Palma’s sports director, José Tirado; the coach, Antonio Vadillo; the captain of the team, Carlos Barrón, and the president of the Balearic Football Federation, Pep Sansó, visited AS to take stock of the victory in the Champions League final and the final stretch of a season in which they are also leaders in the league. “It is an award for the effort of many years,” says Tirado. And it is that The beginnings of this team were not easy. They left Manacor 12 years ago, and that’s where the Palma Futsal project began. First they played in the Palma Arena until they enabled Son Moix. After the pandemic, the club’s patron, the president, Miquel Jaume, died in surgery. “Everybody, even the players, thought that this club was going to disappear”recalls Tirado. However, the momentum has been monumental. Since then, they have played in the League final, played in the Super Cup, and won the Champions League. “Now we can only get worse,” laughed the sports director.
“After 24 years, qualifying to play in the Champions League for the first time in history… pFor us it was living the experience, as if we were going to Disneyland to enjoy”described the Balearic delegation.
In the first phase it was their turn, as they qualified“the group of death”. A very strong group that made them go behind on the scoreboard (0-3), with just two minutes to play in their debut in the competition against Sporting de Paris. “In the end we were 11-5. It was the best match we’ve played in the Champions League”, clarifies Barrón.
They had not won a penalty shootout for 10 years. “They are the most difficult to train. That tension stress point, you cannot practice it”, were the words of coach Vadillo, who did not want to look at the batch that put the team in history. “I went to the side of the bench, sat down and did not raise my head. I have lost seven or eight rounds. In the end, it had to be given to us.”
CHEMA DIAZACE DAILY
Despite inaugurating the showcase with the biggest title in futsal, the club does not lose its essence. With the 2024 squad already closed and without the option to compete on the budget (1.2 million euros) with other big teams such as Barça or Inter MovistarPalma also does not have a sponsor attached to its name (the naming). “If we were to sell the name of the team, it would have to be to take a very big leap forward or to save our lives,” explains José Tirado.
The entire island poured in on the team. A Palma Arena full of supporters. “We had never seen the fans like this”, clarifies the technician. The pavilion was completely full with 6,000 spectators.. “If we had had 20,000 tickets, we would have sold them”, says Tirado.
The last weekend Barrón was able to take the kick-off at the Mallorca stadium. “It was an incredible experience,” says the captain. The entire stadium chanted in unison “champions, champions”, symbol that the entire island had been devoted to that Final Four. And this does not end: now they are going for the League.
