To the well and back - how Malaga returned to La Liga
After tumbling from the Champions League to the depths of Spain's semi-professional third tier, Malaga are back in La Liga after almost a decade away.
On April 9, 2013, Malaga were on the brink of reaching the Champions League semi-finals, having led 2-1 against Borussia Dortmund. However, they were eliminated in heartbreaking fashion after two stoppage-time goals from Jurgen Klopp's team. Despite this, Malaga had been on the verge of consistently challenging Spain's top three clubs - Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid - before their decline began.
In 2010, Qatari Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani purchased the traditionally second-tier club and transformed it into a European contender. He brought in quality players like Santi Cazorla, Jeremy Toulalan, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and promising youngster Isco. However, Pellegrini joined Manchester City and Isco moved to Real Madrid, leading to a decade of decline.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 3 other outlets
- Lee, Baena guide Atletico to opening Liga win over Malaga sports.yahoo.com
- To the well and back - how Malaga returned to La Liga bbc.co.uk
- Lee, Baena guide Atletico to opening La Liga win over Malaga freemalaysiatoday.com
