Málaga CLUB de FÚTBOL

Club Atlético Malagueño, founded in 1948, took the name of Málaga Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. on 29th June 1994, with Federico Beltrán as its first President. 'El Malagueño', as he was popularly known, had the responsibility from its inception to put together a group of footballers to form the first team of the city: Club Deportivo Málaga. After the malacitana club disappeared in the summer of 1992, and liaising with an affiliated team with an independent registration from Club Deportivo Málaga, Club Atlético Malagueño converted into its football heirs and represented Málaga in the 1992/93 and 1993/94 seasons.

With the emotional ties to the extinct Club Deportivo Málaga kept in tact, and the dream of returning the City of Málaga to the elite of Spanish football, Málaga Club de Fútbol played its first official game in the club's history in Adra on 4th September 1994. After an historic season in which the undefeated club ended as Champions, the team trained by Antonio Benítez was promoted to Second Division B on 28th June 1995 after beating Jerez de los Caballeros in the play-offs at La Rosaleda.

Two years later, a few days into the 1997/98 season, Fernando Puche took over the presidency from Federico Beltrán. In a strong push to return to the club to the elite after two seasons of struggle, and not reaching the promotion play-offs, the club reinforced its squad and put it in the hands of Ismael Díaz. The blue and white team managed to come first in group IV of the bronze division and won its first game in the play-offs, but two defeats sealed its fate and they had another wait before they managed to get promoted. After an epic victory over Tarrassa with a vital three-goal difference and a draw with Talavera in Beasaín, Málaga Club de Fútbol was promoted to the Second Division on 28th June 1998.

Málaga's passage into the Silver Division was meteoric. In its first campaign in the Second Division, the outfit trained by Joaquín Peíro sealed its promotion three games before the end of the season, after beating Albacete in La Rosaleda on 30th May 1999. The blue and whites also collected its first championship title when it finished top of Spain's Second Division League. It was a dream that became a reality for Málaga Club de Fútbol, the Capital of the Costa del Sol returned to the First Division.

Without faltering in its debut in the First Division, Málaga Club de Fútbol continued to make glowing progress. Without too much difficulty in their first year, the team managed to confirm its place in 'The League of the Stars' (1999/00) four weeks before the end of the championship.

After taking part in another memorable season (2000/01) Málaga C.F. improved its position and established itself in the elite, maximum shareholder Serafín Roldán took over the presidency after Fernando Puche resigned at the end of the campaign.

The blue and white outfit remained in the elite for seven seasons in its first period in the First Division, surpassing the record of consecutive seasons since the club from Málaga, established in the seventies, the unforgettable Club Deportivo Málaga filled with historic footballers.

The European dream: from a dream to reality

In the summer of 2002, Málaga Club de Fútbol participated in the now extinct UEFA Intertoto Cup that granted the winners of the competition a direct place to compete for the UEFA Cup. After eliminating Ghent, (Belgium), Willem II (Holland) and Villarreal CF in home and away games, the team coached by Joaquín Peíro managed to win its first international title for the Martiricos Club on 27th August 2002.

With the passport to compete for the first time in a European competition, Málaga Club de Fútbol made its debut in the UEFA Cup on 10th September in an away game against Bosnian club Zelejnicar. The blue and whites created a dream and left games in the eliminations that would later be remembered against Amica Wronki of Poland, Englands Leeds United and AEK Athens of Greece, until it was eliminated in that fateful penalty shootout of the Quarterfinals against Boavista in Portugal.


The best example of Málaga: its young players

The Foundation, as Málaga's lower division squads are known, had been built in the last decade as a sports project with reference to the national level. The blue and whites second team, Málaga B, now actually named Atlético Malagueño, set precedence in Andalucian football when, on 29th June 2003, it became the first affiliated team to get promoted to the Second Division. The team, then trained by Antonio Tapia, made it debut in the Silver Division on 30th August 2003 against Union Deportivo Almeria, which made it the only affiliated side to take part in the Second Division in the 2003/04 season. In what was an impressive feat of professionalism, Málaga's second squad went on to stay in the Division for a further three campaigns before it returned to Second Division B at the end of the 2005/06 season.

For the record in that season, Málaga's youth team took part in the Division of Honour, guided by Manolo Fernández, and the name of Málaga Club de Fútbol was inscribed in the prestigious winners list of the Spanish Youth Championship when, in the Finals, which was held in Cambrils (Tarragona) they beat R.C.D. Espanyol on Sunday 11th May 2003.

The rebirth of the Club

After seven years in top-flight football, Málaga was relegated to the Second Division on 30th April 2006 after losing to Racing Santander at La Rosaleda. A new stage started. Fernando Sanz, until then captain of the first team, assumed the position of president on 1st August 2006, he took over from Serafín Roldán after completing the preseason as a footballer in the Cartaya stadium, Huelva.

After some months of intense restructuring of the squad and evaluating the Club's depleted coffers, the new directors, in what was an act of responsibility to try and refloat the club, saw it necessary to go into voluntary administration according to the Ley Concursal on November 27th 2006. Recognised and highly regarded as an example by organisations and sports-legal institutions, the procedures carried out by Málaga Club de Fútbol allowed it to sign a general agreement of creditors and with it to approve a viable plan that would enable Málaga to face its debts and look at the future with optimism.

From a sports objective, the first team held it breath in the season of its return to the Second Division (2006/07) – the second in the Club's history – and could not take a breath until the last but one league game, against Cádiz at La Rosaleda, when it confirmed its position in Spain's Football Silver League on 9th June 2007. Nevertheless, and contrary to all prediction, in 2007/08 Málaga Club de Fútbol showed the other side of the coin. The blue and white outfit formed and guided by Juan Ramón López Muñiz – Sports Director and coach – started the competition with seven straight victories and was strong candidates for promotion.

A promotion that was not confirmed until June 15th 2008, when Málaga C.F. beat C.D. Tenerife at La Rosaleda in the last game of the season. However its return was not guaranteed until three days later after having managed to safeguard the Club's future economic situation via the agreement of creditors. The people of Málaga returned to the streets to celebrate a new achievement: Málaga Club de Fútbol would display it colours in the stadia of the First Division.


The Martiricos outfit returned to the elite in style: with a record of number of points in the first half and the best position in the First Division (8th) at the end of the championship – equalling that of the 2000/01 season, , in a campaign when the team, under the guidance of Antonio Tapia who returned to the Club, played entertaining football that allowed it to remain comfortably in the Division and to dream of a European place. But as it is written in the history of Málaga football, after joy comes the suffering. In the 2009/2010 season the blue and white squad had to wait until the last game to guarantee it place in the Primera Division. Trapped in a quadruple tie that did not allow it to move out of a relegation position, in the last game of the season Málaga Club de Fútbol were up against Real Madrid, who were hoping to snatch the League title from Barcelona, with the help of fans behind their team at a Rosaleda that lived one of its most emotional days in recent malaguismo history. The draw, together with the other results, finally gave the Costa del Sol team a return ticket, releasing the happiness and tears in the stands, on the 16th day of May 2010, that will forever be remembered in the years to come.

The dream takes hold of the city with the arrival of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani

The financial limitations of Málaga Club de Fútbol would take chairman and main shareholder, Fernando Sanz on a search for investors in a new ambitious project. This desire for the blue and white club to be a success took him to Doha in Qatar, where, with the help of Taysir Al Sahoud, a mutual friend who knew Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani, a prestigious businessman related to the Qatar Royal family and who later became one of the members of the Board. After agreeing to the sale of shares, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani was presented as the new owner of Málaga Club de Fútbol on June 25th 2010, although he was not officially appointed as Chairman until the shareholders Extraordinary General Meeting held on 27th July 2010. The executive positions of the new Board of Directors was formed with Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani as Chairman, Abdullah as vice-chairman and Board Member, Taysir Al Sahoud and Yasmin Al Sahoud occupying the position of Secretary of the Board and Managing Director of Málaga Club de Fútbol.

After a season where the board went through numerous changes in all areas, Málaga Club de Fútbol took a step forward in its consolidation as an international entity in the 2011/12 season.  The unprecedented agreement with UNESCO, signed on 1^st June 2011, allowed the Andalusian Club to become a champion in the defence of peace, and equality, and allowed it promote sporting values worldwide to young people. The arrival of high-profile, internationally-recognisable players added to the important structure created by Sporting Director, Antonio Fernández; and it took Málaga Club de Fútbol to a European level in the first year since Sheik Abdullah Al-Thani became president.  The commitment to training, and more precisely, the creation of The Academy at Málaga Club de Fútbol, plus some new academic, personal and sporting development facilities for the young people of Málaga, has been one of the pillars of the project. The incorporation of Fernando Ruiz Hierro, an icon of international football who is returning to his hometown as the Club’s General Manager after being Sporting Director at the Federation of Spanish Football as Spain won the World Cup, completed the organisation’s management team in July 2011.