Chapter 60: The Night Before the Final

On May 13th, the last round of league matches before the UEFA Cup final took place—La Liga's 37th round—where Mallorca played away against Valladolid.

Because the final was only five days away, Mallorca requested the Spanish Football Federation to move this match forward by one day. Both Mallorca and Valladolid had secured their positions in La Liga for the next season, and this game had no impact on relegation or European qualification. The Federation agreed to Mallorca's request, allowing them to play a day earlier.

In this match, José fielded an entirely substitute squad, and Mallorca lost 2-1 to Valladolid. Virtually no one paid attention to the result. After the match, the entire Mallorca team immediately boarded a plane to Copenhagen, the location of the UEFA Cup final!

Two days after the team's departure, Mallorca fans began traveling from the island to Copenhagen. The Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, where the final would take place, could accommodate 38,000 people. Mallorca fans were allotted 10,000 tickets, but the number of fans traveling to Copenhagen reached 13,000!

Under the organized efforts of the Mallorca Fans Association, the 10,000 ticket holders would enter the stadium, while the remaining 3,000 would watch the match on live television outside the stadium, showing solidarity with their team!

"Our fan group really knows how to organize," José said, impressed by the news. Then, he focused all his attention on the game, which, while not the last match of the season, was certainly the most important of the season!

For Arsenal, this season was undoubtedly a failure.

In his first season as manager, Wenger had taken the league title and the FA Cup from the seemingly invincible Manchester United, achieving the treble. However, since then, the team had won nothing. They were eliminated early from both the League Cup and FA Cup, and failed to progress past the group stage of the Champions League. While they won the Charity Shield, they lost to Manchester United in both league encounters, falling 18 points behind in the league. Despite Manchester United's record-breaking 91 points and 97 goals in the league, Arsenal's second-place finish, 18 points behind, was disappointing. The only bright spot was that they had secured second place after a difficult victory over Chelsea in the final round.

Now, the UEFA Cup was Arsenal's last chance to win a trophy this season.

This was Wenger's second time leading a team into a European final. His first time was with Monaco in 1992, when they lost the Cup Winners' Cup final to Werder Bremen. For Wenger, that was a regret, and now, with the merged UEFA Cup, this final against Mallorca was his must-win opportunity!

However, because of Arsenal's tight league schedule, Wenger hadn't had much time to study Mallorca as an opponent. This wasn't surprising—this was a year of major tournaments, and the league season had to end by mid-May, which left little time for preparations for the final.

After the conclusion of the English league, Wenger began gathering information about Mallorca. Though there wasn't much time, he watched Mallorca's last 10 La Liga matches and their entire UEFA Cup campaign. From these, he identified several key points: First, Mallorca's defense was solid. Second, their attack was distinctive. Third, Tristan, their center forward, was their main attacking weapon. And fourth, Eto'o possessed the speed that Arsenal's defense feared.

Despite only having a few days to study, Wenger didn't underestimate Mallorca. He knew no European competition was easy, and despite Mallorca's failure in the Champions League qualifiers, this didn't mean much. Arsenal had spent five years in the Champions League without ever advancing past the group stage!

Wenger felt confident about his players. Despite the long season, they were still in good form. His attacking trio of Henry, Bergkamp, and Overmars, along with the strong midfield presence of Vieira, gave him every reason to believe Arsenal had the upper hand. The defense, anchored by veteran players, was as solid as ever.

Against Mallorca, who had solid defense but weaker offense, Arsenal's strength seemed overwhelming.

Wenger's goal was simple: rely on Arsenal's attacking power and experience to dismantle Mallorca's defense and win his first European title with Arsenal.

As night fell, the players retired to their rooms, ready to rest for the final. But in José's room, the lights remained on.

"Overall defense, zone marking, no space for Henry to break through, and we must limit Bergkamp's creative play... Let Overmars do his thing on the wing, but Arsenal's two forwards, despite being tall, aren't strong in the air..." José muttered to himself as he meticulously mapped out the tactics on the board.

He thought about Henry's dribbling, Bergkamp's passing, Vieira's runs, and Overmars' pace—these were Arsenal's most dangerous weapons. He also considered the possibility of Kanu playing, signaling that Arsenal might opt for a more direct approach.

"I'll leave the attacking to Diego and Samuel... keep the pressure, but take chances when we can," José continued. "If we defend well and don't concede, we'll have a shot. The real worry is if luck doesn't go our way... but I don't believe Wenger's luck will be that good. He's a great coach, but he's never won a European trophy, has he? Well, I'm not about to let him change that."

José knew that while it might be embarrassing to play conservatively, Mallorca had no choice but to rely on grit and stamina to compete with a team like Arsenal.

"Energy levels won't be an issue. We've had a good rhythm with one game per week, and the players are in peak condition. Wenger may have prepared more time than I did, but our players are ready. If we can't beat Arsenal now, I might as well become the president of Mallorca instead!" José chuckled to himself, as the lights finally went out.

In his dreams, José continued muttering about tactical changes for the final, the night before the battle.