MADNESS, MIRACLES AND MAGIC are the words that best sum up Real Mallorca.

The island may be more famous for its German and English tourists, great beaches and its partying neighbour Ibiza but they have a football club too. A football club that just never knows when it is beat and always comes back bigger and better than ever.

Mallorca’s ground Iberostar Estadio was built for the University Games in 1999. The club has a 50-year lease agreement with the local council and the stadium can hold 23,142 spectators. It has a huge running track which separates the fans from the pitch and struggles to sell out. It’s surprising considering that Mallorca always tend to play good, steady football. The club were runners-up in the Cup Winners Cup in 1999 and won the Copa Del Rey in 2003. Mallorca has had some big players too and no bigger than top scorer Samuel Eto’o.

The club has a habit of signing diamonds in the rough or players who have a bad reputation and turning their careers around. Eto’o, Dani Güiza and Borja Valero have all starred. Having spent his career partying and being influenced by forces outside football, Güiza showed some promise at Getafe. But, it was at Mallorca where his career really took off and he showed his true potential and was part of Spain’s Euro 2008 squad.

Yet, Mallorca fans try and not get too attached to their players because sooner or later they are sold. The club has suffered with major financial problems and has been on the verge of closure at least once. At one stage it was rumoured that ex-Newcastle United owner Freddy Shepherd was interested in the club but this was quickly dismissed. Many other owners were rumoured to take over but it never came to anything

But, that is the magic of Mallorca. Even with the uncertainty of who will pay their wages, the players still perform. And not only do they perform but they over perform. Every season pundits and journalists predict the demise of Mallorca only for them to surprise everyone. Last year Gregorio Manzano shocked everyone when he guided the club to fifth in La Liga. This whilst everyone was predicting that the club would not be able to play their next game. They outplayed and outperformed teams like Villarreal and Atletico de Madrid. But the season would still end in crisis when UEFA denied Mallorca a license to participate in European competitions because of their poor financial situation. The club staged demonstrations against the ruling but UEFA ignored their pleas.

After being denied Europa League football, Manzano left the club. Rumours circulated that it was because the club couldn’t afford to pay his salary but others suggest that the desire to play European football and the stress of managing a club in constant turmoil took its toll and he had enough.

Hope

Just when Mallorca fans feared the most, a consortium led by Llorenç Serra Ferrer (a former coach at the club) that included tennis superstar and Mallorca native Rafael Nadal took over the club. The first thing they did was bring in Danish legend Michael Laudrup as coach.

The club had to sell some players to balance the books but again Mallorca surprised and Laudrup weaved his magic again – but this time from the bench. A start which included draws against both Real and Barça has seen the club drop no lower than 11th since the fourth game of the season when they suffered a defeat against Bilbao. They are currently only four points off the Europa League spots. Would you bet against them getting there?

Around the Grounds

Pellegrini, who looked dead and buried, guided his Malaga team to one point from safety. Malaga managed to win back-to-back games for the first time this season. The news got better for Pellegrini when it was announced that Marca editor Eduardo Inda was leaving the newspaper to join TV channel Veo 7. Inda had lead many ruthless attacks against the Chilean during his time as Real coach and had continued to attack him when he took over at Malaga. Many will be hoping for big changes at Marca.

Another derby and another defeat for Atletico de Madrid against city rivals Real. Benzema scored on the 10th minute and Ozil made it two before half time. Kun Agüero gave ‘los rojiblancos’ some hope with a late goal but it was too little too late. But, Madrid didn’t escape unscathed as Ronaldo picked up an injury and will be out for up to two to three weeks. Small sections of the Calderon faithful let their side down by chanting racist slogans at Marcelo and Lass. Expect nothing to be done about it.

Bojan Krkic marked his 100th appearance for Barcelona with a goal as the Catalans sealed a 2-1 defeat of Getafe at the Camp Nou.

But forget about the top of the table, it’s at the bottom where all the action is. Wins for Racing, Sporting, Levante and Osasuna really makes the fight against the drop interesting. 4 points separates the team at the bottom from safety. Expect to see more arguments about goal line technology as the ball seemed to cross the line for Real Sociedad.

The support that has come out for Eric Abidal has been impressive. The player who was diagnosed this week with a tumor on his liver has received support from all over Spain and the world. In the Champions League game in the Bernabeu, Real and Lyon players walked out wearing T-shirts expressing support for the defender. Scoreboards also flashed words of support for the French international. Get well soon Eric.

Meanwhile, it as emerged that Real Betis can’t afford to pay for Miki Roque’s cancer treatment. A bank account has been set up to help collect money for the ex-Liverpool player.

Garreth Nunn is the co-founder and writer for the website www.madridatleticos.com. You can find him also on Twitter: @madridatleticos and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/madridatleticos