Match Reports

Sunday 11 December 2005, 19:00h kick off. We've got jackets on for the first time this season to keep out the chilly cold 17C temperatures for the big match - the visit of Los Blancos from Madrid. It's a sell-out crowd, even with the tickets costing 125 - 250 euros and there is eager anticipation that Malaga might be able to get a result against a team with a new manager installed. Cara was the Real Madrid B team manager and is an old friend of Tapia, himself promoted from Malaga B team last year. They were colleagues in 1981-82 season at Fuengirola and have kept in touch over the years. But that is all put to one side for tonight's game.
There is no Raul (seen walking with a stick on Spanish TV at the World Cup draw, which, incidentally must surely have been fixed to give England such an easy group. As Alan Hansen said, "There can be no excuses now if England fail to win the competition".) There is also no Beckham, who has a sufficient knowledge of Spanish to get himself sent off every other game for dissent and misses the big one tonight on suspension. There is also no Woodgate, but then we're used to that. Roy Keane (rumoured to be brokering a two year deal with Real Madrid) is also absent, but not on Spanish sports programmes, who only show some of Keeno's most atrocious "tackles" and subsequent red cards as they seem to be trying to influence the giants in pure white.
It's still a formidable team which is announced on the giant scoreboards, filled with exciting multimillion pound, euro, dollar (any currency) talent. They line up in 4-2-3-1 formation as follows:
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Casillas; Salgado, Pavon, Helguera and Roberto Carlos; Sergio Ramos and Guti; Robinho, Baptista and Zidane; Ronaldo.
Malaga have Gerardo absent on suspension and is place is taken by lanky Brazilian Anderson. Salva is fit again and returns in attack. There is a place for Uruguayan giant Morales on the bench, after his return from injury.
Malaga (4-2-3-1): Arnau; Alexis, Cesar, Fernando Sanz and Valcarce; Juan Rodriguez and Anderson; Edgar, Hidalgo and Nacho; Salva.

Real Madrid are in their famous all-white strip and win the toss, electing to defend the Gol end and attack the Fondo end.
The latest young Brazilian superstar to sign for Real Madrid, Robinho, is the first to show in 5' with some trickery down the right wing. He beats Valcarce with sheer pace and passes to the overlapping Salgado, who cuts in towards the goal and unleashes a shot which rises over the bar.
Real Madrid are looking good, with plenty of movement and pace, slick one touch passing and uncanny knowledge as to where their team-mates are without looking up. However, it's Anderson who is taking the limelight, breaking up several promising moves with good timing, positional play and intelligent tackling.
Guti, captain in Raul's absence, is the main conduit for Real Madrid for starting attacking moves from the back.
In 7' Guti's long pass upfield finds Ronaldo running into space and he whacks a powerful shot from 20 yards, but straight at Arnau.
In 8' Cesar is booking for bringing down Baptista at the half way line as the pacy Brazilian looked to be running away into a clear Malaga half. If Cesar had been closer to his own goal, he might have been sent off.
The following minute, as so often happens, the boot is on the other foot when Guti scythes down Juan Rodriguez in a similar situation.. When the referee fails to award the yellow card, there are howls and screams from the packed crowd.
Hidalgo takes the free kick and finds Edgar, who tries a volley which goes well wide.
In 11' wunderkid Sergio Ramos is brought down just outside the box by Cesar. There is some trepidation when Zidane steps up to take the kick, but it comes off the wall and the danger is cleared.
In 16' Edgar's clever run forces Salgado to give away a corner before Nacho's pass can find its mark. Hidalgo swings it from the left corner flag, Salva leaps forward and the ball is in the net. We're on our feet, but before the dancing can begin, the referee has spotted something wrong and the "goal" is disallowed.
It's Malaga in the ascendancy and they go close again in 22'. Hidalgo slips a through ball to Salva who turns past Sergio Ramos and unleashes a powerful shot. Casillas has to make an excellent save and tips the ball over.
The next minute and Hidalgo tries a shot, which Casillas elects to punch out of the crowded box. It lands at Edgar's feet, but his effort is weak and Casillas is able to gather the ball.
