Real Mallorca may not have have come away with the Copa del Rey trophy on Saturday night, but it was not for a lack of effort, as they pushed Athletic Club to the limit of defeat, losing on penalties eventually. Manager Javier Aguirre did everything he could too, including repeating his unique motivational trick before the shoot-out.
Ahead of the penalties in the semi-final against Real Sociedad, Aguirre had his players cheer their teammates as he announced their names for the penalty shoot-out. It worked a treat at the time, as Mallorca took five excellent penalties.
Again, before their head-to-head with Athletic, Aguirre could be seen riling up his team with the same tactic, in what was a cinematic scene.
Here is Aguirre getting his players to cheer the takers after they're announced.pic.twitter.com/Aiy3kUD8wU
— Ruairidh Barlow (@RuriBarlow) April 6, 2024
On this occasion, Manu Morlanes saw his penalty saved by Julen Agirrezabala and Nemanja Radonjic blazing over, and Mallorca were left heartbroken. No doubt it may have one or two others thinking about their approach their final team talk to their players in extremis. A number of Mallorca players spoke after the semi-final about how calm and confident they were following Aguirre’s antics.
