Malaga CF | Malaga-Andorra, this Sunday at 9:00 p.m.: Historic visit of Andorra, a revelation team
The club from the Principality will play for the second time at La Rosaleda thanks to its landing in professional football, sponsored by Piqué’s investment
Málaga is measured for the second time in its history in Andorra, although this time it will be the first time in the Second Division at La Rosaleda. The only precedent is the tie for the 4th round of the Copa del Rey that Málaga as Club Deportivo played against Andorra (also with an old denomination) in 90-91. The results were 0-1 in the first leg (Emilio’s goal) for the malaguistas and 5-0 in the second leg at La Rosaleda in favor of a blue and white team, upset by Ben Barek and where the scorers were Chesa, Esteban Vigo, Toledano and Quino (2 goals).
The club from the Principality is a ‘rare bird’ in the League and is landing in professional football as the revelation at this start of the Second Division competition. They have ‘play off’ zone numbers with 14 points in eight games, where they have achieved 4 wins, two draws and only two losses, going over teams that are clear favorites for promotion due to their potential such as Granada, Eibar and Levante.
An unthinkable scenario years ago in a team that has changed radically since 2018, when soccer player Gerard Piqué bought the club through his company Kosmos (the same company that organizes the Davis Cup in Malaga in a few weeks). With this move he completely transformed. It went from being a modest entity and the bunch that struggled in the lower categories of Spanish ‘amateur’ football to become a professional team with great ambitions. They bought a place to be placed in the extinct Second B and became favorites to be promoted to Second until they achieved it last season.
He is at the top of the table with 14 points in 4 wins, three of them against Granada, Eibar and Levante
The most important bet was made in the 20-21 season, when the investment in signings was much higher and the foundations of a team with a high level of players and little by little also in terms of infrastructure were raised. And the arrival of the current coach, Eder Sarabia, also had a lot to do with it. The son of the legendary Manu Sarabia, an Athletic Club player in the 1980s, has been a media profile since he was discovered as an atypical assistant coach alongside Quique Setién. There he already made it clear that sooner or later he would undertake his adventure alone.
Sarabia, a media technician
He played in the Third Division, but from a very young age he already dedicated himself to taking the step to the benches. He trained at the Danok Bat in Bilbao and at the Villarreal base before joining Quique Setién’s coaching staff with Las Palmas, Betis and Barcelona. Andorra’s is his first experience as the head coach of a senior team and he is more than fulfilling his objectives. In fact, its renewal is expected to be announced soon.
FC ANDORRA
From the hand of Eder Sarabia from the bench and the influence of Piqué, very attached to the day to day (he is the president, although staying active as a player does not allow him to combine it fully), Andorra has somehow become a Extension of Barcelona’s game philosophy. It is a team that always tries to move the ball in short passes in any part of the field and that does not throw it long unless it is extremely necessary. Their favorite game systems are 4-3-3 and 3-5-2, which they use simultaneously in the same match.
They play with self-confidence and with confidence, which allows them to mess up on many occasions looking for their players to surprise by exchanging positions, something that Malaga can take advantage of to attack them during moments of transition. Then, Andorra is proving to be a very hard-working squad with a high concentration capacity to take advantage of the weaknesses of its rivals. A very illuminating fact: six of the ten goals in his favor have been scored in added time, at the end of the match.
Another fact: Andorra, worse away from their stadium
Andorra have played five of their eight games away from home this season and have added just one win, two losses and two draws. This is five points out of a possible 15. Nothing to do with his numbers at home, where he has plenty of victories.