La Liga: Mallorca to benefit from the UEFA Champions League snub
When Everton from the English Premier League qualified for the UEFA Champions League in the 2004-2005 season, it was a welcome sight for everyone. A relatively small time club earning their right to play amongst the big boys of Europe, it was celebrated by everyone around club football as a jolly good occasion. Little did the Toffee’s know that their participation in the qualification stages of Europe’s premier club cup competition will cost them dearly.
Everton qualified after finishing fourth in the 2004-2005 FA Premier League season, a season in which they had a goal difference of minus one but still managed to pip their Merseyside rivals, Liverpool to the fourth placed finish. David Moyes, who is still in-charge of Everton right now and was back then as well, must have cursed his luck as clearly his team were not good enough to participate competitively in the league while simultaneously trying to make the best of their European endeavours.
Everton were unable to qualify for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League and this failure had such a damning impact on their league campaign that they finished at 11th in the English Premier League of 2005-2006, seven places worse off than their 4th placed finish only a year ago.
It was a lesson in disguise to every team that aspired to be at the top of European football but didn’t have the resources to do so. The same thing happened with RCD Mallorca in the 1999-2000 La Liga season. In 1998-1999, Mallorca managed an incredible third placed finish behind the winners Barcelona and runners up Real Madrid. In doing so they successfully managed to earn a spot in the UEFA Champions League season of 1999-2000. Mallorca apparently couldn’t keep balance between their Champions League commitments and the League season and therefore self destructed in both the competitions.
In the 99-00 UEFA Champions League, the Spanish club was knocked out at the third round of qualification after losing on away goals to Molde whereas in the Spanish football league they slumped from their previous 3rd placed finish to a 10th placed one. In the 2009-2010 La Liga season, Mallorca again managed to perform remarkably well and secured a 4th placed finish as a result, this meant that they once again gained admission to the Champions League.
However before the competition even started, UEFA ruled out Mallorca’s qualification through their 4th placed finish as void due to the club’s financial situation and evident descend into administration. Such a monetary crisis meant that UEFA gave Mallorca’s spot in the Champions League to their fellow Spanish club, Villarreal. Despite protests by the club’s hierarchy and various appeals against UEFA’s decision, the verdict given by European football’s supreme footballing body was held accurate and Mallorca were as a consequence denied their place in the competition.
Many fans at the Spanish club which hails from Palma, Majorca in the Balearic Island’s region in Spain were sorrowful because in all truth the revenue that their club could have earned from entrance into the Champions League was huge. A club in RCD Mallorca’s position could have used that money to bail themselves out of their economic difficulties. But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. In Mallorca’s first home match of the season, Spain giants Real Madrid came to visit the Iberostar Stadium.
Mallorca were absolutely brilliant in containing Galacticos Ver. 2.0 led by Jose Mourinho and proved to everyone that their off-field troubles meant nothing when their players stepped on the field. Even with the likes of Ozil, Higuain, Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria and Khedira on the field, Madrid could not breach the Mallorca defence. It was a confidence boosting point for the Los Bermellones, who went the whole of 2009-2010 season without losing even a single match on their home turf.
The fact that Mallorca were denied entry into the UEFA Champions League might say a lot about UEFA and their financial rules, who are apparently only for the minnows of European football but Mallorca should take heart and look to prove everyone wrong as the Spanish season kicks off its second round of matches after a two week international break.
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