Bilbao fans would never forget the time when everyone mocked Guerrero for rejecting a high salary to sign a lifelong ten-year contract with Bilbao. Guerrero simply said, "Bilbao has never signed foreign players (non-Basque players) in its history. The team primarily relies on players developed from the second team. If everyone who becomes famous just runs to other clubs, then Bilbao will have no future." Just this one statement was enough for the Bilbao fans to elevate this symbol of loyalty and responsibility to the status of a deity in their hearts!
Now, this new coach, who was utterly dismissive of their forever golden boy, their undisputed captain, and the epitome of a footballer... how could this be tolerated?
In this situation, Guerrero once again demonstrated his leadership qualities. When interviewed, the captain of Bilbao said, "The coach is the decision-maker of the team. We believe everything he does is for the greater good. I must express my gratitude to the people of Bilbao for their support and trust. I believe all the people of Bilbao will continue to support Athletic Bilbao without question."
Sometimes, a person with enough authority can defuse any situation with just one sentence—and this was one of those times.
Thus, when Mallorca faced Bilbao, despite the apparent internal unrest within Bilbao, the atmosphere calmed, and they began to approach the match with a united front to take on the team that had performed strongly in the last three rounds.
"He's truly a great player," José murmured to himself. Of course, he knew that the reason Guerrero's one sentence could quell all the discontent wasn't just because of his authority, but because of Athletic Bilbao's century-old tradition! The club only signed players of Basque descent, which, despite limiting their potential for growth, created an unparalleled sense of unity. This unity was thicker than blood—while other clubs might struggle with their locker rooms, Bilbao's locker room remained untouched. Any discontented players probably transferred out long ago, leaving only those who were loyal and talented, or those who lacked the power to stir up trouble. Thus, it wasn't hard for a coach to manage Bilbao; they simply needed to make good use of the available players.
"Anyway, we still have to take a win here," José told himself—he knew Athletic Bilbao wasn't easy to beat, but their strength mostly lay in their attacking players. In defense, despite their bloodthirsty attitude, their strength still paled compared to the attacking lines with players like Urcelay, Echeberria, and Guerrero.
Mallorca, a counter-attacking team, was somewhat wary of teams like Valencia, which also used counter-attacks, but they weren't afraid of teams that opened up their attack. Therefore, they had managed relatively easy wins against teams like Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad. On the other hand, they struggled against Numancia, which was another counter-attacking team, even though Numancia was weaker.
On February 13th, at the San Mamés Stadium!
With a capacity of 40,000, the San Mamés Stadium was packed. Spanish stadiums have a unique feature—often the stadiums representing a large region have a significant capacity. For example, Camp Nou and Santiago Bernabéu are well-known, but even smaller teams like Mallorca, which only represents the Balearic Islands with a population of over a million, have stadiums that can hold over 20,000 people. Don't think that 20,000 is too small—many English teams have stadiums with a capacity of only 20,000 to 30,000. Teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Liverpool have stadiums with capacities around 40,000.
Italian stadiums tend to be larger, mostly because of their history with hosting the Olympics. Stadiums in cities like Rome, Milan, Turin, and Naples can hold between 70,000 and 80,000 spectators, but due to economic difficulties and other factors, they don't achieve the same attendance rates as those in England, Spain, or Germany.
Among the 40,000 fans, the passionate Athletic Bilbao supporters accounted for at least 39,000. Mallorca's fans, unaccustomed to traveling long distances for away games, were only a few hundred strong and were surrounded by the Bilbao supporters, feeling like a small speck of foam in a vast sea, almost invisible unless you looked carefully.
However, the Mallorca players had grown accustomed to this. At least the veteran players had this advantage—they wouldn't easily be shaken by the atmosphere of the home crowd. The younger players, however, were eager to teach the opposing fans a lesson and quiet down the raucous atmosphere from the stands.
José's starting lineup remained unchanged. It wasn't that he didn't want to rotate, but that stability was key in league matches—not some surprise tactics. Besides, with Mallorca's aging team, José knew he couldn't afford any experiments.
However, Tristan had been in great form lately, and Mallorca's current tactics suited him well. Even if José just relied on him alone, he was confident he could break through any defense!
"We rarely have people supporting us when we play away… but that's fine, right? It feels just as good to silence the home crowd and leave them speechless," José said in the locker room.
"Of course, I remember!" Tristan laughed heartily. That was his most glorious moment during his year and a half with the Mallorca B team—scoring against Real Madrid's B team! Even though it was just a B team...
"How did it feel?" José added.
"It felt incredible! Better than getting a new girlfriend!" Tristan laughed again, and the rest of the Mallorca players couldn't help but chuckle too.
The room was filled with cheerful laughter as the Mallorca players, transformed into wolves, let out joyous howls.
After the laughter subsided, José raised his hand sharply and shouted, "Alright, let's go now! Let's make those little girls scream in ecstasy!"
The laughter in the locker room grew louder, and as the door opened, the players poured out, with the echoes of their laughter filling the air.
Looking at the players leaving the locker room, José wiped the smile from his face and walked out slowly.
Being a young coach had its perks. An older coach might struggle to make such crude jokes with the players, but sometimes, this kind of humor helped bridge the gap between them.
Once the players entered the field, Bilbao's players immediately launched an attack in front of the 40,000-strong crowd, but Mallorca's players were unshaken and began intercepting the ball from midfield, engaging in fierce competition on the field!
Urcelay was tightly marked by Nino. Despite Urcelay being part of Spain's national team, his age was catching up with him. At 29, his physicality had declined. Last season, he scored 16 goals in over 30 league games, but this season, he had only three goals so far. Nino, who was three years younger, used his strength to keep Urcelay under control.
On the wing, Echeberria was being closely guarded by Mallorca's left-back, Olesola. Despite Olesola being 30, his stamina was still holding up, and he could manage to keep up with Echeberria for now.
As for Guerrero, he was being shadowed by Mallorca's defensive midfielder, Soler.
With this tight man-to-man marking on Bilbao's most dangerous attackers, Mallorca launched their own offensive, with N'Gonga positioning higher up, distributing passes to the wings to create opportunities, while Stankovic and Ibagasa began to make frequent breakthroughs, creating chances for Tristan in the center!
José's analysis was correct—though Mallorca's attacking tactics were simple, without fast fullbacks and solid center-backs, they were still able to create significant threats to the opposition's defense!
Bilbao's attack posed little threat against Mallorca's effective defense, while Mallorca's offense had Bilbao's defense scrambling. This was the difference between the two teams!
With the overall advantage, it was only a matter of time before Mallorca would take the lead.
In the 22nd minute, after a series of attacks, Mallorca finally scored!
It was another cross from Ibagasa on the right wing, and Tristan soared into the air like a god descending to meet the ball with a powerful header!
Strength! Presence! Tristan's characteristics shone brightly in this attack—ferocious and unstoppable!
Bilbao's young goalkeeper, 24-year-old Inaki Rafuente, barely had time to raise a hand before the ball flew quickly into the net!
As José had said, when Tristan scored, the entire San Mamés Stadium instantly went silent, with only a few hundred Mallorca fans cheering in joy!
Tristan jumped up, roaring, and was soon embraced by his teammates!
Yes, this feeling was incredible! The moment the ball hit the back of the net, the entire stadium fell silent... the thrill of scoring away from home was unmatched by the cheers of the home crowd!
"Mallorca leads away from home… without a doubt, this was expected. They had been dominant in attack, and Tristan scored his fifth goal in the last four rounds, equaling his total from the first half of the season. As I've said many times, even if José hadn't done much else, simply activating Tristan, this brilliant young striker, would prove his excellence!"