Chapter 99: Discussion on the Sidelines
In the 16th round of the league, Mallorca once again suffered a setback. After drawing two consecutive away games, they were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Oviedo. In this match, the starting player Ronaldinho performed only moderately and was substituted by Luke after playing for over 70 minutes. After 16 rounds, Mallorca sat in 10th place with a record of 5 wins, 7 draws, and 4 losses, totaling 22 points.
José appeared somewhat satisfied with this result on the surface. After taking over the team, his record was 4 wins and 2 draws in the first 6 games. This wasn't a bad result at all. The media's criticism was mainly because his performance this season was not as good as last season, even though he had only stepped in to help last season. This season, however, the task was much heavier.
To change a team, one must endure the pain of poor results, especially when Mallorca's current performance wasn't that bad—though victories were hard-fought and somewhat based on luck. Regardless of whether luck was involved, winning was still an accomplishment.
"During the winter break, I'll let everyone go home for Christmas," José said with a smile in the locker room after the match against Oviedo. Despite the draw, he seemed surprisingly calm.
However, those familiar with José could see the anger in his eyes—he was clearly not happy with the result.
"Today is the 21st. I'll give everyone a week... on the 28th, we'll meet at the training base to prepare for the games after the winter break. Any objections?"
The players shook their heads. Most of Mallorca's veteran players lived on the island, so going home for Christmas wasn't an issue. New players, though, had only recently joined and felt awkward about asking to go back home.
"Alright, then. You're free to leave, so you won't waste your time returning to Mallorca... By the way, I wish you all a Merry Christmas... Enjoy your holidays... but don't let yourselves get too lazy. This is still just a winter break."
These were José's last words. He waved his hand, and Mallorca's players left the locker room in a hurry. Most of them would still be traveling with the club back to Mallorca.