In 25' Sergio Ramos is booked for bringing down Edgar, who is causing problems with his pace down the right wing.
In 28' Anderson is booked for dissent after a foul is given after a perfectly good tackle on Zidane, who has many years of practice in falling over when he has lost the advantage with the ball.
In 31' Malaga's defence is caught napping as Roberto Carlos is allowed to overlap down the left and get in a superb cross for Ronaldo. In fact Robinho and Baptista are also waiting but fortunately for Malaga, Fernando Sanz recovers enough to block the shot and clear.
It's end to end stuff and Valcarce sends in a cross from the left after neat interchanges with Nacho. Hidalgo collects the pass and shoots and forces another excellent save from Casillas.
In 34' Robinho forces a corner on their left after ghosting in behind the defence and Alexis has no choice but to put it behind. Zidane takes the kick and SERGIO RAMOS makes a terrific run from deep to head the ball home. Malaga's defence had everybody in the box marked, but had not allowed for the run of the young superstar.
Malaga 0 Real Madrid 1
Four minutes later and Real Madrid go two up. This time Robinho wins the ball out on the right touchline and starts a run towards the goal. He runs past Valcarce, evades Fernando Sanz's tackle and keeps his balance as Cesar (remember he is 9'2") also makes a tackle attempt. The ball goes momentarily loose but ROBINHO finds the ball now at his left foot. No bother to the little Brazilian and his shot gives Arnau no chance, despite diving full length across the box.
Malaga 0 Real Madrid 2
In 44' we fear the worst as Zidane goes on a run, cutting in from the left. A few cross overs and shimmies later, he unleashes a great drive at the goal. Arnau has to make a great save to push the ball wide.

Half time Malaga 0 Real Madrid 2

In 46' Robinho eludes Valcarce yet again. It looks like the full back is booked for his tackle, but confirmation does not appear as usual on the giant scoreboard.
In 53' as Anderson dithers with the ball in the centre circle, the ball is whisked off him by Ronaldo and the terrifying sight from Malaga's point of view is of the three Brazilians, Robinho, Ronaldo and Baptista all bearing down on the Malaga goal with the defence posted absent. Ronaldo elects to pass to Baptista, when Robinho would have been the better bet. Baptista's effort however is on target and Arnau has to make another tremendous save to keep the score respectable.
In 55' Malaga almost get themselves back into the game, when Edgar gets to the byline and sends a lovely cross into the box. Unfortunately, Salva finds the ball behind him but somehow executes a fantastic bicycle kick which Casillas did well to save at point blank range.
In 57' Paco Estaban comes on for Hidalgo.
In 58' Anderson spots Edgar's run down the right. The pacy winger gets in a tremendous shot which Casillas has to dive full length to save.
In 62' Fernando Sanz's clearance falls at Zidane's feet. The Frenchman runs before releasing Ronaldo. The centre forward returns the ball perfectly for Zidane but his shot goes wide.
In 66' we have a "Roberto Carlos" moment. The ball is cleared from the crowded Malaga box to Roberto Carlos, standing alone in the centre circle. The full back elects to shoot! and the ball screams towards the goal, strikes the bar and goes over!
In 72' Juan Rodriguez has a couple of attempts. The first is weak and gathered easily. The second is a cross/shot which Casillas is glad to see go just wide of the far post.
In 73' Fernando Sanz is replaced by Morales, as Malaga go 3-5-2 in search of a goal.
It almost pays off immediately when the giant Uruguayan's beefy shot scrapes the bar as it goes over from just outside the box.
In 77' Valcarce is booked this time for tugging the shirt of Robinho.
In 80' good movement and interpassing between Salva and Morales finds the Uruguayan in the box but crowded out. He lays it back to Nacho who forces a dramatic two fisted punch out save from Casillas.
A rash of substitutions now takes place with first Pablo Garcia on for Baptista. Then Valcarce goes off for Diego Castro. Then Robinho is replaced by Diogo.
