Real
Madrid-Mallorca redux
by rick olivares
Watching Barcelona destroy local
rivals Espanyol 4-0 on a night where Pep Guardiola bid the Camp Nou faithful
goodbye, I am reminded just a bit of the way the 2006-07 La Liga season ended.
That year, both Madrid and Barcelona
were tied heading into the final games of the season. Los Merengues were atop
because of their superior head-to-head match up with Barca.
Barcelona destroyed Gimnastic behind
Ronaldinho, 5-1. That same evening, Madrid was at the Bernabeu hosting Mallorca
with all sort of reports and rumors flying around how Los Bermellones were
being paid €2 million to defeat the home side.
An inspired Mallorca side took to the
pitch as Juan Arango nearly scored 30 seconds into the match. In the 16th
minute, Arango, the Venezuelan, slipped a through ball to Fernando Varela who
finally put the visitors on top with a goal. As if it couldn’t get any worse
for Madrid, top striker Ruud van Nistelrooy went out with an injured left
hamstring. David Beckham, in his final game in a Madrid shirt, joined the
Dutchman on the bench in the 65th minute, hobbled and all.
That’s where the story took an
incredible turn as Jose Antonio Reyes, an Arsenal castoff on load to Madrid
came in. Hitherto, Reyes was mostly known as the player who then Spanish
national coach Luis Aragones was trying to motivate by using racist remarks
against the Arsenal man’s black teammate.
Reyes, scarcely two minutes in, scored
when Gonzalo Higuain found him with a well-placed pass coming in from the left.
Mahamadou Diarra headed in the go ahead goal seven minutes later. Reyes finished
off his scintillating performance when he latched on to a loose ball and
cracked a laser that dipped right under Miguel Angel Moya for a 3-1 win that
had the Bernabeu rocking.
This season, the title has been
secured for Madrid, their 32nd, and they will be playing Mallorca (14-10-13
for seventh place in the La Liga standings) in the final game of the season at
the Bernabeu. What is at stake is three points that will shatter the record of
99 points that was installed by Barcelona during the 2009-10 season. Madrid is
at 97. With Lionel Messi looking every bit the winner of the year’s Pichichi,
Madrid’s other consolation is to smash the Barcelona record for most points. Madrid
beat Mallorca last January 14, 2-1, at the Iberostar Estadi when Jose Maria
Callejon stuck in an 84th minute game winner. One problem for
Mallorca is that they are -1 in goal difference.
The question is, this coming Sunday,
May 13, will they put on a tough stand against Madrid or will they roll over
and die for Los Blancos’ record?
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