The main reason I went to Malaga was the opportunity to watch the football team my friend Jim supports. Malaga CF play in Liga Segunda - the Spanish second division - in a stadium that was rebuilt for the 1982 World Cup, La Rosaleda. (Scotland played their 1982 World Cup games there.)
I'd not been to a game in Spain before and I'm pleased I made my Spanish matchgoing debut at an authentic lower league club in a ground with a bit of history. Although saying it like that does make me sound a bit soccer hipster!
Malaga's opponents were Albacete Balompie. I'd not heard of them before. They are from Albacete and Balompie is another word for football (bal-om-pie, ball with feet). I think balompie is my new favourite alternative word for soccer.
We had seen La Rosaleda in the distance when we climbed up to Gibralfaro Castle the day before. It was a short walk from the city centre along the heavily canalised river and we got a good view of the stadium as we approached.
We had plenty of time to get to the game as it was a 9pm kick off. One of Jim's friends, Salva, is a die-hard fan so we met him before the game and went to greet the team bus as it arrived at the stadium. That also gave me an opportunity to buy a scarf at one of the merch stalls set up opposite the ground.
I decided not to buy the Jesus scarf.
There was a protest by the ultras just before the game started. Some ultras dressed as cartoon burglars scurried about the ultras terrace representing corrupt referees "stealing" points from Malaga. We were sat next to the ultras section so we had a good view of their antics.
They were soon back to their normal boisterous support.
As mentioned, this was my first game in Spain and it really was a cracking match. Rapid end to end play with pacey strikers pouncing on defensive errors, midfielders dribbling the ball forwards from box to box, and nobody given much time to dwell on the ball.
My only disappointment from the game was not getting a close up encounter with Superboqe - the Malaga mascot. At half time he was in a penalty shoot out down the other end of the pitch.
Given the pre-match protest, the ref did OK in a very hostile situation. But he did bottle one decision when he should have given a second yellow card to an Albacete player who had just been booked and then scythed down another opponent almost immediately. The manager hastily subbed him while the ref dithered and that kept the game 11 a side.
The only goal was a magnificent screamer into the top corner early in the second half. Like the half time mascot penalties, it was down the far end from where we sat. The stands had already been buzzing but they got a bit buzzier after the goal.
Albacete almost equalised when a Malaga defender sent his keeper scrambling to retrieve the ball before it crossed the line, and also from a free kick on tbe edge of the box in the fourth and final minute of added on time.
But the home side held on and it was a very happy crowd that headed out into the chilly Malaga night.
Post-script
I got a Futbology badge for seeing a game in a new country, and my map of European grounds I've visited now has an outlier!
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