Malaga’s 2016/17 campaign was a very mixed one, split into three parts. They went through three coaches over the course of the season, with Juande Ramos in the dugout for the first 16 matches, with Marcelo Romero then taking over for 10 and with Michel then coming in for the final 12 games of the year. Under Ramos, Malaga weren’t all that exciting, but they were efficient and they regularly picked up points, with the team in 11th when Ramos stepped down for non-sporting reasons. The appointment of Marcelo Romero was, however, fairly disastrous and the club president even shared a link to his Wikipedia with the aim of encouraging fans about the coach’s trajectory. It only did the opposite and he won just once in ten matches. With relegation becoming a threat, he was sacked and was replaced by Michel for the final stretch, with the new coach doing so well that Malaga quickly climbed from 16th to 11th, winning six and drawing two of his 12 matches, including a victory over Barcelona. That saved the team from relegation and they finished comfortably in mid-table, even surviving a late-season injury crisis.
Michel did so well in his short time at the club and he will take charge at the start of the 2017/18 campaign. For Malaga fans there was plenty to be encouraged by, as the team played an exciting 4-2-3-1 system, while also showing that they were capable of playing five at the back when necessary. Their star man, however, was Sandro Ramirez, the striker they pinched from Barcelona’s youth academy and who scored 14 La Liga goals, making him the team’s top scorer. With him set to leave the club, they’ll need to do a good job of replacing him.
