Malaga are back in La Liga, but the more interesting story is how they got there. The promotion was driven by academy graduates, local players and Juan Francisco Funes, a former teacher who had never played or coached professional football before taking charge. Chupe's 25 goals gave the push real bite, and Malaga won six consecutive games after Funes began with one win and two draws.
Funes and the academy core
Funes' background makes the run even stranger. He came in without a professional playing or coaching career behind him, yet the squad immediately took to what he wanted. Juanje Fernandez of Radio Marca said: "He already knew their strengths, weaknesses and personalities from the outset. There was virtually no adaptation period, so they hit the ground running."
That fit with the football Malaga were playing. Matt Harrison, the club's season-ticket holder and podcaster, said: "That style of football combined with local players made a perfect cocktail that energised the fans."
Chupe's 25 goals were the obvious end product, but the wider lift came from the shape of the squad and the speed of the response around the club. This was a promotion built by players who already belonged there, not by a big external reset.
The city and the old scars
The celebration mattered because Malaga had been through the opposite mood before. Matt Harrison remembered the last game in the second division against Ibiza, when both sides were already relegated: "It was like a funeral." After the play-off final against Gimnastic Tarragona, Antonio Cordero scored in extra time to secure promotion, and Harrison said, "The city exploded with promotion back to the second division."
The club's recent history explains why the feeling ran so deep. On 9 April 2013, Malaga led 2-1 at Borussia Dortmund before conceding two stoppage-time goals. The club later slid down the divisions, and even Spain's third tier is nicknamed el pozo, or "the well", because it is so hard to escape.
That descent was not just sporting. European and international arrest warrants were issued against Sheikh Al-Thani and his three sons, with prosecutors seeking prison sentences totalling 14.5 years. Against that backdrop, promotion back to La Liga looks less like a neat return and more like a club putting itself together again.
Malaga's first confirmed league game after the return is at home to Deportivo La Coruna on 24 August, a proper test of whether this rebuilt side can carry the same energy into the new campaign.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
