Malaga Misery

Spare a thought for fans of Spanish team Malaga. They've suffered two relegations on one day.

My article on Wayne Rooney's broken metatarsal spells out why last weekend was so depressing for England fans. If any of them also happen to support Malaga CF, then immediately lock up the sleeping pills and keep all sharp-edged objects out of reach -- because they've had a stinker.

The Anchovies (Los Boquerones), as Malaga are known, lost a thriller 2-3 at home on Sunday to fellow strugglers Racing Santander. Their fate was sealed with ten minutes to go, when Malaga centre-half Fernando Sanz was unfortunately judged to have handled in the area when losing his balance and falling on top of the ball.

Francesc Arnau managed to save Antonito's spot kick, but Racing's Juanjo was on hand to squeeze the ball home and ultimately send Malaga down in 20th (and last place) in the Primera Division.

In Spain, many of the larger clubs will have their reserve sides competing in lower divisions. Malaga are a case in point and their B team ply their unsuccessful trade in the Segunda A Division. Unfortunately, Spanish Federation rules state that reserve sides can't play in the same division as the senior team, so as soon as Malaga's relegation to Segunda A Division for next season was confirmed, Malaga B were also relegated - to the Segunda B Division.

Not that it really mattered as Malaga B were firmly rooted to the bottom of their own league, 14 points from safety. They also managed to lose 3-2 this weekend, to high-flying Gimnastic.

If your team has had a tough season, then keep things in perspective by looking at the unlucky Andalucians -- your side probably isn't the worst in two leagues at the same time.