The head coach for this last promotion to the elite was Juan Ramón Muñiz, who returned a year after he left for Santander to train Racing. As it became usual in the last seasons, there should have been a great number of signings during summer and also many transfers out, some of them key players in the fantastic season before. And the incorporations, many of whom were on loan from outside Spain, in some cases did not come up to expectations. Also, because of injury, Muñiz also relied on the Club’s second team to fill in as an emergency, giving nine members a chance to debut in the domestic competition.
The start of the League was magnificent, with a resounding 3-0 victory over Atlético Madrid in La Rosaleda. However, it was after 15 long painful games before Málaga won another game, against Mallorca at home to close 2009. The team, in relegation, was always competitive and uncomfortable for opponents, as was shown by the number of draws, or losses by a single goal. But victory eluded them, especially in the Martiricos. Unity in the locker room, support by fans and the push by the Media, as well as the cool head kept by president Fernando Sanz to maintain confidence in Muñiz, made it possible to have a chance of safety in the last few games. It was suffering for the season ticket holder, and under the circumstances Málaga C.F. clung onto the faith in its locker room and managed to save a tortuous campaign with a happy ending.
It happened in the last encounter, at La Rosaleda and against Real Madrid, without knowing if the Club would remain in First or Second in the coming season. And with a powerful opponent that could win La Liga from its eternal rival and champion in the end, Barcelona. Racing and the later relegated Tenerife, Valladolid and Xerez were also in the mix, but the combination of results made an ‘x’ against the ‘merengue’ squad enough to stay up based on a paltry 37 points (7 wins), ranked 17th in the table and on the edge of the inferno of Second Division.
Portuguese left-winger Duda, with eight goals, was Málaga Club de Fútbol’s top goal scorer in the league.
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