Chapter 71: Season Finale
When the final round of La Liga kicked off this season, José's surgery was still a day away.
Although it was decided that he would rest, José still sat in front of the television, watching the match and drooling over Atlético Madrid's lineup—Molina, Gamara, Capdevila, Baraja, Solari, Beléron, Hasselbaink, Kiko, José Mari... This was a squad with the potential to challenge for the title. However, Ranieri couldn't save Atlético, and neither could Antic, who took over midway through the season.
At this thought, José couldn't help but curse the shareholders of Mallorca. If he had control over the team, this would have been a golden opportunity to strengthen their squad without spending too much. He wouldn't hesitate to sign players like Capdevila, Baraja, Solari, and Beléron. Stealing players from a relegated team was a win-win situation—cheap and it saved the relegated team from paying wages...
But now, José could only watch helplessly as this opportunity slipped away, and it only strengthened his resolve to gain control of Mallorca's club as quickly as possible.
In the end, the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Mallorca secured a perfect result at home, while Atlético Madrid salvaged a bit of dignity.
With La Liga wrapped up, Deportivo La Coruña made history by winning their first-ever La Liga title. Barcelona finished second, Valencia took third, and Zaragoza came in fourth. Real Madrid finished fifth, just one point behind, but they still had a chance to qualify for next season's Champions League. If they won the Champions League final against Valencia, they would qualify as the Champions League winners. As it happened, Real Madrid did indeed win the Champions League, and the Spanish Football Federation convinced Zaragoza to relinquish their Champions League spot. Real Madrid qualified as the reigning champions.
Mallorca ended up in eighth place with a record of 16 wins, 6 draws, and 16 losses, accumulating 54 points. In the first 20 rounds, their record was a mere 3 wins, 3 draws, and 14 losses. But under José's leadership, they turned things around. In the final 18 rounds, they achieved 13 wins, 3 draws, and only 2 losses, making them the best team in the second half of the season! Considering that they were only 9 points behind fourth-placed Zaragoza and 15 points behind league leaders Deportivo La Coruña, had they performed better in the first half of the season, a title challenge might not have been out of the question...
Tristan also performed brilliantly after José took over. He had scored only five goals in the first half of the season, but in the second half, he scored an incredible 15 goals, ending the season with 20 league goals, outscoring stars like Raúl, Kluivert, Mendieta, Rivaldo, and Morientes to finish sixth in the La Liga top scorer rankings. Ahead of him were Santander's Salvador with 27 goals, Atlético Madrid's Hasselbaink with 25 goals, Málaga's Catanha with 24 goals, Deportivo La Coruña's Makaay with 22 goals, and Zaragoza's Milošević with 21 goals. To achieve this in his first La Liga season, it was no wonder that many believed he would become Spain's most brilliant striker. It was even rumored that the national team coach, Camacho, was considering replacing the underperforming Morientes with Tristan for the upcoming European Championship...
Samuel Eto'o also impressed in the second half of the season, scoring 7 goals. More importantly, his presence provided Mallorca with more attacking options.