Sergi Darder has been an ever present this season.
Our midfielder made 40 appearances this season - registering two goals and six assists - and has become a constant in Jagoba Arrasate's starting XI.
We spoke with him at the Sa Creu bar, headquarters of the Peña Mallorquinista de Establiments, to discuss the season, his holiday plans, his passion for golf and the secret behind not missing a single game this season.
Question: We are at the Sa Creu bar, are you a regular at these types of cafés and local bars?
Answer: I've been like that all my life. It's true that the years when I left the island, a little less, but whenever I've been here in Mallorca, I've always been used to going with friends to have a coffee in the bar, to be quiet in the village.... so for those of us from the village it's just another day.
What is that routine with your friends?
Well, we've had it all our lives. Since I was thirteen, when I went to Barcelona, all the friends in the group have had a routine that hasn't been lost, which is that Fridays are our day. Obviously now that I'm here, I try, every Friday I can, to go to the village, go to the bar, have a coffee, play cards...
With the season now over, how will Sergi Darder rest?
Those of us who have children still don't let us switch off completely, because we have to stay here for a while yet. But it's true that this day-to-day footballing stress, not only physically, but also mentally, it's very useful not to think about the matches and training every day. I think it is necessary for everyone. I will try to play golf as much as I can, be with my family and friends and get as close to Artá as I can.
Relaxed holiday, right?
Luckily I've had a season where mentally I've been doing very well. I don't need that disconnection of having to go away for three weeks to cure myself, as they say. I need to continue in my routine, to continue to be happy as I have been all this season. I need to disconnect a bit from the world of football, but it doesn't allow you to do that either. My head is always thinking about football and that's the good thing. That is to say, that the work we have is a hobby. And that's the way it should be until the last day.
Where does your passion for golf come from?
It was a little over a year ago. I already had the bug. I started in Barcelona, but it didn't go well. I didn't get hooked and through friends I went to see Mario Hermoso, who also started at the same time in Madrid, and I played with his teammates from Atlético and from there it got under my skin. Here, between Abdón or Mate [Mateu], we started to play and here we are. We are trying to improve because it's a very difficult sport.
You have even said publicly that golf helps you psychologically...
Yes, there are many times that I even talk about it with family and friends. Maybe the day before a match I don't like to go, because I like to be very focused on the match and be concentrated. Once the video of the opponent has been made, I don't like to touch other sports or other disconnection issues, I like to be involved in the match. But maybe two days before a match, which many people say is better to rest, it's very good for me [to play golf]. It's very good for me to disconnect, so that I don't get so many hours into the next match. And it's true that going there, maybe for an hour to hit four balls, is very good for me. It has helped me a lot to be happy, to have fewer arguments at home, to be much more liberated, much calmer, and then that is also reflected on the course.
What is your assessment of the season?
It has been a good season. It's true that the end has spoilt the season a bit, but we mustn't forget that we have scored 48 points. A season in which, for a large part, we have excited people and ourselves. It was bad luck we have not been able to finish with these two or three more points that would have taken us to Europe.
So close to Europe, but in the end we finished in the top 10...
You can look at it in two ways and both are right. You can look at it as an opportunity, I think, to be historic. I don't want to say easy because it's not easy at all, but surely it was easier than other years to be able to go to Europe because one more team got in, because two or three historic teams that you normally know will be up there haven't had their best season... and there was that hole for teams like us. In the end I think it's a bit of a missed opportunity, but what I said: I think we have to appreciate that this team has had a very good season. And I think this is what we are left with: that this team has scored 48 points, that it is in the top 10, that we have to try to consolidate these positions and that if we continue like this, surely one year it will give us the chance to go to Europe and hopefully it can be next year.
The idea is to get back on track next season, isn't it?
We can't go any lower than that. I think that should be the objective. After that, if it gives us enough to go to Europe, we will fight for it. If we can finish tenth, we'll fight for that too. We have a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of ambition. As the coach has said, that these two, four, five or six signings that may come in will add to the team, and that those of us who are already here, who know the coach, will also add to the team. We mustn't overlook the fact that this has been a season with a new coach, a new project, a new process. I think this team has adapted very well. We already know them, we know how they work and I think that should also give us a lot of strength to be able to start with a positive inertia. And I'm telling you: I'm very excited, I'm seeing Mallorca getting better every day and that's what's important. And now it's our fault, the players' fault, to make it bigger too.
Wee have seen a great version of Sergi Darder this year, do you think so?
Yes, it's true that there are many people who have a very different opinion of what Sergi Darder really is and expect him to score ten goals and be much more decisive. But, well, I'm very happy with the season I've had. You also know that I'm very self-critical and I'm not satisfied, far from it. I think I'm at the ideal age to continue having seasons and to keep growing. I'm not 38-years-old and able to say that I'm content to maintain this level. Quite the opposite. Luckily injuries have not been an issue, I have continuity and I think I still have a lot of room for improvement. But I think I'm happy because I've given everything I had and more, and with that I have a clear conscience.
Has this second season allowed you to make up for your first?
Although I recognise that last year was a very difficult season, I learned a lot, and that is what is important and what has made me a better player this year. I have been more liberated, happier, calmer, because you have been able to see part of who I am. Maybe you won't see more of the Sergi that you saw when he was 20, 21 or 22 because every context is different, every team is different, every coach is different, and you always have to adapt a lot to what the team needs. It has been another year of learning a lot and of gratitude to the coach for the confidence he has given me. A year in which surely if I had started the season and they had told me what I have done, I would surely have signed it, coming from where I came from.
This season, by the way, you haven't missed a single match... what is the secret?
I think that knowing your body is the most important thing. I remember after the Rayo game, in which I was very tired because I was coming from a lot of the season and because it was an intense game, I said to Bittor [Alkiza]: ‘I'm old now’. And he told me: ‘You're at your best because you know your body’. And to be told that by a person with that kind of experience, it marks you, because it's true. Right now I think I know my body very well. That lets you know what you need at any given moment, what you need for each training session, whether you need more or less recovery time. You have to adapt a lot to your body. As I said, I'm not 40 years old enough to think about dosing, far from it, but I do know much more about what I need. Golf, which seems silly, has also helped me to be mentally very liberated. The training loads, the physical trainers nowadays are much more up to date and know the players much better... and we also have a tablet, before starting training, where you put in how you feel, how you have slept... and they can manage the loads a little better. Fortunately, there is a lot of help, and that's why players extend their careers a little more than they did 10 years ago. I want to be professional as much as I can and hopefully extend my career as long as possible. At a high level, obviously.