In the last minute, Malaga's final fling. Edgar gets in another excellent cross from the right. Morales is in the six yard box and meets the ball cleanly and powerfully with his head, but somehow Casillas manages to keep the ball out with another point blank save.
Full time Malaga 0 Real Madrid 2

Well, a good game, with plenty of skill and all that's good about the beautiful game, but not a good result for Malaga. Next week they are away to Racing Santander, who share joint 13th place in the league. Then the following Wednesday, Champion's League and all, fourth place Villarreal visit La Roseleda. Another tough game in store (aren't they all), but never fear, your Malaga CF Correspondent will be there.

Posted by malagacf_correspondent at 6:41 PM | Permalink

Day 10 of La Liga brought the mighty Real Madrid to Malaga. Although it was the 7th November, it was a hot 25C during the afternoon but with the kick-off at 19:00h I thought it might be prudent to take a jersey with me in case it got a little cooler in the evening - I didn't need it.
Last week, my son, Denis, and I went through to Sevilla to watch the Real Betis - Malaga match. This was a match full of incident - eight bookings, a man sent off for both teams, an intriguing clash of dissimilar playing styles (Betis being an 11 men behind the ball, get it to the forwards who were three fast and both accurate at passing and shooting, classic counter-attack style; Malaga, the passing team, patiently building from the back, with clever midfielders searching out the forwards with incisive passing, in a more attack-minded formation) in front of a passionate 40,000 crowd. The final score was a draw 1-1, Betis scoring after only 6 minutes, catching the Malaga defence on the hop with their quick movement and passing from right to left with right winger Joaquin prominent before Oliviera blasted home from 6 yards. Malaga's response was on the cusp of half-time, with unusually a free-kick outside the box not taken by Duda but by Gerardo, whose powerful kick flew over the wall and left the keeper with no chance as it entered the net close by the near post.
There was controversy after the game as it became clear that an injustice had been done to Romero, who received his marching orders for a second yellow card after supposedly fouling Edu, the Betis's Brazilian midfielder. However, TV evidence showed that there had been no contact between the players, that Edu had in fact tripped over a blade of grass, so the card was rescinded, allowing Romero to play in the Real Madrid match.
But to yesterday's game. An almost capacity La Roseleda, with the 8000 non-season-ticket seats selling between 100-150 euros at the ticket office, there were some spaces, but not many. There was a fantastic atmosphere in the ground with much banging of drums, flags and banners, singing and chanting. Real Madrid's players were greeted with whistles and jeers as they came onto the pitch, whereas Malaga's men were welcomed with a ticker tape flourish.
Malaga had captain Fernando Sanz back from suspension, but the Portuguese winger/striker, Edgar, had only a place on the bench after being out for three weeks with a leg injury. This meant that Manu, who had a good outing the previous week at Betis, retained his right wing slot. The big surprise was that left wing maestro Duda was left out of the starting line-up, with Manager Manzano, preferring a more solid midfield trio of Michel Angel, Romero and Leko to stifle the creativity of the prodigious talents of the Real Madrid team.
Malaga (4-4-1-1): Calatayud, Gerardo, Fernando Sanz, Juanito, Valcarce, Manu, Michel Angel, Romero, Leko, Amoroso and Wanchope.
There was some great anticipation as to who would feature in the Madrid line-up, but we knew beforehand that David Beckham would not feature, nor the central defender Samuel, still recovering from injury. Would Michael Owen feature in the starting line-up?
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Casillas, Salgado, Helguera, Pavon, Roberto Carlos, Guti, Celades, Raul, Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo.
The legendary side from Madrid were playing in their all-black away strip, with essentially four strikers!
Wanchope kicked off for Malaga to start the game and in a fast and furious opening few minutes the tactics of both sides became clear. Both teams were committed to attack from the start and it was fascinating to watch Raul start wide on the right touchline, Figo central behind Ronaldo with Zidane wide on the left. Next minute, seamlessly, Zidane was central, Figo wide right with Raul on the left. Next minute Zidane was making runs down the right wing - and so it went on throughout the game with each of the three players interchanging and all looking comfortable whichever position they were in and always seeming to know where to find each other. Impossible to man-mark this team!
