Málaga Club de Fútbol, since it was established as such on June 29, 1994, has had 26 coaches. The first was Antonio Benítez, today an advisory councilor, who promoted him from Third to Second B. The current one, José Alberto López, is one of the four Asturians who have paraded through La Rosaleda. And at this point we are going to stop.
Díaz Novoa: from expectation to disappointment
The first technician forged in Mareo who arrived at La Rosaleda was José Manuel Díaz Novoa. He was a highly prestigious coachor and that he had obtained notable successes with Sporting, Celta, Burgos or Espanyol. The 1996-97 season was passing and Málaga was in Second B and with the non-negotiable obligation to promote to Second Division.
The news that such an illustrious coach agreed to coach a third category team overwhelmed the excitement among the Blue and White fans. Pepe Cayuela had been dismissed on matchday 14 with the team in fourth position, valid to play the promotion playoff, but insufficient. Malaga had to sweep. And with the arrival of Novoa this premise was taken for granted.
But things didn't work out. Málaga de Novoa did not respond to expectations. And the debut of this coach in December 1996 was disappointing, 1-0 defeat against Messenger of La Palma. His disconnection with the squad was total. Novoa did not comply with the category or the institution's requirement. He also let himself go when he learned that the then president, Federico Beltrán, had signed Tolo Plaza, coach of Jaén, for the following campaign. After a defeat in Jaén, Novoa was dismissed.
Ismael Díaz and his advanced ideas
In the following fiscal year, 1997-98 Málaga decided to dismiss Tolo Plaza on matchday 13 after a defeat in Écija. The one chosen to replace him was Ismael Díaz Galán, a 32-year-old from Avilesino who had promoted the creation of Women's Sporting. A brave coach with advanced ideas, he brought out players like Bravo and Mikel Roteta, born centrals, as full-backs and recovered players like Sandro or Movilla for elite football. Of the latter, he said that he could be “Guardiola's successor.” After many ups and downs, he achieved the long-awaited promotion to Second. The next day the president, Fernando Puche, decided not to renew him and signed Peiró. Ismael has developed his career in many Spanish and foreign teams and has published some books. His motivational talk in the locker room with the tale of the wolf chasing the sheep was iconic.
Juan Ramón Muñiz, the firefighter at La Rosaleda.
Former Sporting, Rayo or Numancia center-back among others, this man from Gijón was signed in 2006-07 from Marbella for 90,000 euros after the cessation of Marcos Alonso with the slogan of avoiding relegation to Second B. Against all odds, he not only saved the team but also managed to return to First the following season. After a year at Racing, he returned to achieve an incredible permanence with the second lowest budget in the category (25'7 million euros). The first thing Al Thani did after buying Málaga was to dismiss him in the summer of 2010.
In 2018-19 he began his third stage as a malaguista (in 2003-04 he was Juande Ramos' assistant) but was fired after a defeat with Extremadura. Although trained at Sporting, Muñiz has not yet trained this team.
José Alberto, bet on the quarry.
José Alberto López from Oviedo is the fourth coach ‘made in Mareo’To sign for Málaga. At 38 years old, he has experience with Sporting and another very fruitful one with Mirandés, who last year had a remarkable season despite having the youngest squad in Segunda. He is a technician who does not wrinkle with the quarry and who has a very Malaga profile. Very Manolo Gaspar, the sports director.