Ahead of our penultimate pre-season clash with La Liga side Real Mallorca, we spoke with Sunderland fan Luke from RCD Mallorca UK to find out what the other camp think. This is a dream match for him, given his connections to both clubs!
Can you tell us a bit about the Twitter account you run?
My aunt and uncle had a villa in Mallorca for several years and being the football fanatic I am, I took a great interest in the island's main team when travelling there around 2008/2009. Several years later - April 2013 to be precise - I decided to run an English-speaking Mallorca account dedicated to delivering news and views to the large amount of expats in Mallorca, as well as like-minded fans who became interested in the team from visits to the island. (Funnily enough, the account was made a day after Sunderland beat Newcastle 3-0 under Paolo di Canio & Mallorca won 1-0, with a last-kick winner from Giovani dos Santos).
How do you see Mallorca doing next season and how happy were you with last season?
Last season brought more joy than it did pain, and trust me, in recent years it's not always been easy to say that! We ended up finishing 9th - a mere three points off the European places - which was such an improvement on the (expected) relegation battle in 2021/22 after our promotion back to La Liga. The beginning of the season was somewhat shaky and our form away from home was dreadful during most of 2023 - however those two factors are outweighed by finishing in such a lofty position and we have a really well-gelled group of players to help move us forward.
I am remaining coy about our potential next season, however I do believe under the stewardship of manager Javier Aguirre and several cult heroes in the squad, we are in a decent position to kick on. A top-half finish again would be incredible.
Moving on to the game itself, which Mallorca players should Sunderland watch out for attacking wise?
Vedat Muriqi is our key goal threat & his introduction to the squad coincided with our vast improvement. He's a real target man who can score headers for fun, but is also a cracking finisher with the ball at his feet. 20 goals in 51 La Liga appearances since initially joining us on loan in 2021 really does speak volumes as goalscorers are not always easy to come by, unless you're Real Madrid, Barca etc.
Abdon Prats is another centre-forward who really is a club legend. He rejoined us, his boyhood club, in the summer of 2017 when we had suffered relegation to Segunda B (third tier of Spanish football). By the summer of 2019, we had achieved back-to-back promotions to La Liga and Abdon actually scored a late winner when we overcame a 2-0 deficit to Deportivo La Coruna in the play-offs with a 3-0 win at home in the second-leg. He has scored so many important goals, including saving us from relegation two seasons ago, I have lost count!
Who is Mallorca's best defensive player?
Our defensive improvement is in no small part down to Aguirre being in charge and also last summer's shrewd signing of goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic from Reims. He is honestly the best goalkeeper I've seen since starting to follow Mallorca religiously back in 2013 & I believe he will be playing at a top club in the not-too-distant future.
Our right-back Pablo Maffeo is another star, but maybe I should be highlighting him in the attacker question as he's known to have an eye for goal & is more often than not marauding up the right-wing or inside the opposition's area!
Will Mallorca bring any fans to the SoL?
I have seen a few people on our Twitter feed saying they are attending from Mallorca and some from around the UK - the problem is that away fans aren't really a thing in Spain, even with the bigger clubs, so it won't be as many as I'd like to see there. We have a really great set of supporters and I'm sure that anyone attending will be given a great welcome by the Sunderland supporters.
Do you have a score prediction?
Now this is hard for me - because I was a season ticket holder for Sunderland for many years before moving away for work! Having my two footballing loves meeting is something I never expected to happen, so I'm just hoping for a brilliant game of football. Both teams have the attacking quality to hurt each other - and I think I'll go with a 2-2 draw.
What would you say is the main difference between how Spanish and English teams play?
Spanish football is a lot more conservative/defensive than the English game. Mallorca's game is largely based around a counter-attacking press, however that may have to change tomorrow as Sunderland's attacking power is a joy to behold these days. I think the best comparison I could make is the teams outside of the top few in La Liga more often than not will set up very defensively and wait for chances on the break.
How much of a gap is there between La Liga and the Championship?
I would say Mallorca and Sunderland are more or less on an even keel, despite the fact they play a tier apart in actual terms. The bottom 10 teams in La Liga wouldn't really set the world alight in the Championship is my belief.
I would have trouble separating them on paper & think it'll show tomorrow - so get your money on a 6-0 win either way!
