Chapter 5 - Chapter 5: Taking Office

Alemany began to carefully consider José's words. He had to admit that if José really could obtain the shares of the Mallorca club owned by the Asensio family, then the possibility of controlling the entire club was indeed quite high. Mallorca was a shareholder company, but it wasn't listed, so all the power lay in the hands of the shareholders. The more shares one held, the greater the influence. Once a shareholder controlled more than fifty percent of the shares, they could make any decisions, and everyone else would have to follow. This was the same reason Grande had been dissatisfied before, though his shares were not as many as Asensio's. But now, if it was José in control, Alemany feared he might act even more recklessly.

"If you owned the entire Mallorca club, what would you do?" Alemany couldn't help but ask.

José chuckled. "Father, that would be your business, wouldn't it? Don't forget, you're the executive chairman of the Mallorca club. I'm just a coach..."

"You brat! Do you want your father to work for you?" Alemany couldn't help but shout.

"Don't say it like that, Father. I don't have enough energy to juggle both the head coach and chairman roles... The one who'll actually handle the day-to-day operations will still be you. I would just occasionally offer some advice. What you do will be just like what you're doing now... I believe the Alemany name will go down in Mallorca's history as something legendary! In the future, when people talk about the great Mallorca club, it'll be just like when they talk about Atlético Madrid and the Gil family, or Internazionale and the Moratti family, or Manchester United and the Edwards family!" José said, his face full of excitement. "And that's also the biggest reason why I chose to leave the U.S. and come back to Mallorca."

Alemany looked at José, then sighed. "José, I never imagined you'd have such grand ambitions... Since you say that, as a father, how could I not help you? Maybe I can't help with everything you mentioned, but when it comes to the chairman role, at least I won't hold you back. But I have one question. Do you think Juan will really agree to transfer the shares to you?"

"I haven't asked yet," José gave an answer that shocked Alemany.

"You..." Alemany didn't know what to say. After hearing José's analysis, he thought José had everything figured out... But it turned out it was just talk!

"This is why I only want to be the firefighter," José carefully explained. "This season, Mallorca's performance hasn't been great, and the finances are probably going to show a deficit. That means the shareholders won't just be getting no dividends; they might even have to pay to cover the deficit... Before, Mr. Asensio didn't care about that, but now, Juan might. When he realizes that the shares in Mallorca could become a burden, he'll probably be more inclined to accept my offer. I could buy the shares at a lower price. However, in the upcoming season, Mallorca may have to tighten its belt. Do you think it's wise for me to continue as head coach?"

"...You really thought this through..." Alemany said, feeling a little speechless.

Once Alemany finally understood José's reasoning, he began to appreciate his son's thorough planning—José was throwing the potentially embarrassing period to other coaches, and would step in as the savior when the time was right. It seemed his decision not to take the head coach role six months ago had been part of this plan...

"Since that's the case, Father, prepare to let me be the firefighter. But no matter what, I still need to be paid. If we manage to stay up this season, I'd like a bonus of fifty thousand dollars. Is that too much to ask?" José grinned.

"Bonus? Why do you need money?" Alemany was stunned for a moment.

"Spend more, the club's expenses will increase," José laughed, and Alemany eventually understood what his son meant, shaking his head with a wry smile.

"By the way, don't forget, if Gómez can beat Real Madrid, he'll still be the head coach of Mallorca," Alemany reminded his son, unable to suppress a smile as he looked at José.

"Don't worry, Father. Gómez isn't going to win at the Bernabéu. We had decent results against Real Madrid last season, but that was under Coach Cooper. If Gómez can lead Mallorca to beat Real Madrid, then Mallorca wouldn't be in the situation it's in right now..." José said dismissively.

"Well, you have a point," Alemany nodded. "But if we lose this match, we might drop into the relegation zone... Do you think you can turn Mallorca around?"

"Getting into next season's European competitions? That's hard to say. But keeping the team up... That's no problem!" José said, his face beaming.

