Preseason Friendly: Marbella vs Malaga
On Saturday 04 August 2007, Malaga, by penalties (4-5), took the Trophy Center of Tourist Initiatives, against Marbella in a dynamic game and that had two totally different faces: one first insipid and boring half and in which the public was thinking of drying paint and one second with desire on the part of both, both pleasing and obtaining a triumph more in ' bolos' summary.
Malaga played two completely different elevens in each half, giving most of their new signings some "minutes" of play on the field.
First Half: (4-2-3-1): Arnau; Raúl Gaitán, Hélder Rosário, Jesule, Rossato; Carpintero & Apoño; Gerardo (Málaga B), Stosic, Paulo Jorge; Baha.
Second half: (4-1-4-1): Goitia; Javi Martos (Málaga B), Silva, Weligton, Valcarce; Peláez (Málaga B); Cheli, Sandro, Hidalgo, Calleja; Salva Ballesta.
If Muñiz had to draw positive conclusions from his team during the first half it would have to do something more than a conscience examination. He used the same tactics that he used when he was Marbella manager and the Marbella players who played for him before seemed to know those tricks.
The initial eleven seemed to play without a defined order and with more heart than head. A note: the first time that the Malaga arrived with danger at the local goal was in 28 minutes, after Jesule decided to try a header to surprise Ávila. Until that moment, nothing of anything.
Before that Marbella had left a pair of messages that were not taken advantage of, or because in the first Arnau cleared magnificently or because a crashing shot from Pepe Vergara had hit the left post of Arnau's goal.
At no moment was Malaga seen with clear ideas against an inferior team. The line of four that Muñiz had at the back was serious. Raul Gaitán did not defraud. Hélder and Jesule, like a pair of power stations, were very serious, although the yellow booted Apoño stole the show by organising everything in front of them and did all that his team hoped for.
The worse thing about Malaga in the first half was the attack. Baha never saw it and Stosic pressed but without effectiveness. In the final minutes before half time, Marbella showed that they were equal to their more illustrious opponents.
Both trainers decided to completely change their teams for the second half, although in Marbella two remained from the first half.
The attitude of Malaga was different, since in the first five minutes of the second half they did more than in all the first half. One of the creators was Valcarce, supplying Salva on more than one occasion. Also Goitia worked well. The game was better, more entertaining, with more dynamism, both teams wanting to win at all costs and a public who were entertained much with the attitude of the twenty-two players.
The marbellí Emilio crashed in a towering shot from the front of the area that left the stringer staggering. Unlike the first half, the game down the wings had a greater protagonism. Cheli by the right and Valcarce by the left, although with the passage of the minutes that intensity was decaying.
In the end the triumph fell to the Malaga by 4-5 after the launchings of penalties, in which an error was only registered, the one of Emilio.