Uefa Champions League: Facing an uphill battle is nothing new for Malaga

Another topsy-turvy year has brought adversity to the Spanish side but they want to win now because the club is banned from Europe next season becasue of finances, writes Andy Mitten.

Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini will attend his father's funeral in his native Chile before he re-joins his team for the Germany tilt. Daniel Tejedor / AP Photo

Lightning struck Malaga's team plane three times as it tried to land at San Sebastian, before diverting to Bilbao on Saturday.

After the 4-2 defeat at Real Sociedad, in which eight Malaga players were rested ahead of their most important match of the season, at Borussia Dortmund in the Uefa Champions League on Tuesday night, coach Manuel Pellegrini told his team that his father had died and that he would return to his native Chile for the funeral, before meeting up with them in northern Germany.

Clearly, Malaga and Pellegrini are used to adversity.

Affection is seldom afforded to the rich, especially the nouveau riche, but Malaga's defiance and achievements in the Champions League this season have earned them admiration.

Since August, the Andalusians have lost Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Enzo Maresca, Solomon Rondon, Joris Mathijsen, Juanma and Diego Buonanotte to retirement or offers which the club considered too good to refuse.

Malaga were top heavy with talent after a 2011 spending spree, but Pellegrini started this season with less security than any other Primera Liga coach, threatened with a fire sale of players and a wall of silence from the club's Qatari owners.

It was thanks to those owners that Malaga qualified for Europe, but with funds reduced, Pellegrini patched up his side with loan signings and out-of-contract players: Roque Santa Cruz, Javier Saviola, Manuel Iturra, Lucas Piazon and Vitorino Atunes, the Portuguese left-back who started the season at Pacos Da Ferreira's tiny, 5,000-capacity stadium and will shortly play in front of 68,000 in Dortmund.

Faced with the dual challenge of a first Champions League berth and the Primera Liga, Malaga have not buckled, nor have they compromised their attractive football and usual 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 formations.

When Villarreal faced such a challenge without so many players last season, they lost all six group games. Malaga won their group, while remaining in Spain's top four most of the season.

With a European ban for financial irregularities taking effect next season, a top-four finish is inconsequential and their focus has shifted to Europe.

League form has dipped as players have been rested and they have slipped to sixth, though they had the best defensive record in Spain before Real Sociedad scored four.

Dortmund provides Malaga's biggest test of their 12-game European run tonight. Malaga held the Germans 0-0 in the first leg and the 2,500 Malaguistas in the Westfalenstadion cauldron know it will be very difficult against a Borussia side good enough to beat Real Madrid and finish at the top of their group.

Malaga's European form has been best at home, where they have won four and drawn two. Away, they have won one, drawn three and lost one.

A score draw would be enough to see them through to the semi-finals tonight and continue the dream, but they must achieve that without the suspended captain Weligton and the midfielder Iturra.

Malaga produced a video with players and fans proclaiming: "Yes we can".

Yes, they can. But, not for the first time, the odds are against them.

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