Phil Gordon reports
Sometimes it’s good to dip a toe into
other people’s football passion. On the
night of Sunday June 23, the Balearic
island of Mallorca was wrapped up in the
biggest party it had known. But for once
it was the locals, not the holidaymakers,
who were letting their hair down.
Just being a tourist in Palma that night,
after RCD Mallorca had clinched their
return to Spain’s top flight after six years
in the wilderness, meant that sharing in
the joy was a privilege.
Over at the Estadi de Son Moix, a
23,000 full house – some of who had
paid hundreds of euros on the black
market to get a ticket – exploded into
colour and celebration. The 3-0 defeat
of Deportivo La Coruna in the Segunda
Division play-off dramatically erased the
2-0 defeat for Vincente Moreno’s side
in Galicia three nights earlier and sealed
a remarkable promotion.
With that Monday being a public
holiday in Mallorca, there was plenty of
time for the hangover to wear off and still
make the two civic receptions for Moreno
and his players: one at the town hall inthe afternoon, the other at night on
Palma’s historic Plaza de las Tortugas
in front of thousands of Mallorca fans- and the odd Scottish tourist.
This was no ordinary promotion party.
Only when you peel back the layers of
the past six years do you realise where
Mallorca have been. Financial chaos
saw a club that reached the 1999 Cup-
winners Cup Final – before losing 2-1
to Lazio in Birmingham – drop into
Spain’s third tier, the Segunda B.
Mallorca had finished last season in
fifth place and then beat Albacete 2-1
on aggregate in the play-off semi-finals.
Ante Budimir’s first-half goal at San Moix
followed by Salva Sevilla’s stunning free-
kick on the hour levelled the Final before
Abdon Prats came off the bench to net
the crucial 82nd-minute winner.
Nothing could have been more symbolic than Prats scoring. The striker
grew up in Arta on the island and was
a product of Mallorca’s youth system.
He later joined Tenerife and Racing
Santander, but came back in 2017 when
Mallorca were relegated into Segunda B
and his 37 goals were crucial in securing
the title in 2018.
The meagre crowds for most of those
games were in stark contrast to the win
over Depor and the first full house at
San Moix since Barcelona in 2012. Now,
Lionel Messi and the rest of La Liga’s
star-studded cast will be coming back
to Palma this season.
Visits to the Nou Camp and Bernabeu
will not just be cherished by Moreno –
who has never coached in La Liga – and
his players, but also by Mallorca’s owner,
Robert Sarver, who risked €36million
of his own cash in backing the club.
Not even the loss of professional
football scared the American awayMallorca back
in business
Wild celebrations as Balearics club
returns to the Spanish top flight
eyewitness
SPAIN
“It used to be that leaving La Liga was
an economic catastrophe. Not now”
La Liga president Javier Tebas
Fan...tennis star
Rafael Nadal was
at the play-off FinalCelebration...players
join supporters in the
Plaza de las TortugasSecond leg...Mallorca’s Iddrisu Baba (in red) in action against Deportivo La Coruna