The myth of reaching the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) was nowhere to be found.
After a breakout 2012-13 season in which Malaga finished sixth in Spanish La Liga, the club’s performance in the UCL was equally impressive. Reaching the round of 16 in the UCL for the first time in club history, Malaga lost 0-1 to Porto in the first leg, but bounced back with a 2-0 win in the second leg to reach the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, they faced Dortmund and drew 0-0 in the first leg, but fell short in the second leg, losing 2-3.
The roster included many players who have since gone on to make a name for themselves. Willy Caballero, who was particularly impressive in the English Football League Cup (EFL Cup) during his time at Manchester City, Martin Demichelis, Nacho Monreal, Jeremy Toulalan, Isco, Julio Baptista, Javier Saviola, and Roque Santa Cruz rounded out the squad. In the years that followed, Málaga remained competitive, consistently finishing in the mid-table of the league 토토사이트.
But their downfall was short-lived. After finishing 20th in the 2017-18 season with just five wins in 38 league games, Malaga was relegated to the second division. Life in the second division wasn’t easy. Malaga hasn’t won a single promotion to the top flight and has lost its competitive edge.
And this season has been even bleaker. After 41 league games so far, Malaga is in 19th place with 43 points. With the bottom four teams in the 22-team field relegated to the third division, they needed to move up.
But their hopes were dashed. With one league game to go, the gap to 18th-placed Villarreal B had widened to seven points and early relegation was confirmed. Just like that, Malaga, who had created a UCL quarterfinal myth a decade earlier, had to accept the humiliation of relegation to the Spanish third division.
According to British outlet The Sun, after the relegation, Malaga’s judicial administrator, José María Muñoz, apologized to the fans. “As one of the members of the club, I apologize to the fans. I take full responsibility. The relegation is a very angry and painful result. The players and all of us did not live up to expectations.”