MALAGA CF might be playing in the second division of Spanish football now but my god their stadium is still mightily impressive, writes Jamie Rooke.

On my family holiday to Torrox, a village not far from the city of Malaga, my only request was that we make the pilgrimage over to La Rosaleda.

Not only am I a football fanatic but I have been trying to pick up the Spanish language again having enjoyed studying it in school, so this trip was the perfect opportunity for me to combine the two and put my skills to the test.

On the day we landed, after a quick turnaround at our accommodation, we were back on the road again and headed in the direction of the city. Once there, me and my family made our way into the fairly old stadium alongside over 26,000 Spaniards.

Were we able to find our seats? Of course not! But we made do up in the gods, sitting in the very top row with the scorching sun beaming down on our necks.

As someone who follows Arsenal (my second team behind the beloved Plymouth Argyle), the opportunity to watch Santi Cazorla in action for Real Oviedo was a real treat. Even at 39 and after multiple injuries, I am pleased to report he is still going strong and it was the ideal occasion given he played for Malaga once upon a time also.

The game ended 0-0 which on the surface, could appear boring, but it was anything but. The Malaga faithful gave the referee and his assistants abuse with every questionable decision and it was an atmosphere I won’t forget in a hurry. That persistent whistling is a sight and sound to behold alright.

There were a lot of chances at both ends and you couldn’t take your eyes off of the game, partly though because we were sat so high up and not only were the seats around us crumbling, but the view behind us of a scarily large drop was not for the faint-hearted.

At 0-0 in the dying embers, a lengthy VAR stoppage surrounded by confusion saw the man in the middle award Malaga a penalty and send off an Oviedo outfielder. Of course, the teenage substitute stepped up and missed the penalty but my first taste of Segunda Division football has me wanting more and more all the same.

With the fixture done and dusted, it was now time to enjoy the rest of my holiday, asking at every available chance, ‘Podemos tener la cuenta por favor’, meaning can we have the bill please, this normally coming after an authentic dish of paella with a jug of sangria or two.