(18th October 2020)
Without knowing beforehand, this would turn out to be a unique opportunity to visit an unusual ground for a one-off game, continue reading to find out why…
Málaga CF’s recent financial troubles and the redevelopment of their usual home venue meant that their B team (Atlético Malagueño) didn’t have a ground to play their first game of the 2020/21 season at. With seemingly no options available close to the city itself, they resorted to holding the game at the Marbella Football Center training complex, near to San Pedro de Alcántara, further south on the Costa Del Sol.
It just so happened that their opening game of the Tercera Division season would be against their closest side, Juventud Torremolinos, who are located only a couple of miles down the coast. This meant that we saw the quite bizarre occurance of the away team having travelled less for the game than the home side, with this being played further south from both places. I wonder how many times that’s happened? (Minus the obvious exception of club’s who are ground-sharing.)
The venue itself is well equipped, which is not surprising with the Center playing host to many of Europe’s elite clubs for winter training camps, effectively being like the Costa Del Sol’s smaller version of England’s St. George’s Park. The main pitch boasts an uncovered stand (it’s not like you need the cover anyway) with a few hundred seats and an area with sofas that was nicely shaded, the main building being located directly behind the pitch, which also includes a lovely downstairs bar. The palm trees lining the pitch made it feel very exotic, certainly moreso than I was used to during my many hours spent at St. George’s Park.
The first notable point when I saw the game advertised was the price, being very cheap for this level, but understandably so since the match was being played at a neutral venue, with the admission priced at €5 being half of what you’d typically expect to pay for Tercera Division games and it certainly proved to be good value for money.
The only real issue about this ground is that it’s very remote, although on a warm Sunday morning we were able to have a pleasant stroll here from the centre of San Pedro for the 12pm kick off. If you are intending on visiting here and don’t want to fork out for a taxi, getting a bus into San Pedro and walking is the best option. It’s not a particularly pedestrian friendly walk in parts and I’d be sure to allow plenty of time, but it’s a peaceful area and the majority of games that take place here are daytime kick-offs so you shouldn’t have any problems.
The Marbella Football Center does regularly host a variety of games, however at the moment they’re all taking place behind closed doors, otherwise multiple times a week you’d be able to watch teams from the likes of Russia, Sweden and Germany face off against each other or a local 3rd/4th Tier Spanish club. There’s also the added incentive that there’s another 2 football clubs quite close by, with the Estadio Municipal San Pedro (UD San Pedro) and La Campana (CES Nueva Andalucía) both in a similar direction heading out of San Pedro town centre, making them both handy if you could watch a double-header.
The Malagueño – Torremolinos match itself was an all-round excellent encounter, with both teams playing flowing football at a high tempo all across the pitch, in a game that could have gone either way. This was Torremolinos’ first game back in the Tercera Division following a solitary season in the 5th Tier, but they looked more than capable of coming out on top.
On reflection of the game, I’d say that Málaga edged the quality of play and number of chances, with them scoring the only goal of the game from a Quintana header early in the second-half. The young centre-half has been doing consistently well this season so might be one to watch as a future first-teamer. There were very few chances after the goal, with both teams largely cancelling each other out, but it remained an enjoyable affair nonetheless. Soon enough we heard the full-time whistle, so had a wander back towards the town before spending the rest of the afternoon sunbathing beside the pool.
I’m hoping that it won’t be the final chance I get to visit the Marbella Football Center before I leave Spain, but that remains to be seen, due to the Covid restrictions and when they’re hosting games. This would turn out to be the only game that Malagueño played there, having now moved back into Málaga and playing their games at the Andalusian Football Federation’s base. However, this wouldn’t be the last that I saw of Juventud Torremolinos before the restrictions tightened, but that’s for another article…
Chris Sharp
(All photos are taken by me, please can you give credit if you wish to use my photos)
The Travelling Therapist 