I Am Jose-Chapter 26 - : The Glory of La Liga ?

Before heading to Galicia, where Deportivo La Coruña is based, Mallorca's official announcement revealed that Nadal, N'Gonga, Olazabal, Francisco Soler, and Miguel Soler would all miss the match due to various injuries and stay on the island to recover...

The news immediately shocked all of Spain!

The shock wasn't about the injuries themselves but the fact that no one believed Mallorca would lose five key players at once, and especially veterans over thirty years old—so shameless! If you're conserving strength, at least come up with a better excuse, not these absurd injuries... Are they playing us for fools?

José, however, began to show that the young man wasn't any less crafty than the old foxes. At the pre-match press conference, he said, in all seriousness, "I'm not lying. Miguel and the others are indeed injured. Miguel and Vicente have been exhausted from constant games, given they're both 35-year-old players. Miguel and Javier also suffered minor strains in training. As for Francisco... he tripped and fell at home..."

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The journalists collectively booed, showing their disdain for the young coach who was clearly making up stories—well, we journalists may lie, that's part of the job, but you, as the head coach, should be doing better! Don't steal our jobs!

But when Deportivo La Coruña's coach Irureta spoke to the press, he laughed and said, "I believe José. This is good news for us. Maybe we'll secure our first-place position in the standings more easily... Mallorca is a strong team, and the injuries to half of their key players have certainly lightened the pressure for us."

The old fox laughed happily. This young guy wanted to put on an act, but that wasn't Irureta's concern—what mattered was the three points, and even if Monaco had been fooled by José, what did that have to do with La Coruña? After all, they weren't a La Liga team...

However, in the match that followed, Deportivo, who had been in less-than-ideal form, surprisingly found themselves overwhelmed by a Mallorca side with half its main players on the field. Despite using mostly young players in defense, José orchestrated a powerful attack with his strongest offensive line. Most of the game was played in Deportivo's half, with Tristan, Ibagasa, Stankovic... even Carlos, who had been relegated to the bench, showing impressive form!

But Deportivo, relying on their vast experience, handled the game through counterattacks. In the 9th minute, Makay broke through Mallorca's hastily organized defense after receiving a through pass from Dejamija and scored. Shortly after halftime, Dejamija added a beautiful long-range shot to extend the lead...

Yet even with a two-goal deficit, Mallorca didn't give up their frantic attacking play. Both wings kept pushing forward, and Tristan kept making runs, giving La Coruña's center-backs Nabette and César a hard time...

In stoppage time, Mallorca finally pulled one back as their relentless attack wore down La Coruña's defense. Tristan, who had scored, received a cross from Stankovic, held off César, and fired into the net to score his seventh goal in the last six rounds of the league...

Irureta's eyes lit up. This young striker was exactly what La Coruña needed. While Makay was a great scorer and tall, he preferred to break through on the wings, but the middle needed someone like Tristan...

"Maybe we'll have a chance to buy this guy." Irureta thought to himself.

Soon after Tristan's goal, the referee blew the final whistle. Although the Deportivo fans were not happy with their team's passive play, they still applauded because just the day before, Barcelona had been hammered 3-0 by Real Madrid, widening the gap between them and La Coruña to six points...

La Coruña was on track for the title!

This team had finished as runners-up in La Liga twice in the mid-90s, but they had never won the league. Now, with the club's first-ever La Liga championship within reach, the fans were showing them plenty of patience!

Amid the applause, Irureta let out a sigh, adjusted his clothes, and walked over to José.

"That was a great match. We almost didn't win it," Irureta said to José.

"La Coruña is a strong team this season. It's no surprise," José shrugged nonchalantly.

This calm demeanor piqued Irureta's interest even further. He smiled, nodded at José, and walked onto the pitch. Even though he was now interested in Tristan, he wasn't going to tell José that—at least not yet.

"Are you eyeing my Tristan?" José shook his head as he watched Irureta's back. What a pity... I can't control the club right now. If La Coruña makes an offer for Tristan and pays enough cash, Mallorca's management would definitely let him go...

Never mind, now's not the time to think about that. Tristan's a good forward, one of my own players, but such players are not hard to train. Once I control the club, there'll be plenty of opportunities. And... Tristan isn't without his ambitions, either...

Regardless of whether Tristan has ambitions, José wouldn't be on guard against him. In professional football, transfers were common, and no one should be labeled a "traitor" just because they left. Moreover, Mallorca had a tradition of developing and selling players, and Tristan wasn't exactly a youngster. By the time José took over, he was already 24, which was the prime time for a striker to make an impact. Even if Tristan chose to leave, José wouldn't consider it betrayal—even if he was one of José's own players...

What José had to focus on now was preparing for the first leg of the UEFA Cup!

The first leg at home wasn't exactly a favorable situation—after all, having the second leg away was usually more advantageous. This was something everyone knew—generally, the second leg would be the decisive one, and having it at the opponent's home ground was disadvantageous for the team that had to travel...

So José's plan was to make the decisive battle happen early, on his own turf, and bury Monaco's hopes of advancing in the first leg!

Of course, this wasn't an easy task. Despite losing top strikers Trezeguet and Henry to Juventus, Monaco still boasted a team full of talent—former AC Milan forward Simone, Croatian striker Pulsho, former Argentina national team hopeful Gallardo, rising French winger Julli, Mexican center-back Marquez, and France's number-one goalkeeper Barthez...

However, José planned to set a trap for Monaco, with the previous match against Deportivo being one of the steps in the plan—his aggressive attack had stifled Deportivo, but it was their counterattack that had pierced through Mallorca. If Monaco used this match as a reference, they'd be in for a harsh lesson...

If Monaco's coach Puel had only watched the tape of Mallorca against Deportivo, he would likely form an immediate impression—Mallorca had fierce attacking momentum, but they were inefficient, their attacking methods were limited under pressure, and their defense was unstable...

Given these "real conditions" and the fact that it would be an away game, Puel would likely think about using a similar approach to Deportivo—tightening defense, wearing down Mallorca's attacking strength, and then striking back on the counter. Gallardo and Julli were both experts at counterattacks, and Simone and Pulsho could serve as the focal points in the attack.

José was hoping Puel would adopt this strategy, and he had been training his own team for a high-pressure attacking tactic, particularly focusing on drawing fouls through dribbling. Monaco's center-backs, Cristianval and Marquez, were both aggressive defenders, and they committed a lot of fouls in matches. Although Mallorca didn't have many set-piece specialists, Stankovic's free-kick abilities were decent, and if Monaco played a tight defense, set pieces would become a key weapon.

Time passed quickly, and before José knew it, he had already been in charge of Mallorca for over a month. March 3rd had arrived, right on schedule!

"In La Liga, José has proven his coaching ability with a five-match winning streak, but the upcoming UEFA Cup match will be a true test for him... This round of 16 features four Spanish teams, including Mallorca. The other three teams are La Coruña, ranked first in the league, Celta, in the middle of the table, and Atlético Madrid, fighting against relegation. Their opponents are Monaco from France, Arsenal from England, Lens from France, and Juventus from Italy... The draw is far from ideal for La Liga, and to be honest, the Spanish media isn't very optimistic about the chances of teams like Celta advancing past Juventus..."

In their coverage of the UEFA Cup matches, the Spanish media sounded pessimistic. This draw didn't look favorable for the four La Liga teams involved. At the very least, they weren't hopeful about Celta defeating Juventus...

However, José remained silent. He didn't feel the need to stand up and declare that he would lead Mallorca to fight for Spain's honor in Europe. Even if that was Mallorca's responsibility, he felt it was more fitting to let his performance speak for itself...