Antonio Fernández Benítez was born in Alicante on 5th April 1942. At the age of 12 years, he moved to Málaga with his family, and three years later, at 15, he joined the youth ranks of CD Málaga. In the 1959/60 season he signed to Atlético Andalucía at provincial level, although he soon returned to the Malaguista discipline, to Atlético Malagueño. He remained with the Málaga reserve team from 1960 to 1964, winning a Third Division championship and at the door of the Second Division on two occasions. Benítez, a regular fixture in the reserve team line-ups, was coached by prestigious names such as Chales, Ramoní and Carmona Ros.
CD Málaga, first stage
In the 1964/65 season, Antonio Benítez made the leap to CD Málaga, with the legendary Domingo Balmanya as coach and Juan Moreno de Luna as president. On 13th September 1964, he made his Malaguista debut on matchday one of the Second Division against Atlético Ceuta. Despite the 3-2 defeat, that day was remembered for Benítez’s olympic goal during his Málaga debut at 22 years old.
A defensive midfielder, that first season he played 16 league games and achieved First Division promotion. The following year, Antonio Benítez debuted in the elite on 19th September 1965 at La Rosaleda, against Córdoba CF (1-3).
During the 1966/67, in the silver division, Benítez consolidated his place in the Malaguista midfield. That year, CD Málaga again moved up to the First Division, claiming the top spot of Grupo Sur in the Second Division.
The following two seasons were in the First Division and from 1967 he played in midfield together with his teammate, friend and almost brother, the unforgettable Migueli. In 69/70, with CD Málaga in the Second Division, Benítez was indisputable in the Malaguista starting-11 during a season that ended in promotion on the final matchday against Bilbao Athletic at San Mamés.
Golden five years and retirement
Between 1970 and 1975 Antonio Benítez was part of the best CD Málaga in history, known as the ‘Quinquenio de oro’. During this time, CD Málaga achieved its record for consecutive seasons in the First Division (5), the best positions in the league (7th twice), historical victories such as the 0-1 at the Camp Nou and reaching the semi-finals of the Cup.
Icon of this magical cycle, Sebastián Viberti, named Benítez ‘El Tigre’ due to his constant fight in midfield. A knee injury kept him out of action in the 70/71 season, but he once again enjoyed regular participation over the following seasons. During this time, he worked under coaches Kalmar, Marcel Domingo and Carmona Ros.
On 16th May 1976, Antonio Benítez played his last official match with CD Málaga (1-0 victory against Rayo Vallecano) in a season that again ended in First Division promotion. Benítez played a total of 222 official matches with CD Málaga (106 in the First Division, 83 in the Second Division, 31 in the Cup and two First Division promotions).
On 11th August 1976, a tribute match was held at La Rosaleda to mark his retirement, between CD Málaga and FAR Rabat. In the lead-up to the match, Antonio Benítez received a large number of gifts from clubs and local organisations, as well as the gold and diamond shield of CD Málaga.
Playing the second most seasons with CD Málaga, totalling 12, tied with Pepe Arias, he was only surpassed by Migueli who was there for 13. Throughout these seasons he played 222 matches: 106 in the First Division, 83 in the Second, 31 in the Cup competition and two promotion playoffs.
Legendary coach
No sooner had he retired as a player, Benítez swapped the pitch for the bench, heading up Atlético Malagueño (1976/77 and 1977/78). In his first season he achieved Third Division promotion with the ‘chanquete’ outfit. During this time he had players who would stand out shortly afterwards at CD Málaga, such as Brescia, Muñoz Pérez, Castro and Antonio Merino.
In the 1980/81 season, he was second coach of CD Málaga (with Ben Barek at the helm), and became first coach the following season, debuting on the CD Málaga bench achieving First Division promotion after beating Recreativo de Huelva by 5-1 on the penultimate matchday. Benítez, a great lover of the youth ranks, knew how to get the most out of Atlético Malagueño. Unsurprisingly, a total of 26 homegrown players made their debut with CD Málaga under his leadership.
90s
His only experience outside Málaga was with Real Murcia, coaching the ‘Pimentonero’ outfit in the first half of the 1987/88 season. Midway through the campaign he returned to the Malaguista dugout, substituting Luis Costa, securing the Blue and Whites’ permanency in the division. The following season would be his last with CD Málaga, marked by Second Division relegation, after being defeated by the then RCD Español.
In 1994, Club Atlético Malagueño became known as Málaga CF. Antonio Benítez, who had been away from the bench for a few years, was chosen to lead a project whose only objective was to return the city of Málaga to the elite of Spanish football in the shortest possible time. In a record 1994/95 season, during which Málaga CF ended up as undefeated champions of Third Division Group IX, Segunda B promotion was achieved against Jerez de los Caballeros.
The 1995/96 season, now in Segunda División B, was his last in the Malaguista dugout. Despite the team being in third place and in promotion playoff positions, Antonio Benítez left the bench on matchday 19.
With CD Málaga he was the coach boasting the most official matches, totalling 311, and also held the record for consecutive time on the bench.
With Málaga CF, he headed up the team in 69 games, as well as being the first Málaga CF coach under this name.
Between the “Málagas” he totalled 380 games.
Man of the Club
At the beginning of this century, Antonio Benítez was president of the Association of Ex-Málaga Footballers and was also assistant to Málaga CF’s Sports Management and Technical Secretary. Finally, in August 2012 he joined his inseparable Abdullah Ben Barek as a member of the Málaga CF Advisory Board.
On 11th August 2013, Gate 0 of the stadium, located at the time in the Preferencia stand, and the corridor also located in the same area, were renamed after Antonio Fernández Benítez.
Antonio Fernández Benítez passed away this Sunday 23rd January 2022 but will always be remembered by Malaguismo for a life dedicated to the Club.
Rest in peace, Don Antonio.
