Champions of Spain

2016-06-10 07:00:00

Samu Casado was the hero of the day as Malaga came out on top in the Copa de Campeones youth tournament final held on Saturday.
The game finished goalless in normal time, but extra time couldn’t split the sides either. Sevilla took the lead through Adriano who scored on the rebound, but Malaga found the equaliser in the second half from a magnificent header by Nesyri who leapt highest to convert the inswinging corner.
In the end, penalties were needed to settle the final, and it was Samu Casado who stepped up to the plate, saving two of the three penalties he faced. It was left to Castillo to strike home the winner, doing so in magnificent style via a ‘Panenka’ to send the players into ecstasy.
Next season, Sergio Pellicer’s side will represent Spain in the Champions League of this category.
This is only the second time in history that Malaga have won this competition, the last being in 2003 when a certain Jesús Gámez (now Atlético Madrid) was in the team.
With owner Sheikh Al-Thani in Malaga, he, along with his son Nayef and sporting director Francesc Arnau, celebrated with the players at a lunch held on Tuesday afternoon at the restaurant closest to La Rosaleda stadium, Los Robles.
Al-Thani follows the results of the Academy very closely and took to social media minutes after Castillo’s penalty to congratulate the players.source surinenglish