Chapter 74: Watching the Fire from the Other Side

Seeing his top penalty taker position weakened, Stankovic looked quite frustrated. However, he didn't express any dissatisfaction with the coach, instead silently stepping aside. After Vázquez took over, he made it a point to favor the new players and Biagini, while intentionally positioning Ibágaça as the offensive core, diminishing N'Gonga's influence, and, whether intentionally or not, sidelining Stankovic. This was Vázquez's way of establishing his authority.

Biagini had been injured for half the year and didn't have much of a bond with José. If Vázquez put him in the spotlight, Biagini would undoubtedly be grateful to him. As Mallorca's top scorer last year, Biagini still held respect in the locker room. With a loyal ally like Biagini, Vázquez's position would certainly become more secure.

Vázquez even considered letting Biagini, once he recovered a bit, play alongside Delgado and George in a three-forward formation, potentially removing Stankovic, who was a strong supporter of José, from the starting lineup. After all, he knew Stankovic had often talked about José nostalgically in the locker room…

Vázquez's plan was to ignore José's supporters, rally players uninvolved with José, and soothe the older players in the squad—his quick way of weakening José's influence. However, he was a bit too eager.

Biagini was taking the penalty kick. He needed a goal to regain his form.

But to the disappointment of both him and Vázquez, perhaps due to his poor form and unfamiliarity with the game's tempo, Biagini blazed the ball over the crossbar and into the stands!

Biagini kneeled on the field, unable to believe it, staring at the jubilant Valladolid goalkeeper—this was supposed to be his chance to announce his comeback, yet he had sent the ball into the stands…

Valladolid, having narrowly escaped, began pressing Mallorca in return. As Mallorca's stamina dwindled, they were left to endure an onslaught, and eventually, a shot from Valladolid's midfielder Tullier brought the score level. If it hadn't been for a brilliant save by Borges in the dying minutes, diving to block a shot from Delgado's fellow countryman, Cávedes, Mallorca might have lost at home...

After the match, Vázquez blamed the draw entirely on the missed penalty and stated, "We're on the right track; we'll definitely win the next match…"

He wasn't speaking empty words; indeed, Mallorca won the next match—in the first round of the UEFA Cup, they defeated Norwegian side Molde 1-0 away, avenging the elimination from the Champions League group stage by that team the previous season...

The win brought joy to Mallorca's fans for three days and allowed Vázquez to breathe a sigh of relief for that time—no matter how much praise he had received in the previous two matches, he hadn't won a game yet. A coach who doesn't win, what kind of coach is that? This timely victory made Vázquez believe his future was bright...

However, three days later, Vázquez would realize it was still too early to be optimistic...

In Mestalla, Cooper showed no mercy to his former team. Facing the attacking Mallorca, Valencia tore them apart with sharp counterattacks—Mendieta scored twice, and new signings Juan Sánchez and Diego Alonso each got a goal, handing Mallorca a humiliating 4-0 defeat. Vázquez was left speechless after the match...

José had led a team of substitutes to lose by just one goal here, while Vázquez lost 4-0 with the first team—this stark contrast made Vázquez begin to wonder if he was much worse than José after all…

In the third round of the league, Mallorca hosted Málaga.

For Vázquez, this was a must-win match, so after a week of rest, he fielded his strongest squad, hoping to secure a home victory!

Yet the outcome was one he could not bear.

Panamanian veteran Baldes scored in the second half, giving Málaga the three points and leaving Mallorca with just one point from three games in the league, bottom of the table!

Such a terrible start made the fans start to doubt whether the team was heading back to the nightmare of the previous season's first half...

"We want José, not Vázquez!"

After losing to Málaga at home, a group of radical fans stood outside the press conference holding banners with this slogan and shouting chants. Though only a handful of fans were involved, it was still a dangerous signal.

Even without such radical actions, everyone in the stadium longed for José, yearning for those days from last season when, despite the unpolished play, the team always managed to win.

Vázquez's football was more stylish, but the results… tsk tsk, made it hard for the Mallorca fans to express themselves...

Meanwhile, what was José doing at this time?

José was living a carefree and leisurely life.

With the Olympics this year, the La Liga season started later than usual—round one kicked off on September 10. José's body had already fully recovered, in fact, he had completed his physical training in mid-August. After being checked by Perissas, it was confirmed that his body was completely healthy. As long as he didn't strain himself, he shouldn't face any recurrence—after all, a herniated disc wasn't a condition that left lasting consequences.

José was, of course, paying attention to his body—becoming a high-status, handsome, and rich man still required a healthy body. Without good health, what use would all that wealth and good looks be?

So during this time, José began regulating his routine, exercising daily to keep himself in the best physical condition. A healthy body made for a sharp mind, and they both complemented each other.

While focusing on his fitness, José hadn't forgotten about Mallorca's performance. He was watching Vázquez's coaching with a sense of schadenfreude—go ahead, let him make his mistakes, the more he messes up, the faster he'll fall...

José wasn't particularly fond of this guy who had been hostile towards him.

If you didn't like me, I wouldn't go out of my way to please you. Though I wouldn't actively sabotage you, I'd certainly enjoy seeing you fail—at least I wouldn't pretend to sympathize with you...

José hadn't visited the youth team much, though he still had a contract with them. But he wasn't worried about anything happening with the youth squad—if Mota and Luke were in the first team, he might worry that Vázquez's meddling would affect these promising players. But he wasn't concerned about the youth team, most of them were loyal to him, and the training plans he had set wouldn't change.

Simply put, Vázquez was still an outsider. Even though José only worked at Mallorca for three years, his local identity and achievements with the youth team made the whole squad listen to him. That's why Vázquez preferred to rely on a few signings rather than pull players from the youth system.

In addition to keeping an eye on Vázquez's performance with some amusement, José's main activity during this time was chatting with Juan Asensio, trying to gather news about the club's plans...

"José, when are you coming back to the head coach position? At this rate, we're going to have to sell players again to cover the deficit. The sad thing is, who do we even have left to sell?" Juan sighed.

José shrugged. "I know you don't mean it like that."

Hearing José wasn't offended, Juan relaxed and took a big gulp from his tea cup: "I don't know what my father is thinking. After last season, I asked him if we should keep holding onto Mallorca's shares, but he just stayed silent… Back when we could get dividends, that was fine, but now we're in the red, and every now and then it's over a million. If it wasn't for Tristan selling well, the deficit would have to be covered by the shareholders—six million out of the family's pocket..."

Listening to Juan go on and on, José couldn't help but laugh. Juan was always like this—nice person, but didn't aim high in life.

"If you think it's not working, just sell the shares. They're worth millions. You could invest it elsewhere and probably make better returns," José suggested casually.

Juan nodded. "I've thought about it…"

José's smile widened.

"Well, if your father is interested, I might be interested in Mallorca too," José said with a smile.

"Huh? You?" Juan was stunned, then his eyes widened as he processed what José just said, staring hard at his old friend.