I Am Jose

Getting knocked out of the Copa del Rey wasn't necessarily a bad thing for Mallorca. Before the Champions League resumed on February 21, there was only one week where they had to play two matches. The rest of the time, they only had one game per week, a schedule their players were more accustomed to, allowing them to perform better.

On January 27, Mallorca faced Alavés away from home.

For this match, José made slight adjustments to the lineup. Pablo García returned to the bench, Kaladze started, and Gamarra replaced Nadal in defense. The rest of the starting players remained unchanged from the previous match.

Maintaining continuity was crucial for regaining form.

With a week of rest, Mallorca's players had no fitness issues. In fact, their inconsistent form in the first half of the season and recent matches stemmed from being accustomed to a one-game-per-week rhythm. This particularly affected key players like Ronaldinho, Motta, and Eto'o. When they had midweek Champions League matches, they performed well in Europe but struggled in the league on weekends. It was purely a matter of adjusting their form.

Even with this inconsistency, Mallorca had achieved remarkable results, proving their strength.

After their home victory over Athletic Bilbao, a direct rival, Mallorca's form was fully restored. Despite playing away, they displayed excellent condition in this match.

Compared to their first encounter earlier in the season, both teams were in a similar situation. In their third-round clash, both Mallorca and Alavés had won their first two games. Mallorca ultimately won at home. Now, Mallorca had 39 points, tying with Real Madrid, who drew in their last match. Alavés, surprisingly, sat in third place. Their win over Real Sociedad in the previous round propelled them to this position, just three points behind Mallorca and ahead of Deportivo La Coruña on goal difference.

Facing Bilbao, who were third before, and now Alavés, who had taken that spot, Mallorca's fixture list was quite interesting.

Alavés had been one of the standout teams in La Liga this season. Despite losing key players like Contra and Moreno, they performed even better than last season. Meanwhile, those two players struggled badly at AC Milan, failing in La Liga's export market, much like Pablo García before them.

Alavés' fans were confident their team could beat Mallorca at home and overtake them for second place. With Champions League qualification at stake, mid-table La Liga teams had been punching above their weight, clearly driven by financial incentives.