Club Balonmano Femenino Málaga Costa del Sol, also known as Costa del Sol Málaga for sponsorship reasons,[1] (former Rincón Fertilidad Málaga[2]), is a women's handball club from Málaga in Spain. Costa del Sol Málaga competes in the División de Honor, the top tier in the Spanish league system.
History
Costa del Sol Málaga was founded in 1994 after the merger of the two women's clubs from Málaga[3] at the time, Insana and Clubai. Its first president was Fernando de Irigoyen, with Carmen Morales as vice-president.[4]
In 1995, the team was managed by Carmen until 2001, when Carmen Morales de Setién took over. In its first season, it had a senior team (which acquired the federation rights to play in the First Division), a youth team and a cadet team.[3] In its history it has 3 promotions and 2 relegations in the years 95, 99 and 2014. At the beginning of its journey in Spanish women's handball it was led by several coaches until Diego Carrasco took over the bench in 1997.
Last ascent
The Málaga Costa del Sol Women's Handball Club was last promoted to the División de Honor (with Diego Carrasco on the bench) in 2014, and has played in the elite of Spanish women's handball ever since. However, this has not been their only participation in the top category, and they have participated 6 times in the top national division at different times, with a total of 15 seasons in the elite.
The Rincón era
After the promotion in 2014, a sponsor[5] arrived at the club that would change everything: Manolo Rincón. The owner of the Clínicas Rincón (dental and fertility clinics) took over 50% of the budget needed[6] for the club to go to the Honor Division the following season and be able to compete in Europe after qualifying for the first time to play in European competitions.
At that time, the black shirt that would lead to the nickname "Panthers" appeared.[7] Under his patronage the club won its first top-level sporting trophies.[8][9]
Post Carrasco era
Diego Carrasco died[10] suddenly in 2019 and the Malaga club had to recover from a hard moral and emotional blow. His second, Suso Gallardo, took over the bench . With the young Malaga coach, the club's greatest sporting successes were achieved. In that season (and still with the financial help of Clínicas Rincón) the club united the home-grown players, Sole and Esperanza López, with some signings that would change the history of the club (and what would be the backbone of the following sporting successes): Estela Doiro,[11]Isabelle dos Santos, Merche Castellanos[12] and Silvia Arderius.[13]
2019-2023: the first titles
Between 2019 and 2023, Costa del Sol Málaga has had the club's best seasons in its history, winning 1 Liga Guerreras Iberdrola, 2 Copas de la Reina, 1 EHF European Cup and 1 Spanish Super Cup, as well as 1 league runner-up position, 1 EHF European Cup runner-up position and 1 Spanish Super Cup runner-up position.
There have been five titles in seven finals in four years, titles with the block led by Silvia Arderius, Sole López, Merche Castellanos, Paula García, Isabelle Medeiros and Estela Doiro and with half of the team of Malaga origin, the club professionalized its organization and the sporting successes came from the hand of Suso Gallardo.
In 2021, they were crowned European champions by winning the EHF European Cup,[9] and the following year they reached the final again, becoming runners-up. In addition, in the second leg of the EHF European Cup final held at the Palacio de los Deportes José María Martín Carpena in Málaga, the club organized the match between Spanish clubs with the largest audience in the history of women's handball. A total of 7,183 spectators attended.[15]
