Head coach Jagoba Arrasate paid the price for Real Mallorca´s dismal form which saw the club fall to third from bottom, in the relegation zone, following a disastrous defeat at Celta Vigo on Sunday the 22 of February.
A terse statement was released on Monday the 24th at 21.50 – The RCD Mallorca Jagoba Arrasate’s time as coach of the first team comes to an end.
The straw that broke the camel´s back was the gutless loss at Ceta Vigo.
This followed a demoralising home loss to Real Betis and was the third defeat in a row. The team from Galicia had played away from home at PAOK Athens on the Thursday the week before and logically an attacking plan was needed from the Islanders.
Arrasate opted for three central defenders and two wing backs which was sensible to bolster the defence but also to provide a platform for an offensive outlook. Captain Raillo returned but instead of naming the in form David Lopez to partner him and Martin Valjent at the back he inexplicably chose Pablo Maffeo in that zone. Maffeo is an attacking fullback ideally suited to the right wing back position. Arrasate put Antonio Sanchez there and he is a journeyman midfield player. So there were two round pegs in square holes. He still ignored the most talented midfield player in Pablo Torre leaving Murdat Muriqi and Jan Virgili isolated without any service.
Whatever the lineup the fundamental principles of determination and moving the ball forward were sadly lacking. The ball was continually moved sideways and backwards with the sole intention of gaining a point in a nil nil draw. Vigo were by no means at their best after their European foray but they grew into their work and were given the room to do so.
They had ten shots on goal compared to one from the visitors. The only surprise was that it took them until the 85th minute to score from a penalty taken by veteran substitute Iago Aspas who also slotted home the second in additional time. The winter signings Luvumbo and Kalumba , both forwards, did not leave the substiutes bench and Torre was introduced late on. An awful performance by Mallorca who quite frankly were lucky to get nil !
Inevitably Arrasate was dismissed and immediately speculation mounted as to who would take over. Initially Luis Garcia Plaza was the favourite. He was head coach between 2020 and 2022 and was very popular with the fanbase. Fran Garcia who has had a chequered career with many clubs including two spells in charge of Watford was also touted.
Somewhat surprisingly and certainly a gamble Director of Football Pablo Ortells announced that Martin Demechelis had been appointed until the end of the season with an option for another season. Clearly if he keeps Mallorca in La Liga he will be renewed for next season. Ortells has been heavily criticised in many quarters for the lack of quality additions in the winter.
Demechelis was an excellent player spending time at Manchester City and Bayern Munich and an International with his native Argentina. He was appointed assistant coach at Malaga where he ended his playing career before moving to take charge of Bayern Munich´s B team. He then spent 2 years at Argentina giants River Plate winning the league title in his first year. He subsequently coached Monterrey in Mexico. He is described as preaching a proactive and dominant in possession style and being a fan of the 4 3 3 formation as it can be adapted in many ways. This is music to the ears of the Real Mallorca faithful although his lack of experience in La Liga is a potential downside. He immediately took to social media announcing “ An honour to return to Spanish football! Thank you Mallorca for trusting and allowing me to continue growing with you. Greetings to all Mallorcans” His assistant will be German Lux a former Argentine International who had four seasons as a Mallorca player.
Demechelis and Lux arrived, along with three backroom staff, at lunchtime the day of the home fixture against Real Sociedad on the 28th of February. B team coach Gustavo Siviero, another Argentinian and former Mallorca player, prepared the team during the week and was in charge on the bench with Demechelis, his daughter and Lux watching from the stand.
Siviero made no radical changes, apart from bringing back the hapless Mateo Joseph and leaving Pablo Torre on the bench.
From the start there was absolutely no sign that the players were intent on impressing the new head coach. Sideways, backwards and sideways again was the order of the day amid a backdrop of groans from the crowd. Real Sociedad took the lead in the 36th minute when Carlos Soler picked up a loose ball in the area to score comfortably. And that was that – the visitors were quicker to the ball and moved it around rapidly creating a number of chances. The Mallorca players seemed to be in quicksand and created nothing. At the final whistle there were half hearted chants of sack the board but the fans seemed to accept relegation as inevitable in much the same way the players appear to.
Demechelis has his work cut out for sure and he had the players in for training on the Sunday immediately after the latest defeat and in his press conference expressed confidence that he can change the fortunes of the club and motivate the players. Four consecutive defeats and a run of nine games without keeping a clean sheet suggest he has a mountain to climb. First up is a game at mid table Osasuna on Saturday the 7th of March. A home game on the 15th of March against Espanyol is an absolute must win fixture. A visit to Elche is then followed by an Easter visit to the island of Real Madrid.
Some kind of miracle is needed.
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