PETE JENSON: Abdon Prats is the Mallorca favourite with the trademark moustache who attends pottery
There are some players who, while always being a million miles from any Ballon d’Or podium, will always be worth their weight in gold to the supporters who follow them. Mallorca’s Abdon Prats is one of those footballers.
The trademark tache, the golden goals that over the years have won his team promotion to La Liga, or saved them from relegation, and the pottery pastime that helps him unwind when he’s not playing, are all part of one Spanish football’s enduring characters, one who finds himself 90 minutes from the Copa del Rey final.
‘We know what it could mean for us to reach the final; and for the American owners, for Andy Kohlberg (The former tennis pro who is now majority shareholder and president). ‘He knows it’s a very big step for the club,’ Abdon says, speaking ahead of tonight’s second leg semi-final against Real Sociedad with the score 0-0 from the first game.
‘Mallorca is back on the map of Spain but if we get to the final and into Europe then we’re back on the world map too. There is huge excitement for that. For the club it would mean an economic injection and [the chance] to bring in players who, alongside those of us who are here, could help us grow and improve.’
Abdon has already written his name in the club’s history several times over. His uncle Toni played in goal for the team. He came through the youth system but had to leave and build a reputation as a lower-league poacher elsewhere after limited opportunities at home.
Iconic Mallorca striker Abdon Prats is worth his weight in gold to supporters – and he wants to put Mallorca ‘back on the world map’
Mallorca would make their first Copa del Rey final since 2003 with a win over Real Sociedad
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In 2017, when they were in the third division, he came back and his goals helped them return to the second tier. Then his wonder strike in the play-off final against Deportivo got them promoted to La Liga in 2019.
Two seasons ago he climbed off the bench to score a late winner in the penultimate game of the season to keep them in the first division. He was in tears after the match. It will take something special to top those two moments but getting Mallorca to their first cup final since 2003 (when Samuel Eto’o scored twice to help them to a 3-0 win over Recreativo) might just do it.
‘Whenever there has been one of these magic nights I have had some feeling inside (that I was going to score),’ he says. ‘I’ve known that some chance would fall to me and that I had to get it right when it did. It’s about having conviction in yourself. I believe in my ability to help bring some happiness to all the Mallorca fans.’
Over the years there have times when he has not been first choice and tempted by the idea of moving on but the pull of his hometown club has always been too strong. This year he is the Spanish Cup’s top scorer with six goals.
They love him for the goals and because he’s a throwback to a simpler era when footballers had a little more in common with the spectators watching them.
‘I’ve played in Segunda B, Segunda and Primera and I’ve been the same person in all those divisions,’ he says. ‘Of course you earn more [playing at a higher level] and that can make life easier. But you always have to keep your feet on the ground.
‘Being a professional footballer in any division is hard. But to get to the first division and stay there and have some magical moments along the way, and to be able to have this love story between myself and the club – I am really proud of that.’
Mallorca’s journey to the semi-final started at semi-pro Galician side Boiro. Some players would struggle in the humble surroundings. ‘I like it,’ Abdon smiles. ‘I am not the kind of player who because he’s in the first division looks down his nose at footballers who, for whatever reason, have to work an eight-hour day before they go and train in the evening.
Real Sociedad earned a 0-0 draw at Mallorca in the first leg and host them on Tuesday night
Prats (bottom centre) has played with Mallorca since their third tier days and says he has ‘been the same person in all those divisions’
The forward sports a trademark moustache and unwinds by doing pottery, calling it ‘therapy’
‘They ask for your shirt after the game and you ask for theirs. And they say “mine, really?” and sometimes they tell you they can’t, but you want a memento of those games because it’s part of your career.’
Aside from the glory of winning a trophy the club could see themselves back into Europe if they reach the final. Will Prats play his part in that European adventure if it comes to pass? ‘I am 31 and I would like to play 6 or 7 years more; let’s see if my joints hold up,’ he grins.
He looks like he’s built to last, in part because he knows how to switch-off. He gets behind the potter’s wheel to relax away from the pitch. ‘I have a class now after this interview,’ he says.
‘The two hours I have there helps me forget everything else that is going on around me, whether it’s a hard week or not, and I enjoy it a lot. It’s a therapy for me that I discovered four or five years ago. And I make practical things. It’s nice to be able to have a coffee in the morning in a cup that you made yourself.’
And what about that trademark tache? ‘We’ve just had carnival here,’ he says. ‘People dress up as Abdon! The kids get one of those stick-on moustaches, or they paint them on. It’s very funny.’
They will have the false moustaches out again on Tuesday night if Abdon grabs another historic goal. Mallorca in a Cup final for the first time in 19 years – it will be carnival time all over again.
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