Javier Aguirre’s Mallorca wants to make history. Fifteen years after the last time, the vermilion team is again in the semifinals of the Cup after defeating the revelation of Spanish football, Girona (3-2). On that occasion Barça beat him in the treble. From that edition of the KO tournament, Pinto’s penalty save against Martí is especially remembered. Another curiosity is that in 2008-2009, Samuel Eto’o wore the Barça shirt, while in the 2002-2003 edition he won the only Copa del Rey in Mallorca’s showcases.
Players in the 2009 Cup semi-finals
In Mallorca, like the edition in which they became champions, the coach was Gregorio Manzano from Jaen. Mallorca has a squad that includes, among others, the current world champion in Argentina, in this case as coach, Lionel Scaloni. There was also a legend of Spanish football like Aduriz. In a 1-1 draw in the second leg, where Martí scored the goal that tied the first leg at 2-0 but failed and then Messi sealed the tie, the island team fielded the following eleven: Lux, Ramis, Josemi, David Navarro, Corrales; Martí, Mario Suárez, Chori Castro, Arango, Webó and Keita. Aouate, Scaloni, Trejo, Aduriz and Cléber Santana are on the bench. Football players like Puyol, Piqué, Alves, Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets and Messi participated in that match for Barça.
The heroes who won the 2003 Cup
Mallorca made history by winning their first and last (for now) Copa del Rey after beating Lucas Alcaraz’s Recreativo de Huelva 3-0 at Martínez Valero. In that final where Pandiani and Eto’o scored twice.
That match eleven consisted of: Leo Franco; David Cortés, Nadal, Fernando Niño, Poli Fernández; Álvaro Novo, Harold Lozano, Albert Riera, Ariel Ibagaza; Samuel Eto’o and Walter Pandiani. Carlitos, Marcos and Alejandro Campano also had minutes.
In the future, as we now remember ‘Rifle’ Pandiani, Samuel Eto’o, ‘caño’ Ibagaza or Scaloni, we will talk about Abdón Prats, Raillo and also Javier Aguirre. It took Mallorca a while to get back to the Cup, not to fully savor it. In the last fifteen years he has been through Second B, he has been eliminated from competition previews and has experienced the best and also the worst side of football. Now it’s time to have fun.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
