Club Deportivo Málaga was a
Spanish football club based in
Málaga
Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...
, in the autonomous community of
Andalusia
Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
. It played twenty seasons in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
, before being dissolved in 1992.
History
Origins
The first football club in Málaga was established in 1904, with the formation of the ''Málaga Foot-Ball Club''.
It was nothing more than a society intended to promote football, a new sport in the city, carried from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Its first rivals were small teams formed by crews of foreign ships arriving in the local harbor. In 1907, further attempts of popularizing football were performed by Málaga FC.
1912 saw the arrival of a rival club, ''FC Malagueño'', and the establishment of a great rivalry with Málaga FC, which had merged with other minor clubs like Málaga Racing. In 1927, Málaga FC became the ''Real Málaga FC'' after they were granted royal patronage by
Alfonso XIII
Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...
.
During the 1929–30 season both Real Málaga FC and FC Malagueño clubs became founding members of the ''
Tercera División
Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...
''. In late 1930, Real Málaga FC, were reformed as the ''Málaga Sport Club''.
Club merging in 1933
In 1933 ''Málaga SC'' and ''FC Malagueño'' merged to become ''Club Deportivo Malacitano'',
although it was not a real merging at all, only a name change of FC Malagueño, which had economic wealth and a better squad than Málaga SC. Thanks to this operation, the ''CD Malacitano'' was able to use Malagueño's squad, having their contracts canceled in the other way.
In 1934 this new club made its debut in the ''
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...
'' when the division was expanded from ten teams to 24, and remained there until the outbreak of the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
in 1936. In 1940, Malacitano participated in the
inaugural edition of the
FEF President Cup, which they won after beating
AD Ferroviaria 5–2 in the last matchday, courtesy of a first-half brace from
Juan Mesa and a second-half
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
from
Tavilo, thus claiming the club's first-ever piece of silverware.
In 1941 the club changed their name to the ''Club Deportivo Málaga'' when the new
La Rosaleda stadium was inaugurated.
First promotion to La Liga in 1949, first topflight years
In 1946, Málaga undertook a change of fortune with the election of
Manuel Navarro Nogueroles as the club's new president. His first big success as Málaga's president was the signing of
forward Pedro Bazán,
who had previously scored nine goals in a single Second Division match against the
Hércules CF
Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Primera Federación and plays its home games ...
on 4 January 1949; he went on to become the club's all-time top scorer with 146 official goals.
After two unsuccessful seasons, Navarro hired a new coach,
Luis Urquiri, who had just achieved promotion to La Liga with
Deportivo de La Coruña
Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...
.
[
During the first half of the season, Málaga averaged three goals per game, but despite this, the president decided to look for two other forwards, including Manolo Jimeno, who was introduced in a ]friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...
against UD Melilla
Unión Deportiva Melilla is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in the autonomous city of Melilla. Founded in 1976, it currently plays in , holding home matches at ''Estadio Municipal Álvarez Claro'', with an 8,000 capac ...
.[ Málaga finished the 1948–49 season as the team with the fewest goals conceded and only six losses on its way to promotion, which was achieved on the last matchday with a 5–1 away victory over ]Racing de Ferrol
Racing Club de Ferrol, commonly known as Racing de Ferrol, is a Spanish football team based in Ferrol, Province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia.
Founded in 1919, the club currently plays in , holding home games at '' E ...
to finish level on points with both Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...
and Granada, but ahead of the latter on head-to-head goal difference.[ Therefore, on 17 April 1949, Navarro Nogueroles became the first Málaga president to be promoted to the First Division of Spanish football, doing so within eight years into Málaga's existence.][ This promotion brought joy to the Malaga fans at the end of the 1940s, a period in which the city was still very impoverished, with many people suffering from poverty and lack of means, so the celebrations were therefore apotheotic.
At the start of the following season, Navarro Nogueroles fired Urquiri with the false allegation of his financial demands, only so he could replace him with the legendary ]Ricardo Zamora
Ricardo Zamora Martínez (; 21 January 1901 – 8 September 1978) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for, among others, RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As an international he played for Spain. As a man ...
, who stayed at the helm of the team until its first relegation at the end of the 1950–51 season, lacking just one point to maintain status.[
In the subsequent seasons, Málaga achieved two new promotions to La Liga in 1951–52 and 1953–54, being relegated after just one year in both.] The 1952–53 season was notable because of a resounding 6–0 thrashing of the Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
at La Rosaleda, the major result up to date for Málaga against that club.
The golden years in the early 1970s
After several new fleeting first-level promotions in the 1960s, which turned out in immediate relegations, Málaga were promoted once again in 1969–70 under the command of chairman Antonio Rodríguez López and coach Jenő Kálmár, to start a five-year top flight stay. However, president in charge Antonio Rodríguez López was brutally murdered by the Mafia
"Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...
in the year 1971, and was replaced by Rafael Serrano Carvajal for the next season.
