La Rosaleda, the talisman in official matches
On February 21st 1973, the Spanish National Team played its first match at La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga. Since then, the history of the National Team at La Rosaleda can be summed up in ten matches, 22 goals, seven victories and many details that will remain forever.
Debut on the bench
The match against Norway on March 25th will be a special one. It will be Luis de la Fuente's first match after being presented last December as the new national coach of the Spanish national team. 21 years earlier, on the same bench at La Rosaleda, another coach of the Spanish national team made his debut: Miguel Muñoz, a legend of Spanish football. Miguel Muñoz coached the national team between 1982 and 1988, a period of time that will go down in history for the historic 12-1 win over Malta that qualified Spain for the 1984 European Championship, where they finished runners-up. He also coached Spain at the World Cup in Mexico 86 and the European Championship in Germany 88. In total, he has been 59 games at the helm of the national team in which he achieved 30 victories and 111 goals.
Plenty of victories in official matches
The Spanish National Team has won all the official matches it has played at La Rosaleda Stadium. The first was on their first visit to Malaga in February 1973, (3-1 against Greece, qualifying for the World Cup in Germany 74), which also marked the debut of Migueli, the first international player from Malaga in history. On October 27th 1982, Spain defeated Iceland (1-0) in their second official match in Malaga, in qualifying match for the France 84 European Championship. After witnessing 6 friendly matches, the fans in Malaga enjoyed another victory in an official match last June against the Czech Republic (2-0). It was a match that brought the Spanish national team closer to their goal of qualifying for the Final Four of the Nations League, a place they would confirm a few months later.
22 goals in 10 games
The Malaga fans have celebrated up to 22 goals in the ten matches played so far at La Rosaleda, more than two goals per match on average. The atmosphere, enthusiasm and desire to encourage and push the national team from the stands have been the characteristics of all the visits to the capital of Malaga. An atmosphere that has been matched on the pitch with spectacle and goals. Highlights include two victories (5-0) against Venezuela on February 29th, 2012 with a hat-trick from Roberto Soldado and the impressive match against Costa Rica on November 11th, 2017 with goals thanks to Morata and Iniesta, among others.
The last previous match, a celebration
The Spanish national team is back at La Rosaleda 9 months later. On June 12th, the national team caused a huge crowd in Malaga. More than 30,000 spectators flooded the stadium; the tickets were sold out in just 24 hours. Thousands of people cheered and accompanied the team bus with a spectacular welcome on its arrival at the match venue. In addition, during the match, the fans showed how much they enjoy the Spanish National Team at all times. The fans were eager to cheer, to support the national team and, why not, to bring them joy. Goals from Soler and Sarabia put the icing on the cake of a festive day.
For the national team's eleventh match in Malaga, the one between Spain and Norway in the first qualifier for the 2024 European Championship in Germany, there have been no tickets left. Tickets were sold out just three hours after going on sale. A full house, colour in the stands and spectacle will once again be guaranteed at La Rosaleda.