History of Málaga CF
Club replacement in 1992
CD Málaga had a reserve club, founded on May 25, 1948 when CD Málaga took over a junior club, CD Santo Tomás, with the purpose of establishing a reserve team. The club was renamed Club Atlético Malagueño, reviving the name of one of the two clubs that had merged to form CD Málaga in 1933.
During the 1959-60 season CA Malagueño and CD Málaga found themselves together in the third level. As a reserve team, the former should have been relegated. To avoid this, they separated from their parent club and registered as an independent club with the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
In 1992 when CD Málaga dissolved after financial difficulties, CA Malagueño continued playing. The 1992-93 season saw them playing in Tercera Division Group 9. After a successful campaign, the club was promoted to Segunda División B. However, the following season the club was relegated again and, facing financial difficulties, also seriously faced closure. On December 19, 1993, in a referendum, the club's members voted in favour of changing names and, on June 29, 1994 CA Malagueño changed their name to Málaga Club de Fútbol S.A.D., becoming from then an official succession to what was previously called Club Deportivo Málaga.
A new rise in prominence in the early 2000s
In the early 2000s Málaga were a club rich in youth and top quality players, also boasting a more modern and developed stadium. Although they never pushed for a Champions League place, Málaga were always successful under the vastly popular Joaquín Peiró.
They shared the sole appearance and only official trophy, the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2002, beating Gent, Willem II and an improving Villarreal CF. Málaga's run in the UEFA Cup was an overachievement, which ended in the quarterfinals to Boavista FC's hands, after beating FK Željezničar Sarajevo, (who'd been eliminated from the Champions League by Newcastle United), Amica Wronki, Leeds United (after a 2-1 win at Elland Road, courtesy of 2 Julio Dely Valdés) and AEK Athens F.C., losing to Boavista on penalties.
After Peiró's retirement, a mass exodus slowly started to occur. Dario Silva, Kiki Musampa, Julio Dely Valdés and Pedro Contreras all left the club. Juande Ramos took over the helm and notably performed a resounding 5-1 home thrashing of FC Barcelona, the major result up to date of Málaga against this club, with a hat trick from loanee, Salva (who would end up missing out on the pichichi trophy by just 2 goals). Ramos was then appointed Sevilla FC manager and Gregorio Manzano took charge.
The slow decline and economical issues
Although steering Málaga to their second consecutive 10th-placed finish, Manzano couldn't prevent a lackluster side beating the drop, after finishing bottom of the league with 24 points to their name.
As the new second division season started, Málaga were in high hopes and started off well. However their form dramatically dropped and for 2 of the remaining 6 weeks, were in the relegation zone. However Málaga overturned this and survived their first Segunda season.
The new season wasn't one with much confidence, players were brought in and fans looked worried. By winning 8 of their first 11 games, Málaga seemed to be on track for promotion early into the season; however, after a drop of form and poor tactics, they sacrificed their lead to CD Numancia and faced a battle for promotion with one game remaining, against Sporting de Gijón and Real Sociedad. Needing a win or for either rival team to slip up in order to be promoted, Málaga won 2-1, after 2 goals by Antonio Hidalgo to finish second and return to the top flight, at Real Sociedad's expense.
The arrival of Sheikh Al Thani
Looking for a brighter economic future, the club negotiated with Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani to purchase Malaga. Al Thani purchased the club on June 11, 2010 and became president on July 28. Jesualdo Ferreira was signed on as the manager, but was eventually sacked because of a series of bad results. Chilean Manuel Pellegrini who formerly managed both Villarreal and Real Madrid became the new coach while the club was situated in relegation zone. Malaga was able to obtain five consecutive wins later in the season, a historic first for the club. With several new signings which include Maresca, Martin Demichelis, and Julio Baptista, the club was able to get out of the relegation zone and finish in 11th place.