You can listen to the full interview during halftime of football matches broadcast by Flashscore in the Results section, both on the website and in the app.
How are you and how is the team feeling after two straight wins against Real Madrid and Rayo, plus a draw with Valencia?
Obviously, our morale and confidence are much better than they were two, three, or four weeks ago, but in terms of the standings, we’re still in the same position. In recent days, almost all the teams at the bottom have managed to win. Fortunately, we beat Real Madrid—a win nobody expected—because without those three points, we’d be even lower, but the team is doing well, we’re confident, and there’s still everything to play for in the schedule.
Mentally, how do you cope with such a tough season, where you win matches people don’t expect, but your direct rivals do the same and you can’t seem to get out of this situation?
In recent seasons, La Liga has become very tight. Those Madrid seasons with a hundred points, like before, are gone for good. Of course, they’re still much better than the rest and will get a lot of points, but between fifth, sixth, and twentieth place, everything is much closer now, matches are tighter, the level is very similar, and it’s really hard to win every game. That’s why we value these two consecutive wins so much—I think it’s been over a year since we last won two in a row. So I’m really happy about that, but this is a league where the team that’s best physically, mentally, and most prepared to suffer will probably be the one that stays up.
Now that you’re two points above the relegation zone, is it better to have more teams in the fight, or do you try to focus only on yourselves? Is it inevitable to check the standings every matchday?
I think we’re in a process with a new coach, with concepts we still need to absorb, and even though we’re doing well, we have to keep an eye on the others. I’d be lying if I said we don’t look at Sevilla’s results—it’s inevitable. When there are so many teams involved, I think those with 38 points are further away, those with 40 are obviously safe, but there are five, six, or seven teams in it. Just last week, or not long ago, Rayo or Valencia seemed practically safe, and with this matchday where we won, all the teams below us have bounced back, so the more teams there are, the better, and if they’re in trouble and we’re not, all the better for us.
What’s it like fighting relegation with teams like Levante, who battle until the end?
We knew they’d fight, especially because we’d seen it—Levante is a team that came up from the second division, they know every match in La Liga is a reward for them, just like for us, and they’ll fight to the end as long as they have a chance, and that’s what they’re doing. These are good teams, as I’ve said before—whether they’re ninth, tenth, or twentieth, the teams are so evenly matched that they can win two or three games in a row without a problem. They haven’t had the luck of the teams above them winning too, and it takes a bit of time to get used to fighting to stay up, but they’re still alive, so that’s two more rivals who will try to fight. A month or two ago, it looked like two teams were already relegated and there was just one spot left, but now I’d say there are three spots up for grabs, so we have to be careful because the teams below us are closing in too.
Farewell to Arrasate, Demichelis arrives
Given that your Mallorca has had an inconsistent year, what happened for you to be fighting for survival at the end of the season instead of being in a comfortable or top-half position?
Since last year, we’ve been in a bad run since the Supercup and the Cup, and we fell into a rut we just couldn’t get out of—I can’t even say why. The coach, Jagoba (Arrasate), tried everything, the players did too, but in the end, a coaching change in these situations—not just for us, but for Real Sociedad, Levante, and many teams—has worked. In the end, we shook things up and players who hadn’t played for a while are now contributing, so fortunately the coaching change worked for us. That’s not a criticism of Jagoba, who’s a great guy, but luckily with Martín we’re doing better.
What kind of profile does a club like Mallorca need?
It depends. When I arrived, Javier Aguirre was here, and I think that was exactly what was needed at the time to establish Mallorca, which was a team on the rise. Having a coach who maybe doesn’t play the most attractive football, but guarantees survival, was essential then to stabilize Mallorca. Then Jagoba came in with a much more direct approach, and in the first half of the season we got about thirty points, so he brought something good and we did well. At this point, I think we needed someone like Martín—a coach with a lot of character, with his own ego, who knows he has to lay down the law, who still needs to make a name for himself. Not as a player, obviously, because he’s got more experience and a bigger career than all of us put together, but as a coach, he’s just starting out and he’s incredibly motivated. He’s made things clear, adapted well to what he had, and I think it was the right decision. Credit to Pablo Ortiz for taking a chance on a coach who was inexperienced in Spain, but honestly, it was exactly what we needed at that moment. Maybe in three years I’ll tell you we need something else, but right now, the perfect coach for Mallorca is someone like Martín, and fortunately, we’re getting results and I hope it continues.
Darder’s present and future
As for you, given your stats and the fact that your role has decreased under the new coach, how do you feel—will you stay at Mallorca next year?
Yes, of course. I think in the last few games I’ve been able to start and play at a high level. I never lost my smile—beyond playing well or not, I’ve always tried to give my best. Sometimes my best wasn’t very good, I admit that and I’m self-critical. But that’s what I had at the time, because of my confidence, my position, the state of the team, a lot of things. But being honest with myself, I know I wasn’t at the level I showed at Espanyol in recent years. I think I’ve done some good things, played some good games, but it’s been very inconsistent, so I’m aware—and I’ve said it many times and I’ll keep saying it—that I have to accept the role I have. Since Martín arrived, I’ve had to take on a substitute role and I think I’ve handled it well and helped as much as I could. In the last two games, I played as a defensive midfielder, which is much closer to my natural position and lets me stand out more individually, and I think that’s how it’s gone.
Until what year are you under contract with the club?
I have two years left on my contract—this one and two more.
Do you want to stay at the club beyond the end of the season?
Yes, absolutely. If you’re asking about my intentions, the answer is clearly yes. After that, anything can happen. In football, you know the club might need changes, there might be a good offer for everyone, or the coach might say, “I don’t want this player here.” A lot of things can happen, but if you’re asking about my personal desire, obviously I hope to stay here for many years.
The key to survival
With seven games left—three at home, four away, and the last two against Levante and Real Oviedo—are there any key matches, or do you just take them one at a time?
It’s true we’ve been strong at home, we’ve won twice and drawn ten times at home, and now we’re going to Vitoria. These matches can make the difference in the last five, and from there, it doesn’t matter if you play Villarreal or the bottom team, Madrid or Barça—every game is a final and that’s how we have to approach it. We can’t afford to drop points and we need to secure survival as soon as possible, so we don’t go into the last two games fighting for our lives, which can be very tense.
What’s it like having a player like Muriqi in the team, who’s fighting for the Pichichi and has had his ups and downs?
This year, it’s easy to praise Muri because he’s scored 21 goals, and that’s what makes the difference, especially for a striker. But even in his toughest seasons, in difficult moments, people always speak highly of him because he’s a player who, whether he scores or not, gives the team something no other striker does—what he brings, how much he runs for you, how he fights for you, what he does on the pitch, the way he talks to you, his positivity. There are so many things you don’t see as much as goals in a striker, and obviously having him is a luxury. And if he’s scoring goals on top of that, just imagine what it would be like for us without him—who knows where we’d be, probably at the bottom of the table. But luckily he’s with us, he’s in great form, and it’s a privilege to have him here at Mallorca.