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Diosa's Málaga Journal: Part I

Young Cosmos players David Diosa and Alexis Velela are in the middle of a weeklong stay with Spanish first division club Málaga CF. Here's Diosa on training with the club, enjoying the city and more.
Published Jan 28, 2016

SATURDAY, JAN. 23

After a long flight, Alexis and I finally arrived in Málaga. First we went to get settled in the apartment where we’ll stay for the week. Then we were lucky enough to visit La Rosaleda  for the Málaga vs. Barcelona game.

It was a great experience watching those two teams play live and in person. Particularly getting to watch Lionel Messi was great. I consider him the world’s best player. I wanted Málaga to win, but they ended up losing a tight match, 2-1. I think Málaga outshot Barcelona, but the visitors had more possession and Messi scored the winner in the second half.

After the game we went back to the apartment, exhausted. We decided to watch a movie and order something to eat. And I woke up at 5 a.m. Sunday morning from the jetlag to write all this!

SUNDAY, JAN. 24

On Sunday we went to watch Atlético Malagueño, Málaga’s reserve team, play for the first time. They were facing Antequera CF. It was an entertaining game with a lot of people watching, which surprised us. Even though it was reserves, it was impressive how intense the players and the audience were about the game. Atlético Malagueño won 4-1, and they stayed on top of their division.

After their game we went to the beach to walk around and to eat. We’ve been taking advantage of the southern Spain weather, which is mostly sunny and much warmer than New York right now. We’re loving Málaga because of the weather and the people, who are all really nice. The only thing we don‘t like is the jetlag, which was still substantial on Sunday. After everything we went home to get some rest.

MONDAY, JAN. 25 – WEDNESDAY, JAN. 27

Monday and Tuesday were our first two days of training with the Málaga reserves, and they were really good. We trained right next to the stadium. They were really intense sessions, just like our Cosmos training. There is plenty of young talent and quality on this team.

On Wednesday we got into a game against Dynamo Kyiv’s Under-21 team. The Ukrainian club is also in Málaga training. Alexis and I both got to play with Atlético Malagueño against the Kyiv U-21s, and it was a high-quality experience. We tied 0-0. The style of play is different from the U.S., but the Málaga reserves like to possess the ball just like the Cosmos.

After the game we went to walk around Málaga and we ended up doing some shopping. Then we came back to the apartment to rest for tomorrow’s training.