Malaga on the other hand operated with Romero lurking behind Michel Angel and Leko, with Manu wide right and Amoroso just behind the giant that is Wanchope. There was a big gap down the left wing where Duda was missing, but this was the secret tactic - with no left winger to defend against, Salgado was sucked into the middle of the field, leaving Valcarce oceans of space to overlap into and time and time again he was able to make penetrating runs and crosses from the left wing. The other ploy was to use the pace of Manu to exploit the gaps left at left-back for Madrid where Roberto Carlos is keen to depart to add his contribution to the attack.
In fact it was Roberto Carlos who first had a shot on target after 6 minutes receiving a clever pass from Figo, before releasing a trademark drive at goal, but Calatayud was alive to the danger to make the save look easy.
In 9 minutes, Roberto Carlos almost opened the scoring at the other end, heading strongly back towards Casillas from a great left wing cross from Valcarce, with Manu rushing in to meet it, which had Spain's Number 1 forced to make a good save.
In 12 minutes, the first showing from Ronaldo in front of goal, but his header went wide after a strong cross from Salgado. Then two minutes later Raul saw his effort go wide from 20 yards after some neat work by Figo.
In 17 minutes, the centre of the park opened up as Romero ran with the ball unchallenged into, what is for him, nosebleed territory. The Madrid defence kept waiting for the pass, but Romero elected to shoot from 20 yards, but it flew over the bar.
In 22 minutes, Raul playing centrally slipped the ball to Zidane, now out on the left. He advances into the very outside corner of the penalty box to be met by Gerardo. Zidane did a little shuffle which seemed to baffle the Malaga right back, who stuck out a foot for the ball, for Zidane to fall over. Penalty! Malaga fans are not happy at such a soft decision but it did not prevent FIGO from executing a perfect spot kick.
Malaga 0 Real Madrid 1
With the Malaga heads still down two minutes later, Ronaldo slips past Fernando Sanz to go one on one with the keeper but the hard driven shot went just wide of the far post.
In 28 minutes, Amoroso showed some of his excellent ball skills to collect the ball in mid-air and bring the ball down and pass to Leko, all in one elegant movement. The Croatian's shot is blocked but comes to Wanchope whose fierce drive brings out an excellent diving save from Casillas, who turned the ball out for a corner. Manu's corner drops to Romero who again blasts over the bar.
Amoroso is beginning to shine for Malaga with his touches and skill as the home team start to dominate in midfield. In 34 minutes, Guti is booked for bringing the Brazilian down whilst in full flight.
After 39 minutes, Gerardo becomes the first Malaga player in the book for a foul on Figo.
Halftime 0-1
Upon the restart, Malaga start where they left off and a great sweeping move involving several short interpasses, ends with Manu's final pass just too strong for Amoroso eight yards out.
In 49 minutes, Figo is booked for kicking the ball away as the men in black struggle to get back into the game.
Next minute, Romero's name is in the book for a foul on Guti on the centre line.
In 51 minutes, the threat from the Madrid side returns when Ronaldo releases Raul who is through on goal. However, his shot goes just wide.
In 53 minutes, after Fernando Sanz trips Ronaldo 40 yards out, we get a chance to see a Roberto Carlos freekick. His long run up starts almost from the centre line and his strong low shot evades the twenty players in front of him, but Calatayud only had to watch as the ball sailed wide.
Malaga storm back two minutes later with a great run down the right by Manu, whose cross finds Amoroso, but the shot is blocked. Wanchope then has a great chance but he is crowded out as he tries to get the ball clear for a shot. Figo, back defending, is happy to clear the ball away anywhere, to break up the attack.
In 57 minutes, Wanchope is booked for a needless foul on Guti, who has assumed control in midfield and seems to be everywhere.
Ronaldo starts a run in 60 minutes, but is held by Juanito who becomes the fourth Malaga name so far to be inserted in the book.
Two minutes later, Malaga are still trying to get a way back into the game with the skilful Amoroso finding Wanchope, but the giant Costa Rican shoots straight at Casillas.
The next minute Valcarce finds Amoroso who this time tries a shot which has Casillas scrambling across the goal to turn the ball around the post.
This was to be Amoroso's last effort as in 66 minutes he and Romero were replaced by Edgar and Duda respectively as Manzano brings fresh legs and more pace onto the field in an effort to find the equaliser.
Malaga are still reorganising after the double substitution when Ronaldo latches onto a through ball and puts Raul clear, but the Madrid number 7 shoots straight at Calatayud.
In 69 minutes, Ronaldo comes off as Michael Owen is introduced to the game.
Edgar is proving to be a menace to the Madrid defence with his strong direct running and comes close with his first effort. However, tragedy for the Portuguese as he goes down clutching his leg whilst on a run on his own with the ball in 71 minutes and has to go off with a suspected hamstring injury, after only 5 minutes on the field. He is replaced by Swiss international striker, Giejo.
Michael Owen's pace and directness is a new dimension for the all-blacks and in 77 minutes shows some nifty footwork on the right wing before releasing Figo, but the Portugal captain's shot is parried away fro a corner by Calatayud.
The next minute, the favour is returned by Figo and this time OWEN makes no mistake from eight yards to score his fifth goal in five games for Real Madrid.
Malaga 0 Real Madrid 2
Straight afterwards, Figo is replaced by Argentinean left winger Solari.
In 80 minutes Giejo is brought down in the box, but despite loud appeals, no penalty is given.
Manu tries a shot in the following minute, but it has no power and is dealt with easily.
In 82 minutes, Michel Angel, showing signs of frustration, becomes the fifth Malaga player in the book for a foul on Zidane.
In 83 minutes, Real Madrid make their final substitution with the tall striker Morientes coming on for Raul.
In the final six minutes, it was all Malaga as they tried to get something from the game. First Wanchope shot just wide after the chance was created by a crossfield move involving Manu and Duda. Then Manu dribbled past three defenders to get into the box only to see his shot hit the side netting. Then after a great run in from the left by Duda, the little Portuguese winger's shot was blocked by Salgado. From the resultant corner, Casillas is again forced to scramble across his goalmouth to make another fine save.
Full time Malaga 0 Real Madrid 2
Although Malaga did not play badly and created a number of scoring opportunities, in the end it was the sheer class of Real Madrid that won the day. For me it was fantastic to see so many world class players on view and having to play at the top of their form.
After Deportivo in the previous home game, then Real Madrid this time, it does not get any easier with the next visitors being Valencia, three of the so called "top four" in Spain (the fourth of course being Barcelona).
Looking forward to it already as your Malaga CF Correspondent will be there!

Posted by hodgers at 3:31 PM | Permalink

Straight after last week's crushing 6-1 home defeat at the hands of Valencia, what better way for Malaga to bounce back than to face the mighty Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in the capital. To date Madrid's home record in La Liga was Played 10, Won 10, For 26, Away 8. In comparison, Malaga to date have lost all seven of their matches played since New Year's Day.
Real Madrid had a cup game against Sevilla in midweek, for which they rested several of their stars, but it was a full team out against Malaga. Real Madrid (4-4-1-1): Casillas, Salgado, Pavon, Bravo, Roberto Carlos, Figo, Beckham, Borja, Zidane, Raul and Ronaldo.
Juande Ramos did not have anchor man Romero available, out through suspension. Arnau was suspended after being sent of last week, so Calatayud retained his position in goal. Valcarce returned to left back, with Rojas switching to right back. Josemi occupied the centre back position alongside Sanz and Juanito took Romero's position in front of the back four. Litos dropped to the bench and there was a return for Edgar, back after injury out on the right wing. Malaga (4-1-4-1): Calatayud, Rojas, Josemi, Sanz, Valcarce, Juanito, Edgar, Gerardo, Michel Angel, Duda and Salva.