Despite Gómez's hard work and the players' efforts, the gap in strength between Mallorca and the bigger teams left them with no chance to escape the inevitable loss. A 1–2 defeat at the Bernabéu was nothing to be ashamed of, but it marked Mallorca's third consecutive loss. The players' tolerance had reached its limit.

After returning to Mallorca, the management immediately announced Gómez's dismissal. Upon hearing the news, Gómez just sighed. The close friend and assistant of Coach Cooper began to realize that choosing to be the head coach of Mallorca had been a mistake. However, he wasn't worried about his future; his old friend Cooper had already reserved a spot for him as an assistant coach in Valencia.

With the remainder of his salary and termination compensation, Gómez left Mallorca, leaving behind a mess—sitting at the bottom of the league, with only twelve points, and a team filled with anxious players...

On January 19, 2000, the day after returning from Madrid, Mallorca officially announced its new head coach.

"Due to Coach Gómez's poor health, he submitted his resignation, which the club respects. The club has appointed José Alemany, head coach of the Mallorca B team, as the interim head coach until the end of this season."

There was no press conference, just a simple announcement in the local Mallorca Daily, but it immediately caused a stir.

"Spain's youngest head coach is here! 26-year-old José Alemany appointed as interim head coach of Mallorca!"

"Why is the new Mallorca head coach the son of the club's executive chairman? What's behind this?"

Normally, it would be quite normal for a team deep in the relegation zone to change coaches, with the B team's head coach stepping in. However, José's age and his special identity became the focal point of media attention.

Meanwhile, the media started digging into José's past—he left for the U.S. at 18, returned to Mallorca after two years, began studying coaching at 20, became Cooper's assistant at 24, and by 25, had become the head coach of Mallorca B. Under his leadership, Mallorca B finished 7th in the Spanish second division, with a record of 12 wins, 6 draws, and 7 losses.

"Given José's performance with the B team, he seems like the best choice for Mallorca right now. But his young age and special identity make it difficult for him to quickly build respect from the players, especially with so many veterans on the team like Nadal and N'Gonga, both of whom are over thirty..."

While the media speculated about what José would be like as head coach, José quietly began his work.

On January 20, at 9 AM, at Mallorca's Doral training base.

"Vicente, we got a new coach," shouted Fernando Niño in the locker room. A tall player with a solid build and a fiery temperament, Niño was a tough defender for Mallorca.

Vicente N'Gonga, silently tying his shoelaces, didn't respond. The 35-year-old midfielder from Equatorial Guinea had only played his first La Liga match at 26 and made his Spanish national team debut at 33. He was Mallorca's captain and one of the most respected veterans, alongside 33-year-old Miguel Nadal, a former Spanish international who had recently returned from Barcelona.

N'Gonga had come to Mallorca with Cooper and had supported Gómez, who was Cooper's close friend. With Gómez gone, N'Gonga felt guilty and also worried about his place on the team.

"Let's go, training's about to start... The new coach wants to meet us," N'Gonga said in a deep voice after finishing tying his shoes.

José stood by the training field, chatting casually with his assistant coach Antonio Natal, another veteran of Mallorca, 45 years old, who had been with the club for ten years.

"Antonio, how's the usual training schedule?" José asked.

"Pretty much the same..." Natal replied. "Gómez was good with training, he followed the same methods Cooper used, and the players' discipline was strict... No issues with their form."

"Mm..." José nodded slightly. Having worked as an assistant coach for half a season in the first team, he knew the training level at Mallorca. Coach Cooper was known for his focus on training results, and this strictness was one of the reasons for his falling out with Ronaldo at Inter Milan. It seemed the players were disciplined and in good form, but if a team kept losing, morale would drop significantly.

"First, we need a win," José thought to himself.

As José pondered the next steps, the players began to file out of the locker room. Once everyone had gathered, José looked at his watch and nodded in satisfaction. Except for the injured Viajini, all players were present, and there were no latecomers.

José didn't plan to make a show of authority. Having spent half a season with the first team, most players knew him and were aware of his success with the B team.

With a wave of his hand, José simply said, "Let's start training."