Chapter 55: The Spanish League Year
After their 3-0 away victory over Barcelona, Mallorca's momentum reached its peak.
Relegation was almost secured, and all their energy could be focused on the UEFA Cup. Mallorca's players were essentially heading into the competition with light hearts. Although their earlier enthusiasm had dissipated, the thrill of the UEFA Cup kept them sharp, and their form didn't decline but instead improved, allowing them to approach the game with a more relaxed mindset and a better attitude!
On April 15th, Mallorca, playing at home, secured a clean win over Alavés with a brace from Tristan. After this defeat, Alavés essentially lost all hope of making it to European competitions. Mallorca's points reached 43, climbing to 12th place, a ten-point lead over Atlético Madrid, who were 18th after a draw. With five rounds left in the league, Mallorca's survival was virtually guaranteed.
This season's relegation battle had shocked everyone. It was expected for Sevilla, who were bottom, to struggle, being newly promoted. However, Atlético Madrid and Betis? One was the 95-96 season's double winner of the La Liga and Copa del Rey, and the other had set a world record two years ago in the transfer market. Yet these two legendary teams were now dangerously close to relegation...
Perhaps the happiest fans were those of Real Madrid...
José, however, wasn't too fazed by it. If a team didn't perform well, even a historic club could be relegated. Having a long history didn't guarantee survival—every victory had to be earned, not handed over.
Just like Mallorca's current good position, which was earned through hard work and dedication. Without that spirit of fight, how could Mallorca have reached where they were now?
After silently praying for Atlético Madrid's caretaker manager, Ranieri, and Guus Hiddink, who had stepped in mid-season to save Betis, José led the team to England for the second leg of the UEFA Cup.
For Mallorca, this was a period of consecutive victories, and they were in full swing. On the other hand, Leeds United was having a disastrous time. After losing both in the UEFA Cup and the league, their loss to Mallorca was their third consecutive defeat, and it didn't stop there—they went on to lose 1-0 to Chelsea, 1-0 to Aston Villa, and suffered a 4-0 thrashing by Arsenal, leading to four consecutive league defeats and six across all competitions. Worse yet, they hadn't scored a goal in their last four matches...