Real Madrid kicked off, but it was Malaga who showed early on. They do have the same skill base as "Los Blancos" but they were going to make up for it by hard work and closing down quickly to prevent the Madrid flair players to express themselves. Edgar in particular worried Madrid with his strong runs down the right and Salva connected well fro his cross but it went straight to Casillas. We had to wait 11 minutes before Madrid showed in attack. Then Roberto Carlos's cross from the left went strongly across goal and strongly out for a throw. In 12 minutes Malaga were given an opportunity when Edgar was upended just outside the box, but Duda's free kick hit the wall. In 22 minutes Malaga had a penalty claim turned down after Salva was brought down in a Pavon/Bravo sandwich, but the referee just waved "play-on". This seemed to give Madrid a jolt and they swept upfield with a number of characteristic passes: Beckham - Zidane - Roberto Carlos - Zidane - Beckham - Figo. Figo beat Duda as he started a run but his pass into the box was met by Sanz, who clumsily hoofed the ball clear. It went straight to Beckham who sent a 20 yard cross wide right to the overlapping Salgado, who looked suspiciously offside. The Malaga defence had moved out leaving both Raul and Ronaldo alone in the six yard box. The flag stayed down and although Raul missed Salgado's cross, RONALDO was there to tap it home from three yards. Madrid's first shot at goal!
Edgar continued to cause havoc with his running but his cross when met by Salva went straight to Casillas. In 30 mins Raul was tripped by Sanz in the semicircle of the penalty box. Beckham's free kick was close, skiffing the roof of the net as it went over the bar. Just before half time, Sanz had an opportunity after a corner from Duda, but his shot was off target with the goal gaping. Then Zidane fell over just outside the Malaga penalty box and a freekick was awarded, but Beckham's effort this time went into Row Z. Half time 1-0.
Two minutes after the restart, Beckham was given a third opportunity when Ronaldo went crashing after a ling bursting run. Again the lad in Row Z had to dive for cover, as Beckham sent it well over. Then a real scare for Malaga as Ronaldo ran down the left, beat Rojas before sending a weak but placed shot wide of Calatayud. Agonisingly the ball trundled towards the goal, but came off the far post, where Juanito cleared to safety.
Disaster for Malaga in the 58 min when Raul kicked the ball off Valcarce's arm in a close challenge and the referee awarded a free kick, again in the semicircle of the penalty box. This time Beckham was pushed aside to allow ROBERTO CARLOS score with a trademark bullet, high into the top right hand corner to make it 2-0.
Malaga did not give up and in 60 mins, Casillas had to bring off two magnificent saves in quick succession to deny Gerardo, whose piledriver from 20 yards, could only be parried by Spain's No1 onto Salva's head. His header was goal bound but Casillas somehow managed to dive across to his left and turn it round the post.
With 65 minutes gone, there was a flurry of substations on both sides. First Rojas came off for Insua, an attacking substitution, with Josemi moving to right back and Juanito moving back into the back four. Raul came off for Portillo, whose first action as to get booked for a foul on Duda. Figo was then replaced by Nunez, as Madrid seemed to believe the game was won. Malaga also replaced Edgar with Manu and the disappointing Duda came off in 72 minutes for Luque to make a rare appearance on the left wing. What an appearance!. Insua won the ball in the centre circle and slipped the ball forward to Salva. Luque was running free down the left wing and Salva's pass was perfect. LUQUE took the ball into the box and hit a sweet shot past the diving Casillas and into the net at the far post. Great goal! 2-1
Malaga piled on the pressure and were unlucky not find an equaliser with shots being fired in by Gerardo, Salva, Insua and Luque. There was only one respite in the last 10 mins for Madrid, but Beckham's free kick in the 81st minute hit the wall. More practice required, son.
Real Madrid looked delighted when the final whistle was blown and their perfect home record in the league remains intact. Another defeat for Malaga, but they acquitted themselves well and must take some confidence from this performance. Next week bottom club Espanyol visit La Roseleda, so let's hope "our Boys" can get back to winning ways. Your Malaga CF Correspondent will be there!

Posted by hodgers at 10:43 AM | Permalink