Season in review: RCD Mallorca came within a short distance of history – and the journey was still great
Position: 15 – 40 points
Class: B+
Record: 8-16-14
Goals scored: 33
Goals conceded: 44
Top Scorer: Abdon Prats – 12
Top Assist: Dani Rodriguez, Sergi Darder – 5
Story of the season
It was far from an easy season in the League for Javier Aguirre and company, who passed, and was replaced by Jagoba Arrasate. Part of you wonders if they were victims of being so comfortable last year.
Without Kang-In Lee supplying Vedat Muriqi, the Kosovan struggled to find the net as often, and his partnership with Cyle Larin failed to click, in a tough season for the latter. Sergi Darder didn't catch on as expected, and ended up not being a certain starter for most of the season.
This kind of defines the struggles of Majorca, who were not so sure of themselves as to what they are looking for this season. It led to a significant spike exchange, with Mallorca drawing eight more games, despite scoring just four fewer and conceding just three more.
Their run in the Copa del Rey is enough to detract from their La Liga form to some extent, however, having secured safety. Going all the way to penalties with Athletic Club, having done work on their Basque rivals in the semi-finals, was a mammoth achievement. So close to glory, Aguirre gave Los Bermellones a lot to shout about.
That Cup race was magical, and the sight of Aguirre announces the penalties to the cheers of his team, before local boy Sergi Darder converted the winning penalty in the semi-final will live forever. If they had won the Cup, this would clearly be an A, and the same goes if they had been a little more comfortable.
It is true that in the league, Majorca he did not get from his resources as much as he wanted. Darder, Muriqi and Larin were supposed to be the face of their attack, but none of them have lived up to expectations this season. Still a good season, if a strange one.
Outstanding moment: Victory in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey over Real Sociedade – an iconic moment.
Key player: Dani Rodriguez – Mr. Consistent. Only Giovanni Gonzalez and Predrag Rajkovic have accumulated more minutes, and their tireless work in midfield has come with nine goal contributions in total.
Seasonal surprise: Abdon Prats – Always been a bit ignored as a real scorer, but leading the team in goals, and also with some nice goals, he had his best season of his career at 31 years old.
Glass half full
Jagoba Arrasate he has shown his quality at Osasuna in the last six years, and certainly Mallorca and Osasuna are in similar places. The Islanders have perhaps a touch more quality in the final third, so it will be interesting to see how they do with that.
There is a solid base, a strong team, and a good manager, there is no reason to expect anything but a good season. If he can get more out of Darder and Larin, the ceiling will rise as well.
Glass half empty
Aguirre did a great job overall. Despite the Darder-Larin conversation, he learned a lot about Muriqi, Toni Raillo, Martin Valjent, Rodriguez, Pablo Maffeo and more. The danger is always if things don't go well within a reasonable time after the departure of a highly regarded manager, then the comparisons don't take long to arrive for both the players and the press.
