La Liga: Mallorca vs. Barcelona

Posted on | December 31, 2007 | No Comments

It’s the New Year and this is Barca coach Frank Rijkaard’s first real test of 2008. The Barcelona fans and directors demand a good showing here after the humiliation of losing to arch rivals Real Madrid at their own stadium, and if Mallorca can pull off a win or even a draw, heads could begin rolling. There is already speculation that Rijkaard’s job is on the line, and one or two declarations by key players haven’t helped matters at all. Only a couple of days ago, Deco publicly stated that he would love to see Jose Mourinho managing Barca. I wonder what Rijkaard thought of that. Leo Messi is back in training but will still miss this game which is another blow for the Catalan side, and Eto’o will soon be leaving for the African cup. The ongoing ‘will he go or will he stay’ saga is keeping Ronaldhino busy, too. Rijkaard made him play the full ninety minutes against Real Madrid and he was pretty much a disaster, receiving quite a lot of boos from members of his own crowd. Many see Rijkaard’s decision to play the Brazilian from the start and not substitute him as a declaration of intent. He knew Ronaldhino wouldn’t make an impression but he wanted the world to see it also.
Mallorca must be dying to play this match. They know Barcelona have a lot of problems, especially away from the Nou Camp, and will see this as their opportunity to beat Barcelona for the first time in eight attempts. They don’t have any injury problems worth mentioning, and their star striker, Dani Güiza, is attracting a lot of interest from various Premier league sides as his form this season has been outstanding.
I’m going to put my head on the line and go for a Mallorca win. The defeat to Real Madrid has left Barcelona in a very bad position, plus there are a lot of internal problems going on which will affect the players. This could also be Rijkaard’s last match in charge and more than one Barcelona player will be happy to see him go.
Prediction: Home win (1-0)

Related posts:

1. La Liga: Valencia vs. Mallorca
2. La Liga: Murcia vs. Barcelona
3. La Liga: Mallorca vs. Zaragoza
4. La Liga: Barcelona — Real Madrid
5. La Liga: Mallorca vs. Sevilla

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