With notable players like Migueli, Sebastian Viberti
Sebastian may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Sebastian (name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Saint Sebastian, a Christian saint martyred in the 3rd century
* Sebastian of Portugal (1554–157 ...
, Juan Antonio Deusto and José Díaz Macías, the club achieved two seventh-place finishes in the league in 1971–72 and 1973–74 (best results of the club up to date), a Ricardo Zamora Trophy in 1971–72 season performed by goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
Deusto, and a 1972–73 run of the club in the Spanish Cup, where they were dumped out in the semifinals by Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...
. They also notably scored a victory at Camp Nou
Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...
for the first time after winning against FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
at the end of the 1971–72 season. The club also established in 1973 an official anthem, ''Málaga La Bombonera'', and from that moment the song is still the official anthem of the club.
After a polemic exit by Viberti at the end of 1973–74 season, the so-called ''golden years'' ended with a new relegation to the second level in 1974–75.
Dissolution
In 1992, CD Málaga dissolved after financial difficulties.[
]
Season to season
*As ''Fútbol Club Malagueño''
*As ''Club Deportivo Malacitano''
* 1940 FEF President Cup
*As ''Club Deportivo Málaga''
----
*20 seasons in La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
*31 seasons in Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...
*9 seasons in Tercera División
Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...
Honours
Domestic
*Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...
**Champions (3): 1951–52, 1966–67, 1987–88
*Tercera División
Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...
**Champions (3): 1943–44, 1945–46, 1959–60
Friendly
* Trofeo Costa del Sol
** Winners (3): 1963, 1971, 1974
Trofeo Costa del Sol
Between 1961 and 1983, Málaga organised its own summer tournament, the '' Trofeo Costa del Sol''. The hosts won it on three occasions, successively defeating Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
, Red Star Belgrade
Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...
and Derby County. In 2003, the competition was revived by Club Deportivo's successor, Málaga CF
Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...
.
In 1976, CD Málaga won a similar summer trophy, the ''Trofeo Ciudad de La Línea'', played in La Línea de la Concepción
La Línea de la Concepción (), often referred to simply as La Línea, is a municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia.
The city lies on the sandy isthmus which is part of the eastern flank of ...
, near Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
. The triumph arrived after penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
defeats of FC Dinamo Tbilisi
FC Dinamo Tbilisi ( ka, დინამო თბილისი, ) is a Georgian professional football club based in Tbilisi that competes in the Erovnuli Liga, the top flight of Georgian football.
Dinamo Tbilisi was one of the most prom ...
and Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...
, after 0–0 draws.Trofeo Ciudad de La Línea (La Línea de la Concepción, Cádiz - Spain)) 1970-2008
; at RSSSF
Selected former players
* Sebastián Viberti
Sebastián Humberto Viberti Irazoki, nicknamed "El Pelado" (25 May 1944, in Córdoba, Argentina, Córdoba – 24 November 2012, in Córdoba) was an Argentine people, Argentine Association football, footballer and trainer. Known as a former M� ...
* Cyril Makanaky
* Albeiro Usuriaga
* Miguel Guerrero
* Luka Bonačić
* Kim Christofte
* John Lauridsen
* Abdallah Ben Barek
* Antonio Cabral
* Sebastián Fleitas
* Pedro Bazán
* Juan Antonio Deusto
* Jesús Garay
* Pedro Luis Jaro
* Juanito
Juanito is a given name or nickname, meaning "Little Juan" or Johnny. Notable people with the name include:
Professional footballers
* Juan Ignacio Gomez Taleb (born 1985), Argentinian forward
* Juan Díaz Sánchez (1948–2013), Spanish forw ...
* Antonio Mata
* Paquito
* Miguel Ramos Vargas
* Esteban Vigo
* Gustavo Matosas
* Pertti Jantunen
Famous coaches
* Helenio Herrera
Helenio Herrera Gavilán (; 10 April 1910 – 9 November 1997) was an Argentina, Argentine and naturalised France, French association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. He is best remembered for his success ...
* Otto Bumbel
* Jenő Kálmár
* Ladislao Kubala
* Domènec Balmanya
* Antonio Benítez
* Marcel Domingo
* Ricardo Zamora
Ricardo Zamora Martínez (; 21 January 1901 – 8 September 1978) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for, among others, RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As an international he played for Spain. As a man ...
* José María Zárraga
* Milorad Pavić
References
External links
CD Málaga
at La futbolteca
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malaga
Defunct football clubs in Andalusia
Sport in Málaga
Association football clubs established in 1904
Association football clubs disestablished in 1992
1904 establishments in Spain
1992 disestablishments in Spain
Segunda División clubs
La Liga clubs