After a pre-season marked by tensions in Bad Häring, Mallorca has begun its stage at the Marbella Football Center with a renewed atmosphere and seven new faces. The team, now in the Second Division, seeks unity under the orders of Luis García.
Mallorca has changed its mindset in pre-season. After the long faces and internal conflicts that marked the concentration in Bad Häring (Austria) last year, the red-and-black team has found in Marbella the ideal setting to rebuild. The Marbella Football Center has hosted the squad for a few days now, facing their stage with a relaxed and optimistic atmosphere, very different from that experienced in the previous pre-season.
The decision to move the concentration to the Costa del Sol, according to club sources, responds to a change in strategy following relegation to the Second Division. The pre-season in Marbella is less costly than that in Austria, but most importantly, as players and coaching staff agree, the group has been coming together since day one. The 26 degrees marked by the thermometer in the area have not prevented training from taking place with intensity and good humour.
The arrival of seven new signings has injected fresh energy into the squad. The latest to join is Arnau Tenas, a goalkeeper on loan from FC Barcelona, who arrived at the training hotel showing great charisma. Tenas was precisely one of the stars of the session this Sunday, when his teammates welcomed him with playful slaps and jokes about his recent signing, a gesture that reflects the good rapport in the locker room.
The atmosphere contrasts with that of last summer, when the squad was burdened by toxic behaviours. According to internal sources, then-coach Jagoba Arrasate was at odds with part of the squad from the first summer session. Problems like those of Pablo Maffeo and Cyle Larin, who wanted to leave the team, or the noise surrounding Samu Costa's future, are not repeating. Now, the message being conveyed is one of continuity for key players and the importance of bringing in new talents.
Mallorca has already played its first friendly of the pre-season, a 3-0 victory against Saudi Al-Fateh. The team continues to prepare under the orders of Luis García, who has already begun to imprint his style. In the session this Sunday, following the match, players started in the gym and then alternated continuous running with more enjoyable rondos. The only absence was Arnau Puigmal, who had calf discomfort, from a group of 27 players.
The board, with CEO of Football Pablo Ortells and owner Andy Kohlberg present in Marbella, continues to work on new signings. Ortells expressed great satisfaction after witnessing the first minutes of the 'Luis García stamp' live. The idea is to strengthen the squad with players who fit into the new project, which focuses on unity and commitment.
For Mallorca fans, the change of scenery brings hope. After several seasons where some players seemed more focused on the exit door than on defending the badge, the pre-season in Marbella is helping to regain enthusiasm. The team will complete its stage on the Costa del Sol before returning to the island to face the final friendlies and the start of the league in the Second Division.
The good atmosphere has also been noticeable in training, where laughter and gestures of complicity among players are constant. Media from the Balearic Islands have witnessed how veterans, like Jan Virgili, who turned 20, received playful slaps and jokes from their teammates. An atmosphere that, according to the older players, has not been seen in the Mallorca locker room for some time.
The next appointment for Mallorca will be a new friendly, yet to be confirmed, before returning to Palma. The board hopes to close another signing before the official competition begins. Meanwhile, the squad continues to work in Marbella with their sights set on the goal of returning to the First Division as soon as possible.
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