 The club has played 31 seasons in La Liga, 34 in Segunda División, four in Segunda División B and eleven in Tercera División. They also won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2002 and qualified to the following season's UEFA Cup, reaching the quarter-final stages. They have also qualified to the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, where they are still in competition. Since June 2010, the owner of the club is Qatari investor Abdullah bin Nasser bin Abdullah Al Ahmed Al Thani. The club, which has a reserve team, Atlético Malagueño, also has a sizeable British following, mainly down to the large number of British expats residing on the Costa del Sol. History Of Malaga Club replacement in 1992 CD Málaga had a reserve club, founded on May 25, 1948 when 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, they separated from their parent club and registered as an independent club with the Royal Spanish Football Federation.  In 1992, when CD Málaga dissolved after financial difficulties, CA Malagueño continued playing. The 1992–93 season saw them playing in Tercera División Group 9. After a successful campaign, the club was promoted to Segunda División B. The following season, however, the club was relegated again and, facing financial difficulties, were in danger of folding. On 19 December 1993, in a referendum, the club's members voted in favour of changing names and, on 29 June 1994, CA Malagueño changed their name to Málaga Club de Fútbol S.A.D., becoming an official successor to what was previously called Club Deportivo Málaga. The arrival of Sheikh Al Thani Málaga Club de Fútbol's financial constraints led President and major shareholder Fernando Sanz to look for investors. He travelled to Doha, Qatar, to meet Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani, a well-known businessman from the Qatari Royal Family. After the sale of shares, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani was announced as the new owner of Málaga Club de Fútbol on 25 June 2010; he wasn't officially named as President, however, until the General Shareholders Meeting on 27 July. The new Board of Administration was configured with Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani as President, Abdullah Ghubn as Vice President and Adviser, and Sheikh Nasser Al-Thani as third advisory member. José Carlos Pérez Fernández and Francisco Martín Aguilar continued to represent the club, as members of the Advisory Board. Following this first season of transition, where there were numerous changes to all parts of the Club, Málaga took a step forward in their bid to become an international entity in 2011–12. The agreement with UNESCO, signed on 1 June 2011, converted the club into an ambassador of peace, equality, and sporting values amongst young people all over the world. The arrival of high-profile players and international recognition converted Málaga into a major sports structure, with the highest level of growth of any European team, under the presidency of Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani. The commitment to training in La Academia del Málaga Club de Fútbol, on an academic, personal, and sporting level for young players all over Málaga province, was a fundamental part of the project.  During the 2011–12 season, on 9 February 2012, José Carlos Pérez Fernández, a fine example of professionalism and unconditional love for Málaga, passed away. He led the team under the denominations of Club Deportivo Málaga and Málaga Club de Fútbol. Involved and very passionate about the Club, he defended the Blue and Whites tirelessly until the day he died. A tribute to Pérez was held in La Rosaleda on 12 February 2012 in an emotional Liga encounter, which ended in a victory for Málaga against RCD Mallorca by a score of 3–1. After a brilliant season, on 13 May 2012, Manuel Pellegrini's team achieved the highest classification in Málaga's history after they beat Sporting de Gijón in La Rosaleda 1–0 in the last league match of the season. Their fourth place finish in the league saw them qualify for the Champions League play-offs for the 2012–13 season. Two weeks before, the team was guaranteed a place in European football. For the second time in the history of Málaga football, the first directly, Málaga would be taking part in continental competition. Al-Thani's project has achieved its first goal in just two years. At the end of 2012, however, UEFA announced that due to unpaid bills, Málaga would not compete in any European competitions for one year should they qualify in any of the next four years. The club responded by saying that UEFA had made a "scapegoat" out of them. Current squad The numbers are established according to the official website: www.malagacf.es and www.lfp.es Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than 1 GK Carlos Kameni 2 DF Jesús Gámez (vice-captain) 3 DF Weligton (captain) 4 DF Diego Lugano (on loan from PSG) 5 DF Martín Demichelis 6 MF Ignacio Camacho 7 MF Joaquín 8 MF Jérémy Toulalan 9 FW Javier Saviola 10 MF Júlio Baptista 11 FW Seba Fernández 12 FW Lucas Piazón (on loan from Chelsea) 13 GK Willy Caballero 14 MF Pedro Morales 16 MF Manuel Iturra 17 MF Duda (vice-captain) 18 MF Eliseu 19 MF Francisco Portillo 21 DF Sergio Sánchez 22 MF Isco 23 DF Oguchi Onyewu (on loan from Sporting CP) 24 FW Roque Santa Cruz (on loan from Man. City) 25 DF Vitorino Antunes (on loan from Paços Ferreira) 32 GK Pol reference: http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A1laga_CF http://footballslive.blogspot.com/2013/04/malaga-cf-club-de-futbol.html |
Labels: Club History, LigaBBVA, Malaga, Spanyol
