Rafa Rodríguez

Defensive Midfielder - Málaga
13 Jun 2027
Sunday
Process

Marked for Rafa Rodríguez

12 Edition

The Málaga Gazette

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Squad

Tijn Smolenaars breaks a bone — 78 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 78 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Rafa Rodríguez keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Málaga may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Match

Nobody wants to play Málaga right now

3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.

Squad

Tempers go at Málaga

David Larrubia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Adrián Niño falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Match

Málaga find a way past Racing Santander

Racing Santander made Málaga work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

In brief

Back issues
8 Edition

The Málaga Gazette

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Cup progress for Málaga

A 1‑0 win over Burgos, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Aarón Ochoa

Successful dribbles: 32. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Teun Gijselhart at 21 — 7.62

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Teun Gijselhart did not need any: 7.62, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

Tempers go at Málaga

David Larrubia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The terraces

Málaga supporters have found a favourite in Teun Gijselhart

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Teun Gijselhart has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Match

Málaga find a way past Albacete

Albacete made Málaga work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

Joaquín in the eights

A performance of 8.03 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Javi Montero

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Julen Lobete falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

In brief

5 Edition

The Málaga Gazette

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

David Larrubia runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

David Larrubia in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Málaga this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Aarón Ochoa

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief