Subscribe To This Site

Malaga CF

A Modest Past but Promising Future

Although not founded in its present form of Malaga CF until June 29 1994, the origins of the club can be traced right back to the beginning of the 20th century.

The club has deformed and reformed under many guises often because of financial difficulties, but with a growing, often foreign fan base, the future looks much brighter for Málaga Club de Fútbol.

As the 2008-09 season draws to a close, Malaga CF will have had a fantastic season whatever happens. Many predicted they would go down, but they currently occupy UEFA positions and are considered the 'equipo revelación' of La Liga this season.

Malaga CF Club Data

Málaga Club de Fútbol S.A.D.
Founded: 1994 (1948)

Address: Pº. de Martirícos, s/n
29011 Málaga
Phone: +34 95 210 44 88
Website: www.malagacf.es

Stadium: La Rosaleda
Capacity: 29,000

Early Days

The history of the institution that finally became Málaga CF goes back to 1904 with the formation of Málaga Foot-Ball Club - a society intended to promote the new sport of football, which had been introduced by the crews of foreign ships arriving to local harbour. Málaga’s story involves an extraordinary number of name changes so I’ll try to be brief.

1912 saw the arrival of a rival club FC Malagueño, and in 1927, Málaga FC became Real Málaga FC after they were granted royal patronage by Alfonso XIII.Then during the 1929-30 season both Real Málaga FC and FC Malagueño became founder members of the Tercera División, and in late 1930, Real Málaga FC, was reformed as Málaga Sports Club.

In 1933 Málaga Sports Club and FC Malagueño merged to become Club Deportivo Malacitano and in 1934 this new club made its debut in Segunda División when the division was expanded from ten teams to twenty four. After various seasons in Segunda División and the interruption of the Spanish Civil War, in 1941 the club changed its name once again to Club Deportivo Málaga, and also opened its new stadium La Rosaleda.

In 1949, CD Málaga were promoted to La Liga for the first time and stayed there for two consecutive seasons, despite having former player and Spanish goalkeeping legend Ricardo Zamora as coach, Málaga only managed to stay in the top flight until the end of the 1950-51 season.

CD Málaga gained promotion to La Liga again in 1951-52 and 1953-54, but only lasted a season on both occasions. However, the 1952-53 season was particularly memorable for the 6-0 thrashing of Real Madrid at La Rosaleda - Málaga’s best result to date against the mighty madridistas.

Golden Years

After several promotions to Primera in the 1960s, which ended in immediate relegation, Málaga were promoted once again in 1969-70 under coach Jenő Kálmár and this marked the start a five-year stay in top flight football. However, there was also a dark side to these Golden Years as club president Antonio Rodríguez López was brutally murdered by the local Mafia in 1971.

With players like Migueli, Viberti, Deusto and Macías, the club finished seventh in the Liga in 1971-72 and 1973-74 - Málaga’s best Liga position to date - goalkeeper Deusto won the prized Zamora Trophy as the goalkeeper who had conceded the least goals in 1972 and the following season CD Málaga had a good run in the Copa del Rey, where they were knocked out in the semifinals by Athletic Club de Bilbao. They also claimed in important scalp by beating FC Barcelona at Camp Nou at the end of the 1971-72 season.

In 1973 the club commissioned an official anthem, Málaga La Bombonera, which is still sung at La Rosaleda to this day. However, after the polemic departure of Viberti at the end of 1973-74 season, the so called Golden Years ended with relegation to the Segunda in 1974-75.

Málaga La Bombonera

I've included Malaga CF's official song here, just to give you an idea of how much fun they are. Can't you see I've got a rather soft spot for them?

Málaga CF - The Definitive Name?

The reason for disagreement about when Málaga was founded comes from the fact that on May 25 1948 CD Málaga took over a junior club, CD Santo Tomás, with the purpose of establishing a reserve team. The club was renamed Club Atlético Malagueño, reviving the name of one of the two clubs that had merged to form CD Málaga in 1933.

During the 1959-60 season CA Malagueño and CD Málaga found themselves together in the third level. As a reserve team, the former should have been relegated. To avoid this, CA Malagueño separated from its parent club and registered as an independent club with the Spanish Football Federation.

In 1992 when CD Málaga dissolved after financial difficulties, CA Malagueño continued and the 1992-93 season saw them playing in Tercera Division Group 9. After a successful campaign, the club was promoted to Segunda División B. However, the following season the club was relegated again and had local businessmen Federico Beltron and Fernando Puche not come to their rescue financially, CA Malagueño would have been forced to go into liquidation. On December 19, 1993, in a referendum, the club’s members voted in favour of changing names and, on June 29, 1994 CA Malagueño changed their name to Málaga Club de Fútbol S.A.D., becoming from then an official succession to what was previously called Club Deportivo Málaga.

The Return to Primera

With Puche as president, Málaga CF’s next five seasons were meteoric to say the least – a season in Tercera, three in Segunda B and only one season in Segunda A before getting back into top tier football in the Primera Liga for the start of the 1999-2000 season.

I’m convinced that one of the reasons for this success was the growing expat population on the Costa del Sol, who put their support firmly behind Málaga CF. Foreign support has boosted gates and brought a certain optimism based on finiancial security. It’s no coincidence that the 'Peña Internacional Malaguista – the first International Supporters Club in Spain – was founded at the Tavern Pub in Old Town Marbella in 1999 at the beginning of Málaga CF’s first season in Primera.

Málaga CF entered the new millennium in an optimistic mood with a young squad of talented players under Joaquín Peiró and a recently refurbished stadium. Although they were never up to pushing for a Champions League place, par for the course was a strong mid-table position at the end of most seasons.

The highlight of the period came in 2002 when they participated in and won the UEFA Intertoto Cup, beating Gent, Willem II and Villarreal CF on the way. This was Málaga’s first and only title to date and led to them qualifying for the UEFA Cup 2002-03 where they reached the quarter finals before finally getting knocked out by Boavista on penalties.

The next few seasons continued in a similar vein with first Juande Ramos and then Gregorio Manzano in charge. However, the bubble burst at the end of 2005-06 and Málaga CF finished bottom of the Liga and were duly back in Segunda.

Málaga Come Bouncing Back

In Segunda and in huge financial difficulty once again, the club found a guardian angel in the form of Lorenzo Sanz, ex-President of Real Madrid, who bought the club for €6 million and assumed €30. He named his son ex-Real Madrid and Málaga player Fernando Sanz president of the club and Málaga CF’s future began to look a little rosier.

However, Fernando Sanz's first season was a troubled one. With the club owing so much money, they went into a form of administration to help with the crippling debts, and as a result high wage earning players had to be sold or loaned out. Málaga spent the second half of the 2006-07 season trying to avoid relegation to Segunda B, which managed late in the day only gaining the necessary point from the penultimate game of the season.

In 2007-08 Málaga started well and looked likely promotion candidates early into the season. However, after another drop in form, they sacrificed their lead to CD Numancia and faced a promotion battle against Sporting de Gijón and Real Sociedad in the last game of the season – there were two places for three teams. Fortunately, Málaga won and were promoted to Primera at Real Sociedad’s expense.

Málaga CF Squad 2008-09

Coach: Antonio Tapia

Return to HomePage