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Some of you may remember my article from a year or so ago entitled “5 go mad in Malaga” in which me and four friends endured a season of torture watching Malaga being relegated to the second division without so much as a whimper. Well a relationship with a football team is like a relationship with a woman (as Swiss Tony might say. Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Toni) despite constant humiliation and upsets, we still keep coming back for more (quick Editor, print this before my wife sees this). So as the new season dawned and our wounds healed we decided to watch the first game of the season – Malaga CF’s second season in the second division. No Barcelona or Real Madrid for us this year. |
The opponents were the mighty (?) Salamanca.
So as we entered la Rosaleda stadium, what had changed since we were last here? Well the construction of the new stand was complete and opened – only about 18-months late I estimate – increasing the capacity from about 24,000 to 38,000. That said the crowd appeared to be only half that of when we used to go. This was later confirmed to be true with an attendance of around 12,000 people. That said, the crowd were in good voice and the sun was shining (and burning my receding forehead in the process!). The other obvious change was the team. Only a few familiar names remain and we were glad to see the absence of ‘Chengue’ Morales – mockingly described as the “Uruguayan Goal Machine” on the international Malaga supporter’s club web site forum. This site is very useful for results, fixtures and highlights of previous games. For more information see http://www.malagafootballenglish.com. Indeed, the new names in the squad inspired a new confidence and hope that this could be our year. Spanish teams use nicknames (or apodos) for their players; mainly because if you had ‘Weligton Robson Pena de Oliveira’ – Malaga’s number 3 – on the back of your shirt, there would be no room for the number. Therefore he is referred to as ‘Weligton’. French-Moroccan Nabil Baha joined Malaga after scoring 9 goals the previous season for the very weak Spanish side Ponferradina when he joined them halfway through the season.
So to the game; Malaga started well with lots of possession, eventually taking the lead through Salva after 24 minutes. Despite the lead, the match seemed to be slipping away from Malaga as Salamanca had more and more of the ball and began to look as if they were about to score at any moment. This continued into the second half and the familiar feeling of Malaga snatching defeat from the jaws of victory was returning. But against the run of play Hidalgo made it 2-0 to Malaga after 84 minutes. This totally changed the atmosphere with Mexican waves going round the two thirds empty stadium. When Salva scored his second and Malaga’s third on 90 minutes we began to think that maybe it was an easy victory after all. But in all honesty there were some dodgy moments against newly promoted Salamanca.
So after a flattering score-line in the first game, how are Malaga fairing so far this season? Unbelievably well is the answer. At the time of writing they are sitting at the top of the BBVA Liga Española 2ª División having won all four of their opening games having scored 11 goals and conceding only 3. What a start. Add to this a win in the 2nd round of the Copa del Rey against Celta Vigo and you have what can only be described as a perfect start to the season. At this rate it will not be long until Malaga will be welcoming back the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and indeed, me to the stadium.
NB: As of the 1st October 2007 Malaga have won all six of there games and now top the table with 18 points
