Arrasate bows out at Mallorca with dignity — and a brutal bit of self-reflection
Jagoba Arrasate spoke candidly after his Mallorca sacking, admitting he suffered, fell short of his own standards, and hopes the club stays up.
Jagoba Arrasate has broken his silence after being shown the door at Mallorca, and fair play to the bloke — he handled it with a lot of class.
The sacking he didn’t see coming
Arrasate found out he was getting the boot on Monday evening, after training had already finished for the day. Sporting director Pablo Otells called him in over dinner to deliver the news — not exactly the kind of meal you want, is it. The Basque coach admitted he wasn’t expecting it, but he wasn’t about to kick off publicly either. No conspiracy theories, no pointed remarks at the board. Just a quiet acceptance that this is football.
”We started building — we ended up surviving”
That line pretty much sums up his tenure at Son Moix. Arrasate was honest enough to hold his hands up and say he hadn’t delivered what he’d hoped. A few things worth noting from what he said:
- He felt he never really got his style of play across to the squad
- When Mallorca did try to play vertically and with intensity, they became defensively vulnerable and conceded too easily
- The trajectory, in his own words, went “from more to less in everything”
- He openly said: “I’m not happy, I expected more from myself”
That’s a rare level of candour from a manager on his way out the door, and it’s hard not to respect it.
A different dressing room
One of the more interesting bits was Arrasate reflecting on the difference between managing Osasuna — where he had years to build something — and arriving at Mallorca with a squad that had its own identity and culture already baked in. He acknowledged he needed to adapt more, and that he didn’t quite manage it. Rather than bitterness, he framed it as a learning experience. Whether that’s genuine or just good PR, who knows, but it came across well.
Still rooting for the Vermilion
Despite everything, Arrasate made clear that his priority remains Mallorca’s survival in La Liga. He was gracious towards the island’s people — particularly mentioning how welcoming locals had been to his family — and said he hopes to be in the ground on the final day against Oviedo to celebrate the club staying up.
He also wished his successor, whoever that turns out to be, the best of luck — adding that “the team needs a reaction.” Which, given where Mallorca currently sit in the table, is putting it mildly.
What next?
Arrasate arrives at this crossroads with a decent CV — he kept Osasuna punching above their weight for years — but this spell at Mallorca will sting. He’ll be back in management, no doubt about that. For now though, the focus shifts to whoever walks through the Son Moix door next and whether they can drag the club away from trouble before the season runs out.