to play for, I look for them to win an exciting but back and forth game. I wish I was back in Palma to enjoy the festivities.

Prediction Mallorca 2-3 Madrid