Founded on 5 March 1916, what would later become RCD Mallorca was registered at the Spanish Football Federation under the name ofAlfonso XIII Foot-Ball Club.
Weeks after its establishment, the club wasted little time forming the directors of Alfonso XIII FBC, headed by engineer Adolfo Vázquez Humasqué and eight other football fans.
Their first stadium, the Buenos Aires field, was inaugurated with a competitive fixture against FC Barcelona just 20 days after registering further fast-tracked development.
Despite the fixture ending in a disappointing 8–0 defeat, it was not long beforeKing Alfonso XIII himself requested the royal adoption of ‘Real’ in the team's title, therefore becomingReal Sociedad Alfonso XIII Foot-Ball Club.
RCD Mallorca first match on 25 March 1916 against FC Barcelona reserve team.Founding charter ofAlfonso XIII Football Club in 1916.
In 1917, the Catalan Federation granted Real Sociedad Alfonso XIII admission into the second-tier league championship as an unofficial champion of the Balearic Islands. Booking a place in the final, Los Bermellones went on to record their first title with a resounding 3–1 victory over Futbol Club Palafrugell, inBarcelona.
Until the 1930s, the board of directors managed to organise fixtures against peninsular clubs such as RCD Espanyol and Real Murcia, while also hosting rare exhibitions against foreign sides including:Ajax in 1923,Uruguay's national team in 1925, Chilean outfitColo-Colo in 1927 and one of the Czech Republic's oldest teams, Prague Meteor, in 1930, the latter under coachJack Greenwell, and withAntolín Arnau,Felipe Ferrer, andPedro Pizá among its players.[2]
In 1931, following the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic which prohibited any form of reference to monarchy, the club was renamed toClub Deportivo Mallorca.
Although major fixtures and competitions across Spain were soon interrupted by the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936, the squad enjoyed a highly successful spell by winning every possible championship they entered into, as football on the island remained resistant to the deferral experienced throughout the country.
When the war finally ended, matches with teams from the Peninsula were quick to resume and the Second Division was inaugurated, based on five groups of eight teams each.
It was during a period in the Second Division that, on 22 September 1945, the time had come to wave goodbye to Buenos Aires Field and up sticks to Es Fortí, a 16,000-maximum capacity stadium which would be called home for over half a century and undergo several expansions.
A line-up featuring forward Sebastián Pocoví, defender Saturnino Grech and goalkeeper Antoni Ramallets beat Jerez 3–0 on the opening game of the new campaign the following day, with Carlos Sanz scoring Es Fortí's first goal in front of packed-out terraces.
The title Es Fortí was short-lived however, with the board later changing the name of the stadium to Lluís Sitjar, in honour of the man who had driven the construction of the field.
During the 1949–1950 season, the Balearic club recovered their "Real" title, becomingReal Club Deportivo Mallorca
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On 17 April 1960 Mallorca beatLevante 2-1 which confirmed promotion toLa Liga for the first time in the clubs 44 year history.[3][4]
In their first season in the Spanish First Division, the1960/61 season, Mallorca finished 9th out of 16 teams, on 28 points just 2 pointsOviedo in the relegation playoffs.[5] They were knocked out of theCopa Del Rey in the round of 16 toSevilla 4-3 across two legs.[6]
Mallorca would spend a few more seasons which saw them finish in the top 5 every season but were not promoted until the1968/69 season which saw them finish 3rd, just 3 points off of first placeSevilla.[9]
Despite this, Mallorca once again were relegated immediately, ending the1969/70 La Liga season in 15th, only abovePontevedra who finished on just 13 points.[10]
Mallorca would then sit in the lower half of the Segunda Division until the1974/75 season which saw them finish a lowly 17th and ultimately being relegated to theTercera División for the 1975/76 season, in which they finished 8th in their group.[11][citation needed]
Mallorca would then fall further down the Spanish football divisions being relegated to the 4th division for the 1978/79 season.[citation needed]
These tough times would not last however, as Mallorca would get back-to-back promotions, finishing first in the 1979/80 fourth division season and then again in the 1980/81 Tercera División.[12]
However, as Barcelona also won the league, Mallorca were their opponents in the1998 Supercopa de España and won 3–1 on aggregate for their first major honour.[17]
Mallorca's2001–02 season was turbulent, with the club going through three different coaches and finishing 16th in the table.[20]
For the2002–03 season,Gregorio Manzano was appointed as the club's manager. Mallorca finished ninth in the table with inconsistent form. That season Mallorca won their firstCopa del Rey title; in their route to the final, they beatReal Madrid in the quarterfinals 4-0, and then eliminated defending championsDeportivo La Coruña.[20]
In the next few seasons the club comfortably finished mid-table; in the2009–10 season the club had a great campaign and finished 5th while making the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. However, theirEuropa League spot was ceded to Villarreal due to Mallorca's economic difficulties.[23]
Mallorca was relegated from La Liga on the last day of the 2012–13 season.[24]
In January 2016, with the team at risk of relegation to the third tier, American investorRobert Sarver and formerNBA playerSteve Nash bought the club for just over €20 million.[25]
On 4 June 2017, Mallorca fell into the third tier for the first time since 1981, with one game of the season still to play.[26] A year later, they bounced back in the2017–18 season after winning theplay-off final againstCF Rayo Majadahonda, under new managerVicente Moreno.[